Equality of Outcomes?

 Like most American boys, I dreamed of being a professional athlete from the age of 8 through about 12.  Unfortunately, for 99.9+ percent of the population, that's simply not a realistic goal.  No amount of hard work and determination can make up for lack of natural talent.  At least I was good enough for Varsity in high school.  Some people are not even capable of that.  A baseball manager once said that the only thing that is fair in life is a ball hit between the first base line and the third base line.  

Life isn't fair.  Some people are born into better circumstances than others and thus are more likely to be successful.  That said, if you are fortunate enough to be blessed with the following, I would say that you've been dealt a pretty good hand regardless of your skin color:

Good family with a loving mother and father 

Triple digit IQ

Reasonably attractive 

Generally good health and chemical balance.

I get good marks in the first 3 categories.  Even with Level 1 Autism, my life would be a lot better if I could ever get the autoimmune issues at least UNDER CONTROL.  

If you were born into a dysfunctional family, you are more likely to struggle with substance abuse and get into legal trouble.  If you have an IQ of 75, that's a mental age of 12-13.  You will most likely not graduate high school unless the standards are lowered.  You will have to be content with being a janitor or some other menial labor job.  You will struggle in the dating market if you are unattractive and will be difficult to live with if you have chemical imbalances.  RFK was correct when he said that those with Level 3 Autism cannot live independently.  Sad but true.  

Still, with all of that being said, unless you are severely disabled, you can better your circumstances or at least improve your chances of being successful by making good choices.  My Spanish 1 teacher told our class that she was amazed every year to see kids with IQs over 130 fail the class while others that she never thought would make it get B's and C's.

As bad as my health problems are, it could be worse.  If I didn't take the pills that I need, I don't think I could even work a full time job.  If I smoked a pack of cigarettes, drank a 6 pack every day and didn't even try to exercise, I would certainly feel a LOT WORSE.  

I rarely made all A's but it was a good feeling every semester to look in mirror knowing that I gave it my best shot in every class.  Not everyone can be a A-student but far too often I saw classmates who were perfectly happy with a C.  They certainly could have done better with more effort.  Nobody in their right mind would suggest awarding the same grades to every student regardless of the quality of work.  By the same token, because some jobs require a higher skill level than others, some professions should pay higher than others.

 I met an idiot in college who honestly believed that a cashier or a fast food worker should earn as much as a doctor or lawyer.  One problem.  Why would anyone put themselves through the stress of law school or medical school when they could earn just as much in menial labor?  You can make the case that most people don't have the intelligence to earn an advanced degree and you are certainly right that life is unfair.  Now, is it fair to deny compensation to highly educated people who have worked hard and made tremendous sacrifices? Even with an IQ above 120, getting an MBA was very hard especially with neuro imbalances and constant adjustment to my cocktail of pills.  I deserve a comfortable life.  

I asked several people what needs to happen for them to say that the USA is no longer a systemically racist country.  I rarely got a simple straight answer but a few people pointed to the wealth gap.  Unless the average black person has the same net worth as the average white person, racism is the culprit.  While I agree that the Civil Rights era did not erase the history of slavery and Jim Crow overnight, much progress has been made in the last 60 years.  For Boomers and to a lesser extent, Gen Xers, racism was still a real obstacle.  For those my age or younger, not so much.  

Ben Shapiro aired a podcast in which he said that if you simply finish high school, secure stable employment and do not have children out of wedlock, your odds of living in permanent poverty are very slim regardless of your race.  I am betting that mental health issues are a factor for those who remain poor in spite of good decisions.  Same wealth and same quality of life regardless of your choices?  I don't think so.  What if you factor in those differences?  It may not be equal but I am quite sure that the racial wealth gap diminishes considerably.  

I dislike the term "black fatigue" because I think it promotes stereotypes.  In Chicago while waiting for the subway, I observed a young man talking loudly on his phone using horrible language including the n-word and the MF word in front of children who appeared no older than 7 or 8.  Needless to say, I disliked him but it had ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH SKIN COLOR.  In fact, I observed 2 other black people who looked at each other and shook their heads in disgust. What angers me just as much is liberals who make excuses for that type of behavior.  Some have even stated that it should be accepted as part of their culture.  NO.  If you don't expect or demand better than that, you are part of the problem.  I'm no fan of Bush-43 but he was spot on with his soft bigotry of low expectations remark.

