Setting Goals

Jan2

Yes it is that time of year for goal setting. That being said, I would be doing all this if it was June. I am ready. So here we are……. One week in.

What a difference a week makes.

Working on my diet. Healthy smoothies in the morning. More water. More salads. Less processed foods. It’s a work in progress with progress being the key word. Small changes that can be sustained.
Downloaded a 12 week wall pilates program on an app (Reverse Health). For the $30 fee, I feel like it will be worth it. My goal is to carve the 20 minutes out a day. So far. So good, but its been 3 days:)
Started doing some running again. Even ran a New Years Day 5K with friends. This lead me to another goal…. In June there is a Downtown Run into Summer 5K. MY GOAL NOW IS TO RUN THIS RACE WELL….whatever that means. Not time, but the way I feel. Although to be honest I would like to run it in under 35 minutes. I ran the Bethlehem Running Festival 5K in 40.17. So I think while a reach/stretch goal, it is not a crazy goal.

I have been reading a GREAT book by a running coach that I was very lucky to work with. The book is Running Past 50, Your Guide to Running Longevity and Success by Caolan MacMahon. (You can find it on Amazon and I highly recommend it). This book has been motivating me…..for me because I am lucky enough to know Caolan and have worked with her it really hits home. She was my running coach who got me through 2 marathons, a 50K and my one and only sub 2 half marathon. She is an amazing coach and her book speaks the truths coach’s need to say to thir athletes.

The below passage really spoke to me and I hear the truth of her words….

“But it takes time and willingness to develop a habit, which will also include breaking a habit. Habits can, of course, be “good” or “bad.” In this case, you want to develop a good habit, running , while breaking a bad habit, inactivity.”

This paragraph goes on with more information and really spoke to me. So much so that I have it bookmarked.

I have developed bad habits. Not just eating more processed and sugary foods than I should, but coming home from work and immediately sitting on the couch with my dog and a coffee. While this isn’t a bad thing, the timing is a bad habit because once your on the coach it is harder to motivate to do what needs to be done. So what I’ve been trying to do is inside of doing this to go for a walk after work or as in today do my wall pilates which today focused on abs.

So here is to making better choices in the new year. Here is to making healthy habits while replacing the bad ones.

Since this post is long enough, I will explain later how I plan to hold myself accountable.

Happy New Year!

Balance not Perfection

Dec30

I’ve been overweight for years now. I’ve talked about it before. The difference is that before the weight did not effect my life. My doctor never was concerned about it as it was consistent. At the time my high BMI was just that a high BMI. All my other numbers were good. There was no effect on my health.

I was what you would call a healthy fat.

My doctor even would comment that she was not concerned. Although being a doctor she would comment on the BMI, but then just shrug her shoulders.

This last appointment was different. I have now entered into the “unhealthy” fat stage. My cholesterol did lower, but part of that was my good cholesterol going down. She was also concerned about some other liver numbers, so she sent me for a liver ultrasound which backed up her thought of a fatty liver and she is concerned due to family history that I could also become diabetic. The ultrasound also found that I have gallstones.

This was my wake up call. That and the fact that I also gained another 15 pounds. I’ve also been experiencing more aches and pains. Lastly I realized that while my cardio is strong and I can go out to run pretty much without thought, I have lost flexibility and strength.

Time to change the game.

I admit the liver thing has been a wake up call. I’ve already started setting myself up for some success with healthier

Yes that is a cinnamon roll! I am going for balance not perfection!

So this is my goal. I am putting my health first. I even got a 2025 planner. My goal is to to add workouts (not just running) into it. With work and my night class starting mid January, I can’t just let things go unplanned. When I’ve done that the thing that without fail that always gets put last is workouts.

So here is to a healthier happy New Year. My initial goal is 15 pounds which will take me to where I was last year. From there we will see where things go.

What are your goals?

It’s a Number Game

Dec23

I always said weight is just a number on the scale. I always said that the number on the scale didn’t matter because all my other numbers were ok. I could run. I could hold my own, so the number on the scale didn’t matter………

Right up until it did.

I recently had my yearly physical. For the most part my numbers were still good.

Blood pressure…. Amazing

Cholesterol…… actually went down

Weight…. Up 10 pounds.

But if you look a little closer………

While my cholesterol when down, my good cholesterol went down almost 10.

My triglycerides also went up significantly, but still well with in the normal range. So there’s that.

