MSusman – Running Through Menopause

Long Run Number Two – Beating the Heat

With the forecast of 95 for Saturday and 100 for Sunday, I figured it best to make sure my long run was completed on Saturday morning, early. The calendar had the same workout as last week, 75 minutes easy.

I started out with different people than I usually run with, teammates that I know full well are faster than me. We started out at a pace that was a little faster than I should have been going at the start of a long run, especially with the heat, but we were talking and the next thing I knew we were about halfway done so I kept going. We ran up the Putnam Trail and then up to Tibbett Brook Park where we found water and the restroom. The trip back was fine until about 45-50 minutes in when the heat started getting to me.

I sent my running partners on ahead so I could slow down a bit. I ran by myself for about a mile or so, when one of my buddies came back for me, to encourage me to finish. That’s the best part about running with a team. You have to run the race by yourself, but being part of a team means you don’t have to train alone.

Over the HHP near the turnaround on the bike

Sunday morning I had a 30 minutes easy on my training plan and took the opportunity to cheer for my friends competing in the NYC Triathlon. The bike portion of the race comes through my neighborhood so I make it a point to go out and cheer every year. Training for one sport is hard enough, I can’t imagine competing in 3 different sports in the same day… I have such admiration for those athletes!

I’m Back!!

Running the Queens 10K past the famed Unisphere

It’s been some time since I’ve posted… I think years, actually, and the reason is a good one, my hot flashes have subsided and I think I’m moving toward the end of the peri-menopause phase of my life. That said, I still have health “problems” that are impacting my running but I’m still out there, running through them.

So, why am I coming back to the blog? Well, I have a big birthday coming up in October and I’ve decided to run another marathon to celebrate, and maybe to actually qualify for Boston! The good news about getting older is your BQ time gets easier (and you’re back to being the young one in the age group, rather than then old one…). I’ve decided on Steamtown on October 7, 2018. That will be 22 days prior to my 50th birthday and I’m pretty excited about it. I’m in the easy part of the training still, building, easy runs, so it’s still fun. I have a coach to help me focus and get there healthy and with a shot at my BQ time which is 4 hours flat. My PR is 4:11 which still means I have to knock off at least 11 minutes but, that’s only about 30 seconds per mile and I really think it’s in my grasp.

My goal this training cycle, outside of my time goal, is to get in at least one post per week, recapping my training and sharing progress, both running and health-wise. Come along on this journey with me and help me get across that finish line in October!

Stamping out Sugar

So, I’m back on the road to New Jersey this spring. Training hasn’t been without issues in this first 6 weeks and I am battling a head cold that’s been with me for over a week now. So I’m changing things up a bit. I’ve been reading Christopher McDougall’s “Natural Born Heroes” and it’s inspired me to try a new approach. If any of my readers hasn’t picked this book up yet, I encourage you to make time for it. He has an amazing way of blending in World War II history, ancient Olympic history, Parkour and running theory in one entertaining and sneakily educational package.

But back to me… So I’ve almost finished Natural Born Heroes and have really taken his lessons to heart. He trained with a coach who produced some of the ultra world’s best athletes and revealed the two-part system that has helped so many before him. There aren’t a ton of details in the book and it’s certainly not intended to be a guide book but I figured I’d give it a go. Worst case, I miss two weeks of my marathon plan and best case, I have more sustainable energy, lose some weight and hopefully re-set my blood sugar, maybe stabilize my hormones and possibly lower my cholesterol.

So here goes nothing. For the next two weeks (actually I started yesterday…) I’m changing things up with both my diet and my running. First the diet. To re-set my sugar I’m eliminating all sugar, including fruit, dairy products other than cheese and all grains and processed foods. I can have all meats except pork, all veggies other than the starchy ones like potatoes and corn. Eggs and salsa are also on the “good” list as are avocados, coffee (but without sugar…) and dry white wine. I think I can do this for 14 days!

