South Florida Road Trip Report

 

South Florida Road Trip Report

IMO, late April and early May is the best time to visit.  Though the water temp never drops below 70 in Miami, you can expect about 6 days every winter in which air temps will not make it out of the 60s and maybe 1-2 in the 50s.  On the Gulf side, water temps may not climb above 70 until the end of March and cold fronts are more likely to reach Tampa than Miami.  This time of year, you don’t have to worry about cold fronts or rowdy Spring Break parties and rain chances remain low.  Perhaps most importantly, the water color is more beautiful in the Spring and Summer.

4/20-

I don’t smoke pot, but I was flying high on this day.  I got a smokin’ deal too.  It was just $79 for a one- way ticket to Tampa.  The flight landed on time just after 6 PM but it was almost 7:30 by the time I got checked in to my hotel.  I wanted to make it down to the Riverwalk before sunset and just made it.  However, I found that the Tampa skyline was especially impressive at night.  I stopped for a drink on the way back then settled into bed for the night. 

4/21-

Got up for a junk run down at the Riverwalk, got cleaned up then hit the road to Fort Lauderdale at Hollywood Beach.  There is plenty to do on that boardwalk and prices are more reasonable compared to Miami.  I found that the beaches are just as nice too.  Though palm trees are ubiquitous throughout Florida, the tropical coconut variety just won’t survive north of Tampa.  I opted for I-75, which runs south to Naples before cutting east through the Everglades to Lauderdale.  It was a 4-hour drive and not very exciting but that’s okay.

  I have sampled just about every beach on the Atlantic coast from Miami to Jacksonville.  In general, the further south you go in FLA, you will find bluer and clearer water as well as the more tropical vibe but the negative for me is that it often gets deep quickly, which makes for short rides on the board.  To me, the best of both worlds is between Vero and Melbourne.  The beach was indeed beautiful in Hollywood, but my only gripe was there was quite a bit of seaweed.  I arrived at mid afternoon and stayed in the water until about 6:00.

4/22-

Full day in Hollywood.  I found that surf conditions were pretty good each day.  I caught many good waves and the rides to the shore were fairly long as well.  With the exception of a brief rain shower in the morning, it was partly sunny with air temps in the low 80s and water temps in the upper 70s.  Most everyone will find those conditions to be comfortable.   

4/23- Left Hollywood and headed down to South Pointe in Miami.  Supposedly, this is the bluest water on the Atlantic coast.  Indeed, it was very nice, but I didn’t notice much difference from Lauderdale.  It wasn’t as blue as Hawaii or Cancun but rather a more aqua tint.  After lunch in Miami, I headed north to Palm Beach. 

This was my favorite spot of the trip.  Less seaweed and longer rides on the board and though the water was a shade darker, it was just as clear and IMO, even more beautiful.  Again, I stayed out until almost 6 then took the rural route back to the Gulf.  The road was flat and straight.  If not for the occasional palm trees, you would think that you were in Illinois or Iowa.  It did become a bit more scenic west of Lake Okeechobee.  I stayed on the south side in the town of Clewiston.  I’ve long been curious about the predominant culture in rural South Florida.  I would not think that there would be many northern transplants, and I was correct.  It’s a good mix of Southern and Latino culture and yes, the southern accent has survived in isolated rural areas of South Florida. 

4/24- Arrived early in Lido Beach on the Gulf just outside of Sarasota.  Good thing I did arrive early because both parking and traffic turned into a nightmare later in the day.  Here, you will find snow white sand with emerald colored water with no seaweed that does not get deep quickly.  Waves were tiny but I was able to catch a few short rides. 

It’s rare to find good surf on this part of the Gulf but strangely, just a few miles up the road in Bradenton, conditions were quite different.  It did get deep quickly but I caught some decent sized waves.  I wanted to be in Bradenton Beach for the evening because it faces due west, and the sun sets directly over the water.  That did not disappoint.  I also met a very nice Puerto Rican girl at dinner.      

