Training 10/30-11/5- Possible Race

 10/30- 2.5 miles on Lakeshore.  Dialed back the effort a bit but still pleased.  Finished in 22:35 (9:02 pace).  Back to negative splits too.  1st half- 11:30, 2nd half- 11:05.  Cardio was strong and got stronger as the run progressed but the legs are sore.  Not used to quality workouts and it will take time to adjust.  Wanted to add a half mile cool but was short on time.  I could have broken 9 minute pace with a bit more effort and would probably be in the 27s for a 5K.  Speaking of that, Vulcan is this weekend and they've added a 5K this year.  I'm thinking about doing it.

Distance=2.5

10/31- BAD!  Hoped to run a slow 4 miler in the high 9 range.  Had to settle for 2 in a time of 20:24 (10:12 pace).  Got off to a good start with an 8:45 pace through the first 0.75 then suddenly died.  Mile 2 was 11:20 and it got slower with every step.  Got home and tried extra Thym-Adren, which made things WORSE, not better.  That tells me that the adrenal spike is over, and I can (and must) reduce that dosage.  Not surprised or disappointed that this happened but it does make me feel uneasy that I got so much worse just 36 hours after a decent showing.  I expect to struggle again tomorrow but should reach some sort of equilibrium by the end of the week.  I remain Questionable for Vulcan.  

Distance=2.0

11/1- Expected to struggle but did better than expected.  2 miles in 19:43 (9:51 pace).  Back to negative splits (10-flat/9:43).  Could have gone longer but probably a good call to play it safe when out of balance.  I hope to stabilize at 2-3 Thym-Adren pills with no extreme dependence.  I took 8 yesterday and 2 today.  If I quit cold turkey, I'll flip to the other side of the spectrum in just a few days.  I'm still about 50/50 on Vulcan.  I expect to be better tomorrow.

Distance=2.0

11/2- 3 miles on North Lakeshore in 28:36 (9:32 pace).  Faster and longer than yesterday but NOT better.  I aimed for an even 9 pace and was nearly on target for the first half then faded badly.  I won't say it was a collapse but it got worse and worse as the run progressed.  Splits were 13:37-14:59 and it took a closing rally to get the back half under 15.  What do I make of this?  I don't know.  Perhaps, I still need the Curcumin.  I've downgraded to Doubtful for Vulcan.  Even I don't race this weekend, I'll have at least 2 more chances before the end of 2023.

Distance=3.0

11/3- Unplanned rest day.  I am officially OUT for Vulcan. I don't feel ready even if I was having a good stretch.  Maybe I can race a 5K in December.   In the aftermath of yesterday's effort, I was MUCH worse after drinking a Red Bull but got somewhat better after taking a Curcumin.  Extra Thym-Adren did nothing.  That tells me that Candida is still an issue.  I still have to take Curcumin and limit sugar and alcohol.

11/4- Good call on the no-go decision.  I would have had NOTHING!  On a half lap at Montreat without the Curcumin, I was over 12-minute pace.  I did get down to the low-9s on 3 pills while Thym-Adren did nothing. Forced myself to do a full mile afterwards going non-stop and it felt like slow motion.  Didn't even time it but I suspect it was near 12 minutes.  It's cycle.  It will be extreme need for Curcimin for the next several days followed by another adrenal spike, which will then be followed by a Curcumin need.  Fortunately, the cycles will become less intense over time.

Distance=1.5

11/5- 2 miles in the daylight at 6 AM.  I'll be able to do this for the next 3 weeks or so then December and January will be totally dark.  It was better than yesterday.  Finished in 20:12 (10:06 pace).  Interestingly, the splits were dead even at 10:06 each but I was AWFUL in the middle.  Both the first and last quarter miles were half decent. 

PM- Repeated the 2 miler in warmer conditions.  Improved to 18:16 (9:08 pace).  Slight negative split even though I actually dialed it down on the back half.  Unfortunately, I feel like the adrenal spike is already starting to hit by the evening.  Good news is that it won't last long.

