Training 11/18-24

 11/18- Felt better when I woke up today and opened with an 81.  Marginally slower after drinking a Red Bull (83) then MUCH WORSE after Endodren (1:44).  Actually, I interpret this as GOOD NEWS.  I no longer need stimulants to cope with the detox.  It remains to be seen if I will be better or worse tomorrow back on Thym Adren, which is what is suitable for my chemistry.  Eventually, I will need it again.  

PM- Half mile in the dark at Montreat in 5:49 (11:38 pace).  That's okay.  Consider this the starting point.  I should be a little better almost every day going forward.  Tomorrow will probably be rained out but I hope the effect of the Thym Adren will be clear one way or the other without a test.

Distance-1.0

11/19- AM-Forced myself to go in the rain.  Opened with a 1:51 then improved to 1:46 on Thym Adren.  Helpful but not a game changer.  At least it didn't hurt me.  I am slow because of detox not unbalanced chemistry.  I went back up to 5 mg Melatonin but I don't think that was a factor.  Even if it was, if I can function, I want to get the toxins out as quickly as possible.

PM- Repeated the half mile on the same route.  Improved to 5:14 (10:28 pace).  Nice improvement.  Keep it up.

Distance-1.0

11/20- Better than expected.  Full Mile at Montreat in 9:17.  Even pace without much of a push at the end.  Took all the pills before the run but I don't think I would have been much worse without them.  Demands #1 and 2 are met at least for now.  I've got a ways to go on #3.  Figure I am about a quarter of the way to a sub-60 10K

Melatonin Detox Reaction

 Nothing should surprise me anymore but this latest false hope REALLY HURTS!  I've run little to nothing in the past 10 days and missed out on another local 5K.  It's looking like once again, I will not be racing at all this calendar year.  

At first, it appeared that adding back the Glycine would stop the adrenal spike and reduce my dependence on both the Thym Adren and the Melatonin.  It did that.  Only problem is that now, I can't tolerate the Thym Adren.  I need adrenal stimulants just to function.  

Has my metabolism flipped?  Highly unlikely.  I am over 90 percent sure that it is a detox reaction.  How long will it last?  Who knows?  I do except that it will flip back suddenly.  One day, I will need stimulants.  The next day, I will be back to the suppressants with a worsened adrenal imbalance.  What a life!  Indeed, Melatonin is involved with detox of heavy metals such as Lead and Mercury.  What angers me about this is that I already went through Hell with the TRS spray.  I thought I had already gotten most of those toxins out.  Apparently not.  I just can't plug all the leaks.  I cannot solve one problem without creating another.

Any good news?  Yes.  It appears that I am less dependent on the Melatonin.  Recently, I reduced the dose from 5 mg to 3 mg and the inexplicable reactions to Colostrum and Taurine returned.  2 nights ago, I didn't take ANY pills.  What were the results?

Opened with a 94.7 then actually improved to a 90.5 on the formerly problematic pills.  On Endodren (adrenal stimulants), I improved significantly to a 78.0.  Last night, I was back to the usual 5 mg and the result was worse.  I opened with a 1:45 then dropped to 1:30 on Endodren.  I tried again after a forbidden energy drink.  Again, I improved significantly to a 1:24.  

What now?  

I don't think I have any other choice but to let the detox run its course.  I am betting that it was not a Melatonin deficiency that triggered the reactions but toxic metals.  Melatonin will get them out.  I will reduce the dosage to make it manageable.  If I stop completely, I can probably get away with it for a few days but the inexplicable reactions will eventually return.  

Glycine Stops Adrenal Spikes

 I've hit a couple of bumps in the road over the past week or so.  Fortunately, the Melatonin remains effective and well tolerated at 5 mg.  By that I mean that the inexplicable reactions stop and I am not so stiff and lethargic after taking it.  If that continues, Demand #1 has been met.  That's the one that is most important to me.

Demand #2 looked to be a NO just a few days ago.  I need 5 mg of Melatonin every day.  If I drop it down to 3 mg for just 2 days, the bad reactions to pills come back with a vengeance.  I haven't even tried to see what happens if I don't take it.  Some night, I will forget to take it and I expect to be rudely reminded the next day.  

