How I cured my migraines

Image from www.biofortified.org

Let me start by saying that the title of this post is meant to be tongue-in-cheek. I get irritated by posts where someone has 'discovered THE cure' to whatever ailment it is that afflicts them or knows the right (and usually only) way to run/strength train/rest/stretch.

As I cast that stone, I also must admit my guilt. In fact, one of my most popular blog posts is entitled 'How to Fix Piriformis Syndrome'. I'll assume others' intent to be similar to mine--to contribute to a wider body of knowledge accessible to those who might be suffering from something similar in order to provide alternate sources of information. In fact, I have found some of my best information about running injuries from the evidence-based medicine chest called Google and feel a responsibility to give back. I leave the responsibility to you, fine readers, to evaluate whether it's crap or not.

With that intro--some of you may recall I started having frequent migraines back in October. To put this in perspective, I have become accustomed to having migraines 1-4 times per year since having my first one in 2004. Between October 5th and Dec 25th, 2012, I had 19 migraines. At one point, I was getting them 4-5 times per week and sometimes twice per day!

I had my last migraine on Christmas morning. Merry Christmas to me! I am now at the point where I don't worry daily about when I'll start to get that hole in my vision that indicates I need to brace myself for a light show and some fetal-position quiet time.

I have always done a brilliant job of tracking my migraines but, after nine years, have yet to find a slam-dunk trigger. I've tried to correlate everything from food, alcohol, stress, meds, sleep, etc., with no luck. Because the increased frequency of my migraines was interfering with my life in a pretty big way (I was even starting to get migraines during runs), I decided to look for 'natural' cures. My doctor suggested this, actually, but also told me that there are drugs that he could prescribe to decrease the frequency if need be.

In my internet research, I found information and scientific studies that suggested each of the following supplements might help decrease migraine frequency:

Magnesium (500 mg)
5-HTP (400 mg taken before bed)
Feverfew (200 mg, combined with the butterbur)
Butterbur (75 mg, combined with the feverfew)
Vitamin B-2 (400 mg)

I am taking all of those in the listed doses. In addition, I started taking the following because they had pretty labels and I was already taking a bunch of pills, so thought it wouldn't hurt to add more.

Oceans 3 Healthy hormones (combo of Omegas and herbs, sold by Garden of Life)
Potassium (99mg)
Super B-Complex (has a bunch of Bs + C)

I also take iron on a daily basis, but have been doing that for many years now. I have been taking this whole combo package of supplements every day since mid-November. I started taking some of them in October but didn't go in whole hog until November. Everything I read on taking supplements for migraines suggested a 1-2 month ramp up time for them to start working and, by the end of December, I was migraine free.

Did the supplements cure me? Maybe. I can come up with a whole host of other explanations for why my migraines have become less frequent including having less stress in my life (e.g. leaving old and adjusting to new job) and stopping hormone supplements (started in August/stopped in October). In the past month, I also started wearing cheater glasses when at my computer, recognizing that I am becoming very slightly farsighted and wondering if eyestrain might play a role.

I have thought about systematically removing some of the supplements I'm taking from my daily regimen in order to see whether the migraines return. My science brain thinks this might be a cool way to narrow the supplement playing field. But, my intuition tells me to keep on keeping on. I must admit that I hate taking pills (and it's expensive!), but my energy levels have been through the roof too. Why change a good thing?

The answer to what has cured my crazy migraines is likely a combination of all of the above. That's the thing about being your own test subject, you don't have the luxury of having a control. Despite not having answers, I will absolutely take this new supplement-laden reality over the migraines any day of the week!

There you have it, interwebs. Do with this information what you will and may we all enjoy a migraine-free night!

Pulling it out

Training Summary
Jan 7-13
7 runs
69 miles
17 mile long run

This week was a solid week of training. I started the week feeling slightly off, and wondered if I was coming down with some nasty bug. Luckily that passed, but I still wasn't right, even through Wednesday.

