2021 Travel Stats

 -26 states visited.  Made the strict standard in 24 of them.

New Years- Live in Birmingham, Alabama(1)

MLK Weekend- Ski trip to Maggie Valley, North Carolina (2).  Night on the town in Nashville, Tennessee (3), passed through Georgia (4)

President’s Day- Hawaii trip (5)

March- Pensacola Beach, Florida (6)

April-Delmarva trip.  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (7), Dover, Delaware (8), Salisbury, Maryland (9), Cape Charles, Virginia (10)

May- Duluth, Minnesota (11), Superior, Wisconsin (12)

Memorial Day- North Coast.  Gary and Indianapolis, Indiana (13), Louisville, Kentucky (14)

Juneteenth- Dallas, Texas (15), Texarkana, Arkansas (16), Memphis, Tennessee, Vicksburg, Mississippi (17), passed through Louisiana (18)

Independence Day- Wildwood, New Jersey (19), Rockaway, New York (20)

August-Bar Harbor, Maine (21), Mt. Washington and Hampton Beach, New Hampshire (22), passed through Massachusetts (23)

Columbus Day- Augusta and Atlanta, Georgia, Clemson, South Carolina (24), Blue Ridge Pkwy, North Carolina, Clingman’s Dome, Tennessee.

Veteran’s Day- Beach hopping from Daytona to Fort Pierce, Florida

Christmas- Skiing in Beckley, West Virginia (25) and a walking tour of Cincy, Ohio (26).

Rant: Moving the Goalposts

 

Back in March of 2020, we were told to stay home for 2-4 weeks to flatten the curve.  We were initially told that face masks were ineffective but that was changed.  Talk of the virus escaping from a lab was dismissed as conspiracy theory but now, it is generally accepted to be true.  A 4-week lockdown to prevent the hospitals from being overrun was a price that I was willing to pay.  Though some of the restrictions were eased, it would be 14 months before I was back to working in the office full time.  When the “flatten the curve” and “stay home and save lives” did not allow for a return to normalcy, we were told to simply wait for the vackseen. 

I predicted vackseen mandates early in the pandemic, but it was also dismissed as conspiracy theories that could not possibly happen.  If merely 50% of the population gained immunity either through infection or vacksination, herd immunity would kick in and the virus would be eradicated within a few months in 2021.  Pretty safe to say that didn’t happen.  Nations such as Singapore, Israel and Gibraltar achieved near universal vacksination yet are still seeing spikes in cases.  We were initially told that while breakthrough infections can happen, they are extremely rare.  Nope.  Vackseens actually do little to stop the spread and we’ve had more deaths in 2021 than in 2020.  They only provide temporary protection against severe infection, and you may be left more vulnerable to both COVID and other diseases when it wears off.

Fauci has only recently admitted that we may have to live with boosters indefinitely and that it is only a matter of time before the definition of fully vacksinated will be changed to include a booster.  When that happens, individuals who were once deemed fully vacksinated will lose their privileges unless they get a booster!  Don’t want a booster because of a bad reaction to a previous dose?  Too bad!  Patients who develop new or worsening illness shortly after the shot are often told that it must be unrelated unless it is so obvious that it cannot be denied.  Man, I never thought it would get that bad!   I have a sneaking suspicion that I was harmed by childhood vackseens and had many characteristics of mild autism as a child though I was never diagnosed.  A childhood acquaintance became disabled because of the COVID vackseen and I’ve read tons of horror stories on Facebook groups.  Though I did predict the mandates, I did NOT predict that the vackseen would be this unsafe and ineffective nor did I expect that governments would double down on boosters when that became clear.     

Australia has been known to put people in internment camps just for close contact with a COVID-positive individual.  Canada has required the vackseen for air travel and many others, including the US require it for entry into the country (illegal immigrants exempt).  If Biden had his way, unvacksinated people would be unemployable and barred from virtually every public venue.  How far will the mandates have to go before I cave?  I will still try to hold out even if it is required for air travel.  An employer mandate?  I really have no choice in that case.  Fortunately, I am in deep red Alabama so that probably won’t happen for a while.  A mandate to stay in hotels?  I am not willing to limit my travel to day trips so that’s a cave.   