That’s the diet part, the running part is to help your body use its fat stores for running fuel, rather than the emergency stores of glucose which burn hot and fast and then leave you depleted. The way to do that, while you’re eliminating sugar from your diet, your exercise has to remain at or below your fat burning heart rate. Luckily there’s an easy formula for that heart rate, 180 minus your age… There’s also a performance handicap for those who have been training so I added back 5 seconds for a target heart rate of 137 (180-48+5=137). So the idea is, don’t go over a heart rate of 137 for any workout for the two weeks. How I’ve decided to adapt this to my marathon training is to take the total mileage for this week and distribute it evenly over the week, and then I’ll do my scheduled long run. So, other than the long run, the rest of the weekly mileage comes out to 25 miles so I’ll do 5 miles each day, Monday – Friday, making sure to keep my heart rate at or below 137. I’ve done two runs, 6 miles on Sunday and 5 miles today. I was able to maintain the low heart rate pretty well on the flats, but any hill, either up or down, was a challenge for sure. I did have to walk up all the hills but I’m hopeful that I’ll be able to run up the hills by the time my two week test is up.

The logical question for any runner would be, how does running slow help you run faster? The idea is that as you train your body to tap into your fat stores by exercising in the fat burning zone, your body will be able to perform better at a lower heart rate. So the idea is by the end of the two weeks, I’ll be able to run continuously and not walk up the hills while still keeping my heart rate low. Then when the two weeks is up I can resume my training but with a more efficient fuel source, my (seemingly endless) body fat.

My purpose today is to document where I’m at health wise at the beginning of this trial. I’m 145 pounds, my average pace for an easy run has been at about 10 minute pace. My average pace for the first two heart rate runs has been 12:10 and 12:24… Let’s see if this changes over the trial.

I’ll check back in after a week and give a mid-trial update. Should be fun!

NJ, Here I Come!

It’s been some time since my last post, sorry I fell off the radar for a bit. In a nutshell, here’s what happened. Last summer I diagnosed with some fast growing ovarian cysts and the GYN recommended surgery to remove them, only because they had grown very quickly. They are very, very common and usually go away on their own so surgery isn’t necessary most of the time. But I had one burst and the other was growing very quickly so we decided for surgery. I was secretly hoping that the surgery might nudge my body through this never ending peri-menopause phase, which is another reason I opted for the more aggressive treatment.

The surgery went off like clockwork, the cysts were removed and recovery was two short weeks. The hot flashes and periods didn’t stop, but at least I knew there weren’t any foreign bodies in my ovaries. I had already had a mediocre running year so I figured, let me get this all out of the way now.

I didn’t do any marathons in 2016 and really didn’t have a great racing year at all. So I decided that 2017 would be the year to return to the NJ Marathon and at the very least finish it so I wouldn’t have that hanging over my head. Of course, the “secret” goal is to BQ, but I really just want to finish it without needing to go to the medical tent…

The races I’ve had this year have all had hot flashes toward the end of the race. No matter the distance, I’ve had to endure some kind of flushing and over heating at the end of just about every race I’ve done in the last 12 months or so. The one race that the hot flashes didn’t really have a negative impact on my performance was the Ted Corbitt 15K in December, when the air temperature was about 30 degrees. So I guess as long as I’m racing in sub-freezing temps, I’m good to go… That’s not really a solution, though, so I’m still searching for something that might help. I’ve started a new supplement so if that starts working I’ll share my results.

In the meantime, I have an awesome new training “posse,” three women who I admire and who push and entertain me while we are ramping up our miles. Three of the four of us are running the NJ Marathon so we’re on the same basic schedule and are having a good training cycle because of the support we’re getting from each other. It’s been great so far and I’m sure the next three months until April 30 are going to be great, too…

At the halfway point of our 18 on Saturday

Hot Flashes and More Hot Flashes (but no running for awhile…)

The ongoing saga of my running career is beginning to get me down. I really haven’t been feeling myself, not feeling strong, having trouble getting any speed going, feeling weak on the hills. And the hot flashes have been increasing to several every day, not just a few a week like they’ve been. Ugh.

About a month ago I went to my regular annual appointment with my gynecologist with hopes that I might get a different approach for dealing with this life change. What I found out was that I had ovarian cysts. One had burst and the one in the other side was about 3 centimeters. Not huge but because I’m in peri-menopause, they wanted to keep an eye on it. I went back on Friday, just under a month later and it was up to 6.5 centimeters. So now the doctor really recommended surgical removal, but she also gave me the option to wait and see what might happen which seems like a prudent approach. But she also told me that as a runner, this large of a cyst could cause the ovary to twist causing a lot of pain and requiring emergency surgery. So I could wait and see if the cyst goes away on its own, but basically I probably shouldn’t run while I’m waiting because I could end up in the hospital.