My main workout was scheduled for Wednesday: 10 x 800m with 2 min jog recovery. I have no idea what happened that day with my schedule. I intended to get out in the late afternoon and get after it. Late afternoon turned into a 5:20 pm start. I got to my starting point for my repeats after a 3 mile warm up. I looked down at my watch and realized there was no way I would finish the workout by the time I needed in order to get to band practice. Crap. How did that happen? I had no choice but to postpone the workout and run back home.

This scheduling mistake was actually a blessing in disguise. I really struggled on my run home that night. I mean, I could barely move my feet to keep running. I really have no idea what was going on that night, and I will admit I was worried about my prospects for trying to get the workout done in the morning.

Nonetheless, I woke early and went out into the cold dark morning to try out some half mile repeats. I actually felt really good and was able to knock them out smoothly. I was to keep them between 3:00 and 3:05 and I averaged 3:01.

The next day, my schedule got all jacked up trying to troubleshoot and fix my internet connection at home. I have a home office now and am my own IT person. This frustrated me to no end, but I finally got it all working. This didn't happen until 8:00 pm, and I still needed to run. Believe me, the last thing I wanted to do was lace up my shoes and get in an 8-miler.  I thought about how much I wanted to be consistent with my training. I also thought about having to explain to you and Coach Hadley why I had decided to miss a day. If I want to achieve big things with my running, I have to be willing to run at 8:00 pm some days and 5:00 am others. It's unacceptable to miss a day (unless I have a legit reason, of course).

On Saturday, I had the pleasure of running with a group of folks that I hadn't run with in a long, long time. We had all gone to a memorial service for our dear friend Phil Barnett. Phil was an amazing person and athlete. He had lost his leg in a car accident later in life (got hit by a drunk driver), but never let that keep him from chasing his dreams. One of my favorite memories of Phil was going to watch him compete in his first triathlon. I had the great honor of running him in to his finish in that race and my heart was so full at that moment watching him achieve what most people would have never considered, even with two healthy legs. Did I mention he was in his 60s when he did this?

Our group ran together that evening and then decided we would make this an annual event. So, Sunday, January 12th 2014 will be the second annual Phil Barnett memorial run from Old Fair Oaks, CA. I hope we can expand the group next year!

Finally, I wrapped up the week with another fantastic long run. This was meant to be a 16 miler with 4 x 1 mile @ marathon pace in the middle with 1 minute jog recovery between repeats. Coach Hadley prescribed 6:30 as my marathon pace for this run. I thought I'd focus on marathon effort rather than try to lock in a pace and this worked out rather well for me. I ended up with 17 miles total for the run and my mile splits were 6:23, 6:18, 6:13, 6:16 for the workout portion.

You may notice that I backed off the strength training this week. I actually read an article this week, thanks to Runners Feed for posting, about Kara Goucher's (old) strength training as prescribed by Salazar. In this article, he suggested taking every 5th week off from strength training. Coach Hadley agreed with this principle, so I'll plan to make it a new training rule.

Next week, I start ramping the strength training up by adding some weight to some of the exercises, and I hold my mileage steady in the 70s.        
  
     

Downs and Ups

Training recap for Dec 31 - 6 Jan

62 miles

7 runs

15 mile long run

Strength routines consist of 9 exercises and change throughout training program. HME = hip mobility exercises as prescribed by Dr. J-Ball.

I've decided that I want to try out the weekly recap format for my blog for a bit.  I thought it would be easiest for me just to take a screen capture of my training log each week since it's pretty and has all of the relevant stats. I think it's important to see that I do a lot more than run during the week. I'm typically doing something in addition to a regular run every day of the week whether it's a 30-45 minute strength routine, a shorter core circuit or 1-2 miles of hill drills.  All of these little things help make me stronger and faster.

My running workouts this week were designed to get me used to what will be a normal training structure. I will do a speed/stamina workout on Wednesday, a longish run with a fast finish on Friday and either an easy long run or long run with a long interval workout added in on Sunday. My Wednesday workouts will alternate speed/stamina each week.

