Monthly Archives: March 2010


Evernote: My Other Brain

Thursday, March 25, 2010 4 Comments by Chronic Triathlete

My head is a sieve

Keeping track of things is a huge challenge for me right now and I have a lot going on. There’s my design and photography business, family, this blog, my training, health research, a motorcycle that needs maintenance… the list goes on. The ONLY way I’ve been able to keep track of all the info I need to have handy is with an awesome application called Evernote.

What is Evernote?

It’s not actually one thing, it’s a system of applications designed to help you organize various types of information from several different sources into one, central, web-based location. It allows you to clip and archive web pages, store screen shots, photos and text notes, all within a customizable storage system that you can access from your computer, your phone or from the web.

How does it help?

It’s been a life-saver for me in managing my foggy life. I store everything from website passwords to questions for my LLMD in it. Most of this happens right in the application installed on my desktop computer’s hard drive. But the beauty of Evernote is that it syncs with any other computer or mobile device that’s running the Evernote application.

I can access my notes on my laptop, my iPhone or by accessing my account on the Evernote website. This has saved me many times. Like the other night at the store, I couldn’t recall which pasta sauce I had confirmed was gluten-free. I have a list of gluten-free foods in Evernote and I was able to look it up via my iPhone while standing in the aisle.

Here are some other things I use it for:

  • Saving gluten-free recipes – Another handy thing to have access to at the store or when cooking away from home.
  • Lyme research – I save web pages into Evernote and then “tag” them with keywords like “Bart”, “Babs”, “Rifampin” and “detox”. Later, when I want to refer back to something I saved, I just look it up by the tag.
  • Photo scrapbook – You can email photos (or just text) to your Evernote account. The photos get saved in your list of notes. I sometimes take pix of news clippings to help me remember to look them up later.
  • Training plans – I have a couple of different training plans that I like to keep handy either for myself or for people who ask me about training.
  • Shopping – I want to refit the components on my road bike. I’ve been doing some comparison shopping from different dealers. I take screenshots and save them into Evernote along with my comments for later use.

I should also mention Evernote also has text recognition capabilities. This means you can take a photo of, say… a business card. Later, you can search for that person’s name and Evernote will find the picture of the card by “reading” the text in the image. It’s that smart.

It’s free to start, but you’re limited to a 40MB monthly upload allowance. I’ve upgraded to a paid account, but it’s only $5.00. This allows me to upload 500MB a month and remove the ads from the application (which aren’t that bad, really).

If you’re looking for a way to keep track of all the things running around your head, I highly recommend it.

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Mitchell & Webb: Nutritionists Partnership

Sunday, March 21, 2010 No Comments by Chronic Triathlete

If this video wasn’t so true it would be even funnier. I’m at the point in the skit where the doctor wants to look at my shit.

I posted another video by these guys a few months ago.

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Trail Running Tiger Mountain

Saturday, March 20, 2010 3 Comments by Chronic Triathlete

Trees are awesome!

I’ve been out in Seattle all week for work. Today I had a free day to do whatever I wanted before heading back to NYC. I did a little research and found High Point Trailhead on Tiger Mountain in Issaquah, Washington. About 30 mins outside of Seattle.

Got in an hour of fantastic single-track and fire road running. Afterward, had coffee with a fellow Lymie in Ballard. Nice chat… thanks!

I think we might move here!

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Why Does a Salad Cost More Than a Big Mac?

Monday, March 15, 2010 No Comments by Chronic Triathlete

Because of government subsidies, that’s why.

As I do research on ways to clean up my diet, I keep stumbling upon little gems like this. It drives me crazy!

The article is from 2007, so the Farm Bill it mentions has already come and gone, but it’s a clear illustration of how broken the American outlook on nutrition is. Lobbyists for the big agribusiness like Monsanto, ConAgra along with self-motivated government officials are killing us with their subsidies to meat and grain producing farmers.

The government also purchases surplus foods like cheese, milk, pork, and beef for distribution to food assistance programs—including school lunches. The government is not required to purchase nutritious foods.

