Getting There

Almost 8 1/2 months ago, I finished the Girlfriend's Half Marathon.  I made it through the miles feeling like absolute garbage and just about passed out after crossing the finish line.  It was the wake up call that I needed.  God knew it.  I knew it.

Days later, a Groupon came up for a local Naturopath.  I emailed my dear friend and my sweet husband to see what they thought.  I don't care much for Dr.'s as they are very good at saying, "I don't know what the problem is.  Let's try this..."  That road continues until they still don't know what's wrong and you've spent a lot of money on nothing.  For years, I've thought about going to a Naturopath but hated to spend the money.  This Groupon made me take the plunge.

My visit with the Naturopath was amazing.  I felt like I'd made a new best friend and felt like I was in very capable hands.  Hands that had a plan.  Hands that had me feeling hopeful.  Deep breath and off we go.

Her diagnosis?  My thyroid was pooped, my adrenals shot, I was calcium and zinc deficient.  And, to top it off, the results of my food intolerance test showed that I am intolerant of all fruits with the exception of tomatoes, rhubarb and all melons.  My body also does not tolerate corn and potato consumed within 4 hours of each other.  She also recommended I cut back on my mileage to allow my body to rest and rebuild.

Excuse me?

I received the results of the food intolerance test late on a Friday afternoon, after reading through the extensive list, I sat down with a big, juicy, Fuji apple and savored every single last bite.  And then, I said goodbye.

Three days after removing all offending foods from my diet I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror.  I looked different.  Rather, my belly looked different.  I stepped on the scale and was shocked to see I was down 5 lbs.  Not 5 actual pounds, but 5 pounds worth of inflammation.

Five days after removing said foods, I started my period.  A period with ZERO cramping.  I asked my Naturopath if that could really be because of my food.  Yes.  It can.  My body had been so focused on the foods I was putting into it that it did not like and therefore, I got to deal with all sorts of fun. :)  Along with removing said foods, I've also started seed cycling.  An amazing thing that all females should know about.  It truly has helped me to have little to no PMS symptoms. 

Natural thyroid meds...
Adrenal meds...
Vitamins...
Seeds...
Fish oil...
Evening primrose oil...
Probiotics...

My drawer in the kitchen grew with my special meds and special foods...

While I was excited to start feeling better, I was a bit overwhelmed with my food options.  So many things that were in my daily diet were now off limits...  My beloved apples and bananas and Chobani yogurt!  And, as I started to add running back into my life, I realized I had a bit of a problem...

All my running fuel was now off limits.

No more Nuun...

No more Gu...

No more bananas...

Yikes.

I tried running with sun/almond butter and found that was great up to about 10-12 miles.  I tried Pocket Fuel and that got me to about 15 miles.

On one of my long run attempts, I had Pocket Fuel and water.  That was the run that had me covered in salt and cramping and crying by the time I reached my car.  That was the run that had me realizing that electrolytes are incredibly important.

The next long run, I armed myself with salt pills and pocket fuel.  That also ended with intense cramping and a mile short of my goal.

On my final long run attempt before Eugene, I tried Honey Stinger Gels and salt pills.  Mile 15, I quit with intense leg cramps and tears falling on the side of the road.  Ugly shuffling to 20 miles.

My dear friend did some research and said it pointed to low potassium. 

I headed to the store and got a potassium supplement...

Eugene.  Yeah, that happened.  My dear friend told me I needed to talk to my Naturopath about my nutrition.  That I needed to figure it out.  At the time, I wasn't sure it was necessary.  I wasn't sure I would want to endure that pain again.  And, of course, I was already looking forward to another 26.2 less than 24 hours after crossing the finish line.

Since Eugene, I've been able to make it about 8 miles before my legs start to cramp.  I've been focusing on getting potassium into my body in both potassium rich foods and with supplements.  And, on Friday, I finally went and had a visit with my Naturopath.

As I explained all that had been happening, she had me go into the exam room with her.  She tested my calcium and I was shocked by what she had to say.  Shocked because at my last visit, my calcium was good.  However, now,  I was incredibly deficient!  She went on to explain that while my nutrition/potassium/electrolytes may be an issue, she suspected the lack of calcium in my body was the culprit.  As I have read more about calcium deficiency, I'm fairly certain that has absolutely been my problem.  It would also explain why my legs have been aching throughout the day on most days.

Go figure.

Every time I take my big dose of calcium I imagine it going straight to my legs.  I look forward to days of no leg cramping and runs that go on for miles and miles.

I'm shocked by how complicated it all is.  My head wants to tell my body to do one thing.  My body tells my head to...  well, it says, "no".

In my quest to get my body to follow my mind, I'm exploring new foods and finding new favorites...

Kale...

Vega...

And, much to my Mom's surprise and pure joy...

Sauerkraut straight out of the jar :)

Here's to getting there!