Hello again everyone. I hope you enjoyed yesterday's post. I didn't want to make it too taxing by making it the longest ever blog post, so I broke it down. Here's part 2, My Journey to Health through Running, 2013.
The first run of 2013 went okay. Not sure if it was stress or swine flu but the week before the Superbowl run with my #1 running buddy, I was sick as a dog. Luckily, I lived through only half of the torture. (Get it?)
I had long sense suspected that I was suffering from PCOS but it seemed like the main thing was "to lose weight/eat healthy" to control your symptoms. I tried my very best to do this on my own but when I finally realized that my symptoms were more than I could handle, it was time to see a doctor.
In April of 2013 we made the tough decision to go see an Endocrinologist to find answers to questions we had been seeking. It was during that meeting that I discovered that I did in fact have Poly-Cystic Ovarian Syndrome. Which is a complex group of symptoms that in fact do not have the same symptoms in every woman who is diagnosed with PCOS.
PCOS is a condition in which ovaries, sometimes/not always, contain many cystic follicles that are associated with anovulation(not ovulating) and over productive of androgen's(male hormones)
(So it's no joke when I say I'm being very beastly at the gym right? LOL!!! I made myself laugh...anywho...)
The cystic follicles exist presumably because the eggs are not released at the time of ovulation. Symptoms may include excess hair, typically on the face (I have lots of chin hairs), irregular menstrual cycles(Sorry dudes...I just introduced some estrogen stuff up in here!), infertility, and quite a few of us have an incredibly difficult time losing weight, as well as acne/oily skin. Sometimes they include symptoms such as male pattern balding, skin tags, pelvic pain, sleep apnea...depending on what you read, or who you talk to it's different for all of us.
But I finally had some answers. Armed with a little more information and a guidance of starting the Atkins diet, I set out to conquer this somewhat embarrassing and difficult syndrome.
I kept running. One of the best ways to conquer PCOS is exercise. And largely diet. It turns out I have the type of PCOS that includes insulin resistance. My Endocrinologist guided me towards Atkins for this matter. The more "bad carbs" I ate, sugar/white flour the more my androgen levels would rise. The longer those were higher the more symptoms showed. Switching over to what I'll just call a clean eating diet the better I felt. I no longer felt sick.
In August of 2013 I ran the Glow Run with the Bro & his lady. We had a great time & a great run. The event was massive. I finished with the best time I had ever achieved (at the time) with running. I also noticed after the race I didn't have any punishing side effects! I felt great. It was at this race that I began to feel like a runner because I had planned this run around a vacation! Lol!
My, Endo had warned me you will lose a minimum/maximum of 30lbs on this diet.
I won't go into to much detail about my PCOS other than this but its still something I struggle with. After a set back at the doctors in September, I had started to slip on my diet a little bit. Plus the Holidays were quickly approaching and I just wanted ALL OF THE COOKIES, that I was denying myself.
Later that September I went on to run the Zoo Run. A bit hilly but I was beginning to up my game.
It was my first 5miler. And this time I got to run with my dad!! He had started to lose weight last year as well. He used weight watchers and had lost a total of 90lbs!! Doesn't he look great?
Have a great Saturday everyone!
The first run of 2013 went okay. Not sure if it was stress or swine flu but the week before the Superbowl run with my #1 running buddy, I was sick as a dog. Luckily, I lived through only half of the torture. (Get it?)
(This was 30lbs ago)
Superbowl run February 3rd, 2013. For just getting my sea legs back under me I did pretty well. The finish line came a lot sooner than I had expected. It was around this time I had done a little more research on PCOS & decided to try to go gluten free. I had started eating eggs, apple, and peanut butter before exercising, for a good mixture of carbohydrates, protein, and fat. It seemed to really boost my running performance versus say cereal with milk. For my post run I had bought...baby food. Lol. It was yams & apples. Yams are suppose to be good for runners right? Lol! I did also have a burger with cheese and chips. Which was equally delicious. I just wanted to find an end to why my stomach was constantly upset.I had long sense suspected that I was suffering from PCOS but it seemed like the main thing was "to lose weight/eat healthy" to control your symptoms. I tried my very best to do this on my own but when I finally realized that my symptoms were more than I could handle, it was time to see a doctor.
In April of 2013 we made the tough decision to go see an Endocrinologist to find answers to questions we had been seeking. It was during that meeting that I discovered that I did in fact have Poly-Cystic Ovarian Syndrome. Which is a complex group of symptoms that in fact do not have the same symptoms in every woman who is diagnosed with PCOS.
PCOS is a condition in which ovaries, sometimes/not always, contain many cystic follicles that are associated with anovulation(not ovulating) and over productive of androgen's(male hormones)
(So it's no joke when I say I'm being very beastly at the gym right? LOL!!! I made myself laugh...anywho...)
