2025 Road Trip Ideas

 If by some miracle I am healthy, I have several races on my bucket list:

Fort Worth, Texas- February 

Rock n Roll DC- March

Rio De Janeiro- April or June

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania- May

Santiago, Chile- May

San Diego, California- August 

I'd probably choose 2 or 3 with the international options being the least likely.

Now the non-running trips:

Maui, Hawaii.  Good chance here.  It will be January or February.  I want to visit all 4 major islands.  So far, I've got the Big Island and Oahu.  Kauai works best as a summer or early Fall trip.

Arizona- Phoenix, Sedona, Grand Canyon, D'Backs game.  This is the front runner for April.

Utah/Colorado- Fly to Salt Lake, go North to Ogden then cut east to Gunnison Canyon then down the Million Dollar Hwy to Mesa Verde and back through Moab.  Works best for late Spring but I can't do this and Arizona.  One or the other.

Alaska- This is probably the one I want the most and I'll shoot for June even with high prices.  This will complete Round 2 of Visit all 50 states.

Great Lakes- Detroit Tigers game.  Niagara Falls, Erie and Cleveland.  Works best from July through September though Niagara Falls will probably be decidedly less crowded in September.  

Washington- Rainier, Olympic NP and North Cascades.  Definitely a mid summer or early Fall trip.

Atlantic Canada beach trip- New Brunswick, PEI and Nova Scotia.  August is the only month in which the water temperature could be tolerable.  

SoCal- Orange County and San Diego.  La Jolla, Laguna are must stops.  I'd like to see Oceanside, Torrey Pines and Huntington Beach as well.  Definitely late summer.

PCH- Fly to LAX.  Santa Cruz to Santa Monica via Pacific Coast Hwy.  Also works best in late summer to early Fall.

3 Mexico trips that work best in November:

Cabo to La Paz loop

Sayulita

Mexico City and Puerto Escondido 

Obviously I can't do anywhere close to all of these.  We shall see what happens.

Training 8/19-8/25

 8/19- Yesterday, I did the opener in 3:18 and the real workout was 1.5 @ 10:20.  Today was better.  Opener in 3:00 (9:00 pace).  Then hit Lakeshore for 2 miles in 19:32 (9:46 pace).  Progress.  I'm pleased with how well I've run the openers but not as pleased with the real workouts.  I'd still be well over 30 for a 5K.

PM- Half mile at Montreat in 4:31 (9:02 pace).  This was comfortable and felt sustainable for 2 miles.  As for the diet, I have been good about avoiding sugar and alcohol but I have cheated a few times on caffeine.  It didn't hurt me today and it may have been slightly beneficial but it must not become a daily habit.

Distance-3.0

8/20- No opener today.  Repeated the 2 miles on Lakeshore and my time is down to 18:44 (9:22 pace) with dead even splits.  A 30 minute 5K is 3.1@ 9:39.  It's close but I think I've got it.  Hopes will not start to rise until I get back down to 27.

PM- I've not been taking the B-vitamins every day though I am careful not to go too long without.  I suspected that taking them yesterday after the morning session made a difference in how I felt in the afternoon.

Opener-90

Methylation- 90

B12- 84

B-complex- 82

Plus a lap cool down.

Distance-3.0

Reaction:

Interesting.  Methylation was a non-factor.  The B12 wasn't a game changer but it improved my pace by 36/mile.  That's enough to be considered significant.  Slightly better on the complex but I don't consider 12/mile to be significant.  If I miss a dose, I'll notice only on a hard workout and won't collapse unless I skip it for 5-7 days.  I consider that to be "under control." Maybe someday, I'll react similarly to Thym Adren.

8/21- Hoped to do 3 @ low 9 pace today and failed.  Called it quits after just a half mile with a pace approaching 11.  Culprit was too much B12.  That's right.  The very same stuff that was beneficial yesterday triggered a collapse today.  

WHAT THE ----!  

