Friday, April 8, 2011

Pow Pow! Bullet Points!

Starting last Thursday I was very very sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeepy (said in a good KK voice, he makes fun of me for sleeeeeeeeeping so much).  That night and through the weekend (Monday and Tuesday included as I took sick days) I averaged 12-14 hours of sleep a night.  Plus a nap.  I went to work for an hour on Tuesday and almost face planted on my keyboard with tiredness.  Since I'm a hypochondriac, clearly I thought I was dying.  Steel Springs mentioned via twitter that I should check to see if I was anemic. 
Clearly the hypochondriac in me had to read everything out there regarding anemia and iron deficiencies.  And shockingly, it all made sense!
  • extreme fatigue (hello sleeping more of the day than I'm awake!)
  • brittle nails (I've made a concious effort to up my protein effort thinking that's why my nails were peeling off in layers the last few months)
  • night sweats (um gross)
I also found that it's very common in female endurance athletes.  Then I stumbled on to some information regarding a Vitamin B12 deficiency, which states that if you have a B12 deficiency, you also end up having an iron deficiency because your body isn't able to absorb any iron without it.  Since B12 is often in dairy and is absorbed in the intestines, and I'm lactose intolerant, the dairy I consume doesn't really stick around in my body all too long (if you catch my drift).  The B12 deficiency also tends to lend itself to GI issues.  I feel like there's been a little beam of light shot down from the heavens solving my life's problems.  I picked up a multivitamin, and as soon as I can figure out the cheapest way to get bloodwork done (my health insurance is TERRIBLE.  ie: Remember when I the Ninja Death Star Flu? My bill for that day was 2x as much as I would've made during that shift of work I missed.  AWESOME!)

And now some bullet points (because I'm feeling lazy).
  • I did an easy 8 miles.
  • The part of the bike trail that is closed at 3.75 miles (causing me to potentially reroute the run to tack on 1/2 a mile at the end) was unlocked so I could venture through for 1/4 of a mile.  WIN!
  • I've started chaffing on my runs.  I refuse to believe that I've gotten bigger, and instead think my body's just not used to only one layer of clothes.
  • I saw an itty bitty sock on the side of the bike trail.  I said, outloud, "sock!" in the voice that Lily and Robin do in that episode of HIMYM.  And then I thought of Jenn.  And I missed her.  Since it was an out and back run, I did this twice.

  • I did 7x800 m. repeats at 3:40 goal pace.
  • No I'm not attempting a 3:40 in Fargo (not that that number has any significance now anyway).
  • I am going to attempt a sub-1:50 HM at the end of the month, and I like my speed work to be...well.....speedy.
  • I started too fast (3:28).
  • I thought I was going to die on number 3 (3:51).
  • The rest were all right at under or below 3:40.
  • I averaged 3:39.
  • My right hip was super wonky ala Vegas Marathon pain at the start of the repeats.  But then quit.
  • I did the repeats  in the dark in a sketchy-ish area. I was terrified except for when I was doing the repeats. Then I was just terrified I was going to die.
  • I wore all green for the run.  Green shirt, green shorts, green shoes, green ipod.
  • These bullet points are obnoxious.

11 comments:

Kier said...

Ooohh...maybe I am anemic! I have been tired lately as well and my nails suck! Guess I'd better check into that...

Greg said...

Not hoping that you're anemic in anyway, but I hope that you have solved the issue.

Wow, it is Friday, so forgive me because I am stuggling to articulate. I think that you catch my drift . . . and I am not saying "Yeahziesss 4 Anemia!!!!"

Katie said...

i like your bullet points, it makes it easier for my teeny tiny angry brain to digest. SOCK!

Amy - the gazelle said...

I take b12 in liquid drop form, and (when I remember to take it) it helps immensely. My body doesn't produce enough of a certain kind of amino acide protein (or something, I am not a medical professional) and since I also cannot do much dairy beyond a bit of cheese, I have trouble with absorbency issues, too! B12 drops have helped with the fatigue and with my muscle recovery after hard workouts.

Steel Springs said...

Hopefully the multivitamin will help a bit and maybe you just needed extra rest this week. I'm sending you feel good/well-rested vibes!

Nice job on the speedy 800s!

Nicole @ Haute Runner said...

Yup- another bullet point liker!!

Multivitamin never hurts to take. Hope that solves your sleeping problem. Yikes- you have to pay for bloodwork? They should pay YOU to have blood taken! I had some done yesterday and it was free!

Great job on the run. Apparently I need to watch more HIMYM cuz that reference didn't make sense to me.

Nitmos said...

Those were some great 800's! What is the general rule....10x800 indicates marathon time? You are close...go for it!

J said...

Great job on the 800s!! Hope your hip doesn't bother you again. Sometimes mine acts up, don't know why!

Anonymous said...

I am anemic and it sounds about right! I was diagnosed in my senior year and it made a huge difference to finally know and get it under control.

Anonymous said...

B12 deficiency causes a different kind of anemia, actually! Not related to iron. I would definitely get some bloodwork done if you can to figure out which one it is (if it's one of those two) and fix it! Re: the B12 - are you a vegetarian?

Susan said...

I was crazy anemic in high school...I wrote about it in part of my "running story" on my blog, but it was bad. I was WHITE as a sheet (I got my make up done for a school dance and they didn't have a color to match because I was so pale...), couldn't stay awake to save my life (fell asleep in class, fell asleep doing homework), running was TERRIBLE (we would fartlek and my "fast" was a jog and my "slow" was a walk). My nails look terrible (thumbnails still look like they got shut in a door). My track coach pulled me off the track during a 3200 and said I wasn't running again until I went to the doctor My hemoglobin was 6 or 7...he thought about giving me a blood transfusion but instead put me on tons of iron per day to see if that would help. And it did!

If you can swing the blood work it's worth finding out, but I'd suggest a multivitamin in the meantime. (But I'm not a doctor, just my friendly advice!)