All that being said, my triglyceride to HDL ratio also elevated. On top of that I had some results that made my doctor want to do a liver ultrasound. This determined gallstones and also a fatty liver. I don’t drink (really at all). So these results are do to having BMI in the obesity category.

Yeah, I know it…..

I don’t care about the scale. I care about all these other things. So AFTER the holidays because it’s not happening now, it is time to get serious.

Time to start taking care of these numbers. Time to turn things around. Besides, I’ve already signed up to do the Bethlehem Running Festival again next year. I also need to think of other goals I want to achieve.

So for now…. It’s time to enjoy the holiday, but know that it will then be time for new beginnings.

Happy Holidays.

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:)

Bringing My A Game

Oct20

The weekend is over. The races are done….. I’m still running on the high of the weekend. I couldn’t have asked for better weather and a better outcome.

Today was the last race of the Quadruple Play Marathon Challenge. I have to say that I wasn’t sure how the day was going to go since my left foot started hurting so much during the 10K yesterday.

After yesterday’s race, I soaked in jacuzzi tub with epsom salt. I rolled my foot. I used different creams and over the counter pain meds. Still I didn’t know what would happen today.

I went to ben early again last night. Probable in bed my 9:30 and asleep by 10. This after snoozing on the couch. Thankfully I woke up again on my own because my alarm didn’t go off. I got up a little later than I would have wanted, but it all came together. I got to the starting line with 20 minutes to spare.

The Bethlehem Running Festival does not have corrals. You pick where to start. I picked the back of the pack. I started between the 2:45 & 3:00 pacer. I knew I wasn’t at 2:45 but thought that was a good option.

The hills of Bethlehem Pa are no joke. Per my Garmin the elevation for today 373. I trained hills, but not Bethlehem hills. So my goal today was to watch my pace and be steady. I also did not walk downhills or flat parts of the course. I did walk, but so did the 3:00 pacer I was stealthily following from a distance.

As I’ve said before, I try not to add extra calcium when running but incorporate it into my running. Before starting, I took my morning dose of calcium and calcitrol a little earlier than usual. Then at mile 6 I took 250 mg calcium (half my afternoon dosage). Then at mile 8 I took the other half with my calcitrol. I also made sure to fuel and drink electrolytes. It seemed to work.

So I ran…..and ran…. And ran some more.

My foot had some discomfort today, but actually much less than yesterday which I don’t get. I will take it though!

Towards the end around mile 11, I realized that I would be close to a 3 hour half. I continued to be smart, but I did push at the end. I’m glad I did because I came in right under at 2:58:18.

I saw the pacer at the finish line area. She was running alone for a good deal of the race. As I said, I kept her in my site but did not run with her at all. I thanked her for pacing me even if she didn’t know it. Pacers are awesome.

More to come, but this is enough for now:)

Half Way There

Oct19

Today was day 2 of the Bethlehem Running Festival. You know the big event I’ve been training for:)

Yesterday, I left work early to head to the 3.8 mile trail run. I love trails but have not run them in a long time nor did I do any trail training. That being said, my goal as with all the races is just to run smart and finish.

Check!

The trail was steep in some spots and rocky in most. I started in the back and stayed there. As with all trail runs, I met some people. There were 4 of us who pretty much kept in each other sites. When done we high fived.

Done is done!

Luckily this destination event in the Lehigh Valley is 25 minutes from my parents. So after the race, I went there. Had some pizza, showered and relaxed.

I was exhausted from the day and was in bed by 9:00 which was good because I had early wake up call next morning.

Then this morning, I woke up on my own at 5 am which was an hour early than I intended. I did’t mind as it gave me time to relax into the morning.

I left the house before the sun and off I went.

Since I had two events today, I knew I had to be smart especially with the Bethlehem hills which are not joke. I took my morning meds a little earlier as the day started earlier. Ran the 5K and reminded myself to go easly. Slow and steady may not win, but will get me to the finish….. and it did.

I had maybe 45 minutes between races. Enough time to do a little stretching, hydating, and snack. I also took 250 mg calcium before starting. Then off I went again.

The 10K had more elevation than the 5K. About 4 miles in my left heel was bothering me. I pushed through. Again walking many hills. Trying to remind myself of a slow steady pace when running….Finishing agin.

Done is done.

I took my afternoon dose of meds after event and from calcium prospective felt good today. My foot is a different story. Rested, rolled, and hopefully ready for tomorrow.

One to go…. This is the half which I know is going to test me, but I feel ready. I am ready.

