A Real Privilege Quiz

 This is in response to a post from someone that I know who said that if people can't acknowledge white privilege, he does not want them to speak to him anymore.  This person was a star athlete who got a free ride to college and surely had a better experience growing up in my hometown than I did.  He was unfollowed.  Here are some real predictors of success in life.  Still, with all of this being said, you can always make choices to better your situation and improve yours odds of being successful.

Intelligence:

A- Genius or near genius.  Can be accepted to the most selective universities. Any job that you want can be yours if you are willing to work for it.  Little to no limitations.

B- Above Average- School may not always come easy but a Bachelor's Degree from a good and well respected school is an attainable goal.  Some occupations will be beyond your abilities but you can gain marketable job skills that will set you up for a comfortable life.  

C-Average- Marginally college material but can still earn a decent living especially if you have good mechanical skills.

D-Below Average- High school will be struggle.  Not college material.  Significant limitations.  That said, some of the nicest people I've met work as cashiers or servers in restaurants.  Do a good job and you can become a manager.    

F- Much Below Average- With a normal distribution, an IQ of 70 is as common as 130.  Sadly, if your intelligence is in this range, you will likely work a menial labor job.  No matter how hard you try, a subject such as Algebra will be too difficult.  Sad but true.

Family Background:

A- Loving mother and father who make a good salary and can pay for much of your education.

B and C- The middle ground can be murky.  Parents may be divorced but both parents are involved and a loving step-parent is around?  How about 2 parents who stay together but money is a bit tight?  I'd say that's a "B" on both.  

Divorced parents with friction and tight money but both parents are involved and are loving.  A single parent household that brings in a decent salary.  That's a C.

D- 1 parent is completely absent and you grow up poor but are loved.  In this case, you will not have access to the best teachers and tutors.  Significant disadvantage but not an insurmountable obstacle if you are advantaged in other areas.  

F- 1 or both parents are abusive and/or you live in severe poverty in a high crime neighborhood.  I will concede that if you grow up in this environment, your odds of being successful are long but it can be done.

Social skills:

This one can be a bit tricky to assess but I'll give it a try.

A- Top 1-2% in athletic ability.  Good enough to get scholarship money for college.  This will offset much of the disadvantage of growing up in a lower socioeconomic stratum.  This is usually accompanied by good looks and the ability to date pretty much anyone that you want.  It will also enable you to form network connections in the job market especially if you have a naturally outgoing personality.  That may offset some of the disadvantages of having only average grades in school.  

F- Serious personality disorder or extremely unattractive.  An example could be a person with morbid obesity to the point in which they are unemployable or severe mental illness to the point of needing to be institutionalized.  

The vast majority of people are somewhere in between these 2 extremes and there is some overlap with the next category.  

Health:

A- Almost never sick and physically fit.

B- Not athletic but in generally good health

C- Chronic condition that is manageable with treatment.  Quality of life is impacted only a small amount.

D- Condition that is difficult to treat but able to work and live independently.  Social life and work performance may be affected.

F- Completely disabled.  No life.

My Report Card:

Intelligence- B+

Family- A

Social- C

Health- D

Intelligence:

Growing up, I knew several people who were "gifted" (IQ >130) but were mediocre students who did not even attend college.  Tragically, at least 2 got messed up on drugs and did not live to see 30 years of age. Success will not simply be handed to you even if your circumstances are favorable.  You have to do the work.  I was a very good student but it did not always come easy and had several courses that I found to be quite difficult.  I could have passed high school by taking easy courses without too much effort but college preparatory classes required significant study. 

Now, let's say that your intelligence is average or slightly below (IQ 85-95).  You are not doomed to be a failure.  Getting a high school diploma is a considerable advantage over those who do not.  If you can learn a trade such as carpentry or welding, you will earn decent money and will not be saddled by mountains of student debt.  Let's say that you land a job at Wal-Mart.  If you show up every day and do a good job, you will probably be an assistant manager within a few years.  

Family:

This is the only one that you really can't control for yourself.  However, you can certainly improve your children's lives by making good choices.  A Ben Shapiro video left a profound impression on me.  He stated that if you simply graduate high school, work a steady job and wait until marriage to have children, you may hit some rough patches but your chances of "permanent poverty" are very slim.  Yes, there are plenty of single mothers who do a great job but the odds are not in your favor without a father or strong male role-model.  Statistics don't lie and they cut across racial lines too.

Social:

Only a small percentage will be good enough athletes for college teams.  Still, if you can play multiple Varsity sports in high school, you'll learn life lessons, gain confidence and have an easier time making friends.  That confidence will likely carry over into adulthood.  My general athletic ability was average at best but I was good enough for one sport, which was running.  Though I was sometimes frustrated by my performances, it was still a great experience overall.  I have a nephew in a similar position.  He's not good enough to make the school team in basketball, football or baseball but could be decent in cross-country.  Sadly, he has no interest in joining the team.  No interest in sports?  You can still find kindred spirits in clubs with people who have similar interests.  I've had to scale back my running in recent years but I've re-discovered skiing, which will fill some of the void.  It is very important to find a productive activity outside of work or school both as a teen and as an adult.  