So, I’m going to give her a call on Monday and see if I can get this surgery scheduled. I can’t wait another month with no running, that will be bad for everyone…. I’ve had friends who have had it done and said it was no big deal. It’s done laparoscopically so there’s a very small inscision in the belly and they just suck the cyst out. I’ll find out more details on the procedure on Monday but I think this is my best way forward. No running for now, but hopefully I’ll only be out for a few weeks rather than a month or two. With any luck I will be back for the fall racing season and feeling much more myself!

Running With Pride (and Hot Flashes…)

The 35th annual Pride Run boasted perfect weather, low humidity and cool temps for late June. This is a 5 mile run in Central Park and given that it’s always in the last weekend of June, usually quite hot and humid. But this year we were blessed with great weather. The atmosphere for this race is much more party-like than other NYRR races because it’s all about Pride. Last year the race came just days after the Supreme Court decision on Gay Marriage and it was even more of a party than usual. I had a great race, just felt amazing the whole way and was able to really able to finish strong and score for the team.

This year was different for so many reasons. Instead of celebrating marriage equality, we were mourning the loss of 49, gunned down in Orlando in cold blood. The mood was somber but defiant, still a celebration, but with heavy hearts. It was different for me personally, too. I had been having hot flashes regularly and recently discovered that I had cysts in both ovaries, one of which had burst. Ovarian cysts are pretty common, in fact most women get them at some point in their lives. Usually they just shrink on their own but because I had two and one that burst, the doctor wanted me to come back in 3 weeks to make sure it wasn’t getting larger. I wasn’t concerned about the cyst but it was certainly in the back of my mind.

In these last few months of racing, I have developed a different approach to racing. I make sure I’m prepared, but I try not to set expectations too high knowing that the hot flashes are bound to creep in at some point. I just hope that I can make it through at least half the race before I have to deal with them. The Pride Run was not one of those. I was barely to the 2 mile mark when my whole head started to heat up. I was wearing my wet cooling buff even though the temperature was in the upper 60’s at the start, I knew I would need it but I didn’t think I would need it that early. This particular 5 mile course in Central Park is a particularly tough one because they managed to include both Harlem and Cat Hills, the toughest parts of the 6 mile loop. There is a southern loop that avoids Harlem but this was not that loop. The one saving grace was doing the toughest part of the course first.

My goal was to keep as close to an 8 minute pace as possible and then see what I had left for Cat Hill in mile 4. Mile 1: 8:04. Considering the crowds, I was pretty happy with that. Mile 2 – Harlem Hill: 8:08, wow, even though my head was already hot and I had a 100+ ft elevation gain, I was still not that far off pace. But I was already hurting and wasn’t even halfway yet. I was wondering if I would even finish. But thoughts of those who would never be able to run, those who were gunned down just because they wanted to have a night out on the town. I told myself to just hang on for one more mile and see how it went. The tough hill was over for the time being so just keep going. Mile 3: 8:09. Wow. Considering I thought I was going to die, I was still less than 10 seconds off pace. I kept taking water at every stop, one for the head one for the belly. That really helped as did the cooling buff.

But then there was Cat Hill. Not the longest or steepest hill I’ve ever run, but ill timed for me in this race. Everything was catching up to me and I was just trying to keep my legs moving. I considered walking up Cat Hill but there were so many people around me and I didn’t want to give up. I was basically moving at the same pace I would have if I was walking, but I kept running. Mile 4 almost did me in at 8:44. I was no where near where I wanted to be but at least I knew I would finish the race.

The last mile of the race was a slight incline and then some down hill. I saw so many people out there cheering, smiling, yelling. My teammates who had already finished were there toward the finish line cheering, and I somehow found that last bit of strength I had left and finished with an 8:09. My official finish time was a 41:30, 1:30 slower than I had hoped for, but what I gained was the knowledge that I really can push myself harder. It’s tough to know what the limits are and when the dizziness starts in that’s when I tend to back off, but I’m pretty tough. I just wish I was through this thing and on the other side of menopause so I could actually compete at the level I know I’m capable of.