I wish I had the balls to walk off my job in the event of a mandate.  If my career was such that I could get a similar job with similar pay, I would do it.  I have enough in my bank account to handle a few months of unemployment and I figure that if enough people do walk out, the mandates will eventually be lifted.  Mass non-compliance! I work in State government and finding a job with similar pay that also has a pension plan would be next to impossible.  I cannot take early retirement for at least 10 years, so I am stuck. 

For the record, I want COVID under control just as much as anyone else.   There will be new variants every year, which will render the original vackseen less and less effective over time.  Hopefully, the new variants will be less deadly than the original strain but possibly more contagious.   We need to pivot the focus from vackseens to therapeutics, which is what should have been done from Day 1. 

Training 12/10-12/19

I've decided to stick with the larger doses of the Fulvic Acid and live with the adrenal spike in hopes that it will eventually fade.  That's preferable to the weekly pattern that I described in my last post. 

12/10- 1 mile in 11:13 with relatively even splits.  Ouch!

Distance=1.0

12/11- 1.5 miles in 14:45 (9:50 pace).  Better.

Distance=1.5

12/12- 2 miles at Railroad Park on a crystal clear but chilly morning.  Finished in 17:12 (8:36 pace) and showing marked improvement.  Tried adding extra Thym-Adren in the afternoon.  It helped but it was not a game changer.  I improved my half lap time from 70 to 67.  That said, I DO believe that I would have greater effects over a longer distance. 

Distance=2.5

12/13- 3 miles on Lakeshore in 26:57 (8:59 pace).  A bit of a step backwards.  I came through 2 miles just a hair faster than yesterday but faded to 9:50 on the last mile.  Felt much WORSE after taking extra Fulvic but better after another Thym-Adren.  My only explanation was that I didn't take enough Thym-Adren and I just need to increase the dose.

12/14-AM Very interesting.  

Opened with a 99 half lap (9:54 pace) on nothing.  Popped the 1/4 teaspoon of Fulvic and expected to be much worse.  Nope, I actually improved to 97 (9:42 pace).  Not significant but surprised that I maintained.  Just 2 Thym-Adren brought me all the way down to 79 (7:54 pace).  Minus TWO MINUTES because of just 2 pills is UNACCEPTABLE!  That is extreme dependence.  Strangely, I took another turn for the WORSE after a few more drops of Fulvic.  It required 3 more Thym-Adren just to get me somewhat back to normal.  

PM- 2.5 miles on Lakeshore in 22:06 (8:50 pace).  Figure that I was about the same as yesterday give or take a few seconds.  Just like yesterday, I started off pretty well but faded on the back half.  The fade wasn't quite as dramatic this time.  I was doing 8:35 pace at the turnaround and hung on for a 9:05 on the back half.  Maybe I beat yesterday's time by a few ticks.

Distance=3.0

12/15- 1 mile in 10:40.  OUCH again!  Culprit this time was probably a lack of Magnesium.  I never did THIS badly before if I skipped it for a couple days.  I was warned that Fulvic would "expose" deficiencies in Cal and Mag.

Distance=1.0

12/16- Planned rest day.

12/17- Interesting again.  It appears that Magnesium has replaced Thym-Adren as the must take pill.

AM- Half mile in 6:07 without it.  Improved to 4:58 with it.  

PM- After swimming in the ocean (yes, you read that right), I did an 8:51 Mile at Santa Rosa on the Seaside Half Marathon course (site of my debut).  Felt decidedly WORSE on the way back home and I believe caffeine was the culprit because that stuff does deplete Mag.

Distance=2.0

12/18- Planned rest day.  Insatiable need for Mag.

12/19- 1 mile at Montreat in 8:41.  Last half mile after 2 Mag pills was a less bad 4:07

Distance=1.0

- 12 miles total.

I'm done with these posts until further notice.

Fulvic Acid Part 4

 It’s basically a weekly cycle of crash, get a little better then crash again.  The only good news is that as long as I take the Intrinsic Factor at least semi-regularly, there should not be any inexplicable reactions to pills.  It is almost always an adrenal spike triggered by the Fulvic Acid.  What is happening?  I’m not entirely sure but the smart money is on detox. 

When I take the Fulvic Acid on certain days and crash, the only thing that helps is extra Thym-Adren.  If I try to run, I can’t even make it one mile at 12+ minute pace.   Extra Fulvic Acid makes things much worse.  By the third day, things usually are looking better.  Fulvic Acid is well tolerated again and actually improves my symptoms while Thym-Adren is less effective.  My workouts are up to 2 miles in the 10-11 minute pace range. 