Still, as long as the Melatonin dose remains constant at 5 mg, I can live with that.  Please, no moving targets!  My need for Thym Adren shot up last week.  I thought it was an adrenal spike, which is common after solving a major problem.  Nope.  It was because I stopped taking Glycine.  I thought I no longer needed it but I was wrong.

6 pills was probably the best dose.  If I cut it down to 3, I was okay on the first day, a little off on the second day and downright awful on the third day.  No, I could not get away with even one day off the Thym Adren.  Not acceptable.  

Things changed when I went back to the Glycine.  The need for Thym Adren diminished.  3 pills will be effective but 6 will be too much and I'll feel the ill-effects of overshooting for a couple days.  If I get in an equilibrium on 3, what happens?  I probably won't notice if I accidentally take extra for just 1 day.  Also, I won't start to feel a little off unless I go maybe 3 days without it.  That's acceptable.  Will the Glycine reduce my dependence on Melatonin?  That remains to be seen.  Also, it's possible that cleaning up my diet will affect the balance point.  There is no extreme dependence on Glycine.  I won't notice until I go about 5 days without that stuff.  

Demand #3 is enough energy to be productive and enjoy life.  I did enjoy my trip to Florida last weekend but if the surf had been much rougher, I may not have had the strength to be out there on consecutive days.  Not acceptable.  I only did a couple of junk runs and still can't race.  I was hoping to jump into a local 5K this coming weekend but that looks unlikely.  I believe that if I meet demands 1 and 2, #3 will naturally follow suit 

Detailed Election Analysis

 Trump is a divisive figure.  If you don't like him and are disappointed by the results, that's understandable and I respect your viewpoint.  Cutting off long-time friends and family members over politics is not cool.  Posting profanity laced rants on social media isn't very smart either.  There was one in particular that really angered me.  A woman wished for black men who voted for Trump to be killed by police brutality and women to be victims of domestic violence.  Sickening!  Never in a million years would I wish harm on anyone who voted differently than I did!  

Acting as if Trump is evil incarnate?  Get a grip!  As the grandson of a WW2 Veteran, I am especially angered by the nonsensical Hitler comparisons.  Show me a concentration camp designed to exterminate an entire race of people and then I will listen.  Trump was one of the few presidents in recent memory NOT to start a war.  I blame the media for stirring up such hatred 

I find the suggestion that people didn't vote for Harris because she is a woman of color to be insulting.  I'll tell you why she lost.  She was part of an administration with a 36 percent approval rating and admitted that her policies would not have been much different from Biden.  Add to that, she is unlikeable and totally inauthentic.  Changing her accent based on her audience?  That's cringeworthy.  It really should not have been as close as it was.  Biden would have fared no better.  However, if he had dropped out earlier and allowed an open primary, Dems may have had a shot.

I was an early supporter of Ben Carson in 2016 and am a fan of Candace Owens.  I kinda liked Tulsi Gabbard even when she was a Democrat.  I sure do hope that the first female President is a conservative Republican.  That might close the gender gap.  I vote based on policy.  Race or gender of a candidate is not a factor.  Ben Carson was once called a "black white supremacist.". With the possible exception of calling Jewish people Nazis, that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard.

Demographics:

-38 percent of the Asian vote.  I see room for improvement here.  It was about 50/50 during the Bush era but swung D under Obama.  DEI policies have especially hurt the Asian community.  

-14 percent of the Black vote.  This number has been slowly rising since 2012 but I can't see it moving more than a few points every cycle.  It may not be until 2040 that Republicans get up to 25.  Trump got 22-24 percent of Black men depending on the exit poll.  Among young people, I am betting that it was close to 30 percent.  It's not as much of a taboo nowadays to vote Republican.  I expect that the gains will continue after Trump is out of office.  

45 percent of the Latino vote, including 52 percent of men.  That was YUGE!  I expected gains but not by that much.  I'd wager that Trump broke 50 percent in Texas, which will keep it safely red for the foreseeable future.  It also shores up Arizona and even puts New Mexico in play.  Incredibly, it was suggested that Latinos were motivated by racism and sexism, which was not a factor when they voted for Hillary and Obama.  Suppose that number jumps to 55 percent next cycle.  Will the Democrats call for a wall and strict border control if they think that Latinos will vote against them?  Serious question.  

