Monday, January 27, 2014

Training 1/27-2/2

1/27- AM.  AWFUL!  1 mile in 7:54 and had to rally at the end just to get a sub-8.  I feel more wired/tired, which suggests it could be a taurine issue.  I will be most unhappy if that's the case.  I thought I was done with that stuff back in 2010.  I'll find out today.

PM- 2 miles in 15:40 (7:50 pace).  Not much better than this morning's debacle but I did get a couple of answers.  I can rule out the taurine issue since I was no better after drinking a forbidden Red Bull.  It's either a Thym-Adren excess or too much Vitamin D from the Cal pills.  If it is the latter, I can reduce the dose but that means that I will also have to reduce the Mag.  It can't be a processing issue because I just did Round 2 of the detox 7 days ago.  It does make some sense if the Thym-Adren is trending down because BOTH Cal and Mag lower tissue sodium.  If I were taking all Thym-Adren or a Cal/Mag that I could not process, I'd still need mega doses.  Not so now at least I hope.  I won't know until the medical report comes in but again, good workouts are a good sign.
Grade:D/1 credit/distance=3.0
 Update:  I don't really feel any worse after taking my Cal/Mag tonight.  I bet it's the Thym-Adren.  I took 6 on Sunday and dropped it to 4.5 today.  Down to 3 tomorrow.  Perhaps the detox has increased the effectiveness of these pills.

1/28- AM- A big improvement.  3 miles in 21:55 (7:18 pace) with even splits.  I am not out of the woods yet.  Not  by a long shot.  The Thym-Adren may go back up to 4 and the hip remains a bit sore.
PM- Snow.  Got off work at 11 AM along with the rest of the city.  I was fortunate just to get home safely.  I could not care less about my workout right now.  Even tomorrow looks iffy.
Grade:B/1 credit/distance=3.0

1/29- Unplanned rest day that for once had nothing to do with my medical issues.  I remain snowed in and the temp today is expected to top out just below 30F so there won't be much melting. Roads are too icy to run anyway and the gym is closed too.  It was warmer in Anchorage, Alaska than Pensacola, Florida yesterday.

My normal 15 minute commute took 3 hours on the way home as the roads were basically a sheet of ice.  I had to park my car in the parking lot of a nearby office building because it could not make it up the steep hill to my apartment complex.  It won't get back above freezing here until noon tomorrow so that's when I will be able to go out.
Update:  My Thym-Adren dosage continues to drop, which is a concern.  I will attempt to reduce my Cal/Mag dosage.  As long as I can continue to take both, even in small doses, I still have a chance.

1/30- Birmingham is nearly back to normal today and I am improving as well.  The main workout was a short tempo and I clocked a 19:39 for 3 miles (6:33 pace).  Splits were 6:25-6:35-6:39. but I just didn't feel quite "right."  Average performance overall.  I cut both the Cal/Mag AND the Thym-Adren dosage today.  I am down to just 2 Thym-Adren and 350 mg of Cal/Mag, which was too aggressive.  I did feel better on another half of Thym-Adren.  If I am back to a place in which 2 pills are not enough but 3 are too many, I will be VERY ANGRY! Fortunately, I am betting that will not happen.  My Cal/Mag dosage likely causes the Thym-Adren dose to go up and down.  I've got 2 weeks to get all this straight.  If Mercedes had been today, I would have suffered a ghastly fade in the last 6 miles.  As for the hip, the discomfort is still there but is gradually improving.
Tacked on another easy 4 on the 'mill.
Grade:B-/2 credits/distance=7.0

1/31- 6 miles at goal marathon pace.  Finished with a time of 43:23 (7:14 pace) not including 2 stops after Mile 1 and Mile 2.  Felt like 3 Thym-Adren pills were not quite enough during the day and despite a 7:18 opening mile, it didn't feel quite right.  Popped a 4th pill and ran a 6:55 on the same effort and felt great.  Ran the next 4 non-stop at easier effort in 29:10.  I've got a good formula for the time being but it is unlikely that it will hold steady for another 16 days.  If I take 750 mg. of Cal/Mag, I only need 2 Thym-Adren.  On 350, I need 4. Which do I need to target? The high Na and K or the low Cal and Mag?  The medical report will answer that question and I will adjust from there if need be.
Grade:A/1 credit/distance=6.0 (144 miles on the month)

2/1- Unplanned rest day.  I have aggravated the hip injury.  I thought I could jump back into training after the prolotherapy but not surprisingly, I need another treatment.  My appointment is scheduled for the 18th and I will try to move it up to the 11th.  I could probably force a couple miles but I think it's best to rest until I am pain free.  Forget about a decent showing at Mercedes now.  What to do?
1) Downgrade to the 5K and hope for a respectable time (20:xx)
2) Run the half but pace Nick to a sub-1:50 (8:24 pace)
3) Defer until next year.
EDIT: No option to defer this year!  #2 is my only option and will do it only if I am pain free.

PM- I feel horrible today and it's not all emotional either.  Believe it or not, the Thym-Adren must be lowered again to 3 pills.  I'm sure that my critics will point to my fast training pace but I still maintain that it had nothing to do with this injury.  When your chemistry is in a state of flux, it is extremely difficult to regulate the pills.  Your muscles feel tight all the time and connective tissues don't heal properly.  Thus, you are very vulnerable to tendon and ligament injuries even if you cut your mileage and/or intensity.  As for the hip pain, it is very localized just below my waist on the right side and hurts more going up and down hills.  Long distance seems to put more stress on it than speed or tempo work, which is why I could handle a 3 miler but not a 6 miler.  Dr. Johnson said the source of the problem is the IT-band origin and my research supports that position.

Update: I had planned to wait until the end of February to send in the hair sample but given what's been going on, I had better do it in 2 weeks.  I tried a Fructosin pill today and got no reaction to it, which likely rules out Mag deficiency as well as liver processing issues
Grade:F/2 credits/distance=0.5

2/2- Just a walk with a couple of strides of running.  Still painful.  Thym-Adren down to 3.
Grade:F/1 credit/distance=0.5

Weekly summary:
At a loss for words right now.  Obviously disappointed but don't know what to make of the dosage going down.  I'm still cheating on caffeine.  I doubt if it's hurting me but it's certainly not helping.  One thing that will change is that I've got to be outside unless the weather is really bad.  Even though I change directions indoors, the tight turns can't be good for the hip.  The hair sample will be sent in 2 weeks, not 4.  I will try detox again next weekend but doubt that the Thym-Adren goes back up.
Distance=20.0/ GPA=13.4/8= 1.67
YTD: 145 miles. 2-2 record with a 2.47 GPA that will only get worse.

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