August 2008 archives

So I just got back from the doctor. He's a crazy, kooky, funny, wired dude with an office with the most outstanding view of Millennium Park and Lake Michigan I've ever seen.

And he's got me on something called "cytomel."

Anyone heard of it? From the very basic Google search I did, people seem to have great results with it (It's a T3, for those who know what I'm talking about) in conjunction with their TSH-treating meds - in my case, synthroid. He's fairly confident it will address my symptoms, most notably the weight issue. Case in point? And also another argument for why pounds aren't the only important number?

After he took my blood pressure (108/74), he asked, "Jeez! Are you an athlete?" I told him that, why, yes I am. I run about 20 miles a week and lift twice a week and ride my bike everywhere. It was probably one of the most awesome, most validating things I could have heard. I constantly feel by virtue of my weight that I have to overly explain that, honest to Pete, I work out really hard and try to take care of myself every single day. Having a doctor point that out for me, seriously, made me want to cry. It's really all felt that disheartening to work so hard only to feel so unhealthy. Isolating certain areas like my blood pressure, and having the results be so overwhelmingly positive, really cheered me up.

Plus? It was so nice to talk to someone who knew what he was talking about, whose focus was on that of this condition. It was refreshing.

Hopefully by taking the cytomel, I should at least stop gaining, if not lose weight. And the fatigue should subside, too. He's seems pretty confident, but we're of course following up in two weeks. He's also not sure if my stomach-related issues are all thyroid in nature, but we'll see at my follow-up, too.

I'll let you all know how this goes. For now, I'm going to go to the grocery store and settle in for a night of working and listening to music. This is the first day my mouth hasn't killed me. Stupid root canal.

Tomorrow I'll hit the road and start on the cytomel. Here's to hoping ...

Posted by Erin at 06:12 PM | Comments (7) | filed under: Thyroid, Schmyroid

So apparently my thyroid is normal at 2.82. I do not, however, feel very normal so tomorrow, on advice from a lovely and wonderful reader, I'm off to see an osteopath here in town.

I've been medicated for more than a year now by my GP, and aside from the blood tests and the drugs, that's been the extent of my treatment. I'm tired, I'm struggling with my weight despite a healthy diet and plenty of exercise and my hair is falling out. Even more fun is that I'm getting headaches again - the one I had last night actually woke me up it was so bad. Thank God for prescription Motrin and Tiger Balm and a fiance who is kind and attentive. The current care I'm under isn't working, and I'd like to try a more holistic approach here. I fully believe that such a plan will combat what's going on here more fully than just popping a pill every morning an hour before I eat.

So there is that.

I had root canal Thursday afternoon. I've been in pain ever since. Plus, Scott moved in over the weekend and the most exercise I got there was the lifting of boxes and running up and down flights of stairs. Moving, my friends, totally counts as exercise.

We've got our last round of things to pick up tonight at Scott's old place and then we're done. And things will be back to normal. In the meantime, our friends at Weight Watchers have asked me to ask you to check out a wonderful charity event that they've launched today:

Lose For Good.

Share Our Strength is a wonderful organization, and if you're a Weight Watcher, or thinking about becoming one, now is a great time.

Posted by Erin at 07:33 PM | Comments (3) | filed under: Thyroid, Schmyroid

I could not be happier with my running efforts if I paid me.

I'm obviously thrilled to be back to running in the first place, and even running on the treadmill yesterday wasn't that bad, I reminded myself, and never again will I take for granted the ability to just, you know, RUN.

And despite not feeling altogether too great lately, I could not be prouder of myself right now. I ran like a bitch tonight, almost 6.5 miles, and averaged a 10:35 pace. For that long of a distance. Holy moses.

I'm going to go and soak my sore limbs now. My thyroid can kiss my ass. It might make me fat, tired and bald, but it's not going to make me slower.

Posted by Erin at 08:00 PM | Comments (4) | filed under: Training

I went to Bikram on Friday afternoon.

It was wonderful. I wish I were rich. If I could afford the monthly gym membership and a Bikram pass, I would do it in a heartbeat. As it stands, I don't, so I enjoy it when I can do it. I was sore on Saturday but no worse for the wear.

I didn't work out nary a bit this weekend, despite penciling in a six-mile run yesterday and wanting to go an hour of Turbo Jam on Saturday. We had tons of plans this weekend, and it started the week-long process of moving Scott into my place There was lots of organizing and errand-running and the long and the short of it is that it didn't happen.

Today I'm going to lift and do three miles of running. It's a bit more than I'd like, actually, but I'm desperately trying to combat the thyroid issues right now. I went in for more blood work today, so hopefully I'll have an answer by Wednesday. Honest to Pete, I'm just done with the hair falling out. I'm done with being tired again. My weight has been fluctuating around 149-151 pounds for a month now, despite all of my health eating and exercise, and the only culprit could be the thyroid. It's been a mess for a few months now, and my doctor wanted me to just wait out another two months to see what happened.

I'm leaning towards a specialist no matter what. Anyone here see an endocrinologist? I know a lot of you battle your own thyroid demons. I'd love to hear what you think.

Posted by Erin at 01:07 PM | Comments (11) | filed under: Thyroid, Schmyroid

... you all need to go out and run with one of these Nike+SportBand things.

I just ran 5.35 miles, and averaged 10:53 miles on the whole shot. I know to some of you, who are faster, better runners, that's no big shakes but I have been consistently running at 11:30, 11:45 mile paces for two years now, and running with this thing on steps up my entire game. It's crazy.

Why?

