Philadelphia/Watkins Glen Trip

 4/17-

My primary purpose was the Phillies vs Braves game this evening.  No issues on the direct flight from Birmingham.  In fact, there was virtually no line at security.  Lodging was a bit of a conundrum.  The stadium is located in South Philly.  If I didn't plan to leave town, I probably would have stayed in Center City and took the subway.  However, with a car, I opted to stay in South Philly.  It saved money on parking and allowed an easy exit out of town but I did have to do a lot of walking.  I was a little worried about a 1 Mile walk at night after the game but I didn't feel unsafe.  The skyline view from my room was worth it!

I took the subway up to the art museum to see the Rocky steps and statue.  I don't care that he's fictional.  Rocky Balboa is one of my heroes.  Next stop was the Reading Terminal Market for lunch.  I got some fried chicken and it was mid.  I took a stroll down Market Street with a stop outside of Independence Hall.  I've been there before but it's still cool to see it again especially in America's 250th year.  I was not yet born in 1976 and probably won't make it to 2076.  This time, I finally got a selfie at the Liberty Bell.  During COVID, I had to wear a mask.  LOL!  

I took the subway back to the hotel then had a little bit of down time before the game.  I believe this is the 10th straight game that I have seen a loss by the home team but this time, I was rooting for Atlanta so I went back happy.  The ballpark was well above average.  Definitely top 10, maybe top 5.  I have hit the 80 percent mark with 24/30 complete.  

 

4/18-

Left Philly.  I tried to take a toll free route but gave up when it took me through some depressed areas.  At any rate, it was roughly 4.5 hours to my destination of Watkins Glen, New York and it's a scenic ride through the Pocono Mountains.  I had not seen much of Eastern PA or Upstate NY before this trip.  My plan was to get to New York ASAP and save the Pennsylvania hikes for tomorrow.  That proved to be a bad call.  

Watkins Glen State Park was nice and so was  nearby Seneca Lake and roadside waterfalls.  I also caught a glimpse of the NASCAR track.  However, I was finished touring by 4:00 and had some downtime.  I could have made a couple stops in PA and finished before dark.  I had dinner on the lake.  The food was mid again but I had a real nice chat with the bartender (Angela).

4/19- 

A cold front swept through overnight.  I awoke to 40 degrees temps with light-moderate rain.  I couldn't stand to be outside for long so I had to skip the hiking.  It was still a scenic ride nonetheless through the Poconos.  I had a 4 hour wait until my flight home.  Good but not great trip.  If I had to live in the northeast megalopolis, Philadelphia would probably be my choice.

Training 4/13-4/26

 I'll have to write this first week off as a loss.  

4/13- Opener in 96.  Real workout was 1.5 miles in 16:21 (10:54 pace).  Added a 1/3 mile cool that might as well have been a walk.  Didn't expect to set the world on fire today but certainly expected better than this.  Culprit identified this evening.  Wait for it: Stand alone Cal.  That's right.  The very stuff that mitigated the ill- effects of B6.  PISSED!!

Distance-2.0

4/14- Forced rest day.  Confirmation dose made it worse.  Needed caffeine to be functional at work and now I will face withdrawal.

4/15AM- Opener in 1:42 but did a little better in the real workout.  1 Mile in 9:39 plus a cool.  May try for more this evening.

PM- 1.5 miles in 13:54 (9:16 pace).  Under the Mendoza line but I don't think I can hold it.  Decent leg power but easily winded.  Splits were 6:53-7:01 but I didn't slow down much after the first half mile.

Distance-3.0

4/16- Opened with a 96 and closed with an 80.  Better numbers than yesterday but something didn't feel right.  Got worse as I approached Lakeshore and had NOTHING!

Culprit was lack of Malic Acid.  I may not need methylation anymore but I can't get away with more than 5-7 days without this stuff.  Stupid on my part.  Got home and clocked a 69 despite sore muscles.  I'll see if I can quit methylation but I really should have known that I still need Malic Acid.

Distance-1.0

4/21- Back to the grind after the trip.  

Opener in 98.5 and closer in 77.3.  The gap has actually increased.  Real workout was 1 Mile in 9:40 with a slight negative split (4:52-4:48)

Distance-2.0

4/22- Opener in 1:50 and was actually worse in the evening.  Culprit was Glutamine.  I never saw this one coming.  PISSED!

