10/22- 1 mile on Lakeshore in 8:47. Very stiff but I was encouraged by how much I had left at the end. I don't know the exact split but I may have been sub-8 pace in the last quarter mile. Let's see if I can maintain it for a full mile.
Distance-1.0
10/23-AM. Mission accomplished. Vestavia Mile in 7:51 (3:55-3:56). Pace was steady at 8:00 give or take with the exception of the first and last 200, both of which were around 56 seconds. There may be room for improvement if I tweak the formula a bit. 21 seconds off my reset PR.
PM- 2 miles on Lakeshore in 17:14 (8:37 pace). Dialed it down in terms of effort but this was sub-27 pace for 5K, which would have been a PR. I estimate it was worth a 27:15-30. Faded on the back half (8:34-8:40) and it took a late push to get it close to even.
Distance-3.5
10/24- Interval Testing. Half lappers.
Opener-88 (8:48 pace)
3 Thym Adren- 69 (6:54 pace).
Colostrum- 1:41 (10:06 pace)
Granted, I wasn't really warmed up for the opener but a gap of nearly 2 minutes is unacceptable. Even more disturbing is that I was CRAP after taking the Colostrum. This stuff actually helped last week. I wonder if the Functional Med Doctor has any explanation. I doubt it.
PM- Felt better in the afternoon but took the evening off as planned.
Distance-0.5
10/25- 1 Mile in 9:40. Started off pretty well but the power cut off at 600 meters and I just slow jogged it in with a last half in 5:28. Could have done a little better but not much. No panic. Most probably, the Colostrum and subsequent sugar test hasn't fully cleared. I expect to be better tomorrow and back to the new norm by Sunday.
Distance-1.0
10/26- 2 miles at Heardmont in 18:14 (9:07 pace). Not quite back to the pre-Colostrum form but almost there. Splits were 9:12-9:02. I pushed the last lap but didn't go all out. I had plenty left for another Mile at this pace but I probably come up short in a 10K. I'll take it and try to do better tomorrow.
Distance-2.0
10/27- A repeat of 2 days ago. Planned on a 5K but had to bail after just 1 Mile in 9:50 (4:30-5:20). I ran the first lap on target at 2:09 but the power had already cut off and it got worse with every lap. Lap 4 was 2:46 so I had enough after that. Signs point toward an adrenal spike. VERY ANGRY about this one. Glycine was supposed to stop this from happening. I'll be in rough shape for the next few days too after overshooting.
PM- Impromptu interval session. See the separate post for details. Splits were 88-86-60.
Distance=1.5
10/28- Split decision. Definitely feel different on the Melatonin and I was anxious to see how it would play out on the track. I was shooting for a reset PR in the Mile (7:30). Legs were loose and limber warming up and I was ready to roll.
I thought I was going to get it after passing 400 in 1:47 but the power cut off between 500-600. Passed 800 still on pace at 3:44 but knew I couldn't hold it and would be hard pressed to break 8. Called it after 900 and went back to my car to see what would happen on extra Melatonin. The result was worse. Pace slipped to the 10-minute range by the end. Unclear if it's an adrenal spike or too much Melatonin. I'll find out tomorrow.
Had just enough time for a 1 lap test after I got home. Taurine is another pill that has given me fits in recent weeks. Today, I was marginally better with it than without (90/87). Almost an identical result as yesterday's Colostrum trial. I really wanted to test out extra Thym Adren but just didn't have time.
Distance-1.5
Reaction: An end of these inexplicable reactions would be YUGE! THERE IS A CHANCE! Why was I bad today? Adrenal spike or too much Melatonin? I'm rooting for the latter. In recent years, I've had insatiable need for an effective pill, which eventually died down. That doesn't appear to be the case this time as I did have ill-effects from a mega dose. Perhaps this is different from the false hopes of the past. More news to come later.
Update: No discernable reaction to extra Thym Adren this afternoon. Tomorrow is BIG. I don't care about my time. I only want the Thym Adren gap to shrink. If I run a 65 without and a 60 with, that's fine. If it's a 90 without and an 85 with, that's just as good. A 90/90 would be even better. Even if the gap is small, questions will remain about the Melatonin. How much can be tolerated? Will the tolerable limit be enough to be effective? This is far from over.
10/29- AM- Opened with a 77.5 (7:45 pace) after a half lap warm. Not horrible but it did not feel sustainable and I probably would have crashed again in the 2nd lap. I was not concerned about that, however. I needed to know how I would do on 3 Thym Adren.
I didn't feel much different and was only slightly faster at the finish. Time was 75.0 (7:30 pace). Enough to be significant? I say that's borderline and a longer distance would tell me more. Nevertheless, this is EXCELLENT NEWS! Last time I did this, my times were 88/69. It appears that 2 out of my 3 demands may have been met. Jury is still out.
PM- Lakeshore 1.5 in 13:10 (8:47 pace). Better than expected but there's pressure to improve on this tomorrow. Power never cut off (6:37-6:33) and this felt sustainable.
Distance-2.0
Reaction:
In the past, I had pills that I couldn't tolerate at all. Even a few specks triggered a reaction.
In this case, I have seen enough to know that I will have less severe side effects on a lower dose. I am pretty sure that 10 mg will be effective and do the job. Unsure if it will be tolerated long-term. If it's not, I go down to 5, which will almost certainly be better tolerated. However, I am uncertain if 5 mg will be effective. Overall, the news is excellent but the jury will be out for quite awhile.