57 percent of the white vote.  Marginally worse than 2016.  Trump is slowly losing upper class white voters.

State analysis:

One thing I found strange about 2020 was that Biden gained only in the swing states and the lean blue states.  He didn't make a dent in deep red America.  In this election, Trump improved in at least 48 states with his biggest gains being in deep blue areas.  The count is still going in a few states but Harris may have done fractionally better only in Utah and Washington.

Massachusetts- It was still a blowout win for the Democrats but Trump did do 5 points better than 2020.  Other states in the Northeast moved towards Trump by similar margins.  That's what you should expect when the national popular vote shifts by 6 points.

New York and New Jersey- Trump got shelled in Manhattan but made serious inroads in Brooklyn and Queens.  In the Bronx, he did more than 20 points better than 2020.  He did 11 points better in New Jersey, which voted nearly identical to Virginia.  Who would have thought that 20 years ago?

Georgia and North Carolina- These were a little closer than I expected.  The wealthy Atlanta suburbs used to be solid red.  Not so now.  They would have actually preferred a Romney style Republican.  I suppose that when you have a million dollars in the bank, paying more for groceries doesn't hit as hard.  I expected Never Trump types would come back after 2016.  Most have gone Democrat.  Trump did very well in suburban Nashville and Dallas but not so hot in Charlotte and Atlanta.  Tennessee's transplants tend to be Midwestern and conservative while Georgia and North Carolina attract more Northeastern liberals.  North Carolina should still go red in a 50/50 election but Georgia is a toss up and could be tough to win going forward.  

Florida and Texas- I expected a 7-8 point win.  The margin was 13 in Florida and 14 in Texas.  Trump won Miami Dade while Palm Beach was about 50/50.  In Texas, Trump flipped several border counties that were D by 50 as recently as 2016.  Solid red in the future.  Dems could shift on immigration.  

Illinois- Trump got 30 percent in Cook county (Chicago).  I don't have the prior numbers but I imagine that's a big gain.  This was much closer than I expected but I don't expect it to flip anytime soon.  

Arizona- Vote is still counting but Trump is up by 6.  Though Texas Latinos probably shifted the most, Trump gained in Arizona as well.  Arizona moved by about the national average.  It should be lean red in a 50/50 election.

California-  Harris' home state swung 13 points towards Trump.  The people who know her best didn't give her a ringing endorsement.  Again, I imagine that California Latinos shifted right as well.  There may be hope for California after all.  It's a beautiful state with lots of nice people.  

Rust Belt- This election was a solid victory for Trump but NOT a landslide.  4 out of the 7 battlegrounds were decided by 2 points or less.  PA, MI and WI all shifted red but by less than the national swing.  If Harris had flipped all 3, she gets to 270.  These are the bell weather states and I expect them to remain that way.

Future:

Like it or not, Trumpism is the new direction of the Republican party. Nikki Haley's candidacy was the last gasp of the Old Guard.  I really don't understand why some Liberals would prefer going back to Bush like candidates.  May I remind you that he tried to stop gay marriage and launched a pre-emptive war under false pretenses.  But oh, since he won't support Trump, all is forgiven.  LOL.  I do hope that the 2028 nominee has Trump's policies with a more genteel personality.  If that happens, I predict he or she will be just as hated.

Melatonin Verdict Soon

 It seems like 5 mg is the sweet spot.  At 8 mg, the inexplicable reactions stop but I will be too stiff and lethargic, especially in the morning. I would have to switch up the timing and take it at lunch if I had a race the next day.  At 3 mg, I didn't notice any side effects from the Melatonin but I did get an immediate bad reaction from Taurine.  At 5 mg, side effects are minimal and I was marginally faster immediately after taking it.  Even better, I had no reaction to Taurine and Colostrum.  Take 5 mg and everything is cool.  The only negative is that I'll probably have to take it every night and I don't like being dependent on a pill.

A few questions remain:

If the dosage remains consistent at 5 mg every night, I can live with that.  What is unacceptable is moving targets.  What if 5 mg is too much one day while 3 mg works like a charm and there is no explanation?  Then, after a week on 3 mg, I have to go back to 5? That's exactly what has happened with the Thym Adren many times.  

