Mystery Solved

Six months ago I was not a healthy person. Despite makeups best efforts I still constantly sported dark circles under my eyes, every time I stood up I hovered on unconsciousness due to dizziness and blurred vision, my bones felt like they had been filled with cement and I couldn’t walk up a flight of stairs without needing to sit down and take deep breaths afterwards.

I never shared this photo is December, because I hated how sick I looked in it. And this was on a night I had put on make up and tried to look nice...

I was told by a (crappy) doctor that I was anemic and started taking iron supplements. Some of the symptoms stopped. I could gradually start to run again, but had a difficult time getting faster. I still had days that even after a full night of sleep it was impossible for me to get out of bed. I started using the term “anemia tired” to describe the difference between sleepiness and my body’s occasional inability to function. 

At this point I was “training” for a marathon. Sometimes having good runs and sometimes cutting them out altogether. Back when I first signed up for the race I promised Ben I would go back to the doctor when it was getting close to see where I was health wise. 

So I went to a different (better) doctor and he ran some of the same tests and some new tests and finally figured out what was wrong with me. First off, I was still anemic, but getting better. My numbers were substantially higher than December. Then the big breakthrough -- I was B12 deficient. Not only does B12 cause anemia because of the role it plays in creating red blood cells, but it also explained some of my other symptoms like the numbness in my toes and fingers and my recent forgetfulness.

While it solved one mystery it did open the door to another. Why was I deficient? MY doctor ordered several additional tests, but they all came back negative. At this time, my doctor thinks it is my diet since I’m not a fan of red meat (you can only get B12 through animal products), but I do eat all other meat as well as dairy products and eggs so I have a hard time jumping on board with that.

Anyways, after my diagnosis I received a B12 injection every day for a week. 

Picture I sent my sister after one of my shots. This one hurt super bad for some reason!

 Now I am getting them once a week and soon I’ll get them once a month until my levels are normal. I’ll be tested again in August to see if my body is absorbing the shots.  It has been such a blessing to have my health issues resolved. After having my doctor back in December tell me it was all in my head it was a weight off my shoulders to know something really wasn’t right and that there was a way to fix it. I feel like a real, happy person again! 

Now what has this meant for my running? Well -- basically -- B12 has given me superpowers. Over the past month I have gone from my comfortable pace being a 9:10 mile to a 8:45 mile. My last mile from Saturday’s 12 mile run was 7:53. For the past two weeks my average mile pace has been an 8:36. All of these things seemed like legend and myth for me 6 months ago.  I’m getting faster every week and am going through the motions with running. 

And about that marathon – I’m still running it and it is this weekend. I have no idea what to expect. I’ve improved so much in the past month getting my injections that I don’t know what a realistic goal is. I had an exact strategic plan when I ran the Chicago marathon, but for this one I’m confused. I ran a 22 mile run during training in the rain with a 9:07 pace and that was a pretty conservative run so I am optimistic, but really I have no idea. I have a secret goal of what I want, but we’ll see…