What up! The Waiting Place

So it has been so long since I wrote something and this is a long overdue entry into my blog.

I was just sitting staring at my laptop trying to think of what to write about but what is weird is I really do not know where I am training wise. Sort of lost boat afloat.

Recovery post Grandmas went well but I started really experiencing heavy legs when I tried to resume training. I took a full week off and that started back with easy runs than I did a workout and a steady run which left me feeling gassed and trying to recover and feel good for the half marathon I ran last weekend.

Just days before my half, I got blood work from my check-up that would add insight to my not feeling great in marathon as well as why I was feeling gassed post Grandmas. My thyroid function was off but importantly I had developed a condition called hemochromatosis. My blood tested review my Iron levels were way off in a bad way but the opposite of anemia. This condition is when your body starts Iron Overloading and I had too my Iron circulating in my blood stream which essential can cause the same feeling of Anemia. Weakness, shortness of breath and muscle heaviness and aches which sums of the last 4 to 8 weeks.

The only solution for this is donating blood. You can to get rid of the Iron overload and the only was to literally bleed it out of you.

I knew going into the half marathon that I might not be feeling great and to give it my best effort and I seriously was hoping for the best enough my legs were heavy and weak just going up the stairs.

Fingerscrossed! I showed to the race with a couple of girlfriends and enjoyed the pre-race excitement.
The half is in the mountains and had some steep downhills and a couple long a grinding uphills but overall net elevation loss so I was excited to see how my legs faired on the long downhill sections.

Once the race started, I fought the heavy legs for first 3 miles and kept telling myself I would feel better on the downhills. And I did but than came the uphills and I felt gassed. Than the final mile in was uphill to flat but was a dirt road that turned into a very slippery surface in the last mile due to heavy rains. I really struggled to hang on in that mile and sure I lost a minute or more. I felt like I was barely moving.

I finished in 1:37:46 which was good for a 1st in age group and I think a 8-10 sec PR. Yes, I totally wanted more but considering I felt so bad during the race I will take it.

I took my butt to the donation center on Monday to donate blood and now will have a 4 to 6 week period of sub optimal training as it takes that long for the blood to recovery the blood cells. So my training will be mostly be easy miles with some strides through this time.

This week I have been in 100% recovery mode again though as my legs were really fried from the steep downhill sections.

At least when I start training again, I will be free of all that built up iron and hope that I got rid enough that I will not have to do that again in 6 weeks.

I am in that place between places where it feels weird and uncomfortable. Where you just do not know what direction to take and hope it comes to you when the timing is right.

Definitely like the waiting place in Dr. Suess's Oh that places will go....