Soon enough…

On a side note, even though I didn’t score for my team, I still came in 20th in my age group out of 219 45-49 year-olds. Not bad for a tough day, right? [If I had PR’ed though, I would have been around 10th in my age group… maybe next year.]

Another Race, Another Hot Flash…

Sunday was the Retro 4 miler, dedicated to celebrating the early days of running with long hair, cotton t-shirts and sweat bands. It was a lot of fun despite the extreme humidity and rain at the end. The temperature was cool, in the 60’s but the humidity was really brutal. New York Road Runners reported that the temp was 66 and the humidity was a sticky 81%. I really felt it.

The plan was to shoot for 30 minutes for the 4 miles which works out to at 7:30 average per mile pace. I wasn’t 100% sure that I was recovered enough from the Half to really pull that off but I wanted to at least go out close to that and see if I could hang on.

I got in a good warm-up, 1.5 miles with a few stride outs, leg swings, and some good stretching. I felt as ready as I could be and took a moment to dedicate my race to the memory of my step-dad’s father who passed away last weekend. We also took a moment to recognize the passing of the great Muhammad Ali with the full quote of his definition of “impossible.” It was a great way to start a race!

I was running with my friend Dahemia who is a little faster than me but I was hoping to keep up with her. I lost her about a half mile in so I was on my own most of the race. Mile 1 was 7:40 as was mile 2. Halfway through and I was only off by 20 seconds and still on pace for a PR so I figured I was in as good shape as I could be.

But then came Mile 3… There weren’t huge hills or anything but the rolling hills and humidity really took their toll, especially when the hot flashes kicked in at about 2.5 miles. My head was over-heating, almost throbbing with extra heat. I knew it was humid and I tend to get a little dehydrated so I made sure to take water at every water stop, even the first one that I usually skip. Once the hot flashes started I took two cups, one to dump on my head and one to sip. That really made a difference and even though Mile 3 was an 8:15, well off the pace, I was able to push through, pick it up to 7:58 for the last mile and finish with a 31:40 overall for a PR and 18th in my age group out of 246.

Not bad considering the conditions. I was a bit dizzy after I finished for about an hour, but an apple, water and Gatorade helped recovery. Could I have pushed a little harder? Probably, but the lesson for me today was the fact that even after I had a pretty tough mile, I knew that was going to be my slowest mile because of the hills and I was able to pull myself together and even though I was still off pace, I pushed through and ran faster in the last mile than I did in the 3rd. I know I have more in me and I just need to be better about tapping into that during races.

Global Running Day

I love this idea of Global Running Day. It’s not that I don’t run most days but it’s better knowing how many millions of people have pledged to run today! I’m meeting teammates and strangers alike to run in my favorite park, my home turf, Van Cortlandt.

There are tens of millions of people who have pledged to run today and the goal is to get at least one million kids to pledge to run. At last check they had about 660,000 pledged so I hope there’s a big up-tick and they make the mark. There’s such a problem in this country of kids who are overweight and who don’t get enough exercise. There are so many ways to get moving but running is the easiest, everyone can do it and even if you aren’t healthy enough yet to run, walking is great exercise.

My husband laughed when I told him I had to go out to run in the park today because it was Global Running Day. I ran in the park yesterday, and the day before and I’ll probably be there again tomorrow, but it is special today because it’s part of a movement.

I was so happy to find a few of my kids from the VCTC Kids Running Club at the park and even got to run with William for a little over a mile. I don’t usually get the chance to run with one individual kid because there are always so many kids at practice so it was a real treat for me and I hope for William too.

Another day, another mile (or five or ten) to run…

500 for the Fallen

For the third year in a row I have participated in one way or another with a relay on Memorial Day weekend that goes from Massachusetts to DC to raise money for college scholarships for children of fallen warriors. This year was even more special because we had such a large group running the Bronx leg and we had the star power of Buzunesh Deba, our local world-class runner who agreed to be there for the start of our leg. She and her husband Worku are so lovely and generous you would never know she competes at a global level, ranked internationally.