Dietary Restrictions:

I must confess that I did drink the equivalent of 3 beers the night that I cut the Melatonin dose down to 3 mg.  That's hardly alcohol abuse.  Though I'd never actually do it, I was still legal to drive.  I should be able to get away with a cheat day like that maybe once per week.  I did read that alcohol and caffeine  deplete Melatonin however.  Perhaps I just need extra after a cheat day.  

Clean Diet:

Perhaps with a clean diet, I won't be as dependent on Melatonin and I will be able to get away with a missed dose here and there.  What does scare me a bit is the possibility that on a clean diet, 5 mg will be too much and I'll have side effects just like I had on 8 mg earlier.  I will be forced to go back down to 3 or less.  

Best case scenario:

I can get away with lower doses and even an occasional missed dose with a clean diet.  BUT if I take 5 mg when I don't need that much, I can tolerate it and the side effects are minimal.  

Within the next 1-2 weeks, the final verdict will be in.  

Preliminary Election Analysis

 My prediction was very accurate.  I forecasted that that it would come down to 5 states (AZ, GA, PA, MI, WI).  Whoever won any 3 out 5 would win the election.  I predicted 3 point wins for Trump in GA and AZ, which meant that Harris would have to sweep the Rust Belt.  A tall order.  I liked Trump's chances best in Wisconsin (by 1-2) while Pennsylvania and Michigan would go down to the wire.  Trump would win PA by less than 1 but lose Michigan by a similar margin.

Nevada, Arizona and Michigan haven't been called yet but I expect that all will be added to the Trump column.  

I'm just going to highlight a few surprises:

Although Trump didn't make a dent in deep blue states like Maryland and Massachusetts, he was surprisingly competitive in New Jersey and Illinois.  

IIRC, Harris won NJ by only 5 points.  Illinois by 8 and even New York was barely double digits.  In recent years, New York and Illinois are D by 20 which NJ is D by 15.  Interesting.  Word on the street is that immigration was a big factor in the Republican swing, particularly in Chicago.  

My biggest disappointment was Colorado (D-11).  After apartments in the Denver area were taken over by Venezuelan gangs, they still voted for open borders?  I was in Denver earlier this year.  Yes, I still liked it but it has gone downhill since my first visit in 2010.  

New Hampshire and Virginia were closer than last time but it would take a near landslide to flip those 2.  Minnesota would have been closer without Walz on the ticket and New Mexico could perhaps be flipped in the future.

Republican states:

Georgia by 2- Too close for comfort but I'll take it.  I didn't look at the county results yet but I suspect that the Atlanta suburbs did NOT swing back to Trump.  Rather, Harris didn't run up the score in the city of Atlanta.  I read that 25 percent of black men in GA voted for Trump.  Pennsylvania is as red as Georgia.  I didn't see that coming.   

Florida by 14- Not a huge surprise after DeSantis won in a blowout 2 years ago but the margin was bigger than expected.

Texas by 14- Probably the biggest and most pleasant surprise.  I'll bet Trump won the Rio Grande Valley.  I'm curious how he did in suburban Houston and Dallas.  Democrats predicted that demographic shifts would make Texas competitive by now.  Not gonna happen.  I'd be very curious about the Latino vote in Texas compared to California or even Arizona.  Pretty safe to say that Texas Latinos are more Republican than elsewhere.  

Final thought:

Not a landslide but a decisive win for Trump.  Harris would have had to flip 3 states and the 3rd closest was decided by more than 2 points.  Even if there was fraud, it's pretty hard to argue that it made the difference.  

The system works.  Biden has not been an effective president and 72 percent believe that the country is on the wrong track.  Democrats deserved to lose.  For anyone who fears that this is the end of American democracy.  Don't.  There will be another election in 4 years.  If Trump's policies fail, the Republican nominee will lose in 2028.

Republicans have a deep bench.  I'd be good with Vance, Ramaswamy, Tulsi or DeSantis in 2028.  If I had to choose now, my ticket would be Vivek as P and Tulsi as VP 

Training 11/4-11/10

 11/4-AM.  I may have spoken too soon about the need for Thym Adren being manageable.  I got hit with a SEVERE adrenal spike yesterday afternoon and evening.  Cut the Melatonin dose down to 5 mg and it remains effective.  It will probably be effective at 3 mg.  

