Based on my family history, I try to stay on top of my state of health. Fortunately for me, it's also a requirement of my Boy Scout leadership that I get an annual physical, and I have a health plan that covers it.
And that came in handy this year. I've written recently about how my running has been slower than normal, including my personal worst half marathon. Sure, there were reasons for that, but I was wondering if there might be some physical root cause. Turns out, there was.
I had a bit of a problem last year with a low-iron count in my physical, which had me taking iron supplements for a while last year to recover. This year, instead of being better, it was actually worse. At least that got a conversation started, that potentially traced back my low iron to the combination of my running, but more importantly, recently blood donations. It seems that because of my running, my iron count may not be recovering from donations in the way it should be, and that seems to be the cause of my fatigue. At least now I have an answer, and something I can do to fix it.
Which is a good thing, because I've got plans! I'm running a triathlon next week, a Ragnar relay in September, a marathon at some point this year, and my long-term plans include either a Half-Ironman triathlon or a 50-Mile race (or maybe even both!) I can't be fatigued and train at any level of quality.
And I *am* in training. I've already started trying to ramp up both my running and my cross-training, including a 40-mile bike ride just this morning. I'm planning a 15-mile run in the morning, and after next week's sprint Tri, I'm going full speed on running, and selecting and training for a marathon (and maybe a 50K).
This wouldn't have been conceivable, though, if I was suffering through my training decline without knowing why my speed was slowing and my energy was depleted. Getting a physical annually helped to detect this problem and create a solution. While I'm more concerned about heart disease and diabetes (issues which appear to be under control), taking the time to get checked out turned up a problem and solution that will help me enjoy my life more.
I frequently read that men are reluctant to get their health checked; certainly, that's not me, and hopefully not you either. It's better to know what may be wrong and help address it, than to live in ignorance of problems that can grow beyond control until it's too late.
Saturday, May 28, 2016
Wednesday, May 18, 2016
Mid-may update
Well, it's been two weeks since I said goodbye to April and hello to May. It's been a productive couple of weeks, and I've felt some energy returning, although my running has been more miss than hit. This past weekend, I know I overdid it, doing Yoga on Friday night, a 30-mile bike ride on Saturday followed by two hours of chopping wood, and then a 14-mile hilly run on Sunday. By Sunday night, I was exhausted.
That clearly bled into the start of the week, as my Tuesday speedwork at the track was anything but. Bringing up the rear of the pack, my third set of 800s would be my last attempt at going fast, and I spent the rest of the session just trying to turn in some decent pace. Don't think I succeeded.
So on Wednesday, I went back to the track for redemption. I ran the 5K course around the school, and then a few laps of the track to get in 5 miles. I did focus on speed, so I was fast, but my breathing was harder than it should have been. I've clearly lost both speed and fitness over the past several months, so that will be part of my summer work.
I wish my diet was even that consistent, though. I think I've had about 5 days of the past 18 that really worked well. Funny thing - I know why those days worked well, and why lots of others haven't, but I don't seem to be able to control my actions as much as I used to. I know there's a lot of stuff going around in my head that's keeping me from doing the right thing, but it should be easier than this.
But then again, my concerns are slight compared to what many others are going through. I won't go into details but a few people close to me are dealing with real problems, not the kind of superficial things that I seem to obsess over. I am very grateful for the blessings that I have, and I hope and pray for others near me to be healthy, hopeful and peaceful. We can all use a little more of that.
That clearly bled into the start of the week, as my Tuesday speedwork at the track was anything but. Bringing up the rear of the pack, my third set of 800s would be my last attempt at going fast, and I spent the rest of the session just trying to turn in some decent pace. Don't think I succeeded.
So on Wednesday, I went back to the track for redemption. I ran the 5K course around the school, and then a few laps of the track to get in 5 miles. I did focus on speed, so I was fast, but my breathing was harder than it should have been. I've clearly lost both speed and fitness over the past several months, so that will be part of my summer work.
I wish my diet was even that consistent, though. I think I've had about 5 days of the past 18 that really worked well. Funny thing - I know why those days worked well, and why lots of others haven't, but I don't seem to be able to control my actions as much as I used to. I know there's a lot of stuff going around in my head that's keeping me from doing the right thing, but it should be easier than this.
