Forums >Health and Nutrition>Getting slower and weaker - iron??
In sort of the same boat here but slacking on getting some blood tests. Felt a certain amount of fatigue over the winter and spring but had some really good race results. It was the weeks following that I'd feel wiped out. But since early May my legs have never felt good--or recovered. Recent 5Ks at 40-45 sec slower than last spring.
runharrietrun, good luck with your dx and rx.
^^^ It is hot in the summer time. See if you feel better now that fall has arrived.
There are so very many things that can make one feel blah. Several mentioned in this thread. Several more.All I'm here to say is do NOT self-supplement iron unless you know for sure you are low. Too much iron is a bad thing that you do not want.
Ok bye.
Thank you for all the ideas.
Kilkee - good plan. I'll go back in a week if nothing has improved.
pedaling fool - Thanks for sharing your story. I don't even run with a garmin most of the time, but you are right to emphasize the role of mental stress in a slump. Nothing has happened in the last six weeks, I've been sleeping and eating and not had much daily-life stress. However, late 2014 and the beginning of 2015 was a terrible time for my family and the effects will linger for a long time. Maybe my body is trying to tell me to deal with it in a different way instead of just running so much
Oh, and branching out into different activities is a good suggestion. I've been neglecting yoga and weight training all summer.
Curious, is this both legs? Generalized or any specific area?
Joann Y. - Both legs, quads and hamstrings - that pain/fatigue feeling like at the end of a very long run, or sometimes the burning of running uphill for a long time (but on a flat route, and after a relatively short slow jog).
X trackster good luck getting back on track, hope your running improves soon.
Srlopez good reminder, especially for guys as they don't have the, um, "luxury" of monthly blood loss.
Not that anyone was losing sleep over this, but since people were kind enough to respond, thought I'd give a quick update. It's not any better after a week of rest. I went back to the doctor and saw my "regular" gp (general practitioner) who was vacation last week. He took me seriously, asked a few questions, and ordered blood work for thyroid stuff. I'm not familiar with all the terminology but I'm pretty sure he said t3, t4, tsh, something about autoimmune disease antibodies, and maybe one other thing? Idk. Anyway, results next week. It is a little strange to almost be hoping for hypothyroidism, as that would at least be an explanation and can be fixed with a pill...I mean, it sounds like a total pain in the ass, but going back to the drawing board would also be annoying.
Thyroid is very easy to deal with, once it has been diagnosed. The meds are generic and cheap. It may take a few tries to find the right dose, but after that you just need a once a year blood test to see if it needs to be adjusted.
runktrun
Glad your doc is taking you seriously. Yes, that sounds like a detailed panel for hypothyroid/hashimotos (hashimotos is autoimmune). If it is your thyroid, you should start feeling better within a week or so of meds. If not, ask about generic vs brand or supplementing with T3. A better response to brand synthroid is well documented and many insurance plans with prescription coverage will cover the brand. Hope you start feeling better soon!
Not running for my health, but in spite of it.
Everyone has their own ideal numbers, but for most runners, a ferritin of 36 is really low and enough to impact your running a good bit.
A local high school kid around here had the same issues as you, so I told him to get his ferritin checked and it was just below yours at 31. After a month of iron supplementation, he's gone from just under 17:00 for a 5k to under 16:00.
I've heard of really serious runners keeping their ferritin right at 100 just to keep it topped off.
Iron deficiency and low thyroid are both common and can drag you down, but if they come back normal, you might also want to consider orthopedic issues. Your legs feel tired? Maybe you have a low grade injury, a little arthritis, a pinched nerve, or something else affecting your muscles.
Good news: my thyroid is fine. Better than it was the last time I had it checked, in 2013 (which I'd completely forgotten about until I randomly came across the paperwork yesterday in a drawer).
Bad news: my running still sucks. Not as much as it did before this two week break, but still, like, a lot. My doctor literally said "I'm sorry, I wish I had more ideas, but I don't know what else to tell you." He was nice enough to say that he doesn't think it's all in my head, but given that my Thyroid is ok and iron is fine (maybe a little low on the ferritin, but I've had much lower, like in the low teens) he doesn't know what else to suggest. Cardiac issues very unlikely but if I really want to, he'll send me to the hospital for a day to have all sorts of tests. That seems a little extreme though.
Not sure what to do now other than wait and see if the mojo comes back.
What about that cross training? Especially weightlifting, don't let the myths about weightlifting discourage you. Serious leg exercises really helps me, in the long run. Here's the link I left before...seems like you got nothing else to lose http://www.nwrunner.com/why-runners-should-life-3-myths-that-need-busting/
You don't even have to start in a gym, you could just do weight training with your body weight. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWvIu7s-vIM
Feeling the growl again
Ferritin of 36 is not ultra low but it wouldn't hurt to boost it a bit and see if that helps. Ditto the B12.
"If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does. There's your pep talk for today. Go Run." -- Slo_Hand
I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills
What about that cross training? Especially weightlifting, don't let the myths about weightlifting discourage you. Serious leg exercises really helps me, in the long run. Here's the link I left before...seems like you got nothing else to lose http://www.nwrunner.com/why-runners-should-life-3-myths-that-need-busting/ You don't even have to start in a gym, you could just do weight training with your body weight. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWvIu7s-vIM
Forgot to mention this yesterday, but you are right on with this suggestion, pedaling fool. Just did an hour spin class (first time in years) followed by half an hour of weights and core. Hello, endorphins! Also, you don't have to convince that lifting is good. I run a lot better when I strength train regularly.
Spaniel - thanks for your thoughts. Doc mentioned that the ferritin was not exactly through the roof. He didn't say to supplement with anything, but he also didn't say not to
i keep laughing to myself at the extremely friendly, polite way my doctor tried to get me the hell out of there yesterday, and his blatant omission of the suggestion to run less. Which is kind of the only logical follow up to "I have no idea what else might be wrong with you", and he so clearly did not want to get into that discussion.
Ferritin of 36 is not ultra low ...
Maybe not on paper since the "normal" range is 10-120, but when mine went that low my marathon training went down the tubes. I couldn't do my faster workouts as planned, my muscles took longer to recover from any hard workout, I struggled to complete the long runs and had to cut them all short by a few miles. My heart would pound just getting up from sitting and walking across the room!
(MTA: I also had the leg muscle pain and the significant slowdown in easy pace.)
My doctor advised iron supplements and told me the goal is to get the ferritin to 100. I get re-tested periodically, am now up to 90 and feel greatly improved.
So she definitely could have symptoms from a ferritin of 36 and could benefit from iron supplementation, with follow-up testing of course..
Don't make excuses for why you can't get it done.
Focus on all the reasons why you must make it happen.
Food, Folks, Fun, Beer
How many grams of carbs are you consuming per day? How much water? How much sleep are you getting? And what time you going to bed at?
Maybe not on paper since the "normal" range is 10-120, but when mine went that low my marathon training went down the tubes. I couldn't do my faster workouts as planned, my muscles took longer to recover from any hard workout, I struggled to complete the long runs and had to cut them all short by a few miles. My heart would pound just getting up from sitting and walking across the room! (MTA: I also had the leg muscle pain and the significant slowdown in easy pace.) My doctor advised iron supplements and told me the goal is to get the ferritin to 100. I get re-tested periodically, am now up to 90 and feel greatly improved. So she definitely could have symptoms from a ferritin of 36 and could benefit from iron supplementation, with follow-up testing of course..
Not ultra low =/= not low