4/25- Sunshine Skyway to St. Petersburg and I wanted to catch a sunrise over the water.  I timed it well and arrived early at the beach again.  I chose Treasure Island, just south of Clearwater.  I only had a few hours before I had to get back to Tampa to catch my flight home.  Conditions here were similar to Lido Beach.  Clear emerald water with very little surf.  I was fine with that because my body was tired. 

Final Thought:

I expect to be back to both coasts in South Florida and although I’m glad I hit both coasts on the same trip once, I probably will not do it again.  Instead, I’ll stick to one coast and drive down. 

Hawaii Decision/ More Detox News

 One piece of good news.  Hawaii has lifted all COVID restrictions for American travelers as of March 26.  That means I will not have to get the vackseen or provide a negative test in order to participate in a race.  The restrictions remain in place for foreign nationals but that does not affect me.  There is still a chance that a new variant could change things.  Fauci has warned of a possible surge over the summer but most people don't seem to care.  I am DONE with COVID!  I am willing to attend an indoor concert or sporting event and if it were up to me, the mask mandate would be lifted on airplanes and subways.  I'd wager that by this point, most Americans do agree with me.  

Unfortunately, I am in ABSOLUTELY NO CONDITION TO RACE!  Hell, I'm not even sure that I can safely WALK 13.1 miles.  I've already decided against the Maui race, which is in 9 days.  Instead, I'll be beach hopping in South Florida.  The Honolulu race is in just 6 weeks and that too is looking doubtful.

Here is what I am up against.  I am being poisoned by toxins that are being dumped after being stuck in my organs, probably for decades.  It has gotten so bad that I've had to turn to an adrenal glandular to combat the effects of the dump.  Otherwise, the symptoms would be unbearable.  I even had to call in sick once because it was so bad.  Problem is that doing so will further unbalance my chemistry.  It appears that toxins are being dumped in batches rather than as a steady stream.  After a dump, I will have extreme fatigue without the adrenal glandular.  I will get a little better over the next few days when the toxins begin the clear.  However, once the batch DOES clear, the effects of the adrenal glandular will become apparent and I will feel VERY overstimulated and almost as bad as immediately after the dump.  So just stop that and things will get back to normal?  NO!  After a couple of days of being overstimulated, there will be another dump and I am back to Square 1.  Severe fatigue and need for adrenal glandulars again.  How many times will this cycle repeat itself?  It does appear that the cycles are getting shorter and less severe.  EDIT: Today, I flipped from fatigue to overstimulation on the same day.

Here are the planned trips:

April- Florida beach hopping from Tampa to Miami.

June- Virginia Beach and Outer Banks, North Carolina

September- San Diego and Tijuana.

November- Honolulu, Hawaii and the race is the Val Nolasco half mary for state #50.  I can only hope that I will be at least somewhat better 7 months from now.  In all likelihood, it will be my last organized race.  I will still run occasionally.

BRUTAL DETOX PART 2

 I loaded on adrenal caps on Tuesday, and it proved to be too much.  In my standard issue 2 mile run, I started off reasonably well with a pace around 8:30 then died before the end of the first mile and settled for a 19:12 finish.  Could I have finished a 13.1 within 3 hours (13:45 pace)?  I doubt it.    The culprit was clearly excess adrenal caps. 

The next morning, I was horrible in the opener, then slightly BETTER after TRS and MUCH better after caffeine.  I did take the caffeine with the Fulvic Acid so I was unsure if that had anything to do with it.  I went with an adrenal suppressant and improved further.  Not a surprise there.  Unanswered question in addition to the Fulvic Acid/Caffeine is has my system rejected the adrenal glandular already or must I simply limit it?  There was no evening session due to a severe weather threat, which never came. 

Thursday morning- Opened with a 91 on NOTHING.  Improved to 85 on Fulvic Acid alone.  Improved to 78 on caffeine.  Slipped to 84 on TRS.  A 6-7 second difference over 1/6 of a mile is about 40 seconds per mile give or take with rounding.  That IS enough to be considered significant.  Fulvic Acid is necessary every day.  I don’t like that, but it could be worse.  Again, the dose does not seem to matter.  Improvement after caffeine, which was significant?  That is BAFFLING!  While I was slightly better after TRS yesterday, I was significantly worse today?!  A single adrenal cap appeared to make things better.  Multiple caps would likely be a different story.  The "real workout" was an improvement as well.  2 miles in 18:26 and I was a lot better holding the pace too. 