It’s go time:)

One Week From Today

Oct13

With any luck in one week from now I will be exactly where I am tonight. Comfortable sitting on my living room couch. Hopefully just as comfy as I am now. Although I’m pretty certain I won’t be as comfy as I now.

Next week…. Actually this week is the event I’ve been training for. The Bethlehem Running Festival. As a reminder it is 3 days of running totaling 26.2 miles.

Friday a 3.8 mile trail race

Saturday will start off with a 5K followed by a 10K

Sunday will be a half marathon

I’ve run this even in the past. Years ago. Except at that time it was only a two day event. This was pre-hypopara. I’ve done it Hypopara too, but not the whole event. I had thought I could do it but it was the year after becoming hypopara. I only finished the trail. It beat me and I just DNS. This time it is different.

Yes, I have something to prove. To prove to myself. I feel like I am ready. I feel like I know what I need to do. I need to run smart. I need to follow the plan.

Am I trained?

I think so. I’ve been following the plan with some tweaks, but following it. I ran a have marathon 2 weeks ago. This was a a benchmark for me. This was a run a smart race and see how it felt. It felt good.

I finished in 3:02.

This half was on a fairly flat course. The Bethlehem one is VERY much hills. I know that. I’ve been training hills the best I can. What I need to remember is that my goal is to run smart. It is not to be the fastest I can be, but to run steady. My pace was fairly steady and that is what I need to do. Oh and it rained a lot during the race. So there’s that

After my calcium crash, I’ve reconfigured and thought about my meds. I realized that last year I had been taking .5 Calcitrol twice a day. My doctor had lowered it to the .25 twice a day. This is fine when I was not running/training. So this week leading up to the event, I need to be precise on my meds. She prescribed .25 for up to 3 times a day. I will stick with this protocol this week.

I have still been trying not to add extra calcium while running, but adjust when taking. So when I did the half, I took my morning meds as normal. Then while running at about the half way point I took 250mg of calcium. I took the remaining 250 with my calcitroil and magnesium after race.

The key is to listen to my body. To push, but just the right amount.

Getting Back on the Horse

Sep8

Today’s run was definitely a mental one. Yes, it was physical because I was going for between 8-9 miles; but I was in my head a lot before lacing up.

Every run is a mental run from the procrastinating to the lacing up and getting out the door. There are so many reasons not to run. There are so many reasons to push yourself to get out and run too.

I needed to get out of my head today. I needed to remind myself that I can do this. I would be lying if I didn’t say that last week scared the crap out of me. I would be lying if it didn’t cross my mind to stop pushing so hard, to stay home and just say I’m throwing in the towel. While on my Hypopara journey, I have had tetany before. I have had muscle spasms. I have had the tingles, the brain fog, and been symptomatic. The difference is that I always felt like I still was in control as these symptoms were more annoying than anything else.

I won’t go into again, but last week’s calcium crash was bad. It scared me. It stopped me in my tracks. It reminded me that this is more than just annoying. This is real and needs to be taken seriously. I liked to pretend that it wasn’t and wouldn’t stop me. Honestly, I’ve been more worried about my kidney health than the actual Hypopara symptoms. I realized that I needed to take BOTH as seriously as I should.

This week was a stressful week at work. It was also the first week without summer hours. No longer leaving at 3, but 1. Doesn’t sound like a lot, but for those who don’t know I am also a childcare teacher. This means I am on my feet and really in constant motion both mentally and physically all day.

I wanted to run this week, but I didn’t. I could tell that I wasn’t ready. Yesterday I just didn’t have the energy. I had stayed up too late baking a cake. Oh yeah, I’m also a home baker. So yesterday I didn’t run.

This morning no excuses…. Except I was nervous. I prepared for my run giving myself an half an hour for morning meds to kick in. I filled my water bottles. I have the Fitletic running belt. So I filled 2 with water and one with electrolytes. I then put into the belt some kind nut bars, extra meds, and off I went. I also put back on my running Id that has contact info and also a “Hypoparthyroidism check calcium.” I had gotten a new band and never put it back on. I got complacent.

I started off running streets close to home making grids for the first three miles. I stayed close to home for the remainder of the run too. Not going too far out which sometimes I do for a longer run. Today was about keeping a comfortable pace. Walking when needing to, but not just because I want to. It was about listening to my body. At around 5 miles, I added some full in the form of some of the kind bar. At around 6.5 miles, I took 250 of calcium. Half of my normal afternoon dose. Then just kept moving.

