Running report and Covid chit-chat

I think I have a system that will work.

I was consistently having the GPS on my phone drop out on the return leg of my run.

It was very frustrating to look at the odometer function and see that I had only run 1.4 miles on the last leg.

I found a work-around. I marked the trail 1.0 mile from the trailhead by putting a zip-tie on a tree branch. I used the GPS to find THAT.

Today, I looked at my stop-watch as I passed it and noted that I was on an 11:24 pace.

I no longer run all the way back to the parking lot. I stop 0.3 miles short of it and walk down. Today, I hit my cool-down point and stopped my stop-watch at 47:56. If my pace was as consistent as it has been historically, that equates to a 4.2 mile run.

More important in purely practical terms, I have a baseline time. If I beat 48 minutes then I am having a good day. If it takes significantly longer then I am having a bad day.

Covid

I went in for a Covid test. I have been having congestion in my lungs: rattles at the end of exhaling and a slight whistle.

I would give it much consideration if it were not for the fact that I watch my 89 year-old mother at least once a week. I called my sister, the oncology nurse. She ordered me to get a test.

I swear the nurse poked the swab so far up my nose she ruptured my ear-drum.

Strategically, it would not be a bad thing I were positive. That would give us one person in the family who is bullet-proof and can care for mom if the others topple like dominoes. If I DO have the Chinese Plague then (so far, thank God) it hasn't been too bad. After all, I just ran 4.2 miles.

More Covid

I got an email. The sender commented on the blog in the past so I assume he/she wishes to stay anonymous.

"MMR Vaccine Could Protect Against COVID-19 | ASM.org"

 

The measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine has been theorized to provide protection against COVID-19.

“We found a statistically significant inverse correlation between mumps titer levels and COVID-19 severity in people under age 42 who have had MMR II vaccinations,” said lead study author Jeffrey E. Gold, president of World Organization, in Watkinsville, Georgia. “This adds to other associations demonstrating that the MMR vaccine may be protective against COVID-19. It also may explain why children have a much lower COVID-19 case rate than adults, as well as a much lower death rate.

In the new study, the researchers divided 80 subjects into 2 groups. The MMR II group consisted of 50 U.S. born subjects who would primarily have MMR antibodies from the MMR II vaccine. A comparison group of 30 subjects had no record of MMR II vaccinations, and would primarily have MMR antibodies from other sources, including prior measles, mumps, and/or rubella illnesses. The researchers found a significant inverse correlation (rs = -0.71, P < 0.001) between mumps titers and COVID-19 severity within the MMR II group.

Within the MMR II group, mumps titers of 134 to 300 AU/ml (n=8) were only found in those who were functionally immune or asymptomatic.

Maximum seropositivity is achieved through two vaccinations at least 28 days apart. Based upon our study, it would be prudent to vaccinate those over 40 regardless of whether or not they already have high serum MMR titers.”