Opened with a 1:59 half lap (11:54 pace).  In recent days, I was marginally better after taking formerly problematic pills.  Today, I was still BAD but SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER on Taurine and Colostrum.  Improved to 1:48 (10:48 pace).  Not sure what to make of that but I suspect that Taurine is good for an adrenal spike.

Took the max dose of Thym Adren (8 pills) and tried again.  Improved to 1:24 (8:24 pace).  Much better but still a far cry from the 1:06 morning session that I managed before the adrenal spike.  

Reaction:

Is the Melatonin tolerated at 5 mg?  I really can't say yes or no with certainty but I'd wager that 90 percent of my slowdown can be explained by the adrenal spike.  I still plan to gradually cut the dose and eventually see if I can manage a few days without it.  

As for the adrenal spike, the news is not all bad.  Even with the max dose, it still wasn't enough to get me back to form.  The 24 second gap is 2:24 per mile, which is BIG but that's only 3 seconds per pill.

  I'd only be marginally faster on 1 pill.  I'd actually rather see only modest gains from a pill than a night and day difference.  Why?  That shows reduced dependence. I HATED having to hit a sweet spot every day while shooting at a moving target.  The adrenal spike will eventually go down and I will get back to form.  It won't require a mega dose to get there.  In fact, I plan to gradually cut it starting today.

PM- Montreat Mile in 9:56.  Ugly result but I got a BIG VICTORY.  I took 5 mg of Melatonin after the first 2 laps.  Splits were 3:20-3:19-3:17.  Marginally FASTER AFTER MELATONIN! On both 10 mg and 8 mg, I got an immediate negative reaction.  

 There is a good chance that I have found a dosage that is both tolerated AND eliminates the inexplicable reactions!!  When the adrenal spike goes down, I believe that I will see reduced need for Thym Adren.  The stable chemistry will allow me to train consistently and meet the minimum standard for demand #3.

The degree of dependency on Melatonin still remains to be seen.  Maybe I can get away with a lower dosage.  Maybe I can get away with an occasional missed dose.  Maybe not.  Even still, if I have to take 5 mg every night, that's a price that I will gladly pay.

Distance-1.5

11/5- AM- No run.  Went directly to my polling place this morning.  Adrenal spike is still there but I cut the Thym Adren from 8 to 6.  Hope to see a modest gain this evening.  I will cut the Melatonin to 4 mg tonight.

PM- Repeated the Montreat Mile and my time is down to 9:05. Splits were 3:02-3:05-2:58.  About what I expected if not a little better.  It was obvious that this adrenal spike is not a 1-2 day blip.  Rather, it will go down gradually.  I sliced 51 seconds off yesterday's time and am within 95 of a PR.  From that perspective, this looks pretty good.  Tomorrow is perhaps more important.  I want to see continued improvement on a reduced dose albeit at a slower rate.  4 pills tomorrow.  Hoping to see an 8:30-8:45.

Distance-1.0

11/6- Slightly better than expected again.  Vestavia Mile in 8:08.  Splits were 1:59-2:06-2:04-1:59.  Did this on lowered doses of Melatonin and Thym Adren.  Did not try formerly problematic pills but I doubt it would have been a problem.  MINUS 57 compared to yesterday and 38 away from a PR.

Montreat vs Vestavia route:  A PR is only legal on a track even though Montreat is probably slightly tougher.  I suspect that Montreat is 15-20 yards short but that's offset by the hills so the difference is negligible.

11/7- Very close to a verdict on Melatonin.  3 mg was not enough last night.  Bad reaction to Taurine this morning and I knew it before the workout.  Managed 2 miles on North Lakeshore in 19:10 (9:35 pace).  Splits were 9:39-9:31 despite a tougher back half.  This was not as bad as I expected.

Distance-2.0

11/8- Back on track today.  Vestavia Mile in 7:42.  Missed a PR but pleased that I was well under 8.  Adrenals still feel a little high.  Perhaps 5 Thym Adren instead of 3 would have made the difference.  Passed halfway at 3:44 but started fading at 600 and knew I wasn't going to make it.  Last lap was not much better than 2:00.

