March Training

 Sorry to be negative but this hurts!  No matter how hard I try, I just cannot plug all the leaks.  As soon as I solve one problem, another one springs up.  What is especially disheartening is that I often have a couple of days in which it seems like I am improving then WHAM, I am hit with another crushing relapse.  

I began the month with an extreme need for Fulvic Acid but limited tolerance to it and complete intolerance to Thym-Adren (adrenal suppressants).  I end the month with Fulvic Acid being just like all the other treatments.  I can get away with not taking it for a few days but probably cannot stop it altogether.  I also went through a period of extreme need for TRS but that too has faded.  I now have an extreme need for Thym-Adren.  Yes, that's right. The same stuff was not tolerated just 2 weeks ago but now I have an extreme need for it.  Nothing new for me.  I will never be happy unless I get this "under control" and I don't believe anyone else could handle it much better.

On the weekend of March 5-6, I did something crazy that bordered on stupid.  Some people are familiar with the California Double in the Los Angeles area.  That involves skiing in the morning then driving 2 hours for an afternoon and evening surf session.  The Carolina Combo is what I did.  On Friday, I drove to Charleston, South Carolina (7 hours) but arrived in time to take a dip before sunset.  Though it was sunny for most of the drive, it was overcast on the coast on both Friday night and Saturday morning.

At any rate, I was up and out the door just after 6 AM for a surf session at Isle of Palms and stayed until about 11 AM.  Air temp was in the low 60s with a water temperature of 58F.  Too cold for swim trunks but with a wetsuit, I was fairly comfortable.  Yes, there were other surfers in the water.  Surf conditions were strong enough to fun but strong enough to cause any wipeouts.  That was fine with me.  Going under in 58 degree water without any head protection was not real appealing.  At least I know what to expect if I ever hit the Pacific Northwest.  My wetsuit should work fine from Santa Cruz all the way up to the state of Washington in the summer.  Not sure if it is thick enough for Alaska or even British Columbia.

I grabbed something mediocre to eat between Charleston and Columbia then kept driving until I reached Maggie Valley, North Carolina (4-4.5 hours).  I arrived on time for a 5PM to close ski session at Cataloochee Ski Area.  That's right.  I went surfing and skiing on the same day.  Only I would even think of doing something like that.  I caught some nice mountain sunset views but with Spring just around the corner, ski conditions were poor.  There was quite a bit of mud, bare spots and slippery slopes.  I took one spill but handled the Beginner and Intermediate slopes.  Needless to say, I was completely exhausted at the end of the day as well as the next day.  Fortunately, I got home at a decent hour on Sunday. I do NOT recommend doing this.  Back to back days is fine.  You can have a nice surf session in Charleston then spend the night in Greenville/Spartanburg.  From there, it's not long to the NC mountains.  

 I binged on caffeine then had a reaction to it.  I've heard conflicting reports on caffeine's effect on detox.  Some reports say that it interferes with detox while others say it enhances its effects.  In any event, it should be avoided, and I've been pretty good about that lately.  Detox too quickly and the symptoms can be unbearable.  That explains the narrow range of tolerance to Fulvic Acid.  Too much triggered too much detox for me to handle.  

The spill on the slopes left me with a bit of knee soreness but it was no worse when running.  All I was able to do was junk anyway, so it really didn't matter.  By the middle of the month, it seemed like Fulvic Acid was becoming less of an extreme need as I was not significantly better after the drops.  I tried the stronger powder, which I could not tolerate before. Much to my relief, I was actually slightly BETTER but not enough to be considered significant.  At this point, it was becoming increasingly clear that detox was the cause of my symptoms.  For the next week, while the Fulvic Acid was no longer a critical need, I found that I felt much better after several sprays of TRS as well as immediately after going to the toilet.  I also got occasional stabbing pains in my organs.  That is DEFINITELY DETOX!  For those who say I should see a "real doctor," he or she CANNOT help with this!  I just have to let it run its course and hope against hope that it will eventually end.  

Towards the end of last week, the critical need for TRS also began to fade.  Though it wasn't pretty, I got through 5 miles yesterday in a time of 45:46 (9:09 pace).  That's right on the edge of sub-2 half marathon pace.  I wasn't completely spent either.  I had a couple more miles in the tank.  I followed that up with 3@8:33 this morning.  On the surface, it looks like a slightly better result, but I knew I was in trouble after fading badly down the stretch.  By lunch time, I was AWFUL!  As is often the case, after a major problem is solved, the adrenals temporarily spike.  I was much better after a few doses of Thym-Adren.  

What happens next?  Since the blood donation was just 6 weeks ago, I don't have to worry about Iron Overload.  The adrenal spike will calm down soon and I will probably be intolerant to Thym-Adren again.  The plan is to gradually reduce the dose from 6 pills down to 4 then 3 and so on.  Is it clear sailing after that?  Highly doubtful.  I will probably face another round of detox and the cycle will repeat itself.   

Racing Hawaii:

I am officially OUT for the April race.  I'm still considering Memorial Day but am leaning towards November in Oahu.  It's impossible to predict my health and fitness but it's a better fit for my travel schedule.  I'd like to go to the Outer Banks and So-Cal this summer.  No way that I can squeeze in Hawaii as well but if I want until November, maybe.  Still no confirmation one way or the other about the vackseen requirement.