Head Slap

Sometimes you see other people’s problems and you think. Geez, you idiot! The solution is SIMPLE if you bothered to think about it.

Then other days, you’re the idiot, wondering if other people are shaking their heads at you.

 

Here’s the thing. Almost 10 years ago I started on my journey of running. Coincidentally, I also started training to be a speech-language pathologist (SLP). Now, although neither seem related, there is one thing that my studies – and career – as a SLP taught me, which is all the different ways that the swallow can be affected (called “dysphagia”). I’ve spent my whole career working with people with dysphagia from a variety of causes, but never once did I connect the dots. Until last night.

 

You see, every now and then when I’m training, I get the sensation of – for lack of a better way to describe it – a “mini heart attack”. Not that I’ve ever had a heart attack, so I really can’t compare. But on occasion when I’m running I get an awful pain deep in my chest that spreads to my back and lungs. Not all the time, mind you. But sometimes, when I do a very intense run (e.g.: hills, or speedwork), that pain comes and nearly cripples me. And for hours afterwards my chest and back ache fiercely.

 

Last night I was running hills. And sadly, the mind was willing but the body was weak! We had 4 sets of hills. It was a complicated hill, too. With a changing slope and multiple tight switch-backs, it seemed I could never find my rhythm. But up I went it, four times. I was frustrated to find a tight Achilles crippling my progress. I just can’t seem to shake these tight leg muscles this year