This was confirmed in the afternoon.  Opened with a 1:36 then slipped to a 1:43 on extra B12.  It probably would have been worse if I let it fully absorb.  I don't think it's an autoimmune reaction.  It's just too stimulating.  I was down to 1:26 after extra Thym-Adren.  In the future, I must be very judicious with the B12.  Maybe I take the complex only without the stand alone B12.

Distance-1.0

8/22- Took only Thym Adren with no B-vitamins.  Workout was 1 mile at Montreat in 9:18.  Even pace with something left at the end but I don't think this was sustainable for 5K.  Not as bad as I expected but we'll see how I react tomorrow.  Perhaps I would do better on Hydroxy B12 instead of Methyl.

Distance-1.0

8/23- 3x 1 lap at Montreat.  Opened with a poor 3:44 (11:12 pace) but improved to 2:55 on Thym Adren (8:45 pace).  Effort was sustainable for 1-2 miles and I could have easily beaten yesterday's time.  The gap is FAR too large and it must close soon.  That said, it was not the primary concern today.

I took only the B-complex.  No stand alone B12.  The form was hydroxy and adenosyl rather than methyl and the dose was only half of what triggered the collapse.  I knew immediately that it was too stimulating but ran the lap anyway in a pitiful 3:33 (10:39 pace).  Only slightly better than the opener.  

It was a risk that I was willing to take to answer key questions.  The form of B12 doesn't seem to matter.  In the past, hydroxy was tolerated better than methyl.  Not so now.  I can't cut out the B12 altogether but my tolerance is limited.  I have ordered a spray from Yasko.  Until it arrives, I will have to break open capsules to keep my dosage at a level that is tolerable.

Distance-1.0

8/24-  Not much different than yesterday.  A little better on the opener (3:27) but still poor after the Thym-Adren.  Did 2 laps in 5:56 and would have had to fight for a sub-9 Mile.  Still clearing the excess B12.  Perhaps the tolerance improves on the days that I don't use caffeine.

Distance= 1.0

8/25- Tried Serine to blunt the overstimulation and it was a disaster.

Distance-1.0

-11 miles 

Training 8/12-8/18

 8/12- New week.  New problem.  Plan was to repeat the 3 miler from yesterday, hopefully with a pace in the mid-9s.  I was sluggish from the start and got worse on the back half.  Settled for just 1 Mile in a time of 11:15.  This time, the culprit is Taurine.

No relief after taking the Liver.  No relief after the CBS/NOS pill.  Probiotics did help.  Not a surprise.  It neutralizes the effects of the Taurine.  It's got to be both or neither.  I'm going with neither though I might try a reduced dose of Taurine down the road or an off/on schedule.  If the Taurine gets too low, the extreme mineral sensitivity will flare up again.  I could see another adrenal spike after quitting Taurine.

Distance-1.0

8/13- Unplanned rest day.  I cheated out of frustration.  No big deal as long as I get back on track tomorrow.  Felt no better this afternoon.  Maybe worse.  Turned out that B12 (the same stuff that triggered a collapse last week) is necessary after all.  Perhaps it is simply not tolerated with the Liver but B12 alone is okay.  Took extra Taurine and did NOT have a bad reaction.  Go figure.  

8/14- Hated intervals.  Had to do it to get some answers.  Opened with a 1:38 on no pills.  Though I had no apparent issues with Taurine after taking B12 last night, I was noticeably weaker on the run.  Slipped to 1:50 after 2 pills.  Not a total collapse but this is significantly worse.  PLUS 72 per mile.  If I had just taken 1 and didn't run, I probably don't notice and would continue to get worse for a few more days.  I have to be obsessive.   

A couple more interesting finds:  Extra B12 after the Taurine.  Down to 1:46.  Slightly better but not enough to be significant.  B12 is tolerated without the Liver.  Popped 2 Thym-Adren and did a 1:45.  That's a non-factor.  Is the adrenal spike over?  Did the Liver contribute to the spike?  I will find out this evening, I hope.

Distance-1.0

8/15- Unplanned rest day.  Taurine cleared.  Monster adrenal spike hit by the afternoon.