Last week I did my first track workout of 12 x 400m on Wednesday. This week was a stamina workout of a 5 mile tempo progression from ~6:50 pace down to under 6:15. As you can see from my log, I struggled mightily with that workout. I always struggle with tempos, but I was having an off day that day. I have learned not to react to these bad days. They happen sometimes. Instead of stopping the workout, I decided to finish it and take a few short "water breaks" to catch my breath. I know that this isn't ideal, but it was what I could do. Had I started slower, I probably could have completed the workout as written. However, I really thought 6:45 to 6:55 pace was going to feel a lot easier than it did. I became overwhelmed once I got down into the 6:30s and it fell apart from there.

My Friday runs are meant to be a longer distance (up to 12 miles later in the training plan) and have a pick up in the last few miles. Last week, I did the workout incorrectly and ran those last two miles too fast (under 6:30 pace). Coach Hadley explained that the idea is to just pick it up the last few miles and finish feeling refreshed. I kept the thought of feeling refreshed in my head and it worked great this week.

Thank goodness for my long run today! It was written as 15 miles with the first 12 easy then the last 3 miles at a faster pace (6:30-6:45). By the time I reached the 5 mile mark, I was already in sub-7:00 territory, and it felt effortless. I decided to run the rest of the long run based on effort rather than slow down to maintain a certain pace. I was a bit worried that I was going to regret that decision those last 3 miles, but it all worked out. In fact, I averaged 6:48 pace for the last 9 miles, and it felt really smooth. I also didn't feel wrecked the rest of the day like I do when I push a long run too hard. This was a great workout to finish up the week.

Next week, my mileage takes a jump and my workouts get tougher! Tallyho!    
  

And it begins

Happy New Year!

Rather than spend any time at all reflecting on 2012, I thought I'd devote this space to what's ahead for me in 2013. I have a  lot to look forward to. I have an awesome new coach, an injury-free body and a belly full of fire: a good combo for fast running.

I have my training plan in hand and have been following it for two weeks now. I really appreciate Coach Hadley's approach to training and his positive, flexible style of coaching. It is very clear that he loves running, coaching and has spent a great deal of time researching training principles. While I have a program including daily workouts, strength training, drills, etc. laid out for the next several months, each week he gives me a detailed account of what my workouts should look like including effort level and paces. He explains the intent of the workouts and what the overall goal is for the week. I really like having that knowledge. It helps keep me from stressing over workouts and helps me to keep everything in perspective.

What is my next goal race? I waited to reveal this because it was meant to be a surprise for my Mom when I went up to Tacoma for Christmas. I'm running the Tacoma City Marathon on May 5th! **crickets** Yeah, that was my Mom's reaction too. Little did I know that she wanted to travel to my next marathon. I thought it would be fun for her to see me run in her city for a change. I'm sure it will be, but I have to promise her that we'll travel to another marathon soon.

When I was in Tacoma, we drove the marathon course to get a sense for how it will run. It's a "net downhill" course that starts in Gig Harbor, runs over the Narrows Bridge and through north Tacoma, Point Defiance Park and finishes on the waterfront. Net downhill does not necessarily equal fast. There are a lot of turns and the downhills are screaming downhills, making it difficult to really run them fast. There are a few good uphill sections too. However, It will be fun to run through familiar territory and go for a W.

Between now and then, I have a few races on my schedule including a 4-mile Valentine's Day run, a 12k in San Francisco, and a 10-miler here in Sactown. I'm looking forward to getting back into competitive racing once again.

My plan for the year is to get back into marathon shape with this marathon training cycle, while getting to know Coach Hadley and his training program. I will be trying to get into the best shape I can, but don't have a specific time goal for the race. I would like to win, but that's mostly a matter of who shows up to race. After a short recovery, I'll start training for a fall marathon to attempt a sub-2:43. I'm eyeing Chicago right now. I've had good luck there, my Mom likes to go there and there will likely be a strong contingent of ladies to run with trying to achieve the same goal time.

I'm also experimenting with a new nutritional supplementation program that I learned from a coach I worked with for a short while back in 2008. It is pretty involved and takes a lot of dedication. If the coach I got it from is any indication (superstar masters runner), the program should have me breaking records soon enough! I'll write about it in an upcoming post once I have a chance to evaluate how it's working for me.