But then again, my concerns are slight compared to what many others are going through. I won't go into details but a few people close to me are dealing with real problems, not the kind of superficial things that I seem to obsess over. I am very grateful for the blessings that I have, and I hope and pray for others near me to be healthy, hopeful and peaceful. We can all use a little more of that.
Sunday, May 1, 2016
May Day (not the SOS kind)
Welcome to May 2016!
I, for one, am happy to see April in my rear-view mirror. While there were some great parts to it (my niece married a great guy, I vacationed in the Grand Canyon, and on the last day of the month, I bought a car and gave mine to my newly-licensed son), there were lots of elements that didn't work for me, especially my diet and exercise regime. I gave back (almost) all of the benefits of Lent in my weight, I rarely worked out, and as a result, I'm feeling less good physically than I have in a while.
As evidence, this morning I ran my slowest half-marathon ever. Granted, it was after I had already run a 5K this morning, but I've done this race combination twice before, and it was never this slow. Even the 5K wasn't very fast, but the reason is clear - no training, and poor dietary habits will get you nowhere in the athletic world.
But April is over, and today is a new day and a new month, and a new beginning. I've decided on a series of habits to work on, some physical, some mental, some spiritual, and I'm going to focus on them for the next few months. When I was conducting my running streak, I always managed to make time for at least one mile a day - that's 10 minutes in my book (plus time to change clothes, get ready, etc.) and most of my new objectives can fit into 10 minutes a day (the running streak is off for now)
The biggest (and hardest) part is getting back into a dietary regimen. That means cutting out some foods, limiting others, and focusing on fresh, natural foods, at least for a while. As anyone who reads this blog knows, I've had more than my share of false starts, and this may be another one. I would welcome anyone's support and encouragement to help get me through, but my strongest advocate (my wife) is behind me, and if she is on my side, there's nothing I can't do, right?
One of my recurring actions will be blogging - at least once a week, 3X a week even better. There's a lot to talk about in the world, not just my personal life, and an entry can take only about 15 minutes (sure - longer if I want it to be good), but I'm to the point where I can fit that in, even if I'm typing it in on my phone (so pardon the spelling errors in the future :-) )
Father's Day Fit - Seven weeks and counting.
I, for one, am happy to see April in my rear-view mirror. While there were some great parts to it (my niece married a great guy, I vacationed in the Grand Canyon, and on the last day of the month, I bought a car and gave mine to my newly-licensed son), there were lots of elements that didn't work for me, especially my diet and exercise regime. I gave back (almost) all of the benefits of Lent in my weight, I rarely worked out, and as a result, I'm feeling less good physically than I have in a while.
As evidence, this morning I ran my slowest half-marathon ever. Granted, it was after I had already run a 5K this morning, but I've done this race combination twice before, and it was never this slow. Even the 5K wasn't very fast, but the reason is clear - no training, and poor dietary habits will get you nowhere in the athletic world.
But April is over, and today is a new day and a new month, and a new beginning. I've decided on a series of habits to work on, some physical, some mental, some spiritual, and I'm going to focus on them for the next few months. When I was conducting my running streak, I always managed to make time for at least one mile a day - that's 10 minutes in my book (plus time to change clothes, get ready, etc.) and most of my new objectives can fit into 10 minutes a day (the running streak is off for now)
The biggest (and hardest) part is getting back into a dietary regimen. That means cutting out some foods, limiting others, and focusing on fresh, natural foods, at least for a while. As anyone who reads this blog knows, I've had more than my share of false starts, and this may be another one. I would welcome anyone's support and encouragement to help get me through, but my strongest advocate (my wife) is behind me, and if she is on my side, there's nothing I can't do, right?
One of my recurring actions will be blogging - at least once a week, 3X a week even better. There's a lot to talk about in the world, not just my personal life, and an entry can take only about 15 minutes (sure - longer if I want it to be good), but I'm to the point where I can fit that in, even if I'm typing it in on my phone (so pardon the spelling errors in the future :-) )
Father's Day Fit - Seven weeks and counting.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)