Distance= 4.0

 

-15 miles on the week.  It has not been pretty, but I've averaged 15 over the past 3 weeks

Training 10/23-10/29

 As expected, the Curcumin is SUDDENLY ineffective.  I predicted this.  I knew it would happen, but I had no idea when it would.  Again, it does NOT hurt me if I take it, which tells me that the autoimmune issues remain under control.  This does also raise further questions.  Is the Candida treatment finished or do I need another round of detox?  Something tells me that I need another round.  I still have a bit of a rash on my armpit and my butt but it only itches after a cheat day with my diet.  My focus is on the predicted adrenal spike.  It is BAD!  I need mega Thym-Adren until further notice.  However, unlike with the detox, it will be a gradual process in which I become less dependent from day to day.

10/23- Intervals at Lakeshore.  4x 0.20 miles plus a cool.  As expected, I was AWFUL on no pills then fared only marginally better on Curcumin.  Just ONE Thym-Adren made a significant difference, and another brought me back to semi-respectability.  However, the good feeling was short-lived as I needed more and more throughout the day.

Distance=1.0

10/24- The HATED better with or without test at Montreat.  It's the only thing that I can do.  

Floor: 4:12 (12:36 pace).  Ceiling- 3:26 (10:18 pace).  GAP is 2:18.  I actually thought the gap would be larger but I'm sure that it would be if I had taken more pills.  Added a 1 lap cool.

Distance=1.0

10/25- Repeated yesterday's workout and saw improvement.

Floor- 3:48 (11:24 pace).  MINUS 72.  Ceiling- 3:08 (9:24 pace).  MINUS 54.  GAP is down to 2:00.  

I can't complain.  This is exactly what is supposed to happen.  Both the floor and ceiling will improve but the rate of improvement is faster with the floor.  Eventually, the difference will become insignificant, and I can get by with a few days off the pill.  

PM- Non-stop Mile also at Montreat in 11:19.  Even pace with splits of 5:38-5:41 and no real effort to kick.  I'm fine with this.  I needed to know my starting point.  If I'm still over 10 at the end of next week, we've got problems.  I expect improvement to be rapid at this stage.    

Distance=2.0

10/26- Better than expected compared to yesterday.  

Floor: 3:21 (10:03 pace).  MINUS 81. Ceiling: 2:48 (8:24 pace).  MINUS 60.  EXACTLY the pattern that I want to see.  I'll keep doing it until the floor is under 7:00 pace.  The gap is down to 1:39 and today's floor is higher than the ceiling of 2 days ago.

PM- Montreat Mile in 9:34.  1st half- 4:52, 2nd half- 4:42.  Better than expected.  Simply hoped for a sub-10 and I crushed it.  Still, I am nearly 2 minutes off the reset PR.

Distance=2.0 

10/27-  Better than expected again.

Floor: 2:52 (8:36 pace). MINUS 87.  Ceiling: 2:30 (7:30 pace).  MINUS 54.  GAP is down to 1:06.  Clearly, I am on the right track.  I'll take a break from these trials and try to break 2:20 on the floor next week.  

PM- 2 miles on Lakeshore in 18:48 (9:24 pace).  Gotta be pleased.  Doubled the distance and managed a pace that was marginally faster.  Splits were 9:30-9:18.  I had plenty left in the tank and could have broken 30 for 5K.  That's what I will try to do tomorrow.

Distance=3.0

10/28- North Lakeshore 3 in 28:33 (9:31 pace).  Pleased.  The rate of improvement is slowing and that is to be expected but I've still got some room left.  The 3 mile equivalent of a sub-30 5K is 29-flat, give or take a few seconds so I was comfortably below that.  Once again, I ran a strong negative split.  1st half- 14:36, 2nd half- 13:57.  Not sure what to make of that. The back half really didn't feel that much faster and it was slightly uphill too.  

Distance=3.0

10/29- Split decision on this one.  Hoped to run 4 miles on South Lakeshore and settled for 3 initially.  Finished in 27:09 (9:03 pace), which looks like a nice improvement over yesterday.  Unlike my previous efforts, I got out faster today but struggled down the stretch.  1st half- 13:12, 2nd half- 13:57.  Even still, the back half was exactly the same as yesterday and the last mile in 9:25 was faster than the overall pace yesterday.  However, I could feel a massive fade coming and doubted my ability to finish another mile without stopping. A 5K would have been a hair above 28.       

I took about a 3-5 minute break then went back out for another mile as a glorified cool down.  Pace was over 10 most of the way but found surprising life at the end and finished in 9:44.  The last quarter mile was well under 9 minute pace.