Distance-1.0

11/9- Not good.  1 mile on the beach (slight slope but hard sand) in 8:49.  I popped 1 Thym Adren at the turnaround and splits were 4:30-4:19.  Clearly, that dose must be raised.  One pill did make a difference but it was barely enough to hit the threshold of significance.  I can handle a couple of days at a lower dose but not for long.  Going back on Glycine next week.  Maybe that will make a difference.

Distance-1.0

Dependence on Pills

 Once again, my demands are hardly unreasonable.  I've accepted that I will never be free from the pills.  A total cure is unrealistic.  I only wish to get it under control with treatment.  So far, I am doing great on Demand #1.  The inexplicable reactions have stopped.  That's the one that I needed the most.  It still remains to be seen if these reactions will still be gone at 3 mg but I have a good feeling.  I believe that anything above that dose will trigger morning issues.  Enough about that for now.

Regarding Demand #2:

The Melatonin is not a magic bullet that cures all of my chemical imbalances.  I had no such expectation My adrenals remain unbalanced and I still need support in that area.  Also, without at least semi-regular B-12, I will have issues with pernicious anemia. As long as it's controlled with treatment, I can live with that.

What happens if I miss a dose of Thym Adren?

I was slightly slower but not enough to be considered significant.  The gap in a sprint was only 15 seconds per mile and I believe that some of that was due to natural variability.  That said, if I go 3 days without it, yes I will start to feel a little bit off.  If I had to go 5 days, it will get ugly.

Even though 11/1 was a downer, I still beat the previous day's time on a tougher course.  I attribute that to the reduced Melatonin dose.  I began the workout with a noticeable increase in energy on 8 mg vs 10 but faded down the stretch because of adrenal imbalances.  I recognized what was wrong and made the correction before things got too ugly.  I can live with that. 

 It was not a shock that I had to raise my dosage.  Adrenals often spike temporarily after a major problem is solved.  The difference between 3 and 5 pills was 30 seconds per mile.  That's significant but not a night and day difference.  It would not have been a total disaster if I raced a 5K on 3.

I predict that once I hit equilibrium on 5, I will once again be able to get away with an occasional missed dose.  I expect that in time, the dosage will go back to 3.  I'll be sluggish for a couple of days then get 30 seconds faster after going back down to 3.  As long as these adjustments are relatively infrequent, I can live with it.  Hopefully, after I fully adjust to the Melatonin, the adrenal dosage will be consistent.

Now let's compare this to where I was before the Melatonin:

A missed dose of Thym Adren cost me nearly 2 minutes per mile in a sprint. In a real workout, it would have been even worse.  The longer the distance, the uglier it gets.  To put it another way, I could not even function without the Thym Adren.  

Add to that, the dose was a lot more unpredictable.  Some days, I could get by with 3.  Other days, I needed 6 or more.  If I overshot on an adrenal spike, I was CRAP for another 2 days because I took too much.  Taking 3 when I needed 5 and vice versa was a DISASTER.

Conclusion:

Sure, I wish I could get off Thym Adren and I wish the dose was consistent but I am a LOT better.  Again, there is a chance that the adjustments will stop once I am on the Melatonin long-term.

Sleep changes:

This is a minor consideration as I never did have serious sleep issues.  I've noticed that I don't require as much sleep at night and the quality has improved.  I had a funny dream last night that involved being naked at my desk at work.  Nobody noticed but I was afraid of getting caught.

Lowered Melatonin Dose

 I keep hoping to hear something like this from a doctor:  

YES, I have seen patients like you before.  Inexplicable and extreme reactions to pills are usually linked to a specific marker that is either undetectable or off the scale high in lab tests.  Though I can't guarantee that it will be effective for you, many of my patients have had success with X or Y treatment.

No such luck.  In fact, one doctor told me flat out that he has NEVER seen this before in TWENTY YEARS of practice!!

Yesterday's phone consult went about as expected.  He didn't have a simple straight answer but at least he listened (many dismiss it).  Dr. Cole's  protocol is a comprehensive plan to get to the bottom of it that would cost me upwards of $7,500.  I will keep it in mind but it's becoming more and more likely that it won't be necessary.  His at home urine test is what led me to the Melatonin through my own research, and for that I am grateful.

