AREC Training With Train 4 Autism

I won’t be able to participate in the Wrigley River Run this year which falls on June 2 because I have to work on my birthday. Instead, this post is about last week’s run.

If you have been reading this blog for awhile, you might have seen a post or two about my dizziness problems. If you haven’t, well that’s okay. I have labyrinthitis, an inner ear problem which causes dizziness and hits me from time to time for no apparent reason. Saturday morning was one of those days. I drove to the AREC run not knowing how that was going to affect my running later. Not only that, I was nursing a slight right calf discomfort which I was hoping wouldn’t get worse if I ran slowly enough. When I got to the location, I noticed that there were a lot more people than in previous weeks and that was because the athletes from Train 4 Autism (a fund raising group) had joined the fray. They sure had some nice looking baby blue uniforms. I hazard to guess that there were at least 150 runners that morning.

After a very brief talk by Nadine, we were off. I was really apprehensive about my dizziness so I just kept pace with the 12 minute milers hoping I wouldn’t topple over. Within the first half mile, I noticed that some of the mentors of Train 4 Autism were pretty speedy. They zipped past us in their baby blues. Their group was nice enough to mark the course with blue and yellow markers on traffic cones indicating which way the half marathoners or full marathoners have to go. I ran with Rosie and Tina up to the 3 mile water station and when we resumed, I got to talking with Mark F. I didn’t know that he had stopped running for a year and he recently just started again because of another mid life crisis. He did not elaborate and I did not probe. He suddenly asked me how long my every day running streak lasted before I had to quit. I didn’t even know he knew about that. He was guessing a thousand days and I told him it was actually 21 years and 8 days. He said, no wonder my ankle tendons were shot. We had a quick laugh about that. Incidentally, someone asked me this question the previous week:  What was the minimum number of miles you ran when you had your 21 year running every day streak? The requirement of the running streak association which I’m not a member of is one mile, so to simplify, that is what I would say my minimum was even though it was more like 1 ½ miles. Anyway, back to the run. Mark then regaled me with stories of his trail running races and how one time he and another friend of ours – Roberta, finished last at a very technical (i.e. rocky terrain) Colorado trail race. He pulled me for about a mile and a half, then for some reason, I pulled ahead and caught up with who I think were mother and daughter experimenting with the Galloway 5 minute run to 1 minute walk system. I asked them if they were with AREC and we ran together for the next mile. With half a mile left, I attempted to run with a full stride. Not my natural gait, mind you, to protect my ankle tendons, but at least a semblance of a full stride. And I resisted to do a full out sprint in the last 200 meters, also for ankle protection reasons. I hardly noticed that by the time I finished 6 miles or so, my dizziness had dissipated. Running had calmed my inner ear.

Hopefully in the coming weeks we could mingle with the Train 4 Autism runners and get to know them better instead of sticking to our packs and them in theirs during the run. They seem like a pretty good group. Thanks for running with us Train 4 Autism athletes J

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Working Out In A Dizzy Tizzy

Due to the sudden return of my dizziness problems in the past week and the heat finally scorching Southern California, I have been conservative with my outdoor workouts especially after my terrible run/walk last Saturday. I already mentioned the 1 ½ hour stationary bike ride last Sunday. This was followed by an hour run on the treadmill on Monday which a surprise by itself because I usually don’t have the patience and concentration to last that long on the machine. The very slow pace which allowed me to read the newspaper, helped pass the time and still gave me a good workout. On Tuesday, it was back to the stationary bike in the form of the recumbent this time. It was so hot that I trained the electric fan towards me and cranked it up to the highest level. That workout lasted an hour and twenty minutes which consisted of intervals. This brings us to Wednesday which is normally not a running day for me but I was feeling pretty good and despite the high heat at 1 P.M. I ventured outside with hopes of completing at least 30 minutes. I could feel a slight breeze in the beginning which was definitely better than the dead air indoors. When I approached 30 minutes, I extended my goal to 40. Having to do some detours to avoid street constructions in my neighborhood (The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 at work), I hit 50 minutes by the time I reached home. How hot was it? Well I lost 3 ½ pounds of sweat in just 50 minutes or very slow running and had to rehydrate quickly. I hope to show up at AREC marathon training on Saturday feeling better than last weekend. Know what? Very slow running or jogging has not been a problem for me. At least I can still do it and taste the sweet nectar of endorphins J. 