Health:

 Sadly, there are genetic factors that leave you more vulnerable to chronic disease.  Still, for most people, you can improve yourself by following basic guidelines:  Don't smoke.  Don't drink to excess.  Eat well and get some exercise.  You don't have to train like a marathoner.  Even a regular brisk walk for 15-30 minutes is a lot better than sitting on the couch.  I've pulled out all the stops to get myself up from a D to a C in this area.  If I can do that, it will be life changing.  While I won't be bringing home a supermodel, I'm sure that I will get some quality matches who show interest if I put my picture on dating sites.  Finding a compatible partner may not be so easy however.  I've had some not so good experiences recently so I'm beginning to doubt whether or not I will seek marriage.  I won't say that I'll be okay with it if it never happens but given the choice, I'd much rather be healthy.   

Now on to the controversy:

A friend of mine took heat for saying that being black in America has NOT been a handicap.  My opinion is that it depends on your age.  Born in 1950 and raised by parents who grew up under Jim Crow?  Yes, it is a significant disadvantage.  Born in 1980 or thereafter?  Not nearly as much.  I say that if you come from a good family, are intelligent and attractive, you have just about the same chance of being successful in every area of life as everyone else.  

I will not deny that police profiling does exist nor do I deny the reality of racism.  I can't imagine how hurtful it is to be told to your face that you are disliked or worse simply because of the color of your skin.  Words cannot express how much I hate that.  Still, such attitudes are not nearly as pervasive today and I've seen real progress in the last 20 years.  If I were to rank the biggest problems in the black community, police brutality is not in the top 5.  There are many aspects of life that create a far greater disadvantage than your race.  While some will face greater obstacles than others, I strongly believe that no matter your skin color, you CAN make it in America with good life decisions especially if you don't have an F in any of the 4 categories.    

Training 1/25-1/31

 1/25- AM.  Test intervals to assess adrenal spike.  Opener was a less awful 3:08 (9:24 pace) and I was doing better on the back half.  On 3 pills, I was down to 2:41 (8:03 pace) but on 6 pills, I managed only a 2:33 (7:39 pace).  The gaps are closing, which is good but I want to see a higher ceiling.  I wasn't going all out and was sore from yesterday but expected better than this.  If I am to up the dosage, I may see small gains but as time goes on, I will see less and less incremental benefit.  Leaning towards staying on 3 ADHS.  

PM- More of the same.  I'm not collapsing but not improving either.  Worried that there could be another missing piece.  My gut tells me it is probiotics (no pun intended).  I'll ride with this formula until the end of the week then try the Probiotics again if I am not better.  Worried that the pattern could repeat itself in which I could be forced on and off the pills at unpredictable intervals.  Let's hope that doesn't happen.  Workout was Lakeshore 2.5 in 23:50 (9:32 pace).  Took it easier after yesterday and did manage a slight negative split but this is not good.  I should be doing this at sub-9 pace given my recent volume.  Shooting for 25 miles this week and I'm right on target.

Distance=3.5

1/26- Same workout as yesterday evening.  Improved to 20:15 for 2.5 miles (8:06 pace) plus a cool.  That is MUCH better.  MUCH!  The only thing that I changed was upping my Lactoferrin from 1 pill to 3 pills. That's good news.  I should see improvement with increased Lactoferrin and will not have to go back to Probiotics.  

Distance=3.0

1/27- Today answers another key question.  Lacotferrin provides benefits only AFTER a forbidden drink, not before.  I took 3 of those in the morning but was still struggling after a forbidden drink shortly thereafter.  Workout was 2 miles at Montreat in 17:08 (8:34 pace) but my splits were 9:01-8:07 with the big improvement coming only after I took another Lactoferrin.  Added a half mile cool.  Prediction:  If I strictly limit the forbidden drinks, I will be much less dependent on the Lactoferrin and may even get away with occasional missed doses.  If I don't limit consumption, I won't collapse but will need mega doses to even come close to respectability.  It's an easy decision.  Let's hope I don't react badly.  Before the Lactoferrin, I TRIED TO DO THIS!!  I became intolerant to BOTH sugars and Probiotics.  Still have a chance to hit 25 on the week.

Distance=2.5

1/28- Lakeshore 5 in 44:56 (8:59 pace).  I made the goal.  Not exactly pretty but this is progress.  Pace was hovering just 1-2 seconds over 9 most of the way but finished pretty strong.  No caffeine.  Not a miracle yet but I should see steady progress now.  Even if I slipped to 10 minute pace for the next 1.2, I still finish a 10K under 57, which is 1:40 better than last weekend in Atlanta.  Got a shot at 25 now.

Distance=5.0

1/29- Vestavia 5K in 26:18 (8:25 pace).  Best time of the year by 36 seconds so I can't be too upset but I was hoping for a little better.  I was doing sub-8 pace through the first 600 then hovered just over 8:30 from there until the final sprint.  Splits were 8:17-8:33-8:33-55.  I'll take it but I'm still clearly being held back by imbalances.  I may try Thym-Adren to speed up the process.  Blood donation will be next week.  Just need 8 more miles.

Distance=3.1

1/30- FAILED.  Culprit was clearly the Liver Beef because of its Iron content.  Blood donation next week.  I'm betting that my best hope of significant improvement in the near-term is to load on Lactoferrin.  1 mile on Lakeshore in 10-flat.  I knew early that I didn't have it but thought I could tough it out and finish.  Nope.  Energy completely ran out after 0.75 miles.  I will try again tomorrow.

