So many things

 June has been.....INTERESTING.

I started off the month feeling like utter crap. It was disconcerting....high heartrate, fatigue that was unrelenting, shortness of breath, just a lot of very concerning things. My body was not cooperating on runs, nor during everyday things. My hip was really starting to hurt (I suspected bursitis), so I knew that wasn't helping matters at all. 

On June 6, I threw in the towel on my long run and called Greg to come pick me up 2 miles in. I was running 11 minute pace (my very easy pace), and my heartrate climbed quickly into Zone 3 and was staying there. I couldn't breathe correctly and just felt like I was running through cement. I was DONE with feeling like this.

I got a doctor appointment the next day and he listened to all my concerns. Bloodwork to check pretty much everything was ordered and my blood was drawn (4 vials!) right there at the office. I made another doctor appointment with my orthopedist's office the next day to have my hip checked out.

The ortho agreed with me regarding my hip - it really looked like bursitis, which is an annoying condition but totally something that can be overcome. BACK TO PHYSICAL THERAPY! My poor, poor physical therapist. I also got a cortisone shot, my first one ever. No running for the rest of the week, which I was definitely okay with since I felt like crap on every run anyway.

I got my bloodwork results back later that day. Everything fell within normal ranges. HOWEVER, my ferritin was bordering on too low, particularly for an endurance athlete, and my Vitamin D was back down to the low level of normal. Thankfully my thyroid was functioning okay (I only have half a thyroid) and my blood panel didn't indicate anything alarming. So I doubled my regular iron and Vitamin D supplements, and would continue to take Vitamin B12, fish oil, and magnesium as usual (yes, it's a lot but I'm a middle aged woman and I'll do whatever it takes to feel good!).

The doctor and I had discussed my discontinuation of mood regulators, which I had been taking for years. I tapered off them in February and what I was experiencing could be a delayed reaction to the withdrawal of the medication. The biggest issue, however, was the amount of stress in my life. I am massively stressed almost daily due to some situations that are really beyond my control. I have been trying to use other methods in helping me deal with the stress, but it's entirely possible that it's just not enough, and the mood regulator was doing more good than I thought, and even if I wasn't feeling particularly "depressed" (I'm not), the medication was helping me control my stress levels. 

Well, crap. I really didn't want to go back on the medication. I take zero prescription meds and I like it that way.

But I needed to help resolve this problem. My body was physically deteriorating due to stress, and with the addition of higher levels of supplements and a reintroduction of a mood regulator, I could still turn it around. I am a healthy person and should be feeling better! So I restarted the medication at half the dose I was taking previously. It's only been a few days and I'll be able to judge the effectiveness in a few weeks.

I don't like being dependent on something, but like a friend of mine said recently, a diabetic wouldn't think to stop taking insulin, so someone with a mood regulation problem should also do whatever medically necessary to keep themselves healthy. She's totally right. And I shouldn't feel bad for needing this.

Around the same time as this, Greg was a total SWEETHEART and surprised me with a brand new Garmin Fenix 6S sapphire watch. He was proud of me for how far I've come since my October accident and how excited I am to begin marathon training next month, and wanted to give me everything he could to aid in my training. My previous watch is a Fenix 5S, so definitely a pretty sweet watch but the features on the 6S are just the coolest! Heat acclimation, load focus, and an improved race predictor. I just love it!

I may have also purchased the Saucony Endorphin Pro 2 shoes, even though I never even raced in my original pair of Endorphin Pros. But how can I resist a checkered pattern?

Now....about my hip. I have a feeling that in the months during my shoulder rehab when I wasn't moving my arm much but was still going on very long walks, I developed a worse than usual imbalance (I have scoliosis so I'm always a bit imbalanced). Because my shoulder was still healing and I was very limited in my movements and exercises, strength training was minimal. The imbalance turned into inflammation and bursitis on that side. So back to physical therapy I went last week, to the same guy who helped me through my shoulder rehab. But this time, the work is much more exciting for him since it involves strengthening and not just ROM exercises. He agrees with the orthopedist that it's likely bursitis, and he pinpointed my core/glute weaknesses that are contributing to the problem. He has me doing daily exercises and I see him 1-2 times per week. Unfortunately the cortisone shot only took away some of the discomfort. I probably needed a second shot in a different location, but I will say that the strengthening is already making a bit of a difference. 

In the midst of all this, I'm obviously running far less in June than I did in the previous two months. I'm keeping my runs shorter, and trying to focus on the little things like foot turnover and form and not being so damn afraid to run fast (tripping on a run and destroying your shoulder will put the fear in you like nothing else). Short intervals, shorter base runs, no long runs, 4-5 days per week of running. It's not a lot, but it's consistent and it's helping me heal and while it will always suck, I feel like my body is acclimating to the heat and humidity (my watch agrees with me!). Also, I actually sort of love the feature on the Fenix 6S that gives you suggested workouts, so for the past 2+ weeks I've just been doing whatever it tells me to. I don't always hit the paces it says I should but I don't think it adjusts the suggested workout paces for weather, so I just roll with it. 

Technically I start marathon training in two weeks and I've rewritten the first few weeks of the plan to build my long run. Originally I planned to have a base of 10-12 mile long runs, but that's out the window for now, so I'll be starting at six miles and building from there. Before long I'll be at 40+ mile weeks and I'm looking forward to finally feeling better.

Oh, and we are remodeling and it's taking longer than I had anticipated. Who knew that EVERYONE ELSE is also remodeling??

So, in summary....

STRESS SUCKS

PEOPLE WHO STRESS ME OUT SUCK

BEING NEEDY SUCKS

HOWEVER, GREAT MEN MAKE AWESOME HUSBANDS AND YOU CAN'T HAVE MINE