Costa Rica Trip Plan

 Frontier Airlines flies direct from Atlanta to San Jose, Costa Rica and back only on Thursday and Sunday for $450.  Not half bad.  The best time to do this is probably New Years Day through January 5.  I would have preferred MLK weekend but I was summoned for jury duty on January 9.  If I am selected, that puts the kibosh on all my plans for that weekend.  Hotels are affordable and there will be no rental car expense. 

I will have to spend the night in Atlanta on New Year's Eve.  The 1/1 flight leaves at 6:33AM so that means a 4 AM wake up call.  Costa Rica is in Central Time Zone so I re-gain an hour.  It's a 4 hour flight so I land just after 9:30 AM local time.  The next step is to take a cab to the bus station.  The buses to Jaco Beach run every 2 hours from 5 AM to 5 PM.  I should have enough time to catch the 11 AM bus but that is barring a delay or any issues with Immigration.  I lean towards waiting until 1 PM.  The bus station doubles as a shopping mall and has plenty of fast food restaurants and certainly an ATM to get some Costa Rican money and get some food.  Lastly, since the bus ride is 2 hours, I will arrive just about on time for check-in to my hotel. 

As for the hotels, I have plenty of options.  There are a few hotels within walking distance of the bus station but they are much more expensive.  I would lean towards taking a cab to a couple miles down the road to save maybe $60-70 per night.  If I do so, I'll be within walking distance of Miro Mountain but a bit away from the main drag.  Word on the street is that 2-3 days is enough to do justice to the city.  I will use my Spanish but it should not be necessary in a tourist town.

I do want to hike Miro Mountain and take in the local culture and food as well as to enjoy a couple of drinks out on the town but most of my time will be spent in the surf.  It will be around 90 degrees every day and it's the dry season with virtually no chance of rain.  

Getting back could be a bit dicey.  The flight leaves San Jose at noon.  I have 2 options: 1) Leave Jaco at 5 PM the previous night and get a hotel near the airport with a free shuttle service.  Doing so will allow me to sleep in a bit but I'll have some dead time.

2). Enjoy another night out in Jaco and get up early to catch the bus.  If I choose this option, I will move to a hotel in the main drag so I can walk to the bus station.  A 7 AM departure should give me plenty of time to catch my flight but because it is International, I figure I should be extra cautious and shoot for the 5 AM departure.  Again, I'll have dead time but will be able to get a sit down meal at either the bus station or the airport.  I'd lean towards this option.  The flight lands in ATL just after 5PM so I'll get home at a decent hour.

I have not booked this trip yet and will decide within the next week or two but I am leaning towards going.  It will be country #7.  EDIT: Leaning towards a hotel within walking distance of the bus station in Jaco every night.  

Rant: Election Integrity and Midterm Results

 The last 2 presidential elections were disputed by the losing side.  I'm not going to rehash those claims on this post but that type of sentiment is very dangerous.  I believe that if Trump had won in 2020 under the same circumstances as Biden with suspicious vote dumps in the middle of the night, we would have seen full scale riots that would make January 6 look like a nothingburger.   Here are some reforms that I propose.  If nothing else, they should restore confidence in our election system.

I am fine with early voting up to a week in advance of Election Day.  To me, there is something special about Election Day itself and I always vote on that day.  Still, early voting will reduce the lines and enable easier access if your work schedule makes it difficult.  

Polls are open from 7 AM-7PM.  I'd extend that by one hour in each direction.  Suppose that something comes up late in the day and you can't leave the office on time and/or you get stuck in traffic, there won't be any exceptions.  You must be in line at the time of closing.  There should be many small precincts that are easily accessible to all of the population.  If there are few precincts in populated areas that make for prohibitively long lines, that is a form of voter suppression and must be stopped.

Absentee or mail-in ballots should only be used if the voter truly cannot make it to the polls.  Examples would be college students, military personnel and those with a chronic illness.  There may be other rare exceptions, but the rest must vote in person either early or on Election Day.  If you do vote by mail, there must be a strong security system to ensure integrity.  Provide a copy of your ID and make sure that your signature matches.  To me, an even better method would be matching thumb prints.  

When it comes to reporting the results, some states are different than others.  For example in 2020, Iowa and Ohio reported the mail-in ballots first.  As a result, Trump trailed up until 75% of the vote was counted but he surged ahead at the end, and it wasn't very close when all the results were counted.  By contrast, Pennsylvania and Michigan counted mail-in ballots last, and the opposite occurred. 