One of the highlights of my childhood was the Junior Olympic Nationals in Mobile, Alabama back in 1992.  One of the motivational speakers was a former sprinter by the name of Harvey Glance.  His message left a profound impression.  These are his words, not mine so don't try to twist it.  

Glance said that after track practice, "I went home and did my homework.  I was considered weird.  I didn't drink alcohol or experiment with marijuana.  I was considered weird.  I didn't fool around with girls until I was ready for a serious relationship.  I was considered weird.   Problem was that the same people who called me weird because of my consciencious effort and rejection of drinking and womanizing were on their way to minimum wage jobs with much of their earnings going to child support." 

Training 6/16-6/22

 6/16- Cut the Mag down to 1 and took the adrenal stimulants before the run.  Felt noticeably better and the results showed it.  3 miles in 27:06 (9:02 pace).  Doubled the distance and improved the pace by 60 seconds.  Only downer was that I faded down the stretch.  I was on pace for a sub-27 most of the way but lost it in the last half mile.  Splits were 13:27-13:39.  I will stick with this formula until it stops working.  A 5K would have been about 28:15 so I still have a ways to go.

Distance-3.0

6/17- TORTURE!  It never fails.  I get a little better then collapse.  Today, I lasted just 1 Mile and my time was over 12 minutes.  The smart money is on Magnesium as the culprit and I've become completely intolerant.  Without Mag, I can't tolerate Malic Acid.  Without Malic Acid, the autoimmune reactions will return with a vengeance.  The herbal stimulant isn't enough.  The only hope is Endodren, which should arrive any day now.

PM- Got home to find that Zinc is also bad.  Perhaps I really have tanked my adrenals.  I will cut the Malic Acid down to 1 scoop per day.  I'll lay off the Mag for just a couple of days then hope to gradually re-introduce it.  I will pitch the Zinc and order Liver.

Distance-1.0

6/18- 2 miles on New Lakeshore going west towards Bessemer.  Liked the route and will do it more often.  Finished in 20:16 (10:08 pace) with a strong negative split (10:25-9:51) and didn't push much harder on the back half.  About as expected.  A lot better than yesterday but not even close to acceptable.  Might try the quarter marathon tomorrow.  

Distance-2.0

6/19- TORTURE CONTINUES!  I went with neither Malic Acid nor Magnesium today.  I know it's not the long-term answer but I thought it gave me the best chance to be successful today.  Nope!  Quit after just a half mile in a time over 6 minutes.  

Culprit was the herbal adrenal stimulant.  Apparently, it only works if I take the Magnesium prior to it.  Popped 1 Mag pill and was initially better but it turned ugly after the full effects kicked in about an hour later.  A 2nd Mag pill made things much worse.  

Fortunately, the Endodren arrived last night and I gave it a shot.  Results were encouraging.  Opened with an 82 then dropped all the way to 70.  That's a game changer.  I hoped that it would enable me to tolerate Mag.  Nope.  Collapsed to 95.  Add to that, I seemed to get even worse on Malic Acid.

Distance-1.0

I suspect that the Malic Acid is causing the intolerance to Magnesium.  I've never had problems with Mag before this.  If true, I don't know what to do.  Definitely panic time and I am close to doom.  I can only hope that by some miracle, I don't need Malic Acid anymore or I can detox with something that is not as strong.

Training 6/9-6/15

 6/9- AM. Lakeshore 2.5 in 23:38 (9:27 pace).  Even pace (11:50-11:48).  Big improvement over yesterday.  Well under 30 for 5K so I'm halfway there.  That's it for today.  Afternoon is likely to be stormy.

PM- Decided to test my response to Magnesium.  Opener in 66.1 (6:37 pace), nearly all out.  After 4 Mag pills (recommend dose), I slipped to a 71.3 (7:08 pace).  PLUS 31.  Tacked on a half lap cool. Yes, that's enough to be considered significant but certainly not a collapse. 

 I'm still not quite at equilibrium after last week's excess but I'll get there very soon.  Stopping Mag completely will put me right back to where I was after Alaska.  Intolerant to Malic Acid and a return of the autoimmune reactions to pills.  In THEORY, I have it all sorted out now but how many times have I thought that before?

