"When is this going to feel easy?" I asked.

If you have a lot of room for improvement, then it's a lot easier to find little milestones in your training. For the last ten years, I've been stuck at the same paces: a 7:00 mile was all out racing, a 7:30 mile was pretty intense, and an 8:00 mile was moderately difficult. I was also stuck at an inconsistent 10-15 miles per week, and sometimes there would be weeks I wouldn't even run. Notice the emphasis on was?

My fitness streak continues into February. I finished out the month averaging 25 miles a week and started to notice some minor progress. This past week, I did two little workouts. The first one was 5 miles on the treadmill, with the 2nd and 4th mile incorporating an incline build up to 5% while maintaining a pace that felt a little challenging but hardily taxing. A relaxed, efficient pace. The screen was broken so I wasn't sure how fast this pace was until I finished the workout. 8:34 was the final result and that shocked me because in the past 8:34 would have been a little bit tougher, especially on the treadmill. And never mind using the incline back then.

The other workout was a mini tempo run, one that I've been doing the last three weekends to compliment my long run. On the most recent mini tempo, I warmed up with a mile and then went to 7:47 pace during the second mile and back to an easy recovery jog on the third. I was shocked at how easy 7:47 felt. Yes, I could've just been having a really good day. But my breathing felt effortless and I felt as if I could carry this pace for a longer distance. A few months ago, I struggled just to stay on the treadmill at that pace! It was in this workout that I could finally see beyond what I knew and felt in the past. It finally felt easy.

I am very happy with how the month of January went running wise. Biofeedback has helped me to recognize progress on a whole different level as I feel very in tune with my body while it undergoes some major changes. Towards the end of the month, I started to wear my racing flats and notice less foot pain and a better stride. As a result, I finally used my Nike gift cards from months ago to buy a pair of Nike Frees, which weigh one ounce more than my racers. February will not only include a new pair of shoes but a 5 mile increase in mileage per week. Sometimes I get impatient and just want to be fast already and race. But for the most part, it's more fun to see all these little improvements each and every day because one day, the room for improvement will only get smaller.

An interesting turn of events

The last time I ran today's route, I was limping back to my car in pain for the last 3 miles. After that, I couldn't run for a month or two and struggled for another six months to heal. I thought today would be a fitting day to try that route again. Despite being chilly outside and feeling a little tired, I was able to run that route again, pain-free. The bright sun and snow covered fields of the Cuyahoga Valley provided me with nice scenery and a chance to ponder on a new development in my life.

Yesterday, I found out that I have hypothyroidism. When I began counseling a few years ago, I was told to get my thyroid checked to rule out a thyroid disorder causing panic attacks. I didn't listen for two reasons: fear and no insurance. Lately, though, I had begun to wonder if my thyroid was to blame for a lot of things: sweaty hands, anxiety, hands always falling asleep, yeast problems, and very dry or itchy skin. So, I finally got the courage on Tuesday to ask the clinic at Akron if they offered the test. Low and behold they did. And it was very cheap without insurance ($11).

On Thursday, I met with the doctor. I told him my symptoms and the fact that my aunt on my mother's side has hypothyroidism. I was thinking my symptoms were more hyperthyroid-related. The doctor, on the other hand, was looking at me like I was crazy. I was too young and not heavy or tiny enough for this problem. When I told him it was recommended I get my thyroid checked, he agreed to it. I'm sure if I didn't tell him that, he would've went on without it, ordered the cliche anemia test (which he also did) and wrote down that I was a hypochondriac, and not hyper or hypothyroid.

Part of me was hoping that the results would come back as hyperthyroid so as to finally find an explanation for my anxiety and very hyper sweat glands. I was shocked when they called me back to tell me that I was, in fact, the opposite. Typically, symptoms of hypothyroidism include always being tired, cold, and gaining weight. The only one I could correlate to my life was being tired. And that was a stretch because I attributed my constant tiredness to running, work/school, and just having an inconsistent sleep schedule. After the news, I headed to my computer, like a good hypochondriac would, and started putting into various search engines my recurrent symptoms with hypothyroidism. And this is what I found:

