Training 5/18-5/24

 5/18- NOT A V-SHAPED RECOVERY!  ANOTHER COLLAPSE.  Quit after just a half mile with a pace over 12.  In bed by 7:00 and slept the next 10 hours.  Any way out of this vicious cycle of slow climbs out of the pit followed by another collapse?  Don't try any new pills and if I get a reaction, DON'T TOUCH ENERGY DRINKS to be functional at work.  Take a sick day if necessary.

Distance-0.5

5/19- As expected.  Slow climb out of the pit.  Did 1.5 miles in 16:25 (10:57 pace).  The strong negative split (8:25-8:00) suggests better days ahead.  No cause for celebration.

Distance-1.5

Training 5/11-5/17

 5/11- 1 Mile in 11:48.  Believe it or not, this was better than my feeble attempt last weekend.  Splits were 6:02-5:46, which suggests better days ahead.

Distance-1.0

5/12- Extra sleep with vivid dreams last night.  Hoped to run 2 miles but cut it short at 1.5 in a time of 15:29 (10:19 pace).  Splits were 7:49-7:40.  Very over-stimulated but a LOT BETTER than yesterday.  I will stick with the current formula and won't mess with any other pills.

Distance-1.5

5/13- More vivid dreams and this time, it was a nightmare.  Showed progress in the workout.  2 miles in 19:44 (9:52 pace) with splits of 9:55-9:49.  I'll take it.  Still awfully over-stimulated and I need to temporarily increase my dosage.

Distance-2.0

5/14- COLLAPSE!  Quit after just a half mile at a pace well over 11.  Lack of methylation was the culprit.  I am not surprised or disappointed by this development.  I had to try to go without it.  Turns out that I need it occasionally just like the Malic Acid.  I can go 5-7 days without it but no more.  

Felt better after taking the Methyl Folate but it was not an instant fix.  Had to pee several times within just an hour, which could be a sign of detox.  I'll be better tomorrow.

Distance-0.5

5/15- 2 miles in 19:28 (9:44 pace).  A 1 day blip with a V-shaped recovery?  I can deal with that.  What really pisses me off is a collapse followed by a gradual recovery then another collapse then repeat In this case, I am back to where I was on Wednesday plus a tad more.  

Felt about the same as usual.  Decent leg power but easily winded.  Blood donation may ease the adrenal spike and I may consider it down the road but I am DONE messing with the pills.  I'm sticking with this formula for better or worse.

Distance-2.0

5/16- Not overstimulated at all this morning.  Instead, I was sluggish and lethargic.  Attempted 3 miles and had to quit at 1.5 in 15:08 (10:05 pace)  Passed the 1 Mile mark in 9:30 then had nothing left after that.  Next half mile was over 11 pace. 

 Culprit is either lack of NAC or B-6.  I thought B6 would be tolerated with better Cal/Mag balance but I'm not ready for it yet.  B6 is part of my methylation support but should not be needed.

NAC was not a factor and neither was B-12.  The culprit was B-6.  Thought it would be tolerated as part of the methylation support but it's not.  Good news is that it's water soluble and should clear quickly.  Simply peeing brought my interval time down from 2:02-1:53.  3 Paramin lowered it to 1:37 (9:42 pace).  Is it tolerated if I take mega Paramin?  Probably not, but it may get me there faster.  I'm not taking it until further notice.  I'm hoping for another V-shaped recovery but I have a feeling that it will be a slow climb out of this pit.

Distance-2.0

5/17- Back to over-stimulation.  I think the B6 has cleared.  2 miles in 21:16 (10:38 pace).  Splits were 10:43-10:33.  Not a V-shaped recovery but not as bad as expected.  I should be back to Friday's pace in another day or so.  

Distance-2.0

11 miles on the week.

Training 5/4-5/10

 If I had to guess, the ingredient in the tanning gummies that I cannot tolerate is beta carotene because it produces too much Vitamin A.  Last weekend, I tried low dose Glutamine and neither it nor Thym Adren was tolerated after taking the last of the gummies on Friday.  Is there a way to get the Vitamin A out faster?  Maybe.  The antidote is Vitamin D-3.  That's plain D-3 without Calcium or Magnesium.

5/4- Hated interval tests.

Opener-98

2 Thym Adren-80

Vitamin D-3 -92

Glutamine-68

Distance-0.5

Wow!  How do I process this?  After 36 hours off Glutamine, Thym Adren was needed again.  That was expected.  Though I felt worse on D, it did the job.  It depleted the excess A that I suspect was the source of my recent ills and triggered the need for Glutamine.  After taking that, I was a LOT BETTER.