My proposal is this: Mail-in ballots must be postmarked no later than 5 days before Election Day and must be received by Election Day itself.  No matter which party benefits, people will question the result if the outcome changes after Election Day due to "found ballots."  Mail-in and early votes must be the FIRST to be reported in every state.  Partisan observers on both sides must be present for vote counting of both early votes and Election Day votes.  Also, there must be nationwide voter ID requirements to prevent non-citizens from casting a ballot.  

I've heard of conspiracy theories that suggest that voting machines can be hacked such that 1 in 50 Republican votes are switched or thrown out in swing states.  I'm not going to comment on that but if every state used paper ballots with pens that are picked up by the scanner, that puts such talk to rest.  If something goes wrong with the scanners, you have the ballots themselves to verify in case of a recount.  Also, the results should be known within 4 hours of the poll closing unless the margin is razor thin.  Why is it that Florida can count their ballots so quickly, but Arizona and Nevada take up to a week?

As for 2022, Republicans certainly should have done better given the current environment.  Some of it can be attributed to poor candidates. However, I'm afraid that we are perilously close to the point in which 50+ percent of the electorate will vote Blue no matter who it is or how much of a failure their policies turn out to be.  I was particularly disappointed about Kari Lake in Arizona and Mayra Flores in Texas.  Also, victories by the likes of Fetterman in Pennsylvania and Witmer in Michigan were inexplicable to me.  The latter was not even close.  Fetterman is obviously incompetent after his stroke and should have stepped aside.  With the possible exception of Newsome in California, no state had more draconian COVID restrictions than Michigan.  I surely hoped that a swing state would be wise to that by now.  

Florida continues to be a pleasant surprise.  DeSantis barely won in 2018 but 2022 was a 19 point landslide while Rubio, who is considered to be a more "respectable conservative" won by 16.  Obviously, the people liked the policies set forth by DeSantis but that did not carry over to Michigan or Pennsylvania.  As for 2024, I am open to supporting DeSantis over Trump.  

Changes With My Health

 It's been 7 days since I crossed the finish line in Hawaii.  There was very little joy in that moment.  I was just glad to be done.  Unless I am capable of a sub-2 finish, I will not do this again.  Too painful both physically and emotionally.  Except for a few steps of jogging across the street to beat the traffic light, I have not done any running in the last week.  I don't miss it yet and plan to take off at least the next month.  I will probably start back again gradually sometime around Christmas.  

Prior to Hawaii:

Insatiable need for the Cytokine suppressant pills.  It got to the point in which I was noticeably weaker by the afternoon if I had not taken any since getting up in the morning.  Without these pills, I had to take Taurine and Probiotics together.  Same with TRS and Fulvic Acid.  Even with these pills, I was still weaker if I took one without the other.  I also had a SCARY relapse after taking IP-6 and Quercetin.

After Hawaii:

Split decision.  There is good news and bad news.  The good news is that the sensitivity APPEARS to be gone.  Though I did not run to test it out, I felt no discernable difference after taking Probiotics and Taurine alone.  Even better, I felt nothing after taking IP-6.  Bad news is that my energy level has not improved at all.  Worse is that I am now intolerant to the Cytokine suppressants.  One day's medicine is the next day's poison and I've been dealing with this for many years.  The shift was already beginning to take place on race day.  That's probably why I performed even worse than I expected.  Is this simply a never-ending nightmare cycle?  There will always be one pill that makes my life miserable.  

Next Few Weeks:

I will go off the Cytokine suppressants  I really don't have a choice.  There's a difference between no longer needing a pill and being forced off.  The latter is what makes me uneasy.  I have ordered a couple of new autoimmune supplements.  I will try them.  I will also try to re-introduce the Cytokine suppressants.  The best case scenario is that I will be able to take it OCCASIONALLY without a problem just as is the case with the methylation.  I also hope to see improvement in my energy without the problem pill.  However, if my history is any indication, another problem pill will take its place.

EDIT:

It appears that EVERY immune supplement will trigger a reaction!  The reaction to Curcumin may have been mildly positive but probably not a game changer.  I will go off the Immune supplements then try to gradually re-introduce them.

Oahu Hawaii Trip Report

 11/10-

No issues on the flight.  My layover was in Denver, so that meant my 2nd leg would be a full 7 hours.  We landed on schedule and I picked up my rental car around 5:00 local time.  That meant I would arrive at my hotel in Waikiki just as the sun was going down.  Beautiful!

11/11- 

Explored the south side of the island from Maili to Sherwood Forest Beach and sampled a couple beaches.  I found a stunning overlook near Sandy Beach.  By late afternoon, I was back in Waikiki. 