I finished. I got to 8.5. At the end of the run I was thinking of doing a few streets to get to 9, but I figured this was enough……. And it was!

Mentally my head is back in the game. Mentally I know that I can do this but have to be smarter.

Hope

Aug18

This was a full week filled with work, training and hope! So lets break it down….

Training has been going well. As I said, I am not going to do every run as a run, but I am doing my training. I also am trying to be proactive and went totally the podiatrist to get a new pair of orthotics. I have suffered with plantar fasciitis in the pst, so I am trying to get ahead of it. This is also one of the reasons that i am not doing all my training as running. There is a benefit to it.

I was surprised that when I went to the podiatrist he told me that the last time I got orthotics was in 2017. I knew it had been a while, but that is definitely too long for feet like mine. I am also trying to make sure to do some daily exercises and stretches. I really want to do all i can not to deal with the pain of plantar faciatis. Fingers crossed.

As for the hope……..

This week TransCon PTH was approved by the FDA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is now the first hormone replacement therapy approved for those of us with Hypopara. I am excited because I remember how I felt when I was taking Natpara (another therapy that was pulled). That being said, I also know getting on it will be a whole other hurdle.

When I was on Natpara it required special approval because it was not FDA approved. It also was extremely expensive. It didn’t cost me anything because it was all covered by Shire (the company) seeking approval. The cost was nothing to sneeze at since it was over $10 THOUSAND dollars a month. So there’s that, but I haven’t heard the cost of TransCon yet.

I am hopeful that even if it has a high cost that I would still qualify but I’m not sure cost wise if it will be affordable. Fingers crossed. I think that I would qualify since I am slowly damaging my kidneys with my high urine calcium levels. I check my levels every 6 months. My last 24 hour urine level was 560 even though I take “low” doses of calcium and calcitriol. My levels are usually over 350, but I’ve been over 500 a few times. For those unsure what this means, for someone without Hypopara a high level is anything over 250. They give some leeway for those of us with it, but anything over 300 is considered high….. So go me:)

These high levels are the reason I have said that I am trying not to add calcium into my training but work in the constrains of what I normally take. I may adjust when I take, but I really am trying not to add more unless it is necessary to keep my serum calcium levels in check.

Balance…

Balance…..

So looking forward to the day that I can take an injection of PTH daily and then let my body do what it is supposed to do. Until then….

Here we are:)

Are you planning to get in line to get on TransCon?

Numbers, Numbers, Numbers

Aug11

This past week I feel good about all that I accomplished. Going into this training plan, I recognized that I would not be able to follow it to perfection. that being said, I do want to follow the training days if possible even if I don’t follow the miles. I feel for a variety of reasons that it is not in my best interest to run every run. I plan to substitute biking for running, some elliptical and who knows maybe even swimming. The swimming might be a stretch.

As I’ve said before, this plan is to train to run on tired legs. Ha! Anyway, I only missed one workout this week. I did switch training days, biked instead of ran, and just did what needed to do.

I am trying to go into this training also by not adding any extra calcium to my daily intake. When I first became hypopara, I trained like I had no issues. To be honest, I had not because I was keeping my serum calcium levels up, adding extra calcium for long runs and just going about business as usual. Right up until I took my first 24 hour urine test and it was well over 500. I’ve adjusted, but since being Hypopara the only time my 24 urine test came back normal was when I was on Natpara. As for now, levels while still hi9g are in the mid 300’s. I’ve been lucky so far not to have nay issues with these high levels. Except, of course, for the anxiety it brings.

So with my training, I don’t want to add extra calcium just for the sake of adding it. I’m will add if necessary if I feel like my levels are dropping. You know that whole guessing game since there is no at home calcium test. Anyway, this means I will try to plan my training around when I’m taking my pills. So far so good. I’m sure once I go for longer runs I will need to adjust. Adjust here. Adjust there.

I have been also working on controlling pace. A work n progess

This week coming up, I already know instead of an 8 mile run that I will turn that into a 24 miles on the bike. From what I could find online the ratio is 3 bike miles to 1 running miles. That is what I’m going with.

Felling good. Tired, but a normal tired and that is all I can ask for. I’m falling asleep as I type this, so I think it’s time to say goodnight.

Training smarter…. Not harder….. we shall see

The Accidentally Running Mama

Run, Bike, Swim and Have a Life!

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