Distance-0.5

4/23- Felt worse after a tanning gummy.  Perhaps combined with Glutamine, it's a problem.  

Distance-0.5

Training 4/6-4/12

 4/6- Did an opener in 87 (8:42 pace), which is a significant improvement over yesterday (93).  MINUS 36.  No closer but I'm betting that the gap is SLOWLY closing.  Figure probably around 70.

Hoped for a similar gain in the real workout but it didn't quite happen.  2 miles in 17:50 (8:55 pace) plus a short cool.  Almost exactly the same pace as yesterday but did tack on another 33 percent more distance.  If I maintained the same pace on an 8 miler as I did on a 6, I'd call that significant progress.  I'll take it.

Distance-2.5

4/7- BAD!  Aimed for 3 miles at a slower pace and succeeded only with the latter.  1 Mile in 10:55 with splits of 5:01-5:54.  Power cut off completely at 0.6 and just slow jogged it in.  Culprit is likely lack of methylation.  Though I am less dependent on those suckers, I still need occasional support.

PM- Took the afternoon off after finding the culprit.  It was NOT lack of methylation but rather stand alone B12.  Too much of a stimulant.   Confirmation dose made it worse so I expect to struggle again tomorrow.

Distance-1.0

4/8- 3x half lap at Montreat.  

Opened with a 1:51 (11:06 pace)

Zinc- 1:50 (11:00 pace)

Cal-1:47 (10:42 pace)

Zinc was insignificant and I may not even need it anymore.  Stand alone Cal was borderline.  I'll probably stick to Paramin.  

Ridiculous that just 2 doses of B12 threw me off THIS MUCH.  It's like all of last week's gains were wiped out and it probably won't be until early next week that I am back to where I was on Monday.

Distance-0.5

4/9- PISSED OFF!  On the full dose, 1 Mile in 11:46 (5:59-5:47) so at least I did run a negative split.  

Hit rock bottom last night and began feeling better by late morning but it will take a few more days until I even get back to the Mendoza line.  Then, if my history is any indication, something else will pop up next week.  

Questions: Do I even need Zinc?  What about methylation?  If I am to take it, B-Vitamins may need to be avoided for now.  

PM- Able to squeeze in another Mile this time at Montreat.  About 30 hours clean and my time is down to 10:16.  MINUS 90 from the morning.  I'll take it.

Distance-2.0

4/10- Opener in 1:45 (10:30 pace).  Better than 2 days ago but that's still BAAAUHD!  Popped 2 Zinc and improved to 1:36 (9:36 pace).  Significant gain and that's about what I expected on the opener today.  I can get away with an occasional missed dose but yes, I still need Zinc.  That answers the first question from yesterday.  

Moment of truth came with the B-complex.  It does contain B-12 but not a mega dose.  Gain from Zinc was wiped out.  Slipped to 1:46 (10:36 pace).  Not a killer but significantly weakened.  I may not fully recover until next week but that was a price that I was willing to pay to get an answer.  Plan to test the methylation this evening.

PM- Mostly good news.  After taking the usual Thym Adren, I was down to 86.3 with my opener.  Again, 20 seconds faster than after the B-complex so the gap remains constant.  Not thrilled about that. 

 Good news is that the Methyl Folate is tolerated.  In fact, I was marginally better at 84.8.  I was afraid of my reaction to Intrinsic Factor plus B12.  Again, I was marginally better at 84.3.  I will only take the methylation occasionally.  

Apparently, the B12 in this supplement isn't strong enough to hurt me.  I just need to avoid the B-complex and mega doses of B12.  There may be a specific B-Vitamin that is the problem (maybe B-6). This can flare up with a low Cal/Mag ratio.

Distance-1.0

4/11- Culprit is definitely B-6.  This has been known to flare up when my Cal/Mag ratio is low.  I will stay on Paramin but add some stand alone Cal and cut out the stand alone Mag. Did 1 Mile worth of intervals to confirm it.  Cal was a game changer today.  

Distance-1.0

4/12- Hoping that with Zinc and stand alone Cal, I may not be as dependent on the Thym Adren.  Ran a strong opener (83) but had NOTHING in the real workout.  Too much Thym Adren or caffeine withdrawal?

Distance-1.0

Measley 9 miles this week 

-118 on the year