At the start of the month, my job offered a website (Healthyroads.com) where employees can track their fitness and health goals, and after putting off signing up for several weeks, I finally joined a few days ago. Just for signing up they gave away an exercise kit which included elastic bands and a walking kit which included a pedometer. Upon logging 12 workouts, they will also send you a water bottle as a reward. Since I already reached that level, I was expecting three items in the mail, which arrived today. Unfortunately, I didn’t see them because I was asleep when the mailman tried to deliver. Maybe when they redeliver tomorrow… By the way, they also have reward for reaching 36 and 72 workouts: a towel for the first and a t-shirt for the next. Since I work out every day, getting the free stuff would not be a problem. It’s just too bad that they stop giving rewards after 72 workouts :P

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Dizziness Diagnosis

I went to see the ear, nose, throat (ENT) specialist last Friday and after giving me the tests that cops give to DUI suspects, he didn’t find anything physically wrong with me. He said that my condition could be caused by a virus and that the dizziness can disappear anytime as mysteriously as it appeared. Nevertheless, he ordered an MRI for me to rule out any abnormalities to the inner ear that he could not see with his otoscope. I will have to wait until the insurance company authorizes the test, find out which hospital the procedure will be done, then make an appointment. When that is completed, I am to return to the doctor for more information.

 When I asked the doctor if my condition had anything to do about Mal De Debarquement syndrome, he appeared not to know anything about it, so I didn’t press the matter especially that he had an intern with him. His preliminary diagnosis was vestibular neuritis and said it wasn’t a fun thing to experience and then asked me if I was prescribed Meclizine by my primary doctor. It’s a medication for motion sickness like Bonine or Dramamine which I already tried but didn’t have any effect on my dizziness except make me sleepy. So the ENT doctor told me to stop taking it. Since what I have is supposed to be a virus, the antibiotic nasal spray given to me by my internist didn’t correct my problem because antibiotics only work for bacterial infections.

So far the dizzy spells continue but they appear to be lessening in frequency and duration. I’m not sure if that’s just my altered perception of things. I’ll just have to wait for my body’s own defenses to conquer the virus. Come on BODY, get on with it!!!

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Better Eating in March + Mal de Debarquement

After a bad month of eating in February (when we had those three potlucks at work), I’ve been trying to consume healthier foods consisting of fish, chicken, vegetables, salads, beans, rice, and even more fiber in the form of cereals. The weight that I lost control of last month has stabilized and even decreased. Further tests of my blood sugar in the form of HbA1C came up normal so I don’t have diabetes although I may be prone to it. Other than the dizziness, I seem to be healthy.

As I mentioned before, my dizzy spells feel like I’m on a rocking boat. The feeling is not constant though, it comes and goes, so all I can do is ride it out. I questioned myself last week, should I even be running or doing any other kind of workout with this dizziness? If the diagnosis he doctor gave me about fluid in my ears is correct then it’s reassuring to know that it’s not my heart or my brain that has a problem. I actually get some relief from the dizziness while exercising.

Ever heard of Mal de Debarquement syndrome? Well, that makes two or three or all of us who haven’t heard about it. Here is a description found on the web: Mal de Debarquement Syndrome (or MdDS) is an imbalance or rocking/swaying sensation often both "felt" and "seen" by the sufferer that occurs after exposure to motion (most commonly after a sea cruise or a flight). Although other forms of travel have been known to trigger it. The rest of the information is here: http://www.mdds.org.uk/ .
My doctor didn’t actually say that’s what I had, but my symptoms are exactly the same as the description except I haven’t been on a boat to develop motion sickness.

Well, that about all the health update I can give you for now. I can only hope that the rocking motion subsides and disappears as time goes on.

More info can be found here: http://health.howstuffworks.com/landsickness1.htm

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A Decent Pace?

Two Saturdays ago I felt some shame because I couldn’t give my weekend running partner Cyndi a decent pace despite the flat terrain we ran in. It was at that time that my dizzy spells started and being unsure of its cause, I gave a conservative effort. Before today’s run, I informed Cyndi of my problems and a caveat that I may have to take it really easy. Despite that, she still agreed to run with me and I’m so appreciative of that. After my solo run last Thursday and knowing more about my condition, I figured I might be able to give a better effort than what I could muster two Saturdays ago. I woke up dizzy as has been usual the past week but it was time to “buck up” and run with my best effort. Cyndi told me before we started today that I should just run my pace no matter what it is and see how it feels and she will match it. And that’s how we started.