Distance=1.0

1/31- UGLY!  Determined to finish at least 3.9 miles to hit 22 on the week (10 percent increase).  I was barely moving at the end but I made it.  Average pace was over 11 minutes per mile and got slower and slower. However, I've learned something BIG!  My need for Lactoferrin depends on my TRS dosage.  This does make sense.  Candida binds with toxic metals.  TRS breaks the bond.  Sugars and Iron feed the candida but Lactoferrin starves it.  The two MUST be taken together.  It is better to take neither than one or the other.  The more TRS sprays that I take, the more Lactoferrin I need.   Limit sugars and keep the TRS dose low and I should see improvement.  One last question:  If I take a low dose of TRS, will I be hurt by too much Lactoferrin?  I already know that if I take too much TRS, I WILL be hurt by not enough.  That will be answered next week.

PM- BIG!  I couldn't wait.  I wanted an answer now and got the one that I wanted.  3xhalf lap at Montreat.  This morning, I took Lactoferrin and NO TRS.  Sucked in the workout and the interval.  My opener was 90 (9:00 pace).  After 3 sprays and just 1 Lactoferrin, I was all the way down to 50 (5:00 pace).  That's not a night and day difference.  It's a midnight versus noon difference.  The moment of truth came after 4 more Lactoferrin.  After a full rest, I managed a 51 (5:06 pace).  Not a significant loss.  Good news all around,  if my TRS dose is low, I will be less dependent on Lactoferrin but will not be hurt if I take too much.  Too much TRS with too little Lactoferrin is another matter.  

Distance=4.4

Weekly summary:

Not a total loss and learned key information at the end.  I have a faint glimmer of hope.

Distance= 22.5.  YTD=67.5 

Training 1/18-1/24

 1/18-1 mile junk run on the grounds of the Parthenon in Nashville.  Finished in 8:03 with a significant negative split then added a half mile cool.  It's a start.  

Distance=1.5

1/19- Lakeshore 2.5 bottom leg.  Finished in 23:30 (9:24 pace).  That's about what I expected.  Took 3 ADHS in the morning but none in the afternoon.  Probably could have done better if I had taken more in the afternoon but I prefer the slower path and more stability.  Even pace but not a whole lot left at the end.  1st half- 11:48, 2nd half- 11:42.

Distance=2.5

1/20- Lakeshore 4 in 36:41 (9:10 pace).  This matches my longest run of the year.  Slow and steady progress is exactly what I am looking for.  Unless you look closely, you can't even tell that the hour hand on a clock is moving.  Come back 6 hours later and it's completely on the opposite position.  If I can avoid a relapse and train steadily for 6 months, I'll be in an entirely different place physically, mentally, emotionally.  So many things will be reversed.

Distance=4.0

1/21-AM- 1 mile on Montreat in 9:45 WITHOUT pills.  Much less horrible than the end of last week.  The adrenal spike to going down but I've still got a ways to go.

PM- Lakeshore 3 in 26:13 (8:44 pace).  Satisfactory.  Today, I went out faster but struggled a bit down the stretch.  1st half- 12:58, 2nd half- 13:15.  This is equivalent to about a 27:18 for 5K, which is within the margin of error of my best of the year (26:54).  I'm sure that I would be comfortably beaten yesterday over an extra mile so I'm continuing to take baby steps every day.  Could have gone longer but want to keep this week's total around 20.

Distance=4.0

1/22- Slow and Naked 1.5 mile jog at Montreat.  Legs are more tired than expected but then again, I'm no longer used to steady running.  If I can manage 6.5 on Sunday, I'll hit 20 on the week, which is what I was shooting for.

Distance=1.5

1/23- Planned rest day.

1/24- 10K on the Silver Comet Trail.  It wasn't pretty but I am on the board at this distance.  Finished in 58:40 (9:26 pace) with a slight negative split.  29:30-29:10 but the trail is slightly sloped so that's to be expected.  I was on pace for about a 2:04-flat for a half.  I had more in me than this but another 7 miles?  I don't think so.   Added a warm to make the distance target.

It wasn't pretty but I hit the mileage target and have managed to avoid a collapse.  However, if I don't see significant improvement soon, I may have to up my dose.

Distance= 20.0.  YTD- 45

Training 1/11-1/17

 I am going to have to write another week off as a loss.  In the words of Brothers Osbourne, It Ain't My Fault.  I said previously that I am unsure if I still need to Lactoferrin.  After 7 days off it, it has become apparent that I do.  Not a big surprise.  It's just like the others.  5-7 days off, no problems noticed.  Any more than that is.  I ran out of pills on 1/5 and I HAD ORDERED IT AFTER GETTING BACK FROM CANCUN!  According to the tracking, the package arrived in Birmingham on 1/5 and is STILL listed as "in transit" to its destination.  Again, it ain't my fault that I ran out.  Who knows when I will receive it?  Another company took a full month to deliver NADH!  I ordered a backup bottle from Amazon, which SUPPOSEDLY will arrive by Friday.  

Any workouts?

1 mile worth of junk on both Monday and Tuesday, which is not helping me at all.  I've only got about 10 weeks until Salisbury, Maryland so time is running out to gain fitness.  I was really hoping this week would be the start of steady and serious training but that has to wait yet again.  Will the race actually go off in Salisbury?  I have my doubts.  If not, that makes 2 years in a row.  What started as 2-4 weeks to flatten the curve will drag on for at least an entire year.  

1/16- Pills arrived today and got immediate improvement that was followed by an adrenal spike.  Workout was 3xl laps at Montreat.  Took 1 ADHS pill after lap 1 and lap 2.  Splits were 3:56-3:12-2:36.  The gap is an even 4 minutes between the opener and the closer (11:48 vs 7:48) and I'm betting that I had more improvement in me if I had taken more pills

1/17- Planned rest day.  If I can barely hold a sub-8 for 1/3 of a mile, it doesn't portend well for an actual workout.