10/30-AM No opener and closer. Took the full dose before the sprint and it most probably didn't matter. This is the first morning after 10 mg the previous day. I was expecting a 65-67 versus yesterday's 75.0. I was marginally better with a 72.3 (7:14 pace) but came away disappointed because it wasn't as good as expected. I got a negative reaction last night from the Melatonin but it had mostly cleared by the morning.
Reaction:
Unless I am significantly worse than yesterday in the evening session, I will stick with 10 mg for 1 more night. However, it's pretty clear that it will be too much. 5mg will almost certainly be better tolerated. Will it be effective? That's now a multi-million dollar question.
PM- 2 miles on Lakeshore in 17:10 (8:35 pace). Even pace with no real effort to kick. Significantly better than yesterday. Maybe I should stick with 10 mg. I will do so for 1 more day but the goal is to find the lowest dose that is fully effective.
Distance-2.5
10/31- Half lap sprint in 73.9 (7:23 pace) plus a warm and cool. Slightly slower than yesterday but slightly faster than 2 days ago. Not enough to be significant in either direction. The verdict is is on 10 mg:
Clearly effective but the dose is too high. I get an immediate negative reaction to this dose before bed. I am still sluggish and groggy in the morning but improve as the day progresses. I was "almost good" yesterday evening.
If I continue this dose, times will plateau at this level give or take about 15-20 per mile and caffeine is actually beneficial because it depletes excess Melatonin. That's probably why I was better yesterday evening. At any rate, tolerance is unchanged after several days of use. Could be worse.
I will cut the dose gradually and hope it remains effective. Tonight, I will take 8 mg. I hope to be faster tomorrow morning with no significant reaction to problem pills. Even if 10 mg is the lowest effective dose, this is still a big improvement over where I was before I started it.
PM- SHOCKER! Another half lap sprint in 55.6. I repeat FIFTY FIVE point SIX (5:33 pace). Nearly 2 minutes faster than this morning. The reason is definitely the clearance of excess Melatonin. I expected to be significantly better than 73 (probably mid 60s) but I wasn't expecting anything like this.
Tomorrow's prediction: Even with a reduced dose, I won't come close to this level. However, it should definitely be better than this morning. I've got to set a benchmark. If I can't break 60 in a morning sprint, the dosage is too high. If I can break 60 with or without pills, that's very strong evidence.
Distance-1.0
11/1-AM- Got what I expected on the lowered dosage. Still a bad reaction last night but less severe on 8mg. Did the first sprint in 66.9 (6:41 pace). Is the lower dose Melatonin still effective? YES ! Once again, I was marginally better after the problem pills. 65.9 with (6:35 pace). Significantly better than yesterday morning but not nearly as good as the evening. Dosage is still too high. I plan to stick with 8 tonight then drop it down to 6.
PM- 2 miles at Veteran's Park for a change. Finished in 16:56 (8:28 pace). Route was 3 times around the lake. Probably translates to a sub-16:40 on Lakeshore because of the slow gravel trail here.
Decent job overall but this was a bit of a downer. Faded pretty badly on the last lap (5:29-5:33-5:54), which means the pace was approaching 9 by the end. A 5K would have been ugly. Adrenal balance feels just a little bit off. Hopefully, there is an explanation.
Distance-2.5
11/2- AM Felt better after taking Glycine last night. I thought Glycine would worsen Melatonin side effects. Wrong. I'm okay with that. I didn't feel a little off until I missed 5 doses. That's hardly extreme dependency. Can I get away with a few missed doses of Melatonin? I'll find out soon. I will continue the plan of a gradual reduction.
Workout was 1 Mile at Heardmont in 9:34. I'm okay with this too. I knew that I would struggle in the morning and I will be better in the afternoon. I was encouraged by the even pace (4:48-4:46) and I had some left in the tank. Dose will be cut to 6 mg tonight. The gaps between the morning and evening workouts should diminish on lower doses
#2- It was only 9 AM so I wasn't expecting much. Did 1 lap at base effort at Montreat and clocked a surprisingly decent 2:44.0 (8:12 pace) but it didn't feel sustainable and I could feel a fade coming.
Popped 2 more Thym Adren and improved to 2:33.8 on the same effort (7:41 pace) and I did feel a difference. Unfortunately, this is enough to be considered significant (MINUS 31) and it means that I must raise my dose. More details to come.
11/3- AM. Down to 6 mg with no sign of diminished effectiveness. Once again, I was marginally faster on Taurine and Colostrum. I did a 78.8 without and a 77.3 with. Not a sprint. This was done at standard training effort and without Thym Adren. That's why it was slow.
Another thought:
I was fractionally better on the 2nd interval today than I was on 10/29's opener. 10/29 was an all out sprint. Today was standard training effort. That's the difference between 10 mg and 6 mg of Melatonin.
PM- YUGE DISAPPOINTMENT! Attempted a 5K and had to bail after 1.5 miles in 13:07 (8:45 pace). Passed 1 mile ahead of schedule at 8:20 and I thought I was going to PR. SUDDENLY died after that. Last half mile was 4:47 and the last lap was over 2:30. No reason to keep going. Culprit is most probably an adrenal spike. 5 pills won't cut it. I need the max dose and even that may not be enough.
Distance-2.0