Distance-3.0

6/10- PM- Hoped to run 5 miles today but had to settle for 1 and my pace was pathetic.  Culprit was likely insufficient Malic Acid.  I didn't skip the morning dose but did take less than a full scoop.  Felt noticeably better after taking another scoop in the evening.  No discernable difference with Vitamin C but I still feel safer with it.

Distance- 1.0

Reaction:  I'm pissed and rightfully so!  Just 2 days ago, I declared that extra Malic Acid didn't make a significant difference and the interval test showed just that.  When I take 4 scoops per day, a little extra doesn't make much difference.  If I only take 1-2 scoops, skimping on just 1 dose makes all the difference in the world.  I will load on Malic Acid going forward.  Does Magnesium increase the need for it?  Probably but that's unconfirmed.  It definitely increases the tolerance.  As long as my Magnesium stores are sufficient, too much Malic Acid SHOULD NOT hurt me.

6/11- Magnesium was likely the culprit, not insufficient Malic Acid.  Took plenty of the latter before the run and it made no difference.  Quit after just 1.5 miles with a pace over 12.  Got home and confirmed that Magnesium was the culprit as I was even WORSER after an additional pill.  Why didn't I immediately collapse on Monday evening during the interval test?  Probably because it's a sustained release.  The full effects don't kick in right away.  If I had waited a couple hours after taking the 4 pills, it would have been ugly.

Distance-2.0

6/12- AM- Took a total of 3 Mag pills yesterday but only 2 in the evening.  As expected, I saw significant improvement.  2 miles at Vaughn Road Park in 20:44 (10:22 pace) with a strong negative split.  Nearly 2 minutes faster per mile.  Ridiculous that ONE EFFING PILL makes this much difference.

Million dollar question:  Is there a Magnesium dosage that is strong enough to allow for enough Malic Acid to prevent the autoimmune reactions without a reaction to Magnesium itself?  I'm pretty confident that 2 pills will be enough but not just 1.  3 will likely be too much but I will give it a try.  Also, if I load on Malic Acid, that will likely reduce the tolerance to Magnesium.  What a mess!

Distance- 2.0

6/13-AM.  3 Mag pills yesterday all in the evening with basically the same result.  1.5 miles at Vaughn Road Park in 15:29 (10:19 pace) with another negative split.  Early pace was over 11 but dipped under 10 for the last half mile.  

Reaction:  This raises as many questions as it answers.  3 Mag pills are clearly too much.  I will reduce it to 2.  I'm confident that it will be enough to tolerate Malic Acid.  If I have to reduce it to 1, I am not so sure.

Is there anything that can be done to increase the tolerance to Magnesium?  Loading on Malic Acid may may actually reduce the tolerance.  I'll have to test that out.  What about the adrenal balance?  Maybe I will have a resolution by the end of the month.

PM- Opener in 82

Adrenal Modulator-75

Malic Acid- 73

The adrenal balance may be a factor in the intolerance to Magnesium.  I took 2 ADHS pills (modulator) and the improvement was significant.  Malic Acid was pretty much a non-factor.  My time for that interval was almost a 74, so it was slightly more than a 1 second difference.

I still want to gauge my reactions to Magnesium on days that I load on Malic Acid versus taking 1 scoop.  Most likely, I have 2 options:  Reduce the Magnesium and take just enough to tolerate the Malic Acid OR go on adrenal stimulants in order to tolerate the Magnesium.  This is probably a detox reaction and the need for stimulants is only temporary.

Distance-2.0

6/14- 5 miles on Lakeshore in 53:17 (10:39 pace).  Even pace with something left.  Splits were 26:44-26:33.  May have been dead even without a small push at the end.  The most important thing is that I finished and had more in the tank.  Another 8.1 miles?  No way.  Another 1.55 without much of a slow down?  I think I could do it.  Next time, I will shoot for the quarter marathon distance.  

Bad news is that this was MUCH TOO SLOW.  I cut the Mag down to 2 and hoped to at least match yesterday's pace over the longer distance.  I was 20 seconds slower but with more than triple the distance, it's still an improvement.  

