G.I. OH NO

My training was derailed recently. Not because of laziness or cupcakes, for once, but because of an actual medical situation. I will spare you the details, but after suffering from anemia symptoms that got worse over Labor Day weekend, I finally went into the local emergency room on Labor Day and was promptly (well, as promptly as possible at the ER) admitted to the hospital for further testing. Their hypothesis was a gastrointestinal (GI) bleed that was causing my hemoglobin to drop like a rock. That afternoon they put a scope down my throat. The next morning they needed to scope the rest. They located and stopped the bleeding, but the recovery since then has been a bear. 

Spoiler alert: I have never been close to anemic before. In fact, I have a personal and family history of HIGH iron in the blood. Having my hemoglobin hovering around 9 (normal for me: about 13.3) was and is uncharted territory. At my (hemoglobin's) lowest point, standing up made me dizzy and light-headed every time. As my hemoglobin has gotten slightly better (last test was 9.5), the dizziness when standing reduced a bit, but the sheer exhaustion has taken over my life. I was unable to even think about exercising at all in the first week. Then came a few days of "maybe I could walk a bit...oh nope, never mind." Today I felt okay, so I went out for a short walk, figuring I'd only make it a mile or two. I got 3.7 miles in an hour and afterward felt much better. Much less foggy in the brain, much more energized. 

My Personal Anemia Mitigation Plan (PAMP) is threefold:

1) a comprehensive and diligent iron regimen, which includes slow-release iron taken with vitamins A, B (all of them), and C; and frequent and copious consumption of red meat.

2) drinking caffeinated beverages only during non-iron-consuming times and giving at least two hours between caffeine and supplementation/iron meals. Turns out caffeine inhibits iron absorption, as does calcium, which I have been consuming only sparingly lately.

3) light exercise, now that I have enough energy to do it. Exercise encourages the production of red blood cells.

Unfortunately the inconvenient timing of this whole disaster meant that I was unable to participate in the Michigan Spartan weekend. I am using my deferral credits to run two laps at the upcoming Wrigley Field Stadion, which is two months away. Meanwhile my October has three events, the EASIEST of which is a road half marathon. Next race is the Chicago Beast on October 5. I need red blood cells fast. Hopefully my PAMPering will work like a charm, otherwise my fall race schedule will be utterly destroyed.