1) It taps into my competitive nature. I am by nature the sort of person who always wants to win. I know I don't always, and I usually react pretty well when I don't, but having a constant reminder of where I am in terms of pacing somehow kicks on an internal drive that before I didn't have. I know that you'll know my pace time and the distance I did it in, which means I don't have the luxury of screwing around. The device doesn't lie, and since this challenge is public, there's no getting away with any less than my best.

2) It helps me focus. Running is all mental for most people. It's why runners usually have serious injuries because we can run and run and run through all sorts of pain. We never know when to quit. With this device on me, I'm constantly reminded of the task at hand, which keeps me moving, instead of drifting away to my tired feet or achy legs.

Today marks the 19th anniversary of my mom's passing. She was only 40 when she was killed in a car accident.

A few weeks ago, I mentioned to someone that I was going to be 40 before I knew it - eight years - and had my mother known at 32 that she'd only have eight years left, I wonder what she would have done with those years. I don't get particularly maudlin about that fact, but it gives me perfect perspective with the gifts I have. I mean, it's truly a gift that I just went out and ran more than five miles. It is truly a gift that I can do that.

I'm going to go out and do another five miles tomorrow with my girlfriend, Brenda, to celebrate how lucky I am to just be alive.

Posted by Erin at 04:33 PM | Comments (8) | filed under: Competition

I know it's been a delay - I've been busy, blah blah blah.

But I've found a solution for all of you who are wondering how to calculate your miles without using the Nike+ equipment.

For the record? Holy Moses. How did I ever run without this thing? I love it! It makes me run faster, focus more, try harder ... it's amazing. I love it. If you win the SportsBand, you'll be a happy camper. For the first time EVER I ran 10-minute miles on Saturday. Ten-minute miles. I almost thought I was incapable of such a thing. Not anymore. Of course, I may have pushed it too far in the beginning, and I ended up running much slower than I should have to really push it out accurately, but I'm happy, nonetheless.

Anyway, to log your efforts online - and you should backtrack, BTW - sign up for a free account at Buckeye Outdoors Training and then send me the link to your records. To make it fair, I want to be able to see an ongoing account of everyone's efforts somehow. Some others can continue to use Nike, but for everyone else? I think you'll love this site.

Remember it's not too late to sign up for not only the challenge but also the Nike Human Race itself.

Happy running everyone! I'm heading out in a bit for a five-mile run, and I'm going to make it a slow and easy one. I'd like to keep it back to 11-minute miles to be on the safe side of things.

Posted by Erin at 05:38 PM | | filed under: Competition

I've had meetings and work these past two days but I have answers and solutions.

So, don't let that stop you from signing up.

Also? Consider registering for The Human Race if you haven't already. You don't need to be in a participating city to do it, and it's for charity.

More tomorrow. Promise.

Posted by Erin at 08:00 PM | | filed under: Inspiration

Hey all!

Thank you SO much for the huge response - remember to email me with your goals.

In the meantime, I know there are a SLEW of questions about operating the Nike challenge site. I have them too, and I left Friday afternoon to visit my grandma so I couldn't get to rooting out the problems and finding answers. I'm going to email our friends at Nike to see if we can't get everyone settled.

In the meantime, SIGN UP! We have one LTB Challenge member who is walking because, as we all know, you gotta start somewhere. Get to running! I did a five-mile run yesterday morning through a very small town an hour-and-a-half outside of Chicago and stumbled upon a slew of used syringes on a bridge overlooking the gorgeous Kankakee River.

I mean, REALLY. How else can you get THAT kind of scenery if not from running? Drug use in a small town! Right there!

Ahem.

Come join Team Buddha!

Posted by Erin at 04:34 PM | | filed under: Competition

"I will only run when chased."

This is a phrase my friend, Digger, is famous for using every time I mention to him my love of running. If you're a runner, you understand why people run. You don't even have to run far to understand. If you're not, it looks like the hugest undertaking in the world.

But here's the thing: everyone starts somewhere. And for some, once they do, they just can't stop. It's in their blood for good. I started running when I was 10. Sure, I wasn't consistent over the years, but it's what I always go back to. In the subsequent years, it's been my constant companion. One day, one time, everything just clicked. It didn't feel like a high for me, as it is for some - runner's high, they call it.

For me, I just realized that running could take me to a place of stillness and calm, all the while my heart was racing and I was burning more calories than I knew what to do with. My problems melted away, my stress was non-existent and all felt right with the world.

I told Shelane the other night, as we ran along Chicago's lakefront with the hundreds of other runners out there, that the reason I love running is because anyone can do it. You don't have to be anything or anyone or in any shape to just start putting one foot in front of the other. I like that no matter where I am in my life, no matter what shape my body is in, all it takes is the will and the ability to put one foot in front of the other. Even if you have to walk in the beginning, there is nothing stopping you.

Honestly? If you're not running, and you've always been curious, what's really stopping you?

The good, kind folks at Nike reached out to me yesterday, after reading that I was running, and asked if I wouldn't consider running in the upcoming Nike Human Race 10K. And because I am a sentimental sort, and because the whole concept frickin' rocks, I let them know that they could count on me to participate. After some time spent exploring the Nike Plus site, I asked Nike if they wouldn't consider sweetening the deal and getting everyone over here involved.

And so today, we've got the Lose The Buddha challenge.

The challenge is simple: go run. If you've never run a race before, let alone a 10K, no one expects you to do so in a month. But if you've ever been curious about what it takes to run, now is your chance! Sign up for a profile (it's free) and then check out the Training programs under "My runs." Decide what's a goal you can stick with for this month, write 'em down, join the LTB Challenge and send me your goals. That's all there is to it!

FIVE PEOPLE who complete, or come as near as complete as possible, their goals for the month will win a Nike+SportBand and a surprise gift from me.

Really. What's stopping you?

Posted by Erin at 11:19 AM | | filed under: Competition