It seems unlikely that I will improve significantly on 2 Mag.  More likely, I will plateau or get worse.  I did feel noticeably better after adrenal stimulants.  That may be the ticket to tolerate Mag.  Option 1 or 2?  Time will tell which works best.

Distance-5.0

6/15- 1.5 on North Lakeshore in 15:03 (10:02 pace).  On my second day at 2 Mag, I was only slightly better than I was on 3.  That leads me to believe that my intolerance to Magnesium is slowly getting worse.  I will go down to 1 but am unsure if it will be enough to stop the autoimmune reactions.  

Got some good news when I got home for the interval test.  Opened with an 84 then repeated the 84 on Curcumin so that stuff is a non-factor.  Improved to 74 on herbal adrenal stimulants.  When the Endodren arrives, it may resolve the Mag intolerance.

Distance-2.0

-17 miles on the week 

Late Summer Road Trip Plan

 Down to 2 finalists.  Washington State or Southern California.  I can't go wrong with either.  If I am healthy enough to run 13 miles, it's gonna be SoCal even if my time will be over 2 hours.  Would I do SoCal if I have to downgrade to the 5K?  Not sure about that.  

Here's what Washington State would look like:

Day 1- Fly to Seattle with a preferred connection in Denver.  Night will probably be in Seattle but I can be flexible.  If a Mariners game fits my schedule, I will consider it but I've already done the tour.  I can be flexible with the weather forecast.  It's usually pretty nice in late summer but I definitely want a clear day for Rainier and North Cascades.  I don't care if it's dreary at Olympic.  

Day 2- Leave Seattle, hopefully ahead of the traffic to North Cascades and Ross Lake.  Night will definitely be in Tacoma.

Day 3- Olympic NP then a ferry to Victoria BC with a night in Canada.  

Day 4- Morning ferry back to USA.  Rest of the day at Rainier NP.  Tacoma for the night.  Edit: a night in Canada will not leave enough time for Rainier.  I'll either have to skip it or make it a day trip.

Day 5- Fly home.  

Southern California:

Day 1- Fly to John Wayne airport in Santa Ana, Orange County.  Probably connect in Dallas but open to other cities.  The John Wayne airport should be much less crowded than LAX or San Diego.  Should have time to take a dip at Huntington Beach.  It's only 20 minutes from the airport.  I would have preferred to get a hotel in Laguna but prices are outrageous.

Day 2- Morning session in Huntington Beach then head 30 minutes south to Laguna.  Need to go on a week day.  It will probably be Friday.  Night in San Clemente.  Laguna to San Diego is less than an hour and a half.

Day 3- If I am to race, I should take it easy today.  Stop in Oceanside on the way to San Diego.  Tour San Diego and may or may not take a dip.  

Day 4- Race day.  Rest of day in La Jolla and Torrey Pines.  From there, it's only a half hour to Oceanside.  

Day 5- Can be flexible in the morning.  I can either stay in Oceanside or go back to Laguna.  By late afternoon, I will need to be in Anaheim for the Angels game.  Anaheim is just under an hour from Oceanside and there are several hotels within walking distance of the stadium.  

Day 6- Fly home.  The airport is just 15 minutes from Anaheim.  Option of an overnight layover in Dallas.

Miami Trip Plan

 I'm about 75 percent sure that this will be a go.  The Marlins are home for the 4th of July weekend and that will take me up to 21 ballparks.  Even if this is my last one of the year, I can finish in 2028 with just 3 per year going forward.

Of course, the big negative is that it's the wrong time of year to visit Miami.  That said, I'm betting that the rainy season is not as bad as you might think.  Figure that on any given day, the weather will be about the same.  Temps will top out around 90F with a heat index over 100 and about a 60 percent chance of rain.  That's really not much different than the Gulf coast. Mornings are usually nice but you can expect a heavy downpour around 3 or 4 PM then it clears up by the evening.  I can live with that.  July is actually the driest month of the rainy season on average.  

The positive is that prices are much more affordable.  You can get a decent hotel right on the beach for around $100.  I'll fly out of Atlanta because there are multiple cheap flights every day to and from the cities.  I don't need to rent a car either.  The MIA airport has a shuttle every half hour from the airport to South Beach.

7/3- Leave work maybe 2 hours early and drive to Atlanta to catch a morning flight the next day.  