-Only 3 miles on the week.  YTD-25

Hawaii Trip Plan

 I'm going to Hawaii without a race.  I had planned to mark my 50th state visited with my 50th race state but given the scope of the situation with COVID and a possible vaccine requirement to travel by air, it may not happen.  My other race states are Maryland, Minnesota and Maine.  I've been to all 3 of these multiple times.  If worse comes to worst, I could drive to all 3.  Maryland would take a day and a half.  I can get to southern Minnesota in 16 hours or a manageable 2 day drive.  Maine would be a tough 2.5-3 days so let's hope that I don't have to do that.  Obviously, I cannot drive to Hawaii but perhaps the requirement, if enacted, is lifted in a few years.  

When?

I thought about MLK Day weekend.  I'm already getting cabin fever and I've only been back to working from home for 3 days.  Nope, it's too soon after Cancun.  I will wait until President's Day weekend and hope that no new restrictions are imposed between now and then.  Figure 2/11 would be my travel day getting there.  Then, I'd spend 4 full days in Hawaii and leave on 2/16.  I'll probably have to take a red eye and another day to recover from jet lag so that's a week out and 4 days off work.  Logistically, it will be tough.  It looks like the best option is to fly out of Atlanta and take a relatively short layover in Seattle with both flights being just over 5 hours.  A better option would be to break up the trip back with an overnight layover in San Francisco.  Unfortunately, there is a 10 day quarantine requirement there.  Ridiculous that I could get in trouble for taking a walk down to the bay to see the Golden Gate Bridge but yes, I could get caught.  They will know that I am a tourist.   

Which Island?

The 4 major islands are Kuai, Maui, Oahu and Hawaii (Big Island).  They have their pros and cons and  I intend to visit them all.  After quite a bit of deliberation, I feel that the Big Island is the best fit for a relatively short trip.  Of course, the biggest attraction for me will be Magic Sands Beach, which is supposedly very good for body boarding and I'll be spending most of my time there.  I expect at the very least, it will rival the beauty of Cancun.  It may be even better.  Though probably not the best for swimming, I still want to see a black sand beach and yes, there is one on this island.  Believe it or not, there is snow in the winter on top of this island's highest mountain.  Hopefully, there will be enough to go snow tubing.  Man, that would be wild in Hawaii!  There is also a Volcanic National Park and some hiking trails with waterfalls on the other side of the island.  That will be plenty to do in 4 days.

Weather:

I'll be spending most of my time on the Leeward or Dry side of the island.  I can expect sunny skies with a low chance of rain.  Both air and water temps should be in the low 80s.  By contrast, the city of Hilo, just about 2 hours away receives considerable rainfall all year round.  This will not be the farthest south that I have been.  That honor goes to Puerto Rico by just over 1 degree in latitude.  

COVID?

Hawaii is open for tourism with no quarantine requirement.  I will have to pass a COVID test within 3 days of my arrival.  I don't want to be a statistic and add to the count of false positives but that's a risk that I am willing to take.  What if I don't get another chance at this?  If in the unlikely event that I get sick, I'll have to spend 10-14 days in Hawaii.  Could be worse.  I'd rather be there than Mexico. Again, it's a risk that I am willing to take.  DO IT!

Health Updates and COVID Predictions

 Well, Lactoferrin appears to have solved my sugar intolerance.  I still have trouble with too many Probiotics but that's okay.  Lactoferrin does the job of starving the candida and is much better tolerated.  Sulfur is okay now up to a point.  A Taurine or even a Glutathione pill is okay but several of them? Not so much.  I'm okay with that as well.  I've pitched the bottle of Probiotics and the Colostrum.  

Unfortunately, as is often the case, whenever I solve a MAJOR problem, my adrenals spike.  I've had to take mega doses of ADHS (adrenal modulator) in the last 10-14 days.  Without the ADHS, I am about as bad as you can possibly imagine.  I could not hold a 12 minute pace for a lap around Montreat and got relief only after the mega doses.  Thankfully, this does appear to be a temporary reaction.  I've been getting better without pills in recent days.  In fact, today, I nearly hit 8:00 minute pace for a lap around the track as my opener.  Figure that still translates to 8:30-8:45ish at Montreat.  Pretty soon, the ADHS will become like the other pills.  I won't notice an occasional missed dose but I'm in big trouble if I go 5+ days without it.  

Possible Iron Overload:

I've ruled out going back to Thym-Adren (adrenal suppressant) to calm the adrenal spike.  I could go too far with it and if it is related to Iron, it won't solve the root cause.  I'm sticking with the modulator even if it takes longer.  One supplement that is likely to help is Curcumin.  YES, I will donate blood 3 times per year.  I only did it once in 2020 and I'm not sure I did it at all in 2019.  I was afraid of the toxic dumps from the TRS.  

Reactions to Sugar and Alcohol:

I can handle a non-caffeinated Sprite with no problem.  Same with a Coke or even a small Red Bull.  In fact, this morning I was actually marginally better after consuming the latter.  A large Rockstar (160 mg caffeine) or Bang (300 mg)?  Yes, that does present a problem.  However, after the experimental binge, I found that I got relief after extra ADHS.  That's strong evidence that the adrenal spike, not the candida was responsible for the negative reaction to excessive caffeine.

