Ultraman training and vacation!

This hasn't been a normal training year for for me. When I initially signed up to do the race this spring I wasn't in the best health physically or mentally. It's been a tough year dealing with health problems and the resulting frustration and depression. Many days it was tough to get out the door and when I did I was too tired to do anything. Riding and running had once been what I did for fun but neither was fun anymore. I started taking thyroid medication in June and it hasn't been the quickest road back to health but I'm starting to feel more like me again. I still have some abnormal labs and need to go back to the doctor next month for another workup, but things seem to be headed in the right direction. I'm still on night shift and not sleeping, but I've started finding joy on the trails again. So while I don't have the best fitness or training this year I decided to come participate anyway.  This years race will be a celebration that I am able to do this event at all because a couple of months ago I wouldn't have thought it possible.

This past 10 days in Hawaii has been pure heaven. It is so nice to sleep at night!!  I forgot how nice it is to get more than 4 hours of sleep and feel rested when I wake up. It's been a whirlwind of a trip so far, and I've managed some last minute training. We left Tahoe on the 13th after getting off work at 730 in the morning we raced to the airport in Reno and arrived in Kona by 8pm that night. Really crazy to go from work to the islands in 1 day. Saturday and Sunday were to be my longest and only really long rides of the year as we rode around the island. Ryan rented a bike and off we went. It was a real treat to get to spend two days going around the island with him!! The weather was perfect and treated him to a wind free day in the Kohalas. Thanks to Bike Works for the loner wheel after I broke a spoke on my training wheels!

I haven't done any long runs while here.  It was just too late by the time we got here to do any good. I guess working 36-60 hours of nights a week really doesn't leave time for training or sleeping. I'm hoping there is some muscle memory in my legs from prior years. What I have done a lot of is swim. Even when I probably should take a day off, I just can't stay out of the water. It's such a treat to swim in the aquarium here. This morning a large group of us swam across Kealakakua Bay to the monument and back. As we parked a local said he saw a whale over near the monument and off we went. Marty and I ended up a small bit in front of the rest of the group and when we were about 300 meters from the monument I saw a dark shadow right below me. I grabbed at Marty's feet but he kept on swimming for a short distance before stopping. As the dark shadow got closer I saw a large Humpback whale!! I watched in awe as it surfaced next to us. By the time the rest of the group got to us the whale had dove back down and wasn't visible. At first they didn't believe us, but about 20 minutes later the whale came back up close by them and stayed at the surface for about a minute before diving straight back down. It was a truly magical experience that I will remember always. We are truly blessed! 

The best part of the time here so far has been hanging out with my Ultraman family that has been arriving from around the globe. It is my last year at this race, and I'm really going to miss what has become my annual family reunion. Only a couple more days to go before this years journey around the big island starts!

Kealakekua Bay

Cycle trip to Kealakekua Bay

Sunset drinks

Yum!!

Ryan on the 30 mile climb up the Volcano

Trying (and failing) to swim like Marty

Sunrise on red road

End of another beautiful day in Kona

A New Normal?

It's been a busy spring and summer, but not in my usual busy summer way. Ryan and I have been playing in the mountains, but not nearly as much as usual or as much as we want. It's been an amazing but challenging year. We've had some major life changed in the past year with getting married, new jobs, and moving up to Tahoe.

The biggest struggle for me has been working night shift. I now know how extremely lucky I was as a new grad getting a day shift position right out of school.  I've always been a morning person and embraced early morning masters swim and going to bed at 830pm.  My secret talent used to be sleeping. I would sleep a solid 8+ hours a night and take naps in the afternoon.  Moving up to Tahoe meant working from 7pm to 730am. What I've found over the last 7 months of working night is that I am definitely not meant for night shift. I felt horrible all the time. Imagine getting on a plane and flying halfway around the world and switching time zones by 12 hours every 4 days. Then imagine not really getting the crap sleep that you do on an airplane. It felt like I was getting a series of 20 minute naps instead of really getting into deep sleep. We tried everything to get better sleep from blackout blinds, white noise machines, melatonin, valerian, and finally benadryl. None of it was working. I couldn't sleep during the day or night. To top it off I started gaining weight like crazy despite starting to train for Western States. I probably only swam a handful of times this spring and summer, but I did keep running. Ryan was getting more into ultra running and had signed up for his first 50 miler. I had a minor setback in February to March with an ankle sprain that left me sidelined for 4 weeks, but by April I was running pain free again. I kept plugging along with training for Western States, but I was feeling increasingly fatigued and the weight gain continued. I was up 25 pounds from December. It was frustrating. We were running about 60-80 miles a week and eating healthy. About a year ago Ryan and I switched to a plant based diet.  We eat vegan at home and cook most of our own meals, but fudge the rules a bit when traveling or dinner with family.

May 18th was a turning point. I was signed up to race the Silver State 50 miler in Reno. It is a fun former hometown course that I have always really enjoyed. I started the race excited, but I just never felt right. I had no energy and wasn't enjoying the day at all. At about 25ish miles in I sat down on the side of the trail and all I wanted to do is take a nap. The great thing about trail runs is getting off the course once I knew I was pulling the plug. I walked most of the last 8 miles just to get to the aid station where Ryan was waiting for me. I was really heartbroken about dropping, but I just had nothing in me anymore. We drove straight from the race to the clinic to see if we could get labs drawn to find out what was happening.  About a week later I got the call that I needed to get in to see a doctor because of abnormal thyroid levels. BOOO!! My TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) levels were elevated meaning my thyroid wasn't working like it was supposed to. I'm not sure if night shift was the trigger for my thyroid meltdown, but it sure didn't help. I'm not a big fan of taking medication, but I knew I couldn't go on feeling like I had for the past 6 months. I was depressed, emotional, and felt a bit like I was going crazy. After talking with the doctor I started taking synthroid for my thyroid and sleeping medicine so that I actually get some rest.

So here I am 6 weeks into taking medication and while I don't feel 100% I do feel like I'm digging out from under this avalanche that hit me. With the sleeping meds I'm able to get 6 hours of solid sleep. Yes, it's not ideal for me, but it's much better than not sleeping at all. Amazingly the weight is coming off with no extra effort (10 pounds in 6 weeks). My moods have been more stable and I'm feeling much more like myself. I get labs redrawn next week to make sure my TSH level is where it needs to be and to adjust my synthroid dose.

I ended up surviving Western States (more on that later) and am getting ready to run Tahoe Rim Trail 100 this weekend. I'm not sure how my legs are going to feel, but it is so exciting to start feeling normal again. Thanks Ryan for being the best husband and being my rock as we went through all this.

family run time on the rim trail

 Yosemite trip, 50 miles in 3 days