• Studies have found correlations with anxiety and hypothyroidism. The thyroid is the largest gland in the body. If it's out of whack, the gland sometimes works extra hard to produce the lacking thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH). When it's working hard and not successful, the body can feel out of whack, dizzy per se, and this can cause one to feel anxious.
• Studies have found correlations with yeast infections and hypothyroidism. Not to get too intimate, ok, I'm getting very intimate, but only for the sake of prevention, I've had problems with yeast for about a year. The doctors constantly told me, make sure you change out of your running clothes right away! Not once did they think it could be thyroid related.
• It is common for hypothyroidism to be genetic. I knew my maternal history of this disorder. But when I was diagnosed, I thought it might be a good idea to learn about my paternal side. Surprisingly, I learned that my dad and my grandmother have it. We will now all be on the same medication. I found this fascinating! And after searching letsrun.com boards, I learned that Galen Rupp and Bob Kennedy have hypothyroidism. We're not related, though.
• I found another surprising correlation: one between plantar fascitiis and hypothyroidism! Several international studies indicated that low thyroid levels can cause deposits within the connective tissue, making the healing process more difficult. While my heal is feeling a lot better there are still some rough days if I am not careful. It should be interesting to see if the medicine will help with healing.
• Lastly, I found that hypothyroidism is very common yet often overlooked and misdiagnosed. If it is so common (1 in 100 people, 3 in 100 women) then why isn't the relatively cheap test not ordered as often when a patient comes in with reoccurring symptoms? If someone can answer that, please do, as I am still learning.

The next step involves meeting with my doctor on Monday to go over the condition and to discuss and prescribe medication. Unfortunately, it will take about a year to find the right level of TSH to take and that will involve blood work every six weeks. I am looking forward to seeing how this hormone replacement will effect and hopefully improve my body. I used to be more environmentally based in my views on medical conditions, but this new turn of events has taught me to not discount biology. And so begins the arduous journey of leveling out my hormones.

16 day streak and counting

I've started the year off right: healthy, consistent, and positive. I've managed to get my foot pain under control by making sure to wear The Sock, well, a generic The Sock, at night. I also have a 16 day fitness streak going: 14 days running, 2 days swimming. Getting a streak going is addictive and starting it on the 1st day of year only adds to the temptation to want to continue with it for all of 2011. I am very grateful to have been able to remain consistent with my mileage during the last six weeks, averaging around 25 miles a week. This is the longest I've held such mileage on a weekly basis. I attribute this small step in the right direction to remaining positive and constantly visualizing my long term goals on every run. My schedule this semester is pretty accommodating (so far) to training. If it stays that way and I continue to slowly build, I am anticipating a lot of improvement with my running this year.

Just another year in review for just another training blog

In 2010...

• I learned that it's better to take running day by day and to not plan too far in advance. For others, this may not work, but for me, it's definitely a better approach to take. After my first 5k back in years, I got all excited and mapped out my next two years of running. I'm already off the plan. I'd rather have some ideas constantly floating around in my head to work with and imagine and then make a final decision closer to the event's time. This also leaves more flexibility for mishaps such as injury. For 2011, I have quite a few different ideas up there :)

• I learned that I'm not fast because I haven't been able to build miles consistently (yet) and because I have a lower tolerance for pain. December was a pretty consistent month though (20-25 miles a week, easy, and pain free). I hope to carry this into 2011 and continue to build.

• Likewise, I learned how to tolerate a lot more pain this year through the use of Biofeedback. Yesterday I ran a New Year's eve 5k and while the results were nothing spectacular (23:08) I did try to push as hard as I could. The first two miles were well on PR pace and I'm not even in shape! However, the last mile resulted in a side cramp. There are many types of pain a runner can experience when going fast: Fatigue, breathing fast, leg cramps, side stitches, etc. I mainly focused on pushing through fatigue this year. With yesterday's experience, I can now add trying to push through a side stitch the next time I race.

• I learned to view any races that I do right now as training runs, that way expectations aren't as high, every race is a learning experience, and growth is inevitable.

and...

• I learned how to work through an injury, which still often lingers. With my foot, I learned that a lot of its problems are biomechanical and so I must try to transfer some of my Biofeedback techniques to analyzing my running form and making minor adjustments each time.

Happy New Year!