7/4- Land around 11AM and figure that I get to South Beach around 1ish.  I'll drop off my bag and take a quick dip before it rains.

7/5- All day on the beach.  I don't expect much surf and I may not even bring my board but I will have beautiful blue water with abundant lush palm trees.

7/6- I'll have time for a morning session at the beach.  I'll check out around 10 AM then take the shuttle back to the airport.  MIA does have one hotel connected to airport.  It will be a little pricey but worth it because I won't have to worry about transportation the next morning.  The ballpark is about 3 miles from the airport.  Too far to walk but taxis are readily available.  There is bus service as well.  The game is at 1:30.  After it's over, I'll check out the surrounding area and may have dinner there.  I'll get back to the hotel by early evening then just chill for the night.

7/7- If I get an early flight out, I might work half a day.

Relapse and Recovery

 Over the past few weeks, I've had progressively more trouble with detox supplements.  First, it was the Melatonin.  I was only a little bit upset about the bad reaction to that stuff because I didn't think it was necessary and was a little leery about long-term high level use anyway.  A couple of weeks later, I began having problems with Lactoferrin.  That was a real concern.  In fact, I called it a reason to panic.  Since I was almost done with the bottle, I just took the last few pills, tossed it and did not re-order.  I read later that Lactoferrin is involved with Aluminum detox, as is Melatonin.  I surmised that combined with the Malic Acid, the detox action was just too much for my system to handle.  Interestingly, I found that Taurine mitigated much of the ill-effects if I took Lactoferrin and wasn't sure what to make of that.  All of this occurred before I left for Alaska.  

In Alaska, I only did a couple of junk runs.  I found that after stopping the Lactoferrin, the Taurine became a non-factor.  However, something did happen that was very disturbing.  I got a negative reaction to Malic Acid.  Fortunately, I was better after taking Vitamin C.  Apparently, Malic Acid had to be taken with C.  I don't like it but I can live with that.  I took some OJ without Malic Acid before my next flight.  I actually felt pretty good in San Francisco.  No workout but I did sprint across the street to beat a traffic light and impressed an onlooker.  

When I got home, extra C made things worse but I got better after a scoop of Malic Acid.  Again, I can live with having to take them together.  I took 1 Curcumin pill, which is also involved with Aluminum detox.  Not surprisingly, I got a bad reaction but that was a risk that I was willing to take.  I wanted to confirm that Lactoferrin itself was not the problem, but rather all pills that are involved with Al detox should be avoided.  Malic Acid, even with C was not tolerated with the Curcumin.  Not a surprise because that's just too much detox.  What was VERY disturbing was that the next day, it STILL wasn't tolerated even without the Curcumin.  No choice but go off the Malic Acid.  Maybe by some miracle, I don't need it anymore.  I did gradually get better over the next few days without the Malic Acid.

The idea that my autoimmune issues were solved after a course of Malic Acid was rudely quashed over the weekend.  I had a bad reaction to Yasko's Ultimate B Complex and I know it was two specific ingredients that caused problems in the past.  Just a trace of Malic Acid made things noticeably better but a full scoop was NOT tolerated.  It appeared that I was doomed until I noticed improvement after taking 1 Magnesium pill.  I had been slacking on the Magnesium because when taken with C, it causes diarrhea.  I also thought that Malic Acid helped produce Mag.  Probably wrong on that.  

I loaded on Magnesium the next day and initially improved but awoke from a nap with a SEVERE need for Malic Acid.  I took a scoop and not only was it tolerated, it was more effective than in the past.  Also, Curcumin, which was not tolerated just a week ago, is now BENEFICIAL!    Apparently, Magnesium is necessary for the detox to be tolerated.  I will increase the Mag at night and only take the C in the morning with the Malic Acid.  I will need the Malic Acid for the foreseeable future.  The fact that my autoimmune issues flared up after just 3 days off it is VERY DISTURBING!  

Time is ticking away.  I need to be able to run at least 10 miles consistently on the weekends in order to attempt the half in San Diego in mid-August.  I cannot afford any more meltdowns.  Washington state will be a nice trip too but I'd rather go to SoCal this year.         

