Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Huffing and puffing.

There's nothing like a little mountain-hiking in Colorado to school you in fitness.  Yesterday, on my day off, I thought it would be a wonderful idea to go and hike Mt. Sanitas in Boulder.  It was a wonderful idea, but at over 1300 ft. of elevation gain in 1.2 miles, it is a pretty stiff hike.  I also thought it would be a great idea to run as much of the downhill as I could.  I tried, but there was No Chance of my running up the thing.  Boulderites being crazy, there were actually a handful of people running the whole 3-mile loop, though there were more of us breathing heavily and stopping to "take in the view."  It is a beautiful view.  Today, though, I am sore.  Running downhill and hiking up a whole lot of stairs took its toll on my legs.

Actually, my whole body feels out of whack.  My question becomes, did I fuel properly for this hike, short as it was?  Or was I possibly dehydrated and undernourished?  I just don't feel well today.  Additionally, I think somewhere in my consumptions over the past day or two, I ate gluten.  I haven't felt this crummy (haha...) in maybe two months, or since this whole game started.  Really, I don't know what else it could be.  The symptoms are the same: gas, nausea, heartburn.  Lame.  A whole lot of lame.  The issue is cross-contamination.  Obviously, I did not consciously consume gluten.  No whole wheat bread or delicious, delicious beer.  I did, though, eat out at a restaurant that cannot guarantee their food didn't come into contact with a gluten source.  Where does one draw the line between caution and calculated risk?  If I go to a Mexican restaurant and eat the corn tortilla chips, I tend to trust they are 100% corn.  But maybe I'm too trusting; but more likely I'm just still getting used to all of this.

So.  Let's summarize: a hearty hike and a speedy run.  Something funky going on in my gut yesterday and today.  Too much coffee yesterday and not enough water and ultimately not enough quality sleep.  The result?  Total-body and brain fatigue.  Of course, this is all pure speculation based entirely on how I feel, but I imagine that my body was unable to process and absorb the nutrients and vitamins necessary to heal and rebound after a (moderately) intense athletic session.  This is all silly and frustrating, but it is also interesting to me how my body responds to certain stimuli and restrictions.  Our bodies are so finely tuned, and I have been working hard recently to make sure mine stays healthy, that it becomes much more obvious when something is wrong.  I guess the key, then, is to acknowledge that "off" feeling, try and root out the source, and fix whatever the problem may be.  I ate a lot of vegetables and very little coffee today.  Still, probably didn't drink enough water...  Baby steps.

So anyway, the adventures of celiac-runner continue.  Hopefully my gut will be a bit better tomorrow...  I just signed up for a month of yoga, and I can't have intestinal issues while I'm stretching and strengthening and clearing my mind of all negativity!  Thanks for checking in; happy hump day; happy spring.  Thinking less; eating more; running sometimes.

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