Around Day 5 or Day 7, it looks like I am turning the corner as I continue to show steady improvement.  Runs are now up to 3+ miles at an 8:30ish pace.  Last Sunday, I finished strong and felt as if I could have held it together for another 1-2 miles.  The next morning, I was hopeful that I could maintain a 7:55-8:15 pace over the same distance.  Nope.  Despite a slower pace (8:45ish), I still felt reasonably well early.  Then just before the 1-mile mark, WHAM!  It felt like I was hit by a truck and could not even hold a 12-minute pace on the back half.  Once again, when I got home extra Fulvic Acid made it worse and the only thing that helped was extra Thym-Adren.

Today is Day 4 since my last collapse and I woke up feeling awful then fared no better on extra Thym-Adren.  The only thing that did help was Fulvic Acid, the same stuff that triggered the collapse just 3 days earlier.  In another 3-5 days, I figure that I am due for another collapse and the cycle will repeat itself.  What is happening with the detox.  I am betting that my adrenals spike in response to the release and elimination of toxins, which come out in batches.  My system will not release another batch until the previous one is sufficiently cleared.  It is as if my system knows how much toxins it can take before it is overwhelmed.  If all the toxins were released, I’d be totally bedridden or worse. 

What more can be done to manage this?  Probably nothing.  I just have to ride it out and hope against hope that this will be over after this battle.  I cannot quit or reduce the Fulvic Acid.  I need it to complete the detox and I will just have to deal with the adrenal spikes.  I can only hope that the batches that will be released in the future will be less damaging and thus the adrenal spikes will be less intense.  Hawaii is in 4 and a half months.  I don’t care if I have to walk it.  I’m finishing this challenge! 

UPDATE:

  After further consideration, I have decided to go with the larger doses of Fulvic Acid and ride out the detox rather than endure weekly collapses.  I was better today that I was yesterday.  Yesterday, I managed just 1 mile in 11:13.  Today, I did 1.5 miles and despite fading a bit at the end, my pace was down to 9:50.   

2022 Travel Plans

 No international travel in 2021 but I do expect to hit either 25 or 26 states this year alone.  I believe that is a new personal record and I'll summarize it in the near future.  Looking ahead to next year, what's on the horizon?

January or February- El Paso, Texas with side trips to White Sands NP in New Mexico and Ciudad Juarez.  Maybe I'll find a girl who likes the gringo with the southern lingo.  MLK weekend is the best time to go.  If for some reason, I can't get off work, it will be okay to go for President's Day.  

February- Probably nothing for President's Day.  Cartagena, Columbia could be a nice weekend getaway and there are no COVID restrictions, but I should probably save up for the big one in April

April- Maui, Hawaii.  The 50 state half marathon challenge ends here.  Training has gone HORRIBLY in recent weeks, but I don't care if I have to walk all of it.  I'm going to finish the challenge.  Of course, there is plenty of other stuff to do on this island including the Road to Hana, mountains and of course, surfing.

June- I'd like to go to Galveston for Juneteenth. I'd likely fly to Houston and see San Antonio and Port Aransas as well.  

Late summer- North Carolina coast.  Actually, the plan is to drive to Virginia Beach, which I have not seen since I was a small child.  From there, I'll hop down to the Outer Banks and Wrightsville Beach.  I used to live in South Carolina but really haven't explored much of the NC coast.  The surf is usually better.

After that, who knows? 

Also on the radar are So-Cal and the Oregon coast but COVID restrictions are INSANE on the West coast so given the choice, I prefer to spend my money in North Carolina.  

If for some reason, I can't go to Hawaii due to either injury or COVID related issues, the backup plan is South Florida.  I'll fly to Tampa, check out Bradenton then cut east to Fort Lauderdale.  Late April is the perfect time to go.  No threat of a cold snap.  Spring Break is over and it's still the dry season.

As for International options, Mexico is likely the best bet.  Costa Rica recently imposed a vackseen requirement so scratch that.  I'd consider Nicaragua, Columbia and possibly Chile, Brazil and Argentina.  South America is mostly open and probably my best bet.  Europe is insane.  Australia is worse.  Africa is possible but will be tough logistically.  I'm not going to fly to Kenya or Tanzania just to spend a few days.