Today, we get most our nutritional guidance from advertising and the government. Except for the very outer fringe of the food industry, their goal is to make money, not make you healthy. More often than not, the people making decisions about the content and quality of the items sold on the shelves at your grocery store are not nutritional experts, they’re business people.

Don’t be fooled by their purposely misleading terms like original, homemade, premium and authentic. These are marketing terms, not statements of food quality. Trust me… I work in advertising. It’s all half-truths and perception spinning.

I encourage everyone to take a good long look at what you’re eating. And when I say that, I mean look beyond the whole Lyme or anti-candida diet concept. Unless you specialized in nutrition in college, everything you learned in school about a healthy diet no longer applies. Even the pyramid on the right – the one that the government says exemplifies a health balance – is wrong.

Do your own research. Be your own nutritional expert.

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Try

Friday, March 12, 2010 No Comments by Chronic Triathlete

One of those days

Needing this today… Try by Sidsel Endresen & Bugge Wesseltoft

Not so much the video as the lyrics.

(No Link Love today)

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Running With Scott Jurek

Wednesday, March 10, 2010 1 Comment by Chronic Triathlete

Scott Jurek (back middle), myself (black shirt with orange sleeves) and some running friends

Runners are awesome

The running store that I coach for is very friendly with Brooks. I like to think that it’s because we’re all-around damn fine people to hang out with. But it’s probably due to the fact that we’re their top retailer within the specialty running store category on the East Coast (not including FootLocker, WalMart, etc.). Who knows? Regardless, because of our relationship with them, we get some special Brooks perks.

The perks usually involve them sending us free shoes or discounts on shorts. Last week, however, completely surpassed any freebie footwear. They sent us Scott Jurek for four days!

Who’s that?

If you’re not a runner – or even if you are – you may not know who Scott Jurek is, but in the world of ultra-running (greater than marathon distance) he’s pretty much The Man. To give you an idea of how baddass a runner he is, here are some of his accomplishments:

And the list goes on. Check out the highlights section of his website to see more. All of them are pretty staggering achievements most of which boggle the mind of even the seasoned ultra-runners I know.

He’s also somewhat featured in the hot book, Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen. Which, by the way, is a fantastic read. Probably the best book I’ve ever read on running.

Visiting NYC

While he was here, Scott gave a series of slide show lectures at our Manhattan store, had dinner at a local organic farm/restaurant with a small group of lucky people (Scott’s a vegan) and did two group runs. The first run was in Central Park; the second in Prospect Park, Brooklyn. I couldn’t make the lectures due to work, but I did get to share in the organizational duties of the Brooklyn run. Myself and a couple of other guys from the store mapped out a four-mile mostly trail surface route.

It was a little embarrassing to take Scott on a four-mile run knowing that he averages running 125-150 miles a week (yes, a week!), but if was he was even the slightest bit irritated you’d never know it. He turned out to be one of the nicest people you could ever meet. Very laid back, down to Earth and approachable even with his status as an Ultra-Running Phenom.

After the run, some of us went back to the store with Scott and he hung out, answer questions and signed some autographs. I’m not really one to go for autographs, but since he was signing I decided to get one. He signed a little poster for me that Brooks made featuring him in the trail running shoes that he helped designed, the Brooks Cascadia. It’s now hanging on the wall over my computer in my “motivation space”. The spot where I post goal times, inspirational quotes, old race numbers, photos and (sometimes) medals. A nice addition.

Running makes you a better person

For me, the takeaway from this experience was that the old adage of “running makes you a better person” is really true. Between coaching and just being involved in the community I talk to a lot of sub 40 mile a week runners. Most of them are very nice, but over the last year or so I’ve been meeting more and more ultra-runners and I have to say, as the miles go up so does the cool quotient. Whether they’re local folks, highly-accomplished International athletes like my friends Christopher or top-competitors like Scott, it really seems that the more miles you run the nicer you become.

Thanks, Scott!

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Visual Contrast Sensitivity Test

Monday, March 8, 2010 5 Comments by Chronic Triathlete

A computer test for toxins in your brain?