Do I stay on the D long-term?  I don't know.  Even if the tanning gummies are tolerable on D, I'm still not taking them.  I may be open to plain Astaxanthin down the road.

  I have one off the wall theory:  Accutane flooded my system with toxic doses of Vitamin A, which may never have fully cleared.   Could D be the antidote?  I'm willing to try it.  Worst case is that it doesn't work and I endure a few horrible days.

5/5- Opener in a poor 1:45 (10:30 pace).  Hit the track in Vestavia for the real workout.  Clocked an 8:56 in the Mile, which is about what I expected. Added a 1 lap cool on the outside lane.

Very little running in the last 4 weeks and no Thym Adren for the past few days will take a toll.  Extra D didn't make much difference. Popped an extra pill at the halfway point.  Back half was marginally faster (4:30-4:26) but didn't feel any difference.  I will probably finish the bottle and be done with it unless something dramatic happens tomorrow.  Good news is that both Thym Adren and Glutamine are tolerated again.

Distance-1.5

5/6- Opened with a 1:41, which was a modest improvement over yesterday.  Popped 2 D-3 pills and got WORSE (1:58).  This time, Glutamine didn't help.  Neither did Thym Adren.  I will pitch the D but this was a risk that I was willing to take.

PM- Thought I could handle D if I took it with Paramin.  I thought wrong!  If this was going to happen, I am glad it happened now.  Not after 2 weeks of tolerance!  I am back to the starting line.

Distance-0.5

5/7- Lakeshore 1.5 in 17:31 (11:41 pace).  This was about what I expected as the D hasn't fully cleared.  Best guess is that it works similarly to stand alone Cal by depleting Potassium.  I think I'm on the right path now.  Negative split (8:53-8:38) suggests better days ahead.

Distance-1.5

5/8- 2 miles in 21:47 (10:53 pace).  Satisfactory.  Significant improvement over yesterday but was hoping for a little better.  Even pace with a little bit of a push at the end.  Splits were 10:56-10:51.  Very sore and short of breath, which is a double whammy.  

Distance-2.0

5/9- Crashed again.  Taurine is likely the culprit and it cannot be taken with Glutamine 

Distance-1.0

Tanning Gummies Review

 I've always been able to get and maintain a pretty good tan.  I was once told that blond guys with southern accents are sexy especially with tanned skin and white teeth.  It's mostly natural though I do spend a good amount of time at the beach and my condo pool.  I've never used tanning machines though I might try it in moderation down the road.  

I have tried Nu Skin's tanning gel and have mixed reviews.  It gives you a nice bronze glow but you've got to be careful with it.  Don't overdo it or it looks unnatural and be careful too.  It can burn if it gets in your eyes and you need to wash it off before exercising.  If you wipe your sweaty face with a shirt, it could be ruined.  

Tanning gummies contain ingredients such as Astaxanthin (spelling?), beta carotene and Lycopene to support natural melanin production.  Given my history of inexplicable reactions, I was hesitant but decided to give it a shot after seeing lots of ads and research that showed it could benefit gut health and balance the oxidation rate.

I went with Savanna Skin.  The first few days, it was a nothing burger.  No immediate effect on my skin tone but the ingredients seemed to be tolerated.  I was actually marginally faster on my interval tests after taking it.  That's to be expected.  Within 2-4 weeks, you should see subtle changes but it takes more like 6-8 weeks for the full effects to kick in.  

After maybe 10-14 days, I began to have BIG trouble with Glutamine, one of the key pills for my gut health.  Energy was totally sapped and my knees were killing me too.  It took me a few days to realize that the tanning gummies and other Sulfur containing amino acids such as NAC were also a problem.  

After 2 days off the gummies, I tried Glutamine again and still couldn't tolerate it.  I tried the gummies again and had an immediate negative response.  4 days later, I tried Glutamine again and actually improved.  By this time, I had a pretty good notion that the gummies were the culprit.  I took one gummy and once again, my muscles tightened up immediately and extra Glutamine made things worse.

Verdict:

There is some ingredient in the gummies that triggered an intolerance to Glutamine, one of my key pills.  Eventually, it will clear and Glutamine will be needed again.  It might be good for some people but it's CLEARLY NOT FOR ME.  Maybe a different product could be tolerated but I won't mess with it at least until Winter.

  Any change in my skin tone?  Maybe a subtle darkening on my face and forearms but that's probably because I went to the beach for 2 days.  I saw little to no change on my legs and upper arms.