Alcohol is a different story.  I still have to be very careful with that stuff.  A single 12 oz beer say once per week should not hurt me but any more than that could be a problem.  In Cancun, I was drinking 2-4 drinks every day.  That's hardly a binge especially when it's spread out over lunch and dinner but towards the end, I noticed that I felt markedly WORSE immediately after consumption of alcohol.  However, I was better after several hours and there was no hangover the next morning .  In this case, ADHS did not help in the least but extra Lactoferrin did provide a bit of relief.  Lo and behold, I read that alcohol does indeed worsen Iron Overload so I'm nearly certain that has reared its ugly head again.  At least now, I know what to do about it.  Curcumin will probably help lower the Iron.  Blood donation will take care of the Ferritin.  

I'm feeling a trace of optimism after the 7:18 Mile this morning.  The adrenal spike hasn't faded completely and I've run very little in the past 2 months.  I've been burned by false hopes way too many times but I feel like there is a chance that my current formula plus the Iron treatments may finally lead me to stability.  

COVID:

In what should be a surprise to nobody, adverse reactions to the vaccine have been recorded.  Damage does not always show up immediately so it may be months or longer before we know how dangerous it really is.  Warnings have been issued NOT to get pregnant or impregnate anyone for at least 28 days because of the risk of birth defects.  You can bet that people will skip the second dose if they had a reaction to the first one.   Also, there have been reports of people catching the virus just days after getting vaccinated.  Nobody claimed it was 100 percent effective and supposedly even if it is effective, you remain susceptible in between your first and second dose.  I'm taking my chances with a virus that has a 99.9 percent survival rate for people my age.  Like I said, I won't do anything stupid to put myself or others at risk and believe that all those beach trips were the best thing for me to protect myself.  

Fauci has already said that a vaccine will likely be required to attend school or work in a hospital as well as to travel.  I called it.  If that's the case, I'll probably have to get the shot eventually but don't want to give in so easily and remain VERY fearful given my history of inexplicable reactions.  I suspect that I have autoimmune issues but the solution for that is to take a immunosuppressant.  Not a very attractive option during a pandemic and it does not address the root cause, which is toxic metals.  I'm shooting for Hawaii in February while I still can.

What about the new mutated strains of the virus?  Will the vaccine protect against that?  I predict that it will become like the flu shot.  Ineffective against certain strains.  If that's the case, the virus is not going away and neither is the mask requirement and social distancing (barf!).  The average person will catch it probably once every 5-7 years just like the flu.  If correct, the attempt to push the mandatory vaccine will fail and the virus will be most often treated with drugs on an outpatient basis.  Big Pharma will never admit that HCQ and Invermectin work so they'll market a new and more expensive drug for COVID.  Fortunately, it will be effective and it will be a new normal with masks and temperature checks upon entering any establishment.  Some countries will be more restrictive for tourism than others.  Mexico and the Caribbean will be mostly open to American tourists.  Canada, Europe and East Asia?  Probably not so much.      

I don't know anyone who has died of or with COVID but yes, I do know some people that caught the virus.  I suspect that I had it myself last winter.  I did get pink eye, which is an early symptom but that cleared up with eye drops.  I don't remember any serious cough or congestion and the fatigue wasn't much worse than my usual.  I was worried about my 70 year old uncle who is significantly overweight but his case was no worse than a common cold.  On the other hand, a 55 year old marathon runner described it as the most uncomfortable illness that he can remember though he did ultimately recover.  A 25 year-old co-worker caught it as well and for him, it was similar to a standard flu.  It's hard to predict the effects of the virus but long-term problems are very rare for people without major underlying conditions.  I still favor opening the economy with extra precautions.

Training 1/1-1/10

 1/1- Nothing changes on New Year's Day.  Hoped to run 3 miles at Vestavia.  Had to settle for 1 with a time of 9:54.  Splits were 4:42-5:12.  Once again, a formula that showed promise yesterday did not work today.  Detailed health post is coming.

Distance=1.0

1/2- MUCH better today.  Opened with a 2:03 track lap without pills then was actually slightly better after a small Red Bull (1:57).  Rested for a few minutes, popped the pills and tried a Mile.  Finished in a much less horrible time of 7:18 then added a 2 lap cool.  Splits were 1:44-1:50-1:55-1:49.  I've been fading on the back half of my runs lately but that's probably just because I am out of shape.  I just want to get consistent volume at this point.  Not really worried about pace though I'd like to see a 6:xx at this distance soon then a 5:xx if it's not too much to ask.

Distance=2.0

1/3- 12.5 laps at Vestavia plus a 1.5 lap cool so I am on the board at the 5K distance for 2021.  Time was unimpressive at 26:54 (8:37 pace) but there were signs of hope.  I went out too conservative today but finished strong.  Splits were 8:51-8:48-8:25 then ran the last 200 in 50 seconds.  I was almost as fast over the last 400 today as I was in my opening lap of the Mile yesterday.  Early on, I thought I'd have for fight for a sub-28 but ended up breaking 27 and there is still room for improvement with better pacing.  As far as the adrenal spike, I was still awful without the pills so when the Curcumin arrives, I should see further improvement.  I expect the usual pattern with the strong negative initial reaction followed by the insatiable need, which will eventually fade.

Distance=3.5

1/4- Easy 4 on Lakeshore.  Finished in 35:39 (8:55 pace).  Solid performance.  Pacing for easy runs is hard to gauge at this stage so I just went by feel.  My current race pace at this distance as of yesterday is probably around 8:30 with proper pacing and easy runs should be 60+ seconds slower.  That said, race paces are improving every day at this point in training.  Maybe a touch fast but it's fine.  

