Got up early this morning after a bad nights sleep in the tent,  ran 9 miles on the treadmill at home. I started out at about an 8 min. pace, ran most of it at about a 7:18 pace, and part of it at a 6:40 pace…. I only have about a mile and a half for the rest of the week, so that’s my plan for tomorrow!

Its been another rough day for running, I did my run out at Westminster on the soft surface, and my legs aren’t substantially improving…beginning to wonder if the oxygen deprivation at night is becoming too substantial for me. I either have to change my altitude number or forgo the tent altogether so my legs can properly heal enough to get my workouts in…which reminds me I need to text my coach about that.

I ran 11 miles this morning, had a doctor appointment immediately after to figure out what to do about my estrogen levels- another big concern for me.  The older I get, the harder it is to keep lower body fat levels (because estrogen is held in body fat and in the absence of estrogen, your body doesn’t thrive in a healthy manner). I just saw my 3rd doctor today, he’s suggesting I go on a combination of estrogen/progesterone but there’s a problem- progesterone is a form of steroid and probably a prohibited substance with the U.S. track/field anti-doping policy.

Next thing I’ll need to do is talk with my coach about what to do…. Not sure if I can get around that or not.  Maybe some type of hormone replacement that will keep me running at a healthy body fat level.

We’ve already made a few changes to help with my estrogen levels:
-reduced my mileage substantially
-increased calorie intake
-running heavier than I’ve ever run before
….so far so good, but I need more of a long-term solution as to what we can do.