 

11/12-

Sunrise hike up Diamond Head with views of Honolulu down below.  The hike was not too difficult but provided a big reward.  From there, my choices were Pearl Harbor or just chill at Waikiki for the rest of the day.  You need several hours at Pearl Harbor to do it justice and there was a long line at the ticket counter so I opted for Waikiki.  The waves were tame there, which is just what I wanted.  I could not risk wearing myself out in rough surf with a death march the next day.  

Overall impression of Waikiki:

Somewhat overrated.  Stunningly beautiful especially around sunset but there is usually minimal surf and my biggest gripe was that the ocean floor is covered with rocks.  Aqua socks are a necessity.  If the surf is rough, don't go out unless you have a death wish.  Sure, I still liked it but other beaches were better and overall, I prefer the Big Island.  

11/13-

The day that I had been dreading.  Based on my training, I predicted a finish around 2:30 and I could not even manage that.  I took walk breaks at regular intervals and kept the planned pace through about 7 miles.  By Mile 10, I had completely melted down and was doing more walking than jogging.  Still, to my relief, I could have slow walked from there and still beat the time limit.  50 states is done but the predominant emotion is sadness.  Unless I find help for this medical condition, I am finished.  I am too young for this to be happening.  I knew that this day would come eventually but hoped it would not be for another 15-20 years.  STILL, no word from the Rheumatologist!!

I limped back to my hotel, showered up and hit the famed beaches on the North Shore.  Sunset Beach had beautiful blue water and no rocks, but the surf was too strong, even for me.  Not only were the waves high, they broke almost on dry sand.  Not safe.  Still, I caught some more beautiful sunset shots.  

11/14- 

Got some well deserved sleep then headed back to the North Shore.  First stop was the Dole Plantation.  I skipped the tour but did get some delicious pineapple ice cream  This time, I did find some beaches with rideable surf on the North Shore.  Later, I drove around the Windward side and saw some lush mountain scenery.  By late afternoon, I was back in Sherwood Forest, which remains my favorite beach on the island.  

11/15- 

Early morning flight to San Francisco.  I chose an overnight layover to break up the jet lag and do some touring.  I had 24 hours and made the most of it.  My hotel was within a half mile of the BART station at Embarcadero so I dropped off my bag and started walking.   I didn't make it all the way to Crissy Field but got close enough to see the Golden Gate Bridge at sunset.  After a pretty good steak dinner where I met a nice girl from San Diego, I took a cable car back to my hotel.  

11/16-

Got up for the sunrise near the Bay Bridge and got some night shots of the skyline from Pier 14.  From there, I took BART to Mission St and walked to Dolores Park, where I was treated to very nice views of the skyline.  

Overall impression of San Francisco:

Better than I expected.  If you watch conservative news, you might think it's a drug den full of people defecating on the street.  Not true, at least not in the Financial District.  Don't knock California if you've never been there.  Also, Alabama is NOT full of racist low-lifes.  Don't knock Alabama if you've never been there.  

Half Marathon in All 50 States (GOAL ACCOMPLISHED)

Here's a rundown of every half marathon that I have done.  It took me 15 years though I probably could have finished in 13 if not for COVID.  That's just about the amount of time I'd recommend.  Perhaps I should have done more sooner but money was a bit tight and I was still new at my job.

2007:

1. Seaside- Destin, Florida

2. St. Jude- Memphis, Tennessee

2008:

3. Eugene- Eugene, Oregon

4. Banco Popular- Chicago, Illinois

2009:

5. Mercedes- Birmingham, Alabama

6. Fargo- Fargo, North Dakota

7. BR Beach- Baton Rouge, Louisiana

2010:

8. ING GA- Atlanta, Georgia

Country Music- Nashville, Tennessee-repeat state

9. Run For Life- Jackson, Mississippi

Rocket City- Huntsville, Alabama- repeat state

2011:

Scenic City- Chattanooga, Tennessee- repeat state

10. CDA- Coeur D'Alene, Idaho

Montgomery- Montgomery, Alabama- repeat state

11. Nationwide- Columbus, Ohio

12. White River- Mountain Home, Arkansas

2012:

13. 3M- Austin, Texas

14. Rock n Roll- Denver, Colorado

15. Thunder Road- Charlotte, North Carolina 

2013:

16.  13.1- Los Angeles, California

17. GO!- St. Louis, Missouri

18. Marshall Univ- Huntington, West Virginia

2014:

19. Blue Ridge- Roanoke, Virginia

Blue Nose- Halifax, Nova Scotia

20. Monumental- Indianapolis, Indiana

21. Route 66- Tulsa, Oklahoma

2015:

