I bet you thought that Vertical Turtle had quit
blogging, and perhaps even trail running. I don't blame you since my last
blog post was in February of last year and was titled "A Case of the
Grumpies." Most of my runs back then were a huge struggle, and simply
completing the miles was hard enough, let alone coming back home and reliving
it in my mind to write a blog. I was quite down on myself and I thought
that I was not meant for trail ultra-running. Everyone else, including
Burnout Bear, seemed to be getting stronger and faster, and I was becoming
slower and weaker and more tired with each passing month.
But then everything changed and I want to finally
share my story about the experience.
I had hit rock bottom last year...
but was able to slowly get back up...
and now I am running stronger and faster than I ever thought was possible!
So what happened? It all began around the end of 2012 when I became a strict Vegan. The diet was becoming increasingly popular amongst the trail running community at that time, thanks to several famous elite runners' testimonials about how the diet had helped their performance. There are indeed numerous benefits to Veganism, both for the health of the individual and the environment, but what all of the elite male runners forgot to mention was that menstruating female athletes should supplement their diet with iron. Unless you have a ton of time to perfect your diet plan and cooking, it is nearly impossible to consume enough iron to make up for a monthly loss of blood, let alone breaking down muscle fibers while training high mileage. At least, this was my experience and the diet took its toll on me.
The decline took a glacial pace and I simply
thought that my fatigue, headaches, and lack of concentration were due to overtraining
and was normal for an ultra-runner. I had just begun the sport and had no
idea what the usual side effects were of running 50-60 miles per week. But my workouts felt harder, my pace
slowed, and my race performance suffered. I couldn't understand what I
was doing wrong compared to other ultra-runners that I knew. So, I paid extra
close attention to sleeping well, reducing stress and continuing to eat well,
but I still felt tired. I also was taking vitamins regularly, but the
Hammer Premium Insurance tablets that I was taking do not contain iron. (Note: Not everyone needs to take iron supplements and too much iron is detrimental, so Hammer's decision to not include it in the multi-vitamin is understandable. I do think that they should create a women's version, though.)
Then in July 2013, I finally hit rock bottom and landed
in the hospital just an hour after completing the Tahoe Rim Trail 50
miler. My Ferritin level was at a
meager 6 and the altitude caused the oxygen levels in my body to plummet.
I felt dizzy both during the run and after crossing the finish.
While walking back to the shuttle after the race, I fainted and had
trouble regaining consciousness. The race medical team called for an
ambulance and I ended up being admitted into the hospital that night.
What's funny is that the emergency room admitted me into the cardiology
unit because of my abnormally high amounts of heart enzymes in my blood that
raised their concern. It ends up
that this is normal for most runners after running ultra-marathons. And let me tell you, there's nothing
like being given a Lean Cuisine entree and fruit juice after running 50 miles!
The nurse frowned at me when I scarfed down two and then asked how many
they had left in the freezer...
Anyhow, rock bottom became a familiar environment for me for many months.
Unfortunately, my health plan was not the best at the time (Kaiser
Permanente HMO) and the only option that the doctor gave me for treatment was
taking a daily iron supplement that you can buy over the counter. The
doctor suggested that I take as much iron as my stomach could handle.
This ended up being 2 iron tables (720% daily value total) daily.
Eating mostly vegan still, at least I was eating enough fiber to prevent
any constipation. I eventually found a great liquid iron on Amazon that
had even less side effects if you can stomach the icky cinnamon flavor.
After repeated blood tests over five months, my
ferritin and hemoglobin levels ever so slowly crept back up to just below
normal range. This is when the doctor said that I was "fine"
(!) and I made up my mind to change health plans because I was still feeling
tired on a regular basis and during runs. Fortunately, I had this option
and acted quickly before the end of 2013. I was determined to feel
better than "just below borderline" and made it my goal to feel and
run better in 2014. The day I received my new Anthem Blue Cross card in
the mail, I immediately found a doctor that also found my thyroid function to
be slightly low (which in turn can influence iron absorption and cause symptoms
similar to being iron deficient.) So, no wonder I felt tired and
struggled with running for quite some time. To make a long story short, I
got all of these internal health problems resolved, both iron and thyroid, and
I feel so much better that I could sing!
There is one more big change in 2014 that has
helped improve my fitness. Burnout
Bear and I both DNFed at the Quad Dipsea back in November. I was still
experiencing sluggishness due to my poor health, as well as IT band pain due to
inconsistent / poor training while still trying to race. Burnout Bear was
experiencing some knee pain concurrently, as well. Why am I bringing up
this race? Well, that day was also a rock bottom pivot point. We
were both so upset driving back home from the race that we agreed to hire a
coach because it was clear that we did not know how to train and were flying by
the seat of our pants ever since we began ultra-running. So, in conjunction
with sorting out all of my health problems, I also now have the wonderful
opportunity to be coached and monitored by a professional runner. And the
coaching is working out beautifully, resulting in consistent mileage and increased
strength.
My first ultra of the year was the Jed Smith 50k in
Sacramento, CA. It was a flat 6 mile loop course, making it a perfect
first race back since it was possible to quit at any time if something were to
go wrong. I was excited (and very nervous!) to see how it felt to race
again now that I was healthy. The first few loops felt very easy and I
focused on simply maintaining a comfortable pace. When I passed the
marathon point, the clock read 3:19:00, which would have qualified me for Boston
by over 20 minutes, and I couldn’t believe how good I felt. My legs felt tired by the last loop,
however, because it was the farthest that I had run in 4 months, but I was on
top of the world to be running again - and rather swiftly. I ended up
winning the race and was shocked to see the clock read 3:59:09 as I crossed the
finish. I never thought that I could run a sub-4 hour 50k in my wildest
dreams.
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| All smiles after completing the Jed Smith 50k in 3:59:09 (courtesy of Chris Jones) |
Since then, I also set a course record at Coastal
Trail Run’s Canyon Meadow 50k (4:24:06) and the time qualified me for the elite
field of the North Face Endurance Challenge Championship 50 mile race in December.
I am full of smiles looking at the year ahead. I can't wait to try out tough terrains,
again, improve my strength and technical running skills, and see what is
possible. My next big race is Miwok: a tough, hilly 100k with some
technical trails in the Marin Headlands. I am working with my coach to
prepare my legs for this course, but it will be the farthest that I have
run since Headlands 100 (which I ran when I was anemic and hypothyroid) back in
September. Hopefully, my improved
health will make those hills feel easier than before and my endurance stronger... I am so full of nervous excitement!
Go turtle go!
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| Enjoying a beautiful training run at the Marin Ultra Challenge 35k with Burnout Bear. |