I recognize that running a qualifier this time around is going to be tough, but I do believe I have been in sub-2:43 shape before. I believe I was there in 2010 when I ran Chicago given the time I ran and the hot conditions that day. Coach Hadley put it well when he told me that it's easier to get back to a fitness level you've seen before than to try to attain a higher one. Of course, I'll need all of the other ingredients for a good marathon to fall into place too, and that's a matter of luck. I'll do what I can to maximize my fitness so I don't need quite as much luck on race day. The good news is that I have a few years to get this goal.

2013 is going to be a good year.

Exciting News

I am pleased to announce that I am now part of a very cool project called the 2016 Marathon Trials Project. This project is the passion of Mark Hadley, a coach whose website I've been lurking around for a few months now. I have been intrigued by his training philosophy and inspired by the success of the athletes he coaches. I am looking forward to getting started with Coach Hadley and watching his project grow.

From his website:

The 2016 U.S. Marathon Trials Project has 3 goals
1. Help as many people as possible qualify for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials
2. Help as many people as possible obtain the A Standard for the trials
3. Help as many people as possible finish at or near the top of the field in the trials race

One of the main reasons I joined was to be part of something bigger than just me trying to qualify for the Olympic Marathon Trials. I found the stories of other Trials qualifiers very inspiring as they came out in the media last year. I felt like I was connected to this larger group of athletes. I can only imagine how exciting it will be to be part of a project dedicated to getting as many runners to the Trials for 2016 as possible.

With 2:43 as the new B standard, I have my work cut out for me, but I do have a few years to work at this. I am excited to get back to training again and can't wait to share my journey with all of you!

Life Experience

"I want my milk and cookies. I wanna go home. Wah, wah, wah." 

~some random Sergeant Airborne

I've had that chant in my head for 24 years. It's what I think about when I feel like quitting. I went through Army Airborne in 1988 because I wanted the life experience of jumping out of airplanes. Nobody made me do it. It was considered a privilege for an Air Force cadet to get to participate in this training.

The first weekend of Airborne training is meant to separate the wheat from the chaff. Our company had a 30% wash out rate that first weekend. They put us through intense physical and mental exercises to test our will and force the weak to quit. And, that was just over the weekend. By Monday, when training actually started, they gathered those of us left in the main yard and broadcast over the loud speaker that they understood that we had been through a lot over the weekend. It was understandable if some of us wanted to quit. They had donuts, milk, and cookies up front that they would give to those of us who decided we couldn't take it and wanted to go home. They ate the donuts and drank the milk while we salivated.

A few poor sons of bitches actually took the bait and walked up to the front to get their milk and cookies. Of course, once they got there, they were made into fools.  We were all told that it was our mission to ensure that these jackasses got through the next three weeks of training without quitting.

This past Sunday, starting at around mile 6 in the California International Marathon, I wanted my milk and cookies, and I definitely wanted to go home.

I reported on the weather forecast in my last post. The weather forecasters were wrong--it was worse than predicted when we arrived at the starting line. All I recall is seeing some guy in a garbage bag being blown sideways when we drove to the runner drop off point.  I was barely able to move forward in the wind while being pelted with rain as we walked toward the starting line.

Once I was safe inside the elite tent, I was absolutely drenched, but temporarily sheltered from the weather. Then, I found a force that I would unfortunately let affect my race in a much more insidious way. She seemed pleasant enough as we chatted away before the race. She asked if we could run together and I agreed thinking we would start together and then find our own rhythms. After mile 2, when she told me that she didn't have a watch or GPS and needed me to give her our splits, I realized she wasn't going to run her own race. I can't really explain why this affected me like it did, but having someone ask every 1/2 mile or so what our pace was when gale force winds were blowing us all over the road just pissed me off.

I told her at the start of the race I didn't know what time I was shooting for--that time seemed irrelevant on a day like this--so I was baffled by her constant need for pace information. I could hear her sigh when I told her our pace was 6:45 or 6:50 when we turned into the wind after mile 6. We were drafting off of some big guys, but the gusts were even slowing them to what seemed like a crawl. Still, "how fast are we going now?" came after every mile marker. I finally told her I was no longer keeping track of our pace. I wasn't lying. I really didn't give a shit what pace we were going into these winds. I just wanted to make another turn out of this stuff. The fact of the matter was that my legs were cramping as we ascended every hill. I didn't understand why this was happening so early in the race, but it was. I was having a tough enough time staying focused on getting to the next mile marker let alone babysitting someone who forgot their watch or decided not to wear one.

