Eat More Steak

So 19 days to go.  Feels a bit weird right now...almost anticlimactic.  Trying not to get freaked about the fact that I haven't trained much in the last 10 days.  After my three days of no training, we headed out on Saturday morning for an open water swim - me, Zimmer and Brady.  OMG.  I hadn't been in the water for 10 days - since Ontario - since my two swim workouts for last week fell in the 3 days of no training.  It is amazing how quickly swim fitness appears to disappear.  We got through the first stretch, couldn't have been more than 500 meters, and I got up and was like "OMG Tell me it is going to get  better.  I feel like SHIT.  And I felt so good in Ontario!" Brady accurately said, give it a little bit, you just have to get your feel for the water back.  And he's right.  I remember JLess telling me the same thing in Puerto Rico, and swimming those three days in a row at the venue gave me my most comfortable swim ever.  Ten days out of the water IS a long time.  And so we went, section by section, increasing the distance each time, and slowly I did start to feel better.  By the end of the swim, about an hour, I felt much better, and getting back to myself.  Thanks to Zim and Brady for being patient with me on Saturday!  Then Zim and I headed out for a 90 minute ride.  Felt okay, but power still low.  What used to be 210 watts, is now 170; what used to be 160 is now 110-120.  UGH.  Sunday I went out and rode another 90 minutes, and ran an hour.  Ride was okay, run was much better.  Managed to put in a negative split run, first half at 8:24 pace, second half at 8:16 pace, 7 miles all in.  So this is good.  Monday I missed my swim (damn!!) - alarm didn't go off.  Tonight I rode with the TSF group, and I could actually keep up for most of it tonight, power is not all the way back by any means, but it was WAY better than last Tuesday.

Okay.  So Matt was Right.  Turns out I do have a major iron deficiency.  My ferritin levels, which are the iron stores in your body, are very low.  The "normal" range is very wide, but my doc says that anything below 50 they consider low, and something has to be done.  My number was 20.  Yikes.  Not good.  Matt gave me a very stern and serious look when I told him this; "this is NOT GOOD" he said.

This explains a lot of things that have been occurring in the last few months, and even beyond that.

• Dizziness - I've been experiencing this for about 5-6 months on a regular basis.  It was actually David that noticed it first, that it was happening regularly.  I didn't really look into it.  "head rushes" as I call it, are not uncommon for me, though the increased frequency should have made me look into it.
• Hair loss - my hair has been falling out all summer, in a bad way since about May/June.  Figured it was all the working out, hair bands, excessive sweat, and stress.  Guess it was more than that.
• Fatigue, not sleeping well, etc - again, partly 'normal' for me, and partly expected in IM training
• Memory/concentration - I figured the lapse in this was really just about stress, and being overworked.  Turns out it is a symptom of iron deficiency.
• Ice cravings - ya.  weird.  I know.  But the doctor asked if I've been craving ice, and I looked at her, and said, um actually yes, why are you asking me that?  I'm usually the 'water no ice' girl, but for the last month or so, I have been crunching ice whenever I can get it.  And eating a ridiculous number of popsicles (sugar free though, so I'm not feeling bad about it).  Very odd.  At least my craving is ice, and not dirt, paper, chalk, or worse.  

So, Thursday I'm getting an iron transfusion.   Doc figures I need two, and I'll be stocked up for now.  She said I will notice the difference in just a day or two.  First time they do it, they do it very slow, so it is a 5 hour procedure.  IV drip, nothing much to it.  One this week, one next week, and then they'll test again.  Then I have to figure out the real cause of the low iron, since right now we are just resolving the symptoms.  So that is job #1 after the race.  Right now, I'm just happy to have a reason behind all this.  Reviewing my power files comparatively over the last 3 months, then 28 days, then 14 days, was SCARY.  My power curve has dropped off so badly, I just want to cry.  Really.  But, nothing I can do aside from what I am already doing, so no point in stressing any more about this.  As Sarah so aptly pointed out, it is what it is.  I agreed, and said, yep, just gotta go with it and deal - regardless of what it is - the iron, the divorce, or whatever is next.  She said "the people that can roll with the punches are the ones that make it in life".  And she's right.  So, rolling...  

So boys and girls, get your iron.  I think I've been taking the CFA cow advice a little too much to heart.  Let them eat BEEF!!  Now I gotta hit the sack so I can get to Masters in the am.  4000m here I come.

Happy Training, and order me a filet ;)

Kat