Distance=4.0

- 16 miles on the week.  I'll shoot for 20 next week. 

RANT: Arab/Israeli Conflict

 Disclaimer:

I'm not an expert on the subject and have not studied the issues in great detail.  I do have a trace of Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry, but I will do my best to be unbiased.  I have never been to Israel or Palestine.

History:

Palestine has never existed as a nation state.  Prior to World War 1, the land was under control of the Ottoman Empire.  It was a sparsely populated region and a 19th century author whose name escapes me described it as a "wasteland."  Jewish settlers began to arrive as early as the 1880s but at the turn of the century, it was still roughly 90 percent Arab.  

  After the Ottoman Empire collapsed, the land fell under the British Protectorate and remained under British control until 1947.  Due in large part to the increasing persecution of European Jews, migration surged over the next 3 decades.  The economy developed rapidly and many Arabs from present day Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon moved to the area both for jobs and to prevent Jewish control of the land.  Thus, most modern-day Palestinians are descendants of Arabs from several nearby states. DNA would probably reveal a mixture of Egyptian, Saudi and other Middle Eastern ancestry.  

The original Partition was a plan for a 2-state solution with land divided up between Israel and Palestine.  Supposedly, Israel got most of the land, but the Palestinians got mostly fertile land while Israel got mostly desert.  The plan was accepted by Israel but rejected by Palestine.  That is a FACT.  Arabs went to war for total control of the land multiple times.  They lost.  TOUGH!  Still, through it all Israel has been willing to trade land for peace and have proposed a 2 state solution again and again.  Most recently, Clinton tried to broker a peace deal with Yasser Arafat.  Arafat said no to every proposal and a rash of suicide bombings followed.  I am convinced that even ONE square mile of Israeli control would not be accepted by the Palestinians.     

When I first became interested in politics around 1999, I declared myself neutral in the Arab/Israeli conflict.  However, after reading the Bible and seeing video footage of Palestinians celebrating on 9/11 with cries of Allahu Ackbar, I have taken the pro-Israel position.  Israel is a secular democracy with religious freedom, women’s rights, and a visible gay community.  It’s actually a bit more liberal than I would like but it beats the hell out of the alternative in which you are either a Muslim or an infidel and gays are routinely executed by being thrown off rooftops. 

Surveys show that the overwhelming majority Republicans support Israel while Democrats have shifted towards Palestine despite the fact that Israel is much more aligned with Democratic values.  I saw a banner “Queers for Palestine”.  Do they know how gays are treated there?  Why are Democrats more sympathetic to Palestine?  Never mind the Holocaust.  European Jews who migrated to the area were not an oppressed minority but rather a conqueror of Arab land that rightfully belongs to Palestine.  They see Israel as living on stolen land and as part of neo-colonialism by a white European power.  I really believe it is as simple as that.  I once met a guy who honestly tried to tell me that the Holocaust didn’t happen.  I just walked away and never talked to him again.  BLM is openly supporting Hamas.  To me, celebrating the loss of innocent life is more offensive the attack itself.  Terrorism must be condemned with no ifs ands or buts.  Supporters of Israel have even been referred to as Nazis.  That, my friends, goes down as the most idiotic statement I have ever heard.

Still with all of that being said, I recognize that Israel is NOT completely innocent.  Prejudice and hatred go both ways.  There are plenty of ultra-Orthodox Jews that simply hate Arabs and Muslims.  That is NOT okay.   In response to terror attacks, innocent Palestinian children have been killed.  In violation of international law, Jewish settlements have been built in the Palestinian West Bank.  There are numerous military checkpoints as well as certain streets where Palestinians are not even permitted to walk.  NO!  I do not believe that is okay!  That said, if Palestine had accepted the original peace deal and there was no threat of suicide bombings, that probably never happens.  Gaza has an unemployment rate approaching 50 percent and many Palestinian children do not have access to clean water.  Yes, I do sympathize, but you can’t blame it all on Israel.  Gaza actually elected Hamas, a known terrorist group that has a stated goal of eliminating Israel, to represent them.  As a result, money is spent on military technology rather than the basic needs of its people. 

