The Run

For the record, I am on break.  Of course, my health has my focus now, specifically my diet.  Other than that fiercely important concern, my achilles is still bugging me.  I jogged as consistently as I could when it first surfaced (following a few months of really solid running, for me), but decided to just shut it down.  I consulted GZ, who runs through everything, but I still feared the worst.  No desire to be out for months.  The culprit is obvious: I was climbing everyday, many 15 to 20% grades, about an hour at a time, but the grade, beyond my wildest dreams, upset my achilles.  I have never had this problem.

I have been off for a couple of weeks.  And am in no hurry to get back.  I want to be healthy, physically at least, as I get myself fit for the starting line of a 50k in April.  Only running goal of 2013 is to run that race.  Walk, summersault, whatever.  Get to the starting line and run.

Going back through old blog posts on this ancient ghost town blog had me back in the 08 days looking over some stuff.  I was running a lot, blogging a lot, racing pretty regularly too.  That's when I stumbled upon my thyroid discussions, what I had learned, what I was going to do about it, etc.  That pisses me off.

But I also read through some of my training notes.  Those were the days of MAF.  I was running ~60 miles a week, solid, enjoying it, testing, following HR, etc.  Lucho was keeping an eye, GZ and JW were giving encouragement: life was good.

That's where I want to go, again.  Simpler times.  Run more, get light, stay healthy (pray), and race a lot more.

Help

You said you want to help.  Here's what I need.

I need a real diet plan.  I stumbled upon some old blog posts from 2008 when I was scrambling and dealing (a little) with my thyroid issue.

What's so frustrating is reading about the concern I had, the changes I made to the diet, how it helped (based on blood tests), and then what. . . ??

Have another beer, Matt.

I had some blood work done recently and sure enough my thyroid is still borderline, but the doctor said there's another little sign that things have progressed.

More blood was taken to see if I do have the auto-immune condition that's called, I think, Hashimoto's.  

The tough part of all of this is I don't seem to have the symptoms of hypothyroidism.  I have had enough energy to run and exercise whenever I've wanted.

But I think I have seen the affects in my performance (even in weekly jogs).  The literature pretty much surrounds the fact that people with this condition lose the top end stuff. They can't push it like they used to.  My first couple of trail races and some half marrys were solid.  I almost beat Beth at the Gorge in '08.  I finished 5th in a decent 25k in Vegas.  I ran a 1:30 in 07.  But I have fallen off a lot.  Sure, maybe I'm not very disciplined, and love to eat and drink, but I have definitely suffered in races the last couple of years - feel old and slow.  Could be the thyroid.  Has to be some connection.

I should have stayed with the diet discipline.  I can go easy on beer.  But I have to get the diet together.  I'm a little scared.  Want to get out in front of this even though it may be too late.

So, I'm going to Whole Foods tomorrow to get a few simple ingredients.  Based on the research I've done, it is suggested (and I'm going to get more research and tests done) that I trend toward gluten-free; there may be a huge link between gluten and hypothyroidism.  Going to WF to get some gluten-free bread for breakfasts.  Want to eat something good in the morning.  Was hitting oatmeal the last week or so, but after getting all dialed-in again with Mark Sisson, I'm going kinda primal.  The best I can.

Breakfast:

Gluten free toast with Sesame seed butter (my fave, I hope it's okay) and good jelly/honey/banana/etc.  And my espresso.

Snacks/lunch:

Through out the day - Shakes healthy, nuts, fruit, maybe salad. 

Dinner:  Salad/veggie and lean meat. 

That's it.  That's what I basically do other than the train wreck on weekends, holidays, etc.  I HAVE to be disciplined.  Kinda scared.

I feel like Princess Leia asking Obi Wan for help, because the resistance is threatened.  

2012

My 2012 resolution is no new year resolutions. There is so much change already smothering us (needed and natural change, forced and misguided change), so I'm going to just stay the course and embrace all of my flaws that some love or tolerate and some hate. With age comes wisdom, so the change I'm looking for is the kind of long-term refinement (like less and less refined sugars other than beer in my diet) and so forth.

I talked to a father of a kid on my kid's soccer team the other day who's giving up booze for the new year. That's just tired. I would say get good and hammered and then think about your relationship with the bottle. I have had my share of booze related issues. I gave up drinking for 3 years back in the day because it was becoming a problem. It was social. I was being a coward.

I don't get hammered, anymore. Other than the rare occurrence (I got lit-up with JW at a Padres game - remember that, homey? non-stop epic drafts - and then this last new year's eve I had about 8 craft beers averaging 10%ABV though luckily was being cared for by my lovely wife: Christmas present, party at Stone Brewery) I don't drink very much anymore. Hangovers suck. Drinking a lot of booze sucks. Having a couple of freshly hopped IPAs, or some good ole cold yellow beer (especially after a day on the trail), nothing like it. Since it just happened, I would have to say that getting lit on new year's eve was good. You get your ya ya, your fix, your reminder of how that's over-rated, whatever. If you deny yourself those kinds of occasions, you might get a little too psyched to throw grogs and do something stupid. So, if you're thinking about cutting back on the booze, go get shit-faced, in a padded room. Then reassess. God willing you reach a point where just a couple of beers at a time (unless it's a real special occasion and you've made appropriate arrangements) will suffice. That's the wise approach. Indeed.

What do I want in 2012? I want more of the things that I use in my life. I want more sleep, more beer, more running, more money, more of my wife, more time with my kid, more traveling, more good healthy grub, more good times with friends on and off the trail, more mountains, more silence. . .

I am stoked about the running though I'm one slow bastard. The feet are finally coming around. I have been running pretty damn consistently recently. I took two days off while I was skiing, but that is some dynamite leg strength activity and it really helped my ankle foot strength. No doubt. Then I took new years day off because I was worthless. And I took yesterday off because I am sick. Otherwise, I have been going strong. As of this week, the climbing has commenced. I am brutally slow at this point, but the suffering will only help. I have a SoCal mountain race, 9 miles ~1700ft, in a month that will eat me up and a pretty stiff 50k in March. So now I have to turn to the vertical mile.

Monday - hike with kid, 1300 ft.
Tuesday - ~9 miles, 2000 ft run/hike because I crashed/bonked on the trail (I thought this was dehydration, which it was but I was coming down with this cold)
Wednesday - 9 miles (2 runs) 800 ft. This put me over the edge on the cold front.
Thursday/Yesterday - off (slept about 11 hours)
Friday/Today - Not sure, but I will ease back into some work

Another strengthening exercise that has helped the feet a ton (I recommend for anyone struggling with ANY lower leg or feet issues including some moderate PF) is jump roping. On some days I will jump-rope for an hour. Try it. And I thank the wolfman for that.

The beer crunches have remained a solid addition. These started back in December, so no resolution crap tied to this.

The other beer program that's underway this year (uh oh, this is a kind of resolution): I am vowing to buy my beer with only the money I make selling crap on ebay, etc. In other words, I am now allowed to spend any family salary funds on beer. This will encourage my entrepreneurial spirit, and our ability to clean house. Of course, if we go to dinner I can have a beer or two and my wife is qualified to come home with a sixer or a growler if this pleases her. Like the beer crunch program I have implemented, she totally digs the beer fund program.

Check back in few days for some 2012 commentary, which looks to be rocking about a 9.5ABV!

Just a few pics of the past few days. Here's to a fantastic year of running, loving, working and killing whatever needs to be killed. Cheers.

Twice-worn Glycerin 8s, $20 at the local running store (whore house). My favorite shoes, ever.



Stone was pouring some beasts. This was a rich "Emperial" of some kind.


At home, keeping things clean.