22. Phoenix- Phoenix, Arizona

23. Run the Bluegrass- Lexington, Kentucky

24. Montour Trail- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

25. Spinx Runfest- Greenville, South Carolina

2016:

26. Scout Challenge- Kansas City, Kansas

27. Mayor's- Anchorage, Alaska

28. Lake Tahoe- Incline Village, Nevada

2017:

29. United Airlines NYC- New York, New York

30. Grand Teton- Jackson Hole, Wyoming

31. Governor's Cup- Helena, Montana

32. Duke City- Albuquerque, New Mexico

Magic City- Birmingham, Alabama- repeat state

2018:

33. Maple Leaf- Springfield, Vermont

34. Horseneck- Westport, Massachusetts

35. Eagle River- Madison, Wisconsin

US Navy- Washington, DC

36. Autumn River- North Platte, Nebraska

37. Free Press- Detroit, Michigan

2019:

38. Caesar Rodney- Wilmington, Delaware

39. Kewash Trail- Washington, Iowa

40. Providence- Providence, Rhode Island

41. Rock n Roll- Seattle, Washington

42. Kelley Half- New London, Connecticut

43. Newport Liberty- Jersey City, New Jersey

44. New England- Concord, New Hampshire

2020:

45. Sun Half- St. George, Utah

46. Crazy Horse- Rapid City, South Dakota

2021:

47. Run SBY- Salisbury, Maryland

48. Pike Lake- Duluth, Minnesota

49. Blueberry Cove- Tenant's Harbor, Maine

2022:

50. Val Nolasco- Honolulu, Hawaii

Cytokine Suppress Product Review

 The product is made by a company called Life Extension.  It is called Cytokine Suppress (with EGCG).  The label says that it "helps modulate a healthy immune system response."  Its two active ingredients are Mung bean extract, which provides vitexin and isovitexin, and green tea extract.  I had never heard of mung bean extract or vitexin and still don't fully understand how they work.  I go through the bottles pretty quickly but thankfully I can order it through Amazon and get next day delivery.  

Where do I stand without it?

I cannot tolerate Probiotics without Taurine.  I get an instant negative reaction and my whole body tightens up.  However, if I take the Taurine WITH the Probiotics, I will be better off than if I take neither of the two.  Same way with the Taurine alone.  The reaction is exactly the same as with the Probiotics alone. The two must be taken together.

I have the exact same issues with TRS and Fulvic Acid.  They must be taken together.  Both or neither.  I am extremely dependent on both of them.  If I miss a dose, I will be awful.  I still need adrenal support too.  As for the methylation, I'm not sure if I need it anymore but I'm afraid to try to stop it.  I take it occasionally and have no problems.

Where do I stand with it?

I did have an early adjustment period.  When I first took it, it felt like a miracle.  I was back to my old self on the sprints in the morning.  Unfortunately, it was short-lived and within an hour, the fatigue kicked in with a vengeance.  It was WORSE than before.  This pattern evolved into an extreme dependence on the product, but I have since stabilized.  

How effective?

It is clear to me that the extreme reactions to benign supplements are due to autoimmune issues and a problem with Cytokines is at the very least, a huge part of the issue.  If my Cytokines are sufficiently suppressed, yes, I will notice when I take Probiotics without Taurine and vice versa but the ill-effects are far less severe.  Also, I am much less dependent.  I can get away with not taking the TRS on a long weekend and I won't feel terrible.  

Still Intolerant to Certain Pills?

Unfortunately, yes.  My reaction to IP-6 last week was SCARY!  I was so sore that I was walking gingerly and thought I had somehow injured my knee.  Thankfully, I did not.  Also, the sensitivity to Probiotics or Taurine alone kicked in with a vengeance.  Cytokine suppressants did mitigate some of the ill-effects but it wasn't enough.  If that had happened 1-2 days before race day, I could never finish.  Do IP-6 and Quercetin increase Cytokines?  Probably.  If so, it would explain the intolerance.  Still, I should not have been THAT bad!

Conclusion:

Definitely a YUGE help but probably not enough to get me back to where I want to be.  Odds are that I need something else and/or something stronger.  I need to see that Rheumatologist, but I still have not heard back and it's been more than 2 months.  I've nagged my PCP about it, and they say that they're "trying."  I hope to avoid corticosteroids.

Plan:

After Hawaii, I will take 6 weeks off running and try to cut out sugars.  I will hit the Probiotics and Taurine HARD and am leaning towards trying Eye-Vermectin as well.  I might do a couple of small test sprints but that's it.  After Christmas, I will hit the reset button and come back as far as I can.  I do hope to at least be able to finish a 10K in under 60 minutes consistently until I am 50.