Gaza shares a border with Egypt and the West Bank shares a border with Jordan and I believe Lebanon as well.  Other Arab states have taken in very few Palestinian refugees.  The defense is that because some of them support terrorism, they cannot be properly vetted.  I believe the real reason is that they don’t want to facilitate the loss of the Arab population in that region.  They would rather see the fighting and suffering continue than see Israel remain in control.  Again, that is not okay.  Speaking of the border, an alarming number of people on the US terror watch list have been found trying to cross our southern border.  I fear that terror cells exist inside the US and could strike if the war heats up in Israel. 

My peace deal:  Palestine gets statehood as well as control of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.  I may even be willing to throw in a little extra.  Israel must abandon its settlements in Palestinian territory.  In return, Palestine must legally recognize Israel’s right to exist, overthrow Hamas and renounce terrorism.  Similar deals have been proposed multiple times.  Israel accepts and Palestine refuses.  Sadly, I don’t see peace between Israel and Palestine.  I predict that it will be an all or nothing proposition.  Either all of the land will be under Israeli control or Palestinian control.  I would have no objection to Israel taking over all of Gaza right now.  Would there be peace in the Middle East if Israel did not exist?  NO.  The Sunni and Shia factions have been at odds for centuries.  There was an 8 year war between Iran and Iraq back in the 1980s. 

Foreign policy is an issue in which I have evolved in recent years.  Like most Republicans, I initially supported Bush-43 and the Iraq war but now recognize that it was a mistake.  There are a lot of very bad regimes that exist throughout the world, and I do sympathize with the people living under oppressive conditions.  That said, we cannot be the world’s police force and topple every regime that we don’t like.  History has shown that US involvement often makes things worse in the long run.  Still, there are some atrocities that simply cannot be permitted.  For example, I probably would have opposed World War 1 but certainly would have supported World War 2.  I am more willing to send military aid to Israel than to Ukraine.  Why?  If Israel is wiped off the map as many Middle Eastern countries would like to see, there will be another Holocaust.  That is something that absolutely cannot be permitted.  Yes, Holocaust survivors are still alive today and many of them live in Israel.   I saw an interview with one person who was asked if she would be okay if all the Jews were killed.  She said “No.  Just the Zionists.”  SICKENING!    

Training 10/15-10/22

 Yet another attempt.  I've developed an insatiable need for Tumeric, which was not tolerated before I addressed the autoimmune issues.  

10/15- The previous day, I could not even run a 9:00 pace for 1 lap on the track without the pills.  Today, I managed an 8:30 pace at Montreat.  Factor in the hills and slightly longer distance, figure it's the equivalent of a 2:05 or better on the track.  However, as expected, I struggled mightily in the real workout.  Lakeshore 2.5 in 28:30 (11:22 pace) but I did manage a slight negative split.  Added a short cool to reach an even 3 on the day.

Distance=3.0

10/16- Straight to Lakeshore in the dark.  When the time changes, there will be a brief period in which it's daylight at 6 AM.  Repeated the 2.5 mile distance and my time is down to 25:48 (10:19 pace).  Felt noticeably better as well but still a long way to go.  This projects to a 5K just over 32 minutes.  OUCH!

Distance= 2.5 

10/17- My recent history has been just like this:  I get a little better for a few days then WHAM!  Just as my hopes are beginning to rise, I get slammed.  It happened again today.  I had a modest goal of a sub-10 pace for 2.5 miles.  I had a funny feeling before I started that something was off, and I was correct.  After holding the pace for about a quarter mile, I collapsed and it got worse with every step.  I ended up cutting it short at 1.5 in 17:48 (11:51 pace).

Fortunately, there is an explanation.  I took Quercetin for my blood pressure.  That's going to be a NO because it exacerbates the autoimmune issues.  The Curcumin, so effective before, actually made things worse.  This confirms what I knew.  The most effective Candida treatment was not tolerated because of autoimmune issues.  That makes me SO SICK that words can't describe it.  This never would have happened if the autoimmune issues were treated 10 years ago.

Distance=1.5

10/18- The Quercetin has cleared my system and as expected, the need for Turmeric has kicked back in with a VENGEANCE!  I wasn't well enough to even attempt a morning session but I did do 3x1 lap at Montreat in the evening.  Finished with an overall time of 9:48 with splits of 3:38-3:16-2:54.  I popped a pill after each lap and kept the effort even.  