The weather did not cooperate this weekend with terrible heat, humidity and rain throughout all 500 miles of the relay. The weather slowed the effort but did not stop the flag and dog-tags that were carried continuously from the start in Concord MA all the way to Arlington VA. The relay started on Friday morning and ran continuously through day and night until it reached the iconic war memorial of the soldiers lifting the American flag in Arlington on Monday at about 6pm.

The Bronx leg started in Van Cortlandt Park at 12:40 (about 3 hours behind schedule), at the Memorial Grove, a very peaceful grove of evergreens with plaques for Bronxites who lost their lives in active combat. It is the perfect place for the handoff, there’s shade for those who are waiting, a perfect memorial and lots of room for the incoming and out going runners. We were there for about 2 hours waiting for the previous leg to finish. The heat really impacted a lot of the runners so we waited patiently.

The other reason this year was special was because my teammate and friend, Bobby Asher, used this opportunity to run his first ultramarathon, pledging to run all the NY legs of the relay totalling 33 miles. We were in touch with him while we waited for them to arrive in VCP so we knew how far behind they were. The excitement when we saw the runners coming with the flag waving was so great after having waited so long.

There were about a dozen of us, mostly from VCTC but a few other New York runners joined us for the trek from the Bronx into Manhattan, ending at Columbus Circle. The run itself was tough in the midday heat. But when it got really tough Karen and I reminded each other how blessed we were to be able to run, to be here celebrating the freedoms that our military has fought hard to preserve. To be able to use our hobby to help those who have sacrificed so much is truly a blessing.

We got a fair number of cars who honked in support of our run and people shouting words of encouragement but the most memorable part of the run was the guys hanging out behind General Grant’s tomb, smoking weed who spontaneously broke into the theme from Rocky as we ran up the back steps of the monument to take a picture around the front. It was priceless!

Because we started so late I wasn’t able to finish the leg since I had to be back at Van Cortlandt for a 4pm Kids Running Club practice I was leading so I made it as far as 79th street and then had to run to the subway and get back up to the Bronx.

It was all good, there was about $35,000 raised for one college bound child of a warrior lost in battle and while it’s not enough to cover all expenses it will certainly help. Hopefully this will grow each year and raise more money for those who really need and deserve it!

Even though I didn’t get to finish my leg, Bobby and I (and a few other teammates we picked up on the way) ran the last leg of the relay, #65, in Van Cortlandt at 4:45 when the last let began in Virginia. Even though we weren’t there in person, it felt awesome to be participating virtually as they were finishing!

Battle of the Bulge

Like most women, especially those going through “the change,” I feel as though I’m constantly battling my weight. Not that I’m over weight mind you, and I don’t think I have an issue with body image, but I know I can put on 5-10 pounds in a heartbeat if I’m not careful. I know the non-runners out there are wondering what the big deal is, but the runners know that even just a couple extra pounds adds time to every race. The impact is greater on longer races, but even the 5-10K’s are affected by extra weight.

I know what makes a difference and I know how to take it off if I really need to. Sugar is a big trigger and I know it’s so bad for you in so many ways, but it tastes soooo good! I love cake and chocolate and ice cream. I don’t eat them every day but I do like to have my treats. I also know that reducing my bread and pasta intake helps me drop pounds. By eliminating sugar, greatly reducing bread and pasta and cutting out all alcohol I can drop 5 pounds in about a week.

But for me that’s not sustainable. I can go a week or two like that but I also get very cranky…. And believe me, a menopausal woman does NOT need any extra reasons to be cranky! So I do it the week before big races and anytime I think my weight is heading too far from where it usually is. That seems to work but I’m hoping there are other ways to help in this area. Naturally more exercise could help but honestly, I exercise 5-6 days a week including running, cross training and strength training so I’m not sure just how much I could do in that department.

I’m exploring some natural supplements to combat my peri-menopause symptoms and many of them claim to help with all symptoms including weight gain so we’ll see how it goes. If any of you readers are on any natural supplements (not hormone replacement, I’m not a candidate) that work for you, please let me know what you’re using. The one I’ve been taking that was recommended by my doctor has only one extract, rhubarb root, but I’ve found others with a combination of ingredients that have gotten good reviews. Logically I would think that trying something with several different extracts might work better than just one because you have a better chance of reacting positively to at least one of the ingredients. The thing is there are so many options out there it’s hard to know where to start! So any input you all might have would be welcome…