Week 5
Week 6
I’m not going to get into too much detail on each individual day here… It is what it is.
After being diagnosed with Anemia, I got supplements and started reading more on Iron absorption. It’s still blowing my mind that I’m low on Iron. I have so SO many Iron rich foods. But Matthew has done some research for me, and we are quite sure I have something wrong with the way I absorb the nutrients from plants. He even wrote a great blog post on some of his findings. It’s possible I lack the probiotics and the digestive enzyme to break them down since my diet was so poor for a while… my body has changed and not always for the better. So I have to build my gut back up… at least that’s what we think for now. I should get more answers on Thursday when I have my blood work looked over by someone other than a primary care doc.
So in the meantime I’ve just been trying not to hammer myself into the ground with workouts that I can barely complete. I’m mildly depressed that I’ve had literally the WORST string of training ever for nearly 3 years now. Every time I start to piece something together, something new goes wrong. Matt and I talk about this a lot… and that I’ve never been the same since the adrenal burnout…. so frustrating.
Anyway….
Week 5 was 30 minutes every other day. I felt better having time off, but still only averaging 8:30 pace or slower. I got in some yoga and rock climbing though for core work. I admit it was fun to take a break from running.
Week 6 I was still on the 30 minute plan until Wednesday and then increased 5 minutes thursday, and 5 more minutes friday. I took saturday off so I could feel mildly fresh for a fundraising event on Sunday for Autism. All my work friends were going to be there, and I wanted to at least win. I didn’t beat every boy like I did the years past, but 12th place is okay. I just devout so much of my off time from work to running, it would have been embarrassing to not be able to win a dinky 5k. It was fun… and I was happy with 19:36 this time around… even though it was the same time that I ran on the track, I felt way more in control.
What’s next?
I still have not been put on supplements I feel confident about. My doctor never spoke to me directly, never asked me my symptoms, never asked about my diet. How does he know that simply taking more iron will help me? The chiropractor my boyfriend goes to also does a supplement protocol as a service. He said if I wasn’t absorbing properly, I could take Iron all day and it’s not going to change my blood results much. They faxed the blood work to him today, and on Thursday we meet to get me on something completely tailored to my needs. He’s looking into the adrenal glands as well.
Will this be the light at the end of the tunnel, or just another mirage? Only time will tell… But i’m serious– If I don’t get better soon, I’m taking up rock climbing.
So Epic!
A Clean Slate 
Well there could be several things you are suffering from all of which are possible. Looking at your last three years of training, you could be suffering from Fullerism (See member of SCXC for history of nomenchalture). Fullerism is generally defined as having a history or legacy of fizzling, but sometimes defined as ‘choking,’ or being a ‘choke artist,’ especially under performing at important team meets or NCAA Nationals. However, Fullerism manifests itself in training when you SEEM like you are putting together a string of good training, when in actuality you are running your long runs super fast or too fast (thus making quick small gains) only to be followed by rare, weird, and nagging injury or burnout, or more likely, burnout which leads to said injuries. Fullerism is caused from SIV, otherwise known as Sand-In-the-Vagina. Fullerism is generally a lifestyle, and thus, many people never seak treatment. The cure? Take a shower, or go see your local OBGYN.
Secondly, and more likely, you could be suffering from AD-withdrawal (similiar to, but not the same as Bartlett-withdrawal). This is a perfectly common and natural phenomena. It happens with abrupt, sudden and long term seperation from AD (also known as AyeDubbs), and likely said separation is because she moves away. The onset of symptons are caused from chemical reactions bc AD makes all good ppl. better people when she is around them, thus when she leaves for a long time, it has an ill effect on the spirit, mind, and body. During the period of separation, symptoms include, but are not limited to: problems running, academic problems, alcoholism, making poor life choices, dating ugly girls, iron deficiency, fatigue, general lack of luster in one’s lifes, headaches, slow 5k times, lack of purpose or hope in one’s goals, conforming to society (ie: getting a real job and buying a house in Rhode Island), doing nothing fun, and in general, sitting around and waiting until AD returns to kick a** and take names. Most people never seak treatment bc they are too busy searching for someone to fill the new void created in their life and this will not work bc as one will find out, AD is one of a kind. The cure? Continue to wait for AD to return.
Either way, I hope you get better.
PS: I hope you laughed…at least a little.
Epic. Definitely not fullerism. I never run long runs fast. In fact, by your standard… I never run long runs! 😉 😛
I just showered just in case. 🙂
Hurry Back AD! and bring a law license with you so all this bad running doesn’t go in vain. 🙂