Going forward, what do I want to see?

-Insignificant reactions to BOTH caffeine and TRS.  The same with Fulvic Acid would be nice too but I won’t be greedy.  Since I am already a fast oxidizer, I actually WANT a NEGATIVE response to the Adrenal caps.  That is what SHOULD happen in the absence of toxins given my chemistry. 

I believe I got it on Friday morning.

I opened with a 72 on only Fulvic Acid.  Improved to a 70 on TRS then a 67 on caffeine.  Neither treatment on its own was enough to be considered significant but the combined effect was.  Then, the adrenal cap was tested.  The reaction was SLIGHTLY negative as I slipped to a 71.  Not a huge drop off but I could feel it.  I believe it would have gotten ugly over a longer distance.  That stuff will be quit now.  Tomorrow, the reaction will almost certainly be STRONGLY negative.  I predict a positive response to adrenal suppressants and will wean off caffeine.  

BRTUAL DETOX

 BRUTAL DETOX:

Two interesting tests last weekend. 

Day 1- Opened with a 94 first half lap, took 6 sprays of TRS and ran the back half in 95.  Essentially NO difference.  Popped an adrenal glandular and was MUCH better with a 76 (MINUS 1:54). 

After a serving of caffeine, I was horrible again but once again rebounded after taking an adrenal glandular.  Splits were nearly identical.  Good news is that the dosage of Fulvic Acid did not matter.

Day 2- I was better in my opener with an 87.  Took just 2 sprays of the TRS and improved to 78 so there was an improvement, but it was not as dramatic (MINUS 54).  If I had repeated the 6 sprays, I’m probably back to the mid-high 80s.  If I tried 10, I’m almost certainly WORSE than my opener. 

Why is this happening?

I have no doubt that it is detox.  In addition to the fatigue, I am getting headaches as well as strange pain under my ribcage, which is indicative of organ stress.  Lastly, I often feel my worst shortly before going to the toilet but am noticeably better immediately afterwards.  Unfortunately, that does not last long.  Simply put, I am being poisoned by toxins being released into my system that had been stuck in my organs for decades.    

Best course of action?

Still not sure.  I have the fast option and the slow option.  Here is the breakdown:

Slow- Take as much TRS as I can stand, which won’t be much while avoiding caffeine and adrenal glandulars.  It will take a long time to detox but when it’s over, my system won’t be as far out of balance.  I worry about another round of detox after this dump is complete. 

Fast- Load on TRS (10+ sprays each day).  Caffeine is allowed but it along with the TRS must be accompanied by an adrenal glandular.  I will still try to limit the caffeine.  Good news is that the toxins will be out faster.  Bad news is that I will be severely unbalanced when it’s over and I will need heavy adrenal suppressants.    

Fast oxidizers are better at eliminating toxins, so it does make sense that I feel better on the adrenal glandular.  It is facilitating removal while the suppressants hinder the detox process.  Caffeine probably contributes to the release of toxins as does the TRS.  If I go with the fast option, which is what I am leaning towards, I eliminate the newly released toxins.   

Update: Day 3- Opened with a 74, which is not bad.  Slipped to 89 on mega TRS and was further weakened by caffeine but again rebounded after taking the adrenal glandular.  I'm going with the fast option.

There are a few tell tale signs of success.  Eventually, mega doses of TRS will be tolerated and less effective.  The adrenal glandular should make things worse because I am already a fast oxidizer.  Also, caffeine should be tolerated up to 400 mg per day.  That equates to a can of Bang plus a Kickstart.  If I can handle that in additional to mega TRS without needing the adrenal glandular, there is a good chance that I’ve got the toxins out.  Will it be over after that?  Highly doubtful.