The cystic follicles exist presumably because the eggs are not released at the time of ovulation. Symptoms may include excess hair, typically on the face (I have lots of chin hairs), irregular menstrual cycles(Sorry dudes...I just introduced some estrogen stuff up in here!), infertility, and quite a few of us have an incredibly difficult time losing weight, as well as acne/oily skin. Sometimes they include symptoms such as male pattern balding, skin tags, pelvic pain, sleep apnea...depending on what you read, or who you talk to it's different for all of us.
But I finally had some answers. Armed with a little more information and a guidance of starting the Atkins diet, I set out to conquer this somewhat embarrassing and difficult syndrome.
I kept running. One of the best ways to conquer PCOS is exercise. And largely diet. It turns out I have the type of PCOS that includes insulin resistance. My Endocrinologist guided me towards Atkins for this matter. The more "bad carbs" I ate, sugar/white flour the more my androgen levels would rise. The longer those were higher the more symptoms showed. Switching over to what I'll just call a clean eating diet the better I felt. I no longer felt sick.
(10lbs ago)
In August of 2013 I ran the Glow Run with the Bro & his lady. We had a great time & a great run. The event was massive. I finished with the best time I had ever achieved (at the time) with running. I also noticed after the race I didn't have any punishing side effects! I felt great. It was at this race that I began to feel like a runner because I had planned this run around a vacation! Lol!
My, Endo had warned me you will lose a minimum/maximum of 30lbs on this diet.
I won't go into to much detail about my PCOS other than this but its still something I struggle with. After a set back at the doctors in September, I had started to slip on my diet a little bit. Plus the Holidays were quickly approaching and I just wanted ALL OF THE COOKIES, that I was denying myself.
Later that September I went on to run the Zoo Run. A bit hilly but I was beginning to up my game.
It was my first 5miler. And this time I got to run with my dad!! He had started to lose weight last year as well. He used weight watchers and had lost a total of 90lbs!! Doesn't he look great?
(I promised my dad I'd only say nice things about him! Lol. Can you see where we get half of our good looks? Sorry ladies, he's taken. Taken by the woman where we get the other half of our good looks.)
(#1 Running Buddy-the reigning half marathon champ)
It was around this time someone mentioned... Rather encouraged me to really up my game. Another runner I had worked with at the time told me I would do great in a half marathon.
After running 5miles in 52...54? Minutes I turned to my buddy in a state of runners high & said "Okay, I will run a half with you."
The 5mile zoo run was blissful, if you can imagine that. I'm starting to realize why runners do long runs. The state of mind of pure bliss afterwards. It really gives me a chance to clear my head. Focus on what's ahead of me and to control my breath.
I felt ready to start prepping for a half marathon...only 8 extra miles...LOL! No big deal!!
That winter I went on to run the Ugly Sweater Run (December 2013) with Pop-pop and the Solider.
It was 18 degrees out on a Sunday morning. My feet felt like 10 pound blocks of ice, each. I couldn't catch my breath, I constantly felt like I was out of breath...it was terrible. I was also running with these two long legged fellows & one of the soldiers friends, who is pretty much the flash on short legs. My brother makes a great running partner. He always wants to support the under dog. The person not going as fast. He stayed behind with me, until we got near the finish line, and helped me even out my breathing. It wasn't until 2.25 miles in where I felt like I might actually turn this into a decent run. However, the course had been cut short for whatever reason and by the time my brain was thinking "Yippee! I can do this!" It was over.
The 5mile zoo run was blissful, if you can imagine that. I'm starting to realize why runners do long runs. The state of mind of pure bliss afterwards. It really gives me a chance to clear my head. Focus on what's ahead of me and to control my breath.
I felt ready to start prepping for a half marathon...only 8 extra miles...LOL! No big deal!!
That winter I went on to run the Ugly Sweater Run (December 2013) with Pop-pop and the Solider.
(We're tired of mom shutter bugging.)
I'm pretty sure that was my last cold weather run. Cold weather running is something all on it's own. I will need to do more research and training before I decide to do that again!
As far as my diet, being the depths of winter, I wasn't controlling my diet as much as I should have been. Eating a lot of cookies, my hormones got out of whack and my skin was starting to look terribly again. I did get back on track in 2014.
That was 2013 in a nutshell...2014 focuses quite a bit less on my PCOS, and more on being on the opposite end of the weight scale and all of our SUPER running events!
EEK!! Speaking of Super Runs....tomorrow is the day! The Mini-Triathlon is tomorrow....breathing, breathing, we can do this, we can do this. I think I can, I think I can.
WISH US LUCK!!!
Blessings, A
I'll be back tomorrow night with part 3 of my running journey. 2014. January-August. The pictures will eventually start to look familiar. I probably posted some already on this blog.
Have a great Saturday everyone!
Comments