February Training

 Overall, I fared no better than I did in January.  In fact, I was probably worse.  I began the month with an adrenal spike that simply would not go down.  A few days into the month, I developed sudden and seemingly inexplicable reactions to Adenosyl B12 and Whole Food Vitamin C.  Vitamin C as Ascorbic Acid WAS tolerated and so with Methyl B12.  I later developed intolerance to the latter.  This was EXTREMELY MADDENING because I thought that the Intrinsic Factor was supposed to stop this from happening.   

Fortunately, there really WAS an explanation.  It was Iron Overload, which is often the culprit behind extreme adrenal over-activity.  It had been approximately one year since my last blood donation, and I also learned that the B12 that I take for Pernicious Anemia also raises Iron levels.  So too does Whole Food Vitamin C.  The solution was blood donation, which was done on the afternoon of February 13.  It is likely that I had Iron Overload AND Pernicious Anemia at the same time, and it would make sense that I felt better if I had both rather than one or the other because of compensation issues.   

No immediate impact was apparent but by the time I left for Arizona on 18^th, my dosage of Thym-Adren (adrenal suppressant) was trending down from a need of 6 pills per day down to 2-3.  A few days after I returned to Alabama, I could no longer tolerate the very pills that I could not function without just a couple weeks earlier.  I have no doubt that it was the blood donation that made the difference.  Once the mega doses wear off, it will probably be tolerated again but not necessary.  I’ll just have to keep donating every 4-6 months to prevent the adrenals from spiking again.  I was actually pleased by this development.  It was a sign of better adrenal balance.  That left me with only one must take treatment, which was the Fulvic Acid.  I was curious as to how the adrenal balance would affect my need/tolerance for the Fulvic Acid.

I tried to go without Fulvic Acid, and I knew on the afternoon of the first day that I still needed it.  No need to run to test things out.  Next, I tried a large dose of powder.  Bad call there too.  It proved to be too much and that became apparent on the second day.  Finally, I went back to the drops and have been gradually increasing my dose.  I’ve seen improvements in the last couple of days and I was less horrible without it this morning.  I predict the usual pattern in which the gap between the floor and ceiling will decrease.  Perhaps the Fulvic Acid will eventually become like the other treatments.  I won’t notice any problems unless I don’t take it for 5-7 days.  In other words, if I forget to pack it before a weekend trip, no big deal.  I would call that “under control.”

Needless to say, with all those crashes and adjustments, I did very little running and nothing longer than 3 miles.  On another note, I had hoped to find out from the blood donation, whether or not I have COVID antibodies.  So far, no word one way or the other.  Regardless, I am DONE with COVID.  Starting now, I will NOT shy away from crowded events even if they are indoors.  I will only wear a mask if I have to do so, such as on an airplane.  If a destination has vackseen or mask requirements, I just won’t go until they are lifted.  My only POSSIBLE exception would be Hawaii and that is only because it is my 50^th half marathon state.