Apathy and under replacement, your symptoms may vary

This is a post for my Addison's readers.

I've spent Saturday through Wednesday being completely apathetic. Saturday and Sunday I was uncharacteristically sore from a hike/run that I did so I passed my apathy off as an after effect of being sore and tired. Monday came and I could not motivate to run or work much or care about much of anything. Tuesday and Wednesday were much the same.

At first the apathy was kind of nice, I get too worked up about too much stuff and stress out on a day to day basis. With the apathy, I didn't give a crap about what got done or when. By Wednesday, I was getting behind on the running and my jobs and still not feeling too stressed about it. I was getting unsettled by my lethargy, apathy, indifference and aching hands and wrists. I started thinking to myself, hummmmmm, when has this happened before? The answer is when I had a broken hip this winter. I am not saying my hip is broken. When I started thinking about the details, I realized that I was slightly under replaced because this is exactly how I felt when my hip was broken and I was too stupid to up my HC.

Usually, I get a stomachache or nausea when I'm under replaced. This time, I did not. I think the difference is that I was slightly, slightly under replaced for days.

What did I do? Popped 5 mg HC when I realized what was going on (yesterday) and took and extra 10 today. I feel like my usual, stressed out, highly motivated self again! Off for some long runs this weekend!

I guess what I'm hoping to have others take away from this is...

1. Under replacement isn't always a HUGE gap between the HC you're putting in and the HC your body needs. It can be subtle.
2. Under replacement can manifest itself in different ways in the same person at different times depending on the circumstances.
3. If you're not feeling like yourself, listen to your body and try to figure out what it's trying so hard to tell you. You may be under replaced, need salt, need water, need Magnesium or need lots of sleep.

Teton Hikes

Sun rise on the Grand Teton

 I felt so good after the 43 miles at Swan Crest that I was able to do some great hikes last week.  Zane joined me on Aspen Trail on Monday.

On Friday, I went over to Grand Teton National Park with the intention of doing both the South and Middle Teton.  I summited the South but did not summit the Middle.  A storm came in and I got stuck about 250 feet from the summit in a little overhang.  At this point, I realized that as over prepared as I thought I was, I could have had another layer of clothing!  Although the hike was 17 miles round trip, the vertical elevation gain was 14,000 feet!!!  The descent was also 14,000 vertical feet.  The descent combined with a much heavier pack than I usually carry left me as sore as I was after completing the Bear 100 last fall.  Barkley 2011 training!!

Pictures!

Me and Zane on Aspen Trail.  I always take a picture here when I do Aspen Trail.

This hike was so much fun for Zane, he had to check his texts!

Sun rise in Grand Teton National Park, looking to the east

Middle Teton from Garnet Canyon

Looking down Garnet Canyon toward the trail head (5 miles and 4,000+ vertical feet down)

  

Me on top of the South with the Middle Teton in the background

What's a girl to do when she's stuck in a cave on top of a mountain with lightening striking all around?  Eat venison jerky of course!  Thanks Jason for the delicious jerky!

Training for Barkley every chance I get

I love my drymax socks, thanks Bob!  No blisters despite wet feet!  South Teton in the background.

Looking up a snow field that I just came down

The Tetons in a storm.  I got back to the car just as another storm rolled in.  

SC100 DNF

So much of the trail was like this. This is Warrior Mountain.

Thanks so much to everyone who sent me encouraging emails, texts and positive thoughts. I appreciate it so much. Thanks also to my husband who supports my crazy running habit even though he thinks I should aim for shorter distances!

Get ready for a slew of posts over the next week. Here's my Swan Crest 100 race report. Sorry this is so long! Here's a link to all of the pictures if you're interested in seeing the gorgeousness of northern Montana.

A woman named Elise offered to pace me. I met Elise through a mutual friend and we'd corresponded through email. She not only offered to pace me but also put me up and show me around. I liked her immediately! She was the best pacer that never got a chance to pace EVER! She showed me where I would meet the shuttle at 5:30 am the next day, attended the pre-race meeting and drove us there, she made sure I was up at 4:30 am the morning of the race, came to the start and took pictures and was at the aid station as I came in at mile 43.5. As I was dry heaving, she whipped her hand under my forehead to hold my head. She sat in the tent with me as I warmed up and hydrated me and made me eat. I think Elise and I have a long future ahead of us, she's awesome.

Me, Elise and part of my dehydration problem, a huckleberry martini

The race started with 9 miles of gravel road and then went to stunning, over grown single track ("brush tunnel"), through avalanche debris and then up to clear, gorgeous single track. The views were stunning!!! I did not take extra florinef the morning of or the morning before the race. As a result of the lower florinef dosing, my hand and foot swelling was very slight, probably well within the normal range. Yet again, the nausea got me around mile 15. HOWEVER, it was greatly reduced in severity. By mile 40, I threw up. I quit at mile 43.5 and had to hike out 3 miles to get to a car to get to Elise's house.

9 miles of gravel road with beautiful views

There was a trail through here!

A mile of this and worse.

Quitting was a good decision. I am sure my problem was dehydration. In retrospect, I had some water through Thursday afternoon and evening. Probably a quart. Then I had coffee Friday morning. No water from 9 pm to probably 8 am. I had some water issues (not enough available to back of the packers) during the race. I used to drink a quart of gatorade between when I got up and when the race started but somehow that part of my routine has slipped away and needs to be corrected.

I was hardly sore at all after 46.5 miles and felt OK the day after the race. The day I drove home, I felt fine. So it seems my training is solid but my prerace hydration is poor. Eliminating extra florinef helped relieve the nausea incredibly.

I'm glad I did this even if I was a quitter again. Meeting Elise, being a part of the first Montana hundred miler and getting to spend a day on amazing trails was all worth it!

An obstacle in the trail

Colorful creek crossing

Bear grass

The mountains went on forever!