Floor- 3:38 (10:54 pace).  Ceiling- 2:54 (8:42 pace).  That's a gap of 2:12 and I'm sure it would have been even larger if I had taken 2 pills after each lap.  The extreme need has GOT to diminish soon.  I believe it will happen suddenly.  

Distance=1.0  

10/19- Back to where I was 3 days ago.  Maybe a hair better.  Finished 2 miles in 20:28 (10:14 pace) with a negative split.  As long as I can stick to the diet and I can take the Turmeric, I have a chance.

Distance- 2.0

10/20- Hoped to get the sub-10 pace today and failed again.  1.5 miles in 16:38  (11:05 pace).  Again, I collapsed after the first half mile after starting out okay.  The need for Turmeric appears to be INCREASING not decreasing.

Distance=1.5

10/21- Repeated the 1.5 mile distance and my time was down to 15:45 (10:30 pace).  Improved only because I took an extra pill.  Added a warm and cool.

Distance=2.0

10/22- Half mile junk run at Montreat.  Curcumin appears to be losing its effectiveness.  What next?

Distance=0.5

- 14 miles total

RANT: Trevor Bauer and the MeToo Movement

 After more than 2 years, MLB pitcher Trevor Bauer has been exonerated.  After a Cy Young season in 2020 and a great start to 2021, Bauer was accused of sexual assault and suspended without pay for 194 games.  It has now come out that his accuser sent texts to friends before the accusation that revealed that this was planned beforehand.  Video has emerged with her lying in bed peacefully next to Bauer the morning after the alleged assault.  She had no obvious injuries and a bit of smirk on her face.  

Bauer was innocent but even though he beat the rap, much damage was done.  He lost $37 million in salary during 2022 and was released by the Dodgers after the suspension ended.  Another team could have signed him for pennies on the dollar, but he was deemed to be too toxic and went unsigned by even the worst of MLB teams.  He ended up playing in Japan in 2023.  I bet that Bauer will get an MLB deal in 2024 but will have to take a big pay cut with a zero-tolerance clause.   His reputation will be forever tarnished by the false accusation. What will happen to his accuser?  Probably nothing.  There must be laws in place such that if you make a false accusation of rape, you go to jail and pay a hefty fine especially if you attempted to extort money.  Bauer ended up paying more in legal fees than the proposed monetary settlement to the accuser.  I admire him for standing up for himself and his innocence no matter what the cost.  

Obviously, I've never experienced anything like this but yes, I've been burned by the Believe All Women narrative.  When I was about 12, I was playing with a pair of cousins.  One was a 15 year-old boy who was much stronger than I was.  The other was a 10 year-old girl.  Not surprisingly, the older cousin roughed me up a bit and I believe that I could have been hurt pretty badly if he kept going.  Fortunately, after several minutes of pleading, he finally stopped.  The 10 year-old thought it was cool and wanted a piece of me as well.  She proceeded to accuse me of injuring her shoulder and asked permission for a free shot on me.  It was a total lie but almost everyone in the family proceeded to yell at me without so much as even asking me for my side of the story.  It was I that was beat up and now I had to take this crap.  Needless to say, I was REALLY HURT and dreaded family gatherings for years afterward.  Nobody apologized for not listening to my side either.  To their credit, the parents of the girl really didn't yell at me.  I think they knew that their daughter was lying.  

I have a couple more issues with the MeToo movement, and the double standards applied to men.  Sometimes I walk to the convenience store to buy a protein bar or a muffin for breakfast after morning sprints.  I'm wearing my workout clothes and have gotten whistles and suggestive comments about my legs from women in their 50s.  I didn't really mind a little harmless flirting and just laughed it off.  Now, what would happen if I made a similar remark to a woman in her late 20s that was out of my league?  That's a rhetorical question.  No need to answer it.  It's gotten to the point in which some men are afraid to tell a female co-worker that she looks nice after a new haircut.  That is ridiculous.  