Distance=4.0

1/5-AM- Vestavia Mile in 7:05.  I'm satisfied.  I was hoping to get under 7 today and came up short but I'm not going to complain about cutting off 13 seconds in 3 days.  11 of the 13 came in the back half so that's good news.  Splits were more typical this time.  1:43-1:49-1:51-1:42.  Back half was just 1 tick slower than the first half and the last go round was my fastest 400 of the year.  I'll beat that time easily in a flat out 400. I think I can get under 90.  There may be some bumps ahead with the expected arrival of the Curcumin pills but in the long-run, it will be a benefit.  May be back out for a short and easy run this evening.

PM- Lunch run on Lakeshore.  Easy 2.5 in 21;53 (8:45 pace).  Quite comfortable all the way and picked it up a bit on the back half.  I can bet that my next 5K time trial will be a LOT better.  I bet that I'll be well into the 25s.   Could have gone longer but I want to be conservative with the mileage early.  I want to keep it between 20-25 in this, the first week.

Distance=3.5 

1/6- I predicted bumps ahead with the arrival of the Curcumin and got a swift negative response to it.  However, this is often followed by an insatiable NEED for the next few days.  I predict that my need for ADHS and Lactoferrin will diminish and it will be a net benefit once I adjust.  Lactoferrin is late but should arrive no later than tomorrow.   Did 1 mile worth of junk running at Montreat.  Did not even time it but I figure that it was between 10 and 12 minutes.  Bad weather will arrive tomorrow and I had hoped to make that my planned rest day of the week.

Distance=1.0

1/7- AM-Good news.  Curcumin is effective.  Opened with a 1:44 half lap at Montreat then dropped to a 1:22 after popping 1 pill.  A 2nd pill dropped me down to a 1:08.  That's a drop from 10:24 pace all the way down to a 6:48 and was done WITHOUT either the ADHS or the Lactoferrin.  Unfortunately, that is likely it for today unless there is a break in the weather this evening.  Wish I could run inside but I don't think that is safe during a pandemic. I predict that I will experience another downturn this afternoon that will be relieved only after taking more Curcumin.  Maybe this won't last as long because I have taken Curcumin before.

PM- Able to squeeze in 1 mile at lunch. It was 3 laps at Montreat.  Predictions were accurate.  Within just a few hours, I was noticeable poorer and got relief only after taking more Curcumin.  Finished with an overall time of 8:02.  Splits were 3:05-2:40-2:17.  I popped 1 pill after each lap and we see the results.  It's going to be like this to a lesser extent at least through the weekend.

Distance=1.5

1/8- 1 mile junk run at Montreat.  Did not time it but to my relief, it did not feel as horrible as yesterday without the pills.  Figure around 9 minutes give or take and I was not pushing hard.  More good news came later this evening as alcohol was well tolerated.

Distance=1.0

1/9- Snow flurries today.  2 pills this morning were not nearly enough.  Hoped to run 2.5 on Lakeshore but settled for 1.5 in 14:08 (9:26 pace).  I was at 6:56 at the turnaround then slipped to a 7:12 but actually thought the fade would be worse on the back half.  Heart was not into it either.  Lactoferrin is stuck in transit but I don't think that is hurting me.  It will take a few more days to adjust to the Curcumin.  I will also donate blood down the road.

Distance=1.5

1/10- News is mixed.  Workout was a lot better today.  3x1 mile on Lakeshore with roughly 3 minutes rest.  Overall time was 24:35 (8:12 avg).

0 pills- 9;06

1 pill- 8:04

2 pills-7:25

Good news all around.  Not nearly as bad on no pills so on Day 5, as expected, I've nearly adjusted.  Still a pretty big gap after 1 pill but less of a gap between 1 and 2.  Didn't run on 3 but did not feel a significant change.  A few hours later however, the adrenal spike hit HARD.  The only thing that will help that is massive ADHS.  I'm prepared for another rough week ahead.

Distance=3.0

-22 miles in 10 days, which is a 7 day average of 15.4.  Not nearly enough.

My Christmas Vacation

 No visit to see my parents and this is NOT something that I want to repeat as long as they are alive.  I would have been miserable if I stayed home so I would go and make the best of it.  

12/20- Left home in the afternoon and headed towards Gatlinburg.  Spent the night in Cherokee, North Carolina just outside the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.  Nice mountain scenery but I had hoped to see snow capped mountain peaks.  No such luck,  Only at 4500-5000 feet was there a dusting of snow on the ground and the road up to Klingman's Dome (6600 feet) was closed for the winter.

12/21- Ober Gatlinburg.  First time skiing in nearly 25 years and I consider it a success.  I did take lessons and was very cautious out there.  Yes, there were a couple of small spills but I did progress to the ski lifts and Beginner slopes by the end of the day.  From there, it was a longer than expected drive to Atlanta to catch my flight to Cancun the next morning.  It required a plane flight but I've checked off a bucket list item to go skiing and body surfing on back to back days.  I hope to do Maggie Valley/Charleston sometime soon.  The ski resort was located at about 3300 feet elevation so the snow was not real but for Tennessee, I'm not going to complain.  

12/22- Arrived in plenty of time.  This was my first international flight on my own so I was a bit apprehensive.  I did have to show my passport to get my boarding pass and to board the flight itself as well as fill out a Mexican immigration form but it was pretty much painless.  I took a private taxi to my hotel and actually had a decent conversation with my driver in Spanish.  While a sharp cold front was headed for the East Coast in the US, I arrived to find 80 degree temps with palm trees lining the streets.  Cancun is below the Tropic of Cancer but didn't feel quite as tropical as Puerto Rico.  The impending cold front did affect Cancun a bit and brought the temps down to 74 by Christmas Day.  My hotel was on the 5th floor with a full ocean view.

