Occasionally something hits you from left field that you can’t do anything about. After running a 5km PB at the end of March and another solid race (but no where near what I was hoping for) at Mount Sac I knuckled down to a couple of weeks of hard training before focusing on some 1500m races. I had a great workout a couple of Tuesdays ago which indicated a great run was on the cards the following weekend, then I woke up on Wednesday with a small twinge in my stomach. Thinking it was nothing I set off on my normal Wednesday 75 mins and hoping it would wear off, by the time I finished class I felt like I had been hit by a bus. I went to bed for a nap and woke up incapable of standing up straight and feeling extremely sick, I attempted some supper but ended up going back to bed. I spent most of the night rolling around in my bed in the foetal position, then flat on my back, then on my front – all offering no relief or comfort from the stabbing in my abdomen. First thing in the morning I called the trainer to get a referral to the doctor – I was sent to have lots of tests, which suggested a kidney infection. After a 3 day course of antibiotics, which did absolutely sod all, I returned to the doctor – who (worryingly) didn’t really know what was wrong with me so sent me for an ultrasound of my abdomen. Off I went down to the clinic and that afternoon I was diagnosed with a cyst in my ovary that had ruptured…no wonder it hurt!! After popping down some paracetamols and ibuprofen I gradually started feeling better, a week later I am now back into my normal training routine and have an appetite back.
Turns out this rupturing of my insides has done me a favour, surprisingly. One of the many tests undertaken was a Thyroid Stimulating Hormone level, which indicates how the thyroid is doing and something that is not routinely checked. The results show I have Hypothyroidism, an under active thyroid, and I am to take thyroxine to regulate it. Hypothyroidism is normally associated with low energy levels and fatigue so it will be interesting to see what impact correcting this will have on energy levels with regards to training. So often athletes put feeling ‘tired’ down to that hard session you ran last night, or a big training week, it is only when you get blood tests done that you pick up on some small abnormality which could make a huge difference if treated.
Now I am putting the past two, slightly traumatic, weeks behind me to focus on my next race – the conference championship…the most important outdoor fixture for Iowa State. Then at the end of the month my partner in crime and the Lorna half of the Indie and Lorna double act arrives to cause havoc in mid-west America for a couple of weeks (oh and do some hard training as well Nick…promise).