8/16- Opened with a 4:02 lap at Montreat, which is just about what I expected.  Thym-Adren did help (3:38) but it didn't feel right.  I suspected that Colostrum was making me feel sluggish and I was correct.  Sure enough, I was back over 4:00 on extra Colostrum.  Then, another adrenal spike hit that evening.

Distance-1.0

8/17- More like it.  Opened with a 3:52 (11:36 pace) then was all the way down to 3:04 (9:12 pace) on the Thym Adren.  Gap of 2:24, which will diminish.  Added a cool down lap.

Distance-1.0

8/18- Lap without pills.  Time was all the way down to 3:18 (9:54 pace).  Yuge improvement.  Real workout was 1.5 miles in 15:30 (10:20 pace).  Hoped for better than that but did run a strong negative split (7:54-7:36).  The back half was what I was supposed to do.

Distance-2.0

-6 miles 

Candida Dump

 This happened in the last week of July and though the stomach pain is almost gone, the adrenal spike is not going down any time soon.  Big questions:

Why did it happen?

Most probably, I was too aggressive with the Liver Beef.  I found that if I crossed the line with too much caffeine or alcohol consumption, Thym-Adren wasn't effective.  I had to take extra Liver Beef to feel somewhat better.  After I reduced consumption of forbidden drinks, I remained on the extra Liver Beef.  After several days, I could not tolerate Thym-Adren IF I took too much Liver.  Eventually, I stopped the Liver but it was too late.  

My stomach started KILLING me beginning on the afternoon of 7/24.  Symptoms fit the candida dump to a T so there was never any doubt as to the nature of the problem.  I've had 3 prior dumps, most recently in April.  This one was the most painful, which is a surprise.  The dumps had been getting less severe in both intensity and duration.  Not so this time.  My stomach pain was so bad that I could not even sleep properly the first 2-3 days.  I had to lie down on my back because it was too painful to roll over on my side.  I had night sweats, white discharge in my stool,  a low grade fever (100.4 degrees) and hyperventilation as well.  I could not even walk normally as I was bent over in pain.  Add to that, I could not take a sick day at work because it was my week to answer the phones.  I was in obvious pain and all my co-workers knew it too.

Come Friday, I was somewhat functional and able to sleep properly.  I did plenty of that over the weekend.  It wasn't until the next Tuesday, 7 days after the symptoms hit that I was physically able to run.  After 2-3 days of improvement, the adrenal spike hit and it will take time to die down.

Changes:

I have been sugar, caffeine and alcohol free for 10 days and counting.  Going for 21 then no more than 1 cheat day per week.  Even with the proper treatments, candida may never go away if it is being fed its sugar.  It's coming easier now.  In the past, I failed because of frustration over auto-immune reactions.  Let's hope I've got that beat once and for all.  

I did go back to the Liver but only 1 pill per day.  I've had no problems on that dosage.  Will I try to increase it again?  Maybe but not for a while.  I could see another dump.  I'm actually willing to deal with the discomfort of a dump to hasten the removal of the candida but it CANNOT be this severe ever again.  If I can tolerate high doses of Liver without the symptoms of a dump, I may be in the clear.  I still do have a bit of a rash above my ass crack but the one on my armpit is definitely fading.  

I will not try to increase the Liver dose again until I get back from California.  Man, if this monster hit when I was on that trip, I don't know what I could do.  

Training 7/31-8/11

 7/31- First time in a week that I am physically able to run.  The stomach pain was too debilitating even as recently as yesterday.  It's still ugly.  Did a half lap in 2:25 without pills then only a 2:19 (13:54 pace) with pills.  At these paces, I don't consider that to be a significant gain.  Got home in the evening and improved to 1:51 (11:06 pace) but I was spent.  That's massive.  Maybe I can train normally starting next week.

Distance-0.5

8/1- Full lap in 3:37 (10:51 pace) plus a half lap cool.  Only a modest improvement in the pace but I doubled the distance.  I'll take that any day.

PM- Half lap in 1:32.7 (9:16 pace).  This hurt.  I was bent over and sucking wind when it was over but the same effort yesterday yielded only a 1:51.  Massive improvement.