My LLMD is suspicious that part of my brainfog issues stem from chronic neurotoxins. To sniff out the possibility, he asked me to check out ChronicNeurotoxins.com. It’s a site created and run by Dr. Shoemaker, a well-respected doctor and Lyme advocate (not sure if he’s what we would call a LLMD) and do his Visual Contrast Sensitivity (VCS) test.

Taking the VCS test is simple, painless, costs $15.00 (for the basic test) and takes about 15 minutes. The process involves filling out a simple online form and then looking at a series of patterns on your computer.

On the site, Dr. Shoemaker says,

[T]he “Visual Contrast Sensitivity” test, or VCS – that can tell a physician in five minutes whether or not the patient is suffering from the harmful effects of neurotoxins on the brain’s ability to distinguish contrast between black, white and gray. The deficit in the visual pathways mirrors the adverse effect the neurotoxins are causing throughout the body.

Really?

Like so many thing with this stupid disease, I find the theories behind some of the diagnostic tools a little suspect. Things like Kinesiology (muscle testing) and even some of the laboratory test just seem bogus to me. The VCS is no exception, but, because my LLMD asked me to give it a try I did.

Overall score = negative.

The image above shows my test results. Another negative test to add to my collection.

My left eye tested worse than my right, but I believe this was due to the way I carried out the test. The first step involves covering your left for about 5 minutes while you look at the patterns on your monitor with your right. I found that when it came time to switch eyes and open my left and cover right, my left eye was all blurry and dry from holding my hand on it. I guess I could have waited 10 minutes for everything to sort itself out, but I decided to push ahead. This definitely made the latter part of the test difficult.

Has anyone else done this test?

I’d be curious to hear other thoughts and/or results on this test. Like I said, I feel that the nature of the test is a rather questionable, but I’m open to hearing some personal accounts to the contrary.

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Friday Link Love for 03.05.10

Friday, March 5, 2010 No Comments by Chronic Triathlete

It’s back!

At least for this week, anyway :)

I found a couple of interesting articles. The first one is particular compelling…

Here’s what I’ve got this week

Futurity.org: Probiotics prime immune system to fight – Scientists have long pondered the seeming contradiction that taking broad-spectrum antibiotics over an extended period of time can lead to severe secondary bacterial infections. Now researchers may have figured out why.

We suggest that if the immune system is on idle, and you treat someone with broad-spectrum antibiotics, then you turn the system off. The system is deprimed and will be less efficient at responding quickly to new infections.

NPR.org: How Revving Up Your Heart Rate, Even A Bit, Pays Off – I know a lot of people with Lyme struggle to exercise. They want to bike, run, hike or do whatever they did before getting sick. Sadly, they hit the wall quickly and are wiped out for days afterward.

This article and accompanying podcast show that even just a little bit of activity can be beneficial. According to the researchers involved, even as little as 72 minutes a week (that’s just over 10 minutes a day) can deliver an increase in your health.

I wrote an article many months ago about how I used targeted heart rate training to help me restart my running. Check it out here.

Oh, and a side benefit to the cardiovascular improvement is that exercise increases blood flow to the prefrontal cortex. This helps with cognition, attention and overall mood. Who couldn’t use some of that?

Lymenaide: Paining This May Lyme Green – May is Lyme Awareness Month! Who knew? The ladies of Lymenaide do and they are all over it.

They’re putting together a multichannel PSA campaign to help raise awareness about the disease. On their blog post they’ve listed several ways that you can help, but if you just want to give some cash, check this link. Good luck!!

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Recovery Update – February 2010

Wednesday, March 3, 2010 7 Comments by Chronic Triathlete

I’m bad

I’ve been rather negligent about posting recovery updates over the last few months. Damn, here it is March and I’m still trying to finish February’s update! I started jotting things down several weeks ago, but the time just flies.

This is frustrating for a couple of reasons. One, because, much to my surprise, some folks actually find what I write here helpful and I like to keep them updated. And two, because it’s helpful for me to be able to go back in time and remember how I felt and recall what was working… or not.

