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Reflection

Oct26

Last year I trained as hard as I could for the Bethlehem Running Festival.   I went in feeling like I could do it and I did.   This year I followed the same training plan and went in feeling like I could do it and I did.

This year though, I went in with goals.   I picked a goal race.   Mine was the 10K.    I also planned to start the half with the 2;45 pacer and see what happened.    As it was, I ended up running the half with my son.   By about mile 9 we came across the 2;45 pacer and we went back and forth with who was in front.

The biggest difference this year though was being on Yorvipath.   It allowed me to follow my training plan more closely.   Although I will say towards the end, I was less perfect than I should have been.    Last year, I was worried about adding calcium supplements and making sure not to crash and burn with calcium crash.   On Yorvipath, those fears are less and less, but I do still keep calcium with me.  

So how do things compare

While on face it doesn’t look like a huge on the smaller races, there is a huge improvement on the  half.  

Another big difference is the almost 25 pounds I have lost, but that is for another post.

I do know that I would not have had this improvement if not for the Yorvipath.    No, it doesn’t make me run faster, but it does make my body work the way it is supposed to work.   I have more energy.   I don’t have the muscle cramping and I have not had a calcium crash or anything close to it since I started.   Now, I am still figuring it out.   I’ve recently upped my dosage and hope to go for blood work this week to see how levels are looking.

So now that this goal is done, it is time to look forward and figure out my next goal.

There will be a day I can not run…… Today is not that day!

Day 3 & Done

Oct20

Day3 was the warmest of all three days, but a perfect day for running.

Not too cold.

Not to Hot.

Just right!

Luckily I only packed shorts to run in because I really wasn’t prepared. Day 1 & 2, I wore the long sleeved race shirts. At the trail event, I wore the bright orange from last year. Then Saturday, I wore this years grey. I have to say while nice, I think a bolder color is better.

Sunday, I ended up going with short, tankand running sleeves. Perfection.

As you can see, I started in the back…….In the way way way back. The goal for me was tru a smart race. While I had no concrete goal, I did plan to start around the 2:45 pacer and take it from there.

I started with my son and his friend. This was both their first marathons. Justin has not been running long and his training was lots of hiking, climbing, and. Some running. His longest run was 10 miles. I wanted him to run conservative as I knew he would finish either way, but I didn’t want it to be the hard way.

So we ended up starting together behind the 3 hour pacer. We did our own thing. We walked when needed and I tried to keep conversational. There were some times where I would point out we were running in the 10’s. We pushed when needed. We walked some of the hills. We ran and most of all, we had a good time!

Then at mile 11, I told them to run the paces that they wanted. The ran ahead and I kept doing my thing.

By this point we were running near the 2:45 pacer again. so I thought maybe, just maybe it would happen.

Then it did!

Official time 3:41:08

Celebrating the victory!

Done is done!

More. To come tomorrow:

Running, Running, Running

Aug9

I can’t believe how much Yorvipath is making a difference. Not just in my running, but my day to day life as well.

While I love what this is doing for my running, I am not just taking this to be able to run. That is just a bonus. Living with untreated PTH loss (aka Hypoparathyroidism) was like living with one hand tied behind my back. Some days both.

As I told my family, I made it look easier than it actually was because what was the point otherwise. The constant worry if my calcium would crash. The self monitoring. The leg cramps. The cramping of hands.

So even if I wasn’t running, I would happily take it. The running is just a bonus.

Training has been going well. I even hit 20 miles for the week. Runs have felt good. Legs have felt good. To be honest, I am waiting for the shoe to drop it has been going so well.

I have also been working on controlling my pace. Thinking about which of the fall races will to be my goal race.
Consistency will be the key.

My goal is not perfection, but to follow the plan as best I can.

So far. So good.

Jul26

I’ve been talking a lot about my pre-training for my October Bethlehem Running Festival races. Pre-training will officially turn into training this week.

What does the week look like now that it’s go time.

4 mile run

5 mile run

4 mile run

7 mile long run

Am I ready for this level of training? I guess we will find out. Here is what I do know……

I am down now over 15 pounds thanks to following WeightWatchers!

I am 100% off all supplements and currently my Yorvipath dosage is keeping my calcium stable. I’ve gone for several runs in the heat, with fast paces, and even shortly before my injection was due without issues. Fingers crossed this keeps up.

I will say that I feel once again like me. I will also say that after Natpara getting pulled once I got used tot his feeling that part of me worries that something similar will happen. Although I don’t think this will get pulled, I think my concern is more about insurance suddenly not approving it. It is nice not to constantly deal with effects of low calcium and have a stable level at 9.6!!!

With that being said, I do feel like I am at a good place to begin this training plan. There are no excuses. If I follow the plan it is on me. If I don’t it is on me as well. As long as my Yorvipath continues to work, I need to do my part.

So here is to beginning training….

Check

Oct22

It is not an exaggeration to say I was at my peak as a runner in 2016 before my surgery. I had only started running in 2013 with the couch to 5K. By 2106 I was on my 3rd marathon chasing a sub 4 marathon and even ran a 50K. I felt unstoppable. I was working with my running coach who helped me meet many goals even a sub 2 half marathon. I was even 25 pounds lighter.

I timed my thyroid surgery around running the 2016 NYC Marathon.. At this point we all know what happened so no need to rehash. (Search posts to see how crashed & burned). I even ran the Runners World Hat trick as training for NY.

Here is the thing though while I’ve never let my Hypopara stop me, sometime it beat me. In 2017, I signed up for at the time the Runner’s World Bethlehem Festival quadruple play. I ran the trail. I ran like I didn’t have Hypopara. I finished the trail race and called it a weekend. I just didn’t have it in me to run the rest of the weekend. It beat me. This was my first DNS (did not start) for the other races.

I admit that I wasn’t trained enough to even think of running 4 races. Hypopara was still to new to me. I didn’t fully understand it and how it affected my body. It took me years and I’m still learning as it is always different, but I’ve learned.

I always figured that I would go back, but then the event was cancelled. Then a few years later, they brought it back as the Bethlehem Running Festival. This is why this past race weekend was so important.

It wasn’t about the bling….. which is very nice.

It wasn’t about feeling like a badass….which I kinda do now

It wasn’t about anything….

It was about proving that I could do this… even with hypopara.

I can’t explain why this event was important for me to finish, but it was.

Next:)