12/23 and 24- Though the sand here is not quite as white as the Emerald Coast, the water is the most beautiful shade of blue that I have ever seen so I've got to give the edge to Cancun.  As far as food, I dined outside and mostly stuck to my hotel.  As far as the surf, I have mixed reviews.  The waves were pretty high at 3-4 feet but I had to be careful of the shore break.  That is, most waves broke and crashed almost directly on the sand.  That meant steep drops and short rides.  It was fun but some of the waves were too big.  A steep drop off directly onto wet sand?  Yes, that can be dangerous.  Lifeguards were vigilant.  I knew what I was doing out there so I was fine and knew which waves not to catch on the board.  Even still, one wave in particular left me with a mildly sore lower back but that did NOT put a damper on the trip.  

12/25- The day dawned cloudy so I ventured away from the hotel to get some real Mexican food and a souvenir t-shirt.  There is an upscale shopping area just a couple kilometers from where I was staying.  Many Americans from border towns come into Mexico for cheap food and dental work but in Cancun, prices are about on par with what you'd find in the USA, maybe even a bit higher.  Oh well, this was meant to be a luxurious vacation.  By the afternoon, I was back in the surf.  Temps had dropped to the low-mid 70s and with a strong wind, it was a tad chilly but I didn't complain with a water temp that remained near 80.  When the sun was out around high noon, that's when the water looks its most beautiful blue.  

12/26- I was able to steal a couple more hours in the surf before catching my flight back.  This one was delayed by more than 2 hours and Cancun is not the most interesting airport either so I wish I had stayed longer at the beach.  Still, I could not risk a SNAFU with immigration or security.  I did have to fill out a health questionnaire.  It was almost midnight by the time I got through Customs.  Needless to say, I was quite tired the next day back in America

Final Thought:

An excellent trip and I may be back someday but I am a variety seeker so if/when I return to a non-border town in Mexico, it will likely be Puerto Vallarta.  That's on the Pacific side in the state of Jalisco several hours north of Acapulco.  I've considered Cabo but the big negative there is that most of the beaches are not safe for swimming and those that are have little to no surf.      

Lactoferrin for Sensitivity

 I have a glimmer of hope:

On the promise of increased immunity against COVID, I ordered a bottle of Lactoferrin ahead of my Cancun flight.  As for Christmas, once again, my parents have decided that it is best that I do NOT come home.  Just like Thanksgiving, if I must be alone, I will go somewhere and have some fun.  Miami is the only spot in the continental US where it will likely be warm enough to swim without a wetsuit and I just went to South Florida last month.  Given possible vaccine requirements, now is my best chance to travel internationally.  

Latest Medical Episode:

I got a can of Mountain Dew with my lunch last week.  I know it's not good for me but for the last time, an odd can every once in a while SHOULD NOT hurt me.  This time, I could feel the trouble starting after just a few sips so I just dumped the rest of the can.  I took just a trace of Probiotics and was immediately BETTER.  BUT, the full pill left me worse off than I was before.  Anyone who reads this blog knows that this is nothing new for me.  Now, given my reaction to pills, just imagine how badly I could react to a vaccine!  I am REALLY worried about a de-facto requirement and I believe the media is over-hyping the threat to scare the public into accepting it.  

Lactoferrin Effective:

As I understand it, Lactoferrin stores and sequesters Iron by raising Ferritin levels, which plays a role in combating fungal growth.  This means that I may not have to mess with the Probiotics.  I've been instructed in a health group to keep Ferritin levels as low as possible.  I may have to disagree.  Excess Iron is bad and I know now that it played a major role in my extreme fast oxidation and need for mega doses of adrenal suppressants.  Fortunately, regular blood donations can protect against that.  The payoff that I did not expect is that Lactoferrin may eliminate the sensitivity.  As with any effective treatment, I got an initial negative response that was followed by an insatiable NEED.  This need will diminish with 7-10 days and it will become just like the other pills in which I can get by without it for 5 days.  

Test Results;

This past weekend, I did everything wrong with the diet.  I took advantage of an unseasonably warm day to go swimming in Pensacola on Saturday (73 degrees with a 69 water temp).  I found it tolerable but the conditions were a bit choppy so I only caught a few really good waves.  At any rate, I drank caffeine and alcohol the previous day.  Without Lactoferrin, I was awful.  I opened with a 2:54 lap at Montreat (8:42 pace) but after a single pill, I was all the way down to 2:25 (7:15 pace).  The moment of truth came after taking both Glutathione and Probiotics,  I only hoped to hold my form but I actually improved marginally to a 2:23 (7:09 pace).  Exactly what I wanted to see.  A small improvement but not enough to be considered significant.  Going forward, IF this holds, I will cut out the Probiotics in favor of Lactoferrin but will give blood a few times per year.  Probably no serious training until the end of the year.  Just some junk runs to prevent getting too far out of shape.

Unrelated Rants:

I've heard of a new migrant caravan starting in Honduras.  Regardless of where you stand on the immigration issue, allowing a large crowd to come in untested DURING a pandemic??  No words to describe the depth of stupidity.  I cannot even walk from San Diego to Tijuana or from El Paso to Ciudad Juarez unless it is for "essential business" and the border restrictions are even tougher in Canada.  