 Since we didn’t run together last weekend because she was occupied, we caught up with the happenings of the past two weeks. This is why I like running with other people. It makes the time and distance pass. Cyndi is faster than me so when we run together, that would be considered her easy day while it would be my tempo effort day. For people who read this blog who are not runners, tempo effort means you are running comfortably hard (even though for me, it gets uncomfortable at times).
Running the usual AREC (A Running Experience Club) 8 mile course, we climbed up 6^th Street hill at the halfway mark and what do we see but a Siamese cat crossing the street at the apex. We stopped a moment while Cyndi consumed an energy gel and I tried to catch my breath because we went up that hill at a pretty good clip, and the cat approached us. I was surprised that it didn’t run away and allowed me to pet him/her. Could it have been the pheromones emanating through my sweat, or just my animal magnetism ( LOL!)? Talk about attracting the wrong kind of creature. I told the cat that I’ll be back for him in about an hour to take him home with me. I didn’t of course, but I miss having cats at home. What I don’t miss is the tracked litter all over the place. Up to now those tiny things still come up out of nowhere. Last week a runner gets killed by a crashing plane, and yesterday another runner was assaulted by a kangaroo, and with some stroke of luck, all I encountered was a mild mannered cat. Thank God! 

Anyhow, we left the cat behind and trekked back to where we started from while trying to keep the pace that we attacked the hill with. We must have done pretty well because our overall time for 8.37 miles was 1 hour 18 minutes and 6 seconds or 9:20 average pace per mile. Two weeks prior, we did a 9:36 pace on a flat course. So today, I hope I was able to give my weekend training partner a decent workout compared to two weeks ago. Thanks again for running with me, buddy!

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Dizzy Running

Last Mondays’ blog post briefly mentioned my recent problems with dizziness and lightheadedness. Let me tell you how it feels. It feels like you are on a rocking boat. These dizzy spells and lightheadedness are driving me bonkers because they haven’t subsided. Last Tuesday I couldn’t even get started running because I was unable to decide if the dizziness was bad enough to make me pass out if I exerted some effort. I went out the door twice then returned inside wondering if I should just ride the stationary bike instead. I tried running on the treadmill to see if I can tolerate the dizziness and after 4 minutes went outdoors again. I slowed down the pace as much as possible to limit the up and down motion of jogging and somehow I managed to run for 45 minutes without falling down or passing out.

 I had seen the doctor the previous week and he instructed me to make another appointment if I didn’t get any relief, so I called right away after I returned home. I was back in the doctors’ office yesterday (Thursday). He found some fluid in my ears and I don’t know what would cause that. I don’t know human anatomy to that extent. I’m more familiar with the muscular and skeletal system. The doctor ordered me a nasal spray antibiotic, a generic form of Dramamine for the dizziness, and Sudafed to dry out the ears.

I had planned on running after the doctors’ visit but was undecided on what route to take or how many minutes to do. Well, I found a goal that I could reach for. Let me make the connection here. During the visit to the doctor, I had a co-pay of $15 for my insurance. However I only had a $20 bill and the doctors’ office didn’t have any change. I was supposed to pay them on my way out because they might have some change then. Well, in my haste to go to the pharmacy, I forgot to pay them. So this is what I decided I was going to do: run to the doctors’ office to pay them, then run back home. I’ve run this route a few times before and I already knew it was about three miles out and three miles back. It would be a good test run for me and my dizziness. The first 5 minutes was a warm up to test my equilibrium, then after feeling okay, I started picking up the pace. For the next 55 minutes I managed to do 11 repeats of 4 minute pickups with 1 minute recovery jogs (instead of the usual 1 minute walk break). By the time I finished, I had Completed 6.72 miles in 1 hour for a pace per mile of 8:56! Who would have thought I could do that??? I hope it wasn’t a GPS malfunction. Maybe I should be dizzy more often!

Side notes: It has been warm the last few days, I had to run in a tanktop in mid-March. Getting sick sucks especially when you don’t know the cause of your ailments. Being alone makes it worse and that’s probably the only time I miss having someone here with me.

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