Just in case there is anyone who doubts what a difference testosterone replacement makes, I have a little story for you...
Many years ago, I suffered from multiple stress fractures. I would heal one in my tibia, run well for a season, and then get another one in my fibula. I did PT, changed my form, changed my shoes, but nothing worked.
This went on for awhile until I found a doctor who was actually interested in finding out why it was happening. He ran a bunch of tests and found that my vitamin D and testosterone levels were extremely low. Both are needed for your body to process and retain the calcium. He told me to take like 4000mg of vitamin D every day and also prescribed me Androgel, the testosterone cream that Salazar allegedly had in his condo.
I was completely oblivious to testosterone being a PED and a banned substance. I used it every day and almost immediately began feeling less tired and found I had more zip in my stride. I had the best training cycle I had ever had, totally crushing workouts and recovering quicker than in the past. But here's the real thing - all of my PRs with the exception of my marathon PR were set during the time I was on testosterone. My marathon PR would have been set during this period as well, because I did attempt one and was totally hammering at mile 20, but ended up DNFing at 22 with a bad calf strain. However, I set PRs at every distance from 5K to the half marathon, despite having been a competitive runner for years.
After about a year of being on it, I came to terms with the fact that it was enhancing my performance, and also became wary of its side effects, and stopped using it. To be clear, though I had some great finishes, I made no podiums and didn't accept any prize money during this time. I now try to keep my levels high with diet and have had no more stress fractures. But I've also accepted that I will probably never approach my times from this period. They're pretty much untouchable.
Anyone else have a similar story?