I've also heard that a deep forensic audit of Dominion software voting machines was done in Michigan yet the results have been sealed from the public.  Once again, just let us know the results!  If it showed that a couple small glitches only made the difference of a few hundred votes, I will accept Biden's win as legitimate.  If the result is not revealed, it leads me to believe that there is something that they don't want us to know about.  I will remain suspicious and that's hardly an unreasonable view.  

Final Election Analysis

 Yes, there was some degree of fraud.  Was it enough to change the outcome?  I remain uncertain but suspicious that it did.  I'm going to say possible but bordering on probable.  After a bit more analysis from David Leip's Atlas, I have found several curious results.

Let's start with evidence against Trump:

He's 38 EV short of 270.  Even if he legitimately won Georgia and Arizona, which were decided by about a quarter of 1 percent, he's still 11 votes short.  Even Wisconsin would not be enough.  He'd need to flip PA, which was decided by nearly a full percentage point or 80K votes.  That's pretty steep.  Still, Georgia, Pennsylvania plus any other state would put him over the top.  

I looked at the county by county votes in the swing states.  I did not find any rural counties that flipped massively to Biden after a big Trump win in 2016.  That would be too easy to spot.  Biden did in fact pick up a couple of counties that were close Trump wins in 2016.  

Curious Findings:

Let's start with the Hispanic vote:

Trump gained massive ground in Miami Dade and the Rio Grande valley in Texas.  Biden under-performed Clinton by 13 in Miami and in some cases 30+ in south Texas.  The reasons for that are understandable.  Socialism doesn't sell among Cubans and Venezuelans because they've personally seen the damage that it does.  

In south Texas, I believe the reason is increased support for border control during a pandemic. What kind of fool would support caravans of migrants pouring in while COVID cases are spiking?  It remains to be seen whether or not this trend continues in 2024.  As is the case in many other suburban areas, Trump lost significant ground in formerly deep red areas surrounding Houston and Dallas.  He will need those votes to keep Texas red.

However, those gains among Hispanics did NOT carry over to New Mexico and Arizona.  Again, Hispanics are not a monolith but I still find it curious the he did so much better in Texas but worse in crucial Arizona

Urban areas:

According to exit polls, Trump doubled Romney's share of the black vote.  I suspect it may actually be a touch higher because people may not want to admit it to pollsters in front of their significant other.  Therefore, as expected Biden under-performed both Clinton and Obama as a percentage in most major cities such as New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.  Trump consistently gained about 4-5 points in each of those counties.  HOWEVER, in cities like Milwaukee, Detroit and Atlanta, the opposite occurred.  Biden significantly outperformed Clinton while the number of votes also spiked.  In Philadelphia, I saw about what I expected.  Trump did marginally better as a percentage but was hurt by increased turnout.  The suburbs do look fishy as I will explain next.  

Suburbs:

Yes, I believe that it is true that Trump is losing educated suburban types and was also hurt by those who switched from 3rd party candidates to Biden.  However, the margins of victory by Biden as well as the turnout especially in suburban Atlanta and Philadelphia look suspicious.  I will highlight Cobb county Georgia, which is in the northwest suburbs of Atlanta and once a Republican stronghold that gave us Newt Gingrich.  Biden outperformed Obama's 2012 showing by 24 points and Clinton's by 12.  The vote total increased by 25% versus 2016.   I'm familiar with this county and have seen some changes due to migration and demographics.  Still, that much of change in just 2 short election cycles is hard to believe but not unprecedented..  

Vote counting:

In Ohio and Iowa, mail in votes were counted first.  As a result, Trump was trailing in both states until about 75% of the precincts were reported but surged ahead and neither was close at the end.  When the vote counting paused in the middle of the night, Trump was leading Michigan by 10 and Pennsylvania by 15.  I knew those margins would never hold but I remain suspicious about what happened overnight.  Obviously, mail in ballots were counted last in both states and Biden's margins were huge.  I have my suspicions that some Biden votes were illegal and Trump votes were destroyed.  Even the news media reported that the latter occurred in Georgia.  Recently, a video was uncovered in which several suitcases of ballots were uncovered after counting stopped in Georgia.  What happened there?  

Mail in ballots:

There are unconfirmed reports of ballot curing in Democratic areas.  That is, ballots are filled out incorrectly but changed by poll workers in accordance with voter intentions.  Also, in most elections, about 3% of mail in ballots are rejected due to missing or mismatched signatures.  In this election, that number dropped to just 0.03% while such ballots heavily favored Biden.  

Dominion Software:

Here's where it borders on conspiracy territory.  The CEO allegedly said to Antifa that he made effing sure that Trump would not win.  Could be fake news there but there are reports in which Biden outperformed expectations in areas where the software was used while underperforming elsewhere. There were also reports of an algorithm to change a small percentage of Trump votes to Biden.  If it's just 1 out of 50, it turns a 50/50 county to 52/48, which won't even be questioned.  If this turns out to be baseless, I will admit it and retract this paragraph but I still want to see a full audit of those machines.  After all, Republicans had to listen to the Russia conspiracy theories for 3 years.  

Conclusion:

I believe Georgia was stolen for sure and probably Arizona but I am not convinced about the other states being challenged.  In the future, Democrats are counting on maintaining 75% of the non-white vote and once that share tops 40% of the electorate, it will be virtually impossible for Republicans to win.  We will see one party rule with only token opposition.  Democrats will drift further left and continue to be re-elected in spite of American decline.  No, I don't believe the USA will turn into Venezuela, at least not anytime soon.  Still, when I retire in about 20 years, Communist China will take over as the number 1 superpower and we will see extended economic stagnation.  Not good.