10 mg every night has completely eliminated the inexplicable reactions and significantly reduced the extreme dependency on key pills.  Unfortunately, it leaves me groggy and unmotivated especially in the morning.  By the afternoon, I begin to feel better and am "almost good" by the evening.  

My bare ass minimum standard for racing is a sub-60 minute 10K.  Based on recent evening workouts, I may already be there.  If not, it won't take much additional training to make it.  Just extend the distance of my standard workout to 3-4 miles.  Without the extreme reactions that prevented me from training, I see no reason why I can't do it.

Unfortunately, almost all races take place in the morning.  There is no way that I can meet the standard in the morning.  Last night, I reduced my dosage from 10mg down to 8.  I still got an immediate negative reaction but it was not as severe.  This morning's sprints were significantly better than yesterday morning but not nearly as good as the evening.

More importantly, the problem pills were still tolerated on the lowered dosage.  Once again, I was marginally faster AFTER Taurine and Colostrum.  I will stick with 8mg for 1 more night.  I want to see how bad I do in a real workout in the morning.  I could tweak the formula and take Melatonin at Lunch.  In that case, I would have to endure a rough afternoon but it will clear out by the next morning.

If I drop it down to 5-6 mg, I'm sure that it will reduce the side effects.  I'm not sure if it will remain effective.  Time will tell.  My ideal scenario is to take only 1-3 mg occasionally to prevent flare ups while facing minimal side effects.  If that happens, all of my demands will be met!  Hell, even if I have to take 5 mg every night and it's effective, that's still a LOT better than where I was just 1 week ago

Melatonin Part 2- Jury Still Out

 Again, I don't want to get my hopes up but if current trends continue, 2 out of my 3 demands will be met.  The first is for the inexplicable reactions to STOP.   

Liver Beef, Taurine and Colostrum gave me FITS in recent weeks.  This is the most maddening thing about this whole ordeal.  The last 2 days: No discernable reaction and I was actually marginally faster after taking the problem pill.  That's YUGE!

The second is no extreme dependency on any one pill.  Up until yesterday, that pill was Thym Adren.  I want to get to a point in which I can make it through a long weekend without it.  Just 3 days ago, I was nearly 2 minutes faster per mile IMMEDIATELY after taking the usual dosage. Yes, I had been taking it every day prior to that.  That should NEVER HAPPEN.  Tolerating one day off it is not enough to declare victory but I have to say that the prognosis looks good.

Today, I felt no discernable difference after taking the Thym Adren.  After the usual dose, I was only 15 seconds faster per mile over a short interval. Suppose I forget to pack it before a road trip.  I'd say chances are pretty good that it would NOT wreck the trip.  

The third demand is somewhat subjective.  I need enough energy to enjoy life and be productive.  I don't need to run a marathon but a 10K would be nice.  That way, at least, I can enjoy the social aspect of it.  Also, crashing on the weekends and having to take frequent naps is not acceptable.  

This demand has NOT been met as of yet.  Crashing on the 2nd lap of a Mile time trial will not be tolerated.  I would not have finished a 5K yesterday without walk breaks.  I feel groggy and unmotivated.  It's comparable to the zombie-like feeling of anti-depressants.  I wasn't sleepy yesterday evening but didn't want to do anything except lay awake in bed.  Melatonin is most definitely the culprit.

Best case scenario:

The Melatonin will be effective even if taken at low doses only a couple of times per week.  I can take 3 mg maybe only on Wednesday and Saturday and it will be enough to prevent the reactions and extreme dependency.  Low doses will be tolerated and will not cause significant side effects.

Worst case scenario:

I need 20 mg every day for it to be effective but the side effects are worse than the disease itself.

Prognosis:

I took 25 mg the first day and 20 mg the second day.  Clearly, that's too much.  I read that more than 10 mg is usually NOT recommended.  I will cut it down to 10 mg from now on and it must be taken before bed.  The million dollar questions:  Will the lower doses be enough?  If so, will the side effects be manageable?  

Early returns:

I've already lowered it from 25 to 20.  I only managed an 87 half lap yesterday.  Today, I clocked a 75 and it was just as effective in preventing the extreme dependency.  That's a good sign.  I've read that it's a sustained release pill.  That is, the full effect doesn't kick in for a few hours.  The fact that I felt an immediate positive impact suggests that I got results with a small amount in my system.