Training 6/2-6/8

 6/2- 1 Mile at Montreat in 9:44.  Passed half in 4:54 then popped Magnesium and did the back half in 4:50.  Exactly what I wanted to see.  Marginally better but not enough to be significant.  

Aftermath:

Took Curcumin, a formerly problem pill and did a half lap in 85 (8:30 pace).  Then, it was a scoop of Malic Acid and I improved to 75 (7:30 pace).  I tried to keep the effort even with the Mile and this was not a sprint.  I don't think I could have held 7:30 all the way but I certainly would have done a lot better than 9:44.  Added a half lap cool.  Most likely, that's it for today.

Distance-1.5

Reaction: Good news is that now that the Magnesium is restored, extra by itself doesn't matter.  Malic Acid is not only tolerated again, it is more effective but may be more necessary.  By that, I mean that I may NOT be able to get by without it for a long weekend.  Detailed post coming.

6/3- Struggled as expected.  1.5 on Lakeshore in 16:15 (10:50 pace)  Did manage a slight negative split (8:11-8:04).  Took a scoop in the morning but not in the afternoon.  Also dealing with caffeine withdrawal.  Should be better tomorrow.

Distance-1.5

6/4- AM- Merely hoped for a modest improvement but got worse instead.  Could not even finish a half mile without walking.  Good news is that I was noticeably better after the scoop of Malic Acid.  Bad news is that it's an insatiable need.

PM- 3x half lap intervals at Montreat.

Naked-98 (9:48 pace)

1 scoop- 78 (7:48 pace)

2 scoops- 62 (6:12 pace)

No words are necessary.  This is an insatiable need that will eventually diminish.  Even the Naked interval was better than the morning session.  Sadly, if I ran it again just a couple hours later, I would not even come close to that 62.  

Distance-1.0

6/5-AM.  No pills.  Lakeshore 1 Mile in 11:12.  An improvement over yesterday morning but I won't get better until I take a scoop and even then, it won't last.  Splits were 5:45-5:27 so that's encouraging.

PM- 2 miles on Lakeshore in 20:42 (10:21 pace).  I will take it.  Doubled the distance and improved the pace by 51 seconds.  Obviously, I would have been a lot better if this was run immediately after a scoop.  Nevertheless, I was still holding on to some benefit a full 10 hours later. Splits were 10:26-10:16.

Distance-3.0

6/6- AM Repeated the 2 mile on Lakeshore and improved to 19:40 (9:50 pace).  I'll take it.  Cut off another 31 seconds per mile on tired legs.  With the Malic Acid, I think I lose more benefits overnight than during the day despite it being the same amount of time between scoops.  That's it for today.

PM- Planned rest but there was a REVOLTING development this morning.  I was noticeably WORSE after taking 2 scoops after the run.  It's confirmed that the form of Magnesium needed must be Malate.  Glycinate won't do it.  I suppose that makes sense.  Unconfirmed but strongly suspect that the form of Vitamin C must be Ascorbic Acid rather than Whole Food.  I don't like that.

Distance-2.0

6/7- Failed long run, which wasn't a surprise.  What was surprising was that the culprit was Magnesium Malate.  Glycinate wasn't the issue after all.  I overshot the balance point with Magnesium. Scoops of Malic Acid didn't make much difference either way.  Workout was pathetic.  Lasted 2 miles but the pace was over 12.

Distance-2.0

6/8- 1.5 miles at Heardmont in 15:29 (10:19 pace) with splits of 7:47-7:42.  Can't say that I am pleased but it was an improvement over yesterday.  I only took 1 Mag pill last night.  Got home and did some tests with Malic Acid and Vitamin C.

Opener-86.5 (8:39 pace)

Scoop of Malic Acid- 84.1 (8:25 pace)

Whole Food C- 84.4 (8:27 pace)

Ascorbic Acid- 83.7 (8:22 pace)

This is good news.  I am sure that I still need the Malic Acid but if my Magnesium stores are sufficient, it may not be a critical need every day.  14 second improvement in pace is not enough to be considered significant.  Both forms of Vitamin C were non-factors.  Fractionally slower on Whole Food and fractionally faster on Ascorbic Acid.  The reverse could happen next time.  

Distance-2.1

13.1 on the week.  Didn't plan on that.  Time is ticking away.  Need to get up to at least 25 over the next 6-8 weeks.