There have been many reports of women wearing nothing but sports bras and short shorts to the gym, then they proceed to complain when guys look or stare at them.  What do you expect when you dress like that?  Have I looked before?  Sure, I have but I do try to be discreet.  One hilarious example came out a few years ago when a scantily clad woman actually complained to the manager of the gym about a man staring at her.  It turned out that the man was BLIND!  LOL!  All she had to do was tell him not to stare because it makes her uncomfortable.  No reason to go to the manager.  I'm sure that she felt pretty stupid for accusing a blind man.  

Suppose that a girl who is flirtatious and is known to make suggestive comments in jest to other guys.  She should not be surprised to get occasional unwanted advances.  Does that constitute sexual harrassment?  Depends on the situation.  Did the guy know or should have known that it was unwanted.  If he has a friendly or a least a cordial relationship with her and she has made similar comments to other guys, just tell him not to talk like that.  Don't tattle to the boss.   If it continues after you are told not to make jokes like that, YES that is a problem.       

What happened to Trevor Bauer also underscores my point about not having sex with people that you barely know.  Though he committed no crime, Bauer was awfully foolish to jump in bed with someone that he just recently met.  That said, I am firmly on his side in this matter and wish him luck over the remainder of his baseball career. 

Rape is indeed a shitty crime and I have nothing but sympathy for the victims.  That said, I would certainly advise people to take precautions to avoid putting themselves in a position in which they are more likely to be a victim.  Word spreads quickly on a college campus and a girl with a promiscuous reputation is far more likely to be a rape victim.  Drunken idiots will think that because she did it with so and so, she’ll do it with me.  Sometimes girls will consent to sex then regret it the next morning and proceed to cry rape.  Again, if a guy doesn’t have sex, he won’t be falsely accused of rape and his reputation will remain clean.  Think of it this way.  Advising a guy not to get drunk and wander the streets of a dangerous city is certainly not the same as blaming him after he was a victim of robbery or assault and battery.  Men are 3 times more likely than women to be murder victims but that’s a rant for another day.   

Turmeric for Candida

 Good news.  I am off the adrenal fatigue pills.  It was an abrupt flip flop.  One day, I needed to suppress my adrenals and the next day, I needed to stimulate them to feel better.  What a life!  Fortunately, neither has much of an impact these days.  What I need is Turmeric, which is an anti-fungal supplement that also helps with inflammation.  

I tried Turmeric in the past and got immediate negative reactions.  My whole body tightened up within seconds of swallowing the capsule.  Clearly, that was an auto-immune response.  This time around, the first day on it was a little rough but that evolved into an insatiable need for it by Day 2.  I know how the game works because I've been through it so many times.  The need will diminish with time and eventually, I will arrive at a place in which I don't need it every day.  I may not be able to quit it, but I can make it through a long weekend without it.  I can live with that and would consider it "manageable" or "under control."  Then, I have to hope against hope that the same thing does not happen with another pill.  

I have done some light workout the last few days and got what I expected.  BEYOND AWFUL without the pills but much less awful with them.  As the dependence fades, the gaps in performance will also diminish.  Both the floor (without pills) and the ceiling (with pills) will improve but the floor will rise faster than the ceiling.  Eventually, the difference between the floor and ceiling will become insignificant.  

As for the diet, I learned this weekend that I must stick with the low sugar and alcohol plan.  I got away with cheating on Saturday but not on Sunday.  At dawn on Sunday, I clocked a 7:53 in the Mile with a slight negative split (3:58-3:55).  That's just 13 seconds off my reset PR and I felt that I left a few seconds out there.  I knew that I was comfortably under 8 but would not PR so I didn't push too hard in the last 200.  However, I was definitely weakened by a lunchtime energy drink.  In the afternoon session, I managed only a 19:56 for 2 miles (9:58 pace) and extra Turmeric had a minimal effect.  That's okay.  I wanted to test it out to see what would happen and now I know.  

On another note, I learned 2 things that have made me EXTREMELY ANGRY!  It may be that the Turmeric is the most effective treatment for the Candida.  It was right there in front of me several years ago but I could not tolerate it because of the autoimmune issues.  The same was true with Apple Cider Vinegar.   If not for that, the Candida never would have become this severe.  It is pretty obvious that Cytokine dysregulation was the source of the autoimmune issues.  I've learned that this is related to Autism as is Candida and gut issues.  Again, though I was never diagnosed, I am virtually certain that I am on the spectrum. Bottom line:  Candida never should have gotten this far out of control!