Part of the delay stems from being pretty busy. Busy with work, busy with family and, frankly, busy with not paying too much attention to my Lyme. Oh, it’s still there. It sure is, but I’ve been trying not to think about it so much anymore. As a result, writing blog posts about how I feel never quite makes it to the top of the to-do list. I find writing about other things like this and this and especially this more interesting and fulfilling.

But enough already. What’s going on?

Learning to live with it

To tell you the truth, I’ve more or less stopped dreaming of a recovery at this point. Regardless of what the next steps are in treatment, I’ve sort of resigned myself to the fact that I’m not going to see a dramatic turn around in my condition.

I was originally thinking that I was on the five-year plan and that if I toughed it out for that long, I would reach a state of health that I considered satisfactory (if not 100% recovered). I just don’t feel that it’s going to happen anymore and perhaps it’s time to stop dreaming about it everyday.

I know I’ve been off abx for seven months now so I shouldn’t really be expecting any change, but oral antibiotics did little for me when I was on them and the three or four things that I’ve tried recently — modifying my diet, various supplements, a few herbs, etc. — haven’t really been home runs.

I realize this sounds pretty doom and gloom and like I’m giving up, but it’s not like that. I guess I’m just affecting a more realistic approach. Not thrilled with this new tact, but I’m accepting of the situation. I expect that I’ll continue to try various things, but I’m not getting my hopes up anymore.

I guess I’d be less inclined to settle if I was worse-off than I am, but the truth is, I feel pretty good except for the never ending neuro symptoms. Brainfog is still rather pronounced, the tingling in my hands and feet is still there though I hardly notice it and I have a low-level of fatigue. I think a small aspect of the fatigue comes directly from the disease, but most of it comes from the fact that I don’t sleep very well.

Just run with it

Much to my and my LLMD’s confusion, my running and overall fitness continues to improve monthly. In January I ran 19 times for a total of 95 miles and biked once for a total of 18. All of this felt manageable and within my abilities to accomplish without feeling cooked later that day or the next. There were times when I was reeeeally looking forward to my regular Friday rest day, but all-in-all it feels good. I expect a similar level of activity going forward.

One thing that’s really been helping me both with my running and in everyday life is hitting the gym. I only started keeping track of my attendance recently so it’s not indicated in my log, but I’ve been going anywhere from one to three times per week since the beginning of the year. I generally just stretch, do some basic runner’s strength-training, bodyweight-style exercises and some minimal weightlifting. Nothing super intense like lifting to failure or testing my max. It’s all targeted more for endurance than strength and seems to compliment my other activities well.

With all of this coming together, I can’t help but start dreaming of race goals. I’m seriously contemplating setting another half marathon PR in May as well as a couple of other things later in the season. It all sounds absurd, I know, but while it’s true that I’m not running uninhibited by Lyme, what I am doing doesn’t seem to exacerbate my condition or directly effect how I feel day-to-day. Case in point: the 5k I did a couple weeks ago.

Treatment right now

I’m still taking the Samento, SpiroNil and Biotox Elim as well as another trio of detox herbs. They’re manufactured by PEKANA in Germany and target three different areas: apo-HEPAT is for the liver, ITIRES is for the lymphatic system and RENELIX is for the kidneys. I have to admit, since I started taking these, there are days at a time where from the neck down I do feel “better”, but I can’t really put a finger on what’s really improved. Unfortunately, they’ve done nothing for my brain fog.

However, I do get what seems to be some sort of cyclical herxing from this combo. It comes on three or four days after I start (I’ve taken a couple of week-long breaks) and lasts for an additional three to four days. Then approximately every four weeks I feel worse. This is either due to the bugs coming out and being killed by the Samento and SpiroNil or just the bugs coming out and fucking with me. Hard to say.

Treatment going forward

Still on the fence about the IM Bacillin. I have to keep pushing my LLMD appointment out and every time I do I have to wait an additional three weeks to see him so no advancement on that question.

And that’s about all I got for right now. There’s more to talk about, but this is getting lengthy. Stay tuned for March’s update. I’ll probably post it some time in June.

Hope you’re feeling well.

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