Distance-0.5

8/2- Went to Vestavia track for a half mile.  Finished in 4:48 (9:36 pace) with splits of 2:28-2:20.  I'll take it.  If I had attempted this just 24 hours ago, I bet I'm over 5:30.  That's it for today.  Full mile tomorrow.  7 days clean on the diet.

Distance-0.5

8/3- Adrenal spike.  Heardmont Mile in 11:41.  OUCH!  Can't say that I am surprised.  Stayed strong.  Clean diet for 8 days.

Distance-1.0

8/4- Back to Heardmont and repeated the Mile.  Improved to 9:46 plus a half mile cool.  MASSIVE IMPROVEMENT!  Stomach is still a bit jacked up and the adrenal spike won't go down easily.  Day 9.  Almost halfway to 21.

Distance- 1.5

8/5- Day 10.  I'll be halfway home by tonight.  2 miles on Lakeshore in 19:08 (9:34 pace).  I doubled the distance and still beat yesterday's pace.  I'll take that any day.  Taking 6 Thym Adren pills and will hold it there until further notice.  I haven't tried it but a lap without pills would be UGLY.

Distance- 2.0

8/6- Day 11.  BAD one.  I wanted to test myself without the pills and did a half lap in 1:48 (10:48 pace).  I knew it would be bad but I expected it to be in the low-mid 1:30s after yesterday's effort.  The real workout was worse.  Culprit was too much B12, which apparently is too much of a stimulant.  Took a confirmation dose at the half mile mark and couldn't even finish the back half.  Odds are that this is a 1-2 day blip.  Days like this often lead to cheating on the diet out of frustration.  MUST stay strong!

Distance- 1.0

8/7- Day 12.  Excess B12 hasn't fully cleared but this was better than yesterday.  Half lap without pills was 1:40.8 (10:05 pace).  Real workout was 1.5 on Lakeshore in 15:22 (10:15 pace) plus a short cool.  Before the candida dump, I dipped below 1:20 on a half lap without pills.  Long way to go.  I will NOT cheat today.

PM- Concerned that I wasn't feeling better this afternoon.  Suspected Liver was the culprit.  Hated intervals:

Opener-91

Liver-96

Thym-Adren-93

Zinc-92

Mostly good news.  I was quite sluggish on the opener.  With a full dose of pills, I should be better than a 9:00 pace for a half lap.  I expected a total collapse after extra Liver but I held up.  Yes, this was significantly worse but certainly not a collapse.  That's only 30 seconds slower per mile.  Extra Thym Adren did help but it wasn't a game changer.  The Zinc was a non-factor.  I was better by only a half a second.  That tells me that the Zinc to Copper balance is okay.  I will cut out the Liver and hope to get better by the weekend.

Distance-3.0

8/8- Day 13.  Planned rest day.  Since I took extra Liver yesterday, I know that I would have struggled today.  I must improve tomorrow or I might cheat.

PM- Feeling different by the afternoon.  No longer sluggish but overstimulated.  That's how I should feel during an adrenal spike.  I thought perhaps the Taurine needed to go.  Apparently not.  I improved from 83 to 78 after popping one of those. I don't think it was that effective.  I just wasn't warmed up before the opener. Added a very slow cool.

Distance-1.0

I wouldn't call this a collapse.  Just a tweak to the formula.  If this happens once a month, I'm okay with it but not every week.

8/9- Day 14.  Only 1 week to go.  Lakeshore Mile in a brutal 11:42.  Cutting out the Liver further stimulated the adrenals?  That's the only explanation I can consider.  Should be better tomorrow.  

Distance-1.0

8/10- Lakeshore 2 in 21:56 (10:58 pace).  Better than yesterday and I feel less overstimulated but that's still BAAAAUHD!   This is Day 15.  If I am not better in 6 days, I could lose motivation.

Distance-2.0

-17 miles.

8/11- North Lakeshore 3 in 30:16 (10:05 pace).  Dead even splits with something left at the end.  Much better than yesterday.  This is Day 16.  I can make it 5 more days.  Can I stick to it after the 21 days are up?

Distance-3.0