And sometimes that's all I'm doing. I run when I can and I mope around when I can't. This chronic dehydration issue is a pain in my running shoe. I honestly thought finding out the problem would make everything fine but I'm learning that chronic dehydration is just that: chronic. Florida summers are not helping matters. For the first time in my life (yes, life!) I am looking forward to the winter. (I bet Sherry just fell off her chair...lol)
I feel SO MUCH better on a daily basis, that it frustrates me to not be where I'd like to be at with my endurance and speed. I couldn't understand why I was still having issues until I researched CD and found out something veryyyyy interesting. First, my doc figures I arrived in Florida 7 years ago probably already dehydrated. When I started running 2.5 years ago, it made it worse. Obviously. So for all that time, my body went into survival mode and started hoarding the "good" stuff. Like cholesterol, red blood cells...FAT. My cholesterol is so high that I'm embarrassed to post it, but it's around 300. We're attempting diet changes before meds and hydrating may bring it down. Anyway...when your cholesterol is high, a shell forms on the cells in your body making it difficult to absorb h2o, vitamins and minerals. I'm not sure if this shell is reversible...I need to call my doc about that. This means the well runs dry quicker than normal and exercise depletes it even faster. Fatigue sets in and misery soon follows...lol.
This info is very valuable for me. I have learned to pay serious attention to my body and stop ignoring the signals of dehydration. Unfortunately, it has cut my running down A LOT. I haven't run more than 3 miles at a time since January. For a distance runner, that is heartbreaking. For someone who thought running was not going to be an option anymore...it's a step in the right direction. That's what I need to focus on. It's so hard to stop planning for a weekend long run. People keep asking me when my next marathon or half is and I feel that pang in my heart when I say I'm concentrating on the 5K these days. So I know I'll get back to distance eventually. In the mean time I'm attempting to put together my own training program. It's looking like I need to do slower, shorter training runs with a speed play once a week. I plan on slowly adding on to that.
Yesterday I ran 2 miles in 22 minutes...ugh. I had a nice little conversation with myself on the cool down walk home. Went something like this:
ME: Man, you suck.
SELF: Hey, you did 2 miles.
ME: You still suck.
SELF: You're forgetting how you felt just 2 months ago.
ME: Stop reminding me.
SELF: You're being stupid. Need another spinal tap for ole times sake???
ME: No. Those are burned into my memory.
SELF: Remember when it hurt to roll out of bed?
ME: I remember.
SELF: Hey, you just did 2 miles!
ME: Yes I did. Thank you God.
I love my life. I really am a very lucky woman.