The crampy legs and mile by mile audible reminder of just how slow we were going had me thinking about milk and cookies very early in this race. I told myself I should try to at least get to mile 10: Old Fair Oaks. I could drop there. I got through the town and decided I could probably make it to the half marathon point. There was a nice Safeway to seek shelter inside. I passed that and kept going. I realized that my friend had stopped asking me what our splits were. She must have dropped back. This lifted my spirits a bit but not a lot.

My next target, and this was going to be the real stopping point, was mile 19 at Watt Ave. I live about a mile from there. I could just run home and get a nice cup of hot coffee and see my dogs. That pleasant vision danced through my mind as I slogged through the middle miles of this race.
Mile 17.
18.
There's 19.
God damn it!
I see people I know.
And they're cheering for me.
I can't quit in front of them.
Maybe I'll stop at mile 20.

By this time, I was laughing at myself. I was in the flat part of the course and most of the cramping in my legs had ceased. The weather had ceased to be ridiculous too. I was being passed by a few runners, but I wasn't slowing much more. I didn't have anyone outside my body reminding me that this was a suckfest.

I knew what would happen if I took the milk and cookies. I wouldn't get to quit. Even if I stopped running, I would hate that I had quit and would beat myself up. Instead, I felt oddly excited about the prospect of sticking this bitch out. I was sort of proud of myself for hanging in there and wondered whether I would break 3 hours or not. I decided to give it a shot and see how I finished. I became more and more excited about finishing as I ran past 23 and 24 miles. Only two to go. I had one girl ahead of me as I headed into the final straightaway. I sprinted past her at the finish in just over 2:59.

I know, I know: "do not copy". Sorry, Sport Photo. You captured the sprint finish!

This photo has made the rounds on Twitter and Facebook to the point that I'm not sure who to credit. Regardless, it accurately depicts the experience of CIM 2012.

This was an ugly damned race, but it was a life experience that I won't forget. I could choose to be ashamed of the weakness I showed, but instead I choose to be proud of forgoing the milk and cookies that were so tempting at mile 19 and seeing the race through to its end. My hard work was rewarded with a 3rd place masters finish, 2nd place age group and a second place finish amongst PAUSATF masters runners. This was worth some cash and a nice plaque.

2nd and 3rd place 45-49 year olds at the awards ceremony. Yes, she looks like she's 19.

Finally, this whole experience--the half-assed, 3-4 months of training, the less than fully committed nature of my race preparation, the weakness in the race--reignited my fire and made me realize that I want to run fast again. The gauntlet of a faster Olympic Trials qualifying standard for 2016 has been thrown, and I will be aiming to see if I can get there.

I am already planning my next races, to be revealed after Christmas. In the mean time, this week is all about indulgence--milk, cookies, wine, pizza... Whatever the hell I want.         

Like the weather

The color of the sky as far as I can see is coal gray

I lift my head from the pillow and then fall again

I get a shiver in my bones just thinking about the weather

a quiver in my lip as if I might cry

~Natalie Merchant

Sooner or later every marathon has bad weather. Runners of the California International Marathon (CIM) have been extremely lucky for the last 7-8 years in that weather conditions have been pretty close to ideal for running a marathon. 2012, on the other hand, will be one of those touchstone years that runners will use to describe how miserable conditions can be.

I am running CIM. I have been training for it and never had a doubt that I would run it, even as the available weather forecasts began converging on the same, bleak weather story for Sunday morning. My goals for this marathon have had less to do with the actual race or how fast I might run and more to do with getting back to training and gaining some base fitness.

I have done my best to get in the training but tomorrow will be more about sheer will than about training. I will be on the lookout for a burly guy (or gal) running between 2:50-2:55. I will tuck in behind you and you'll never know I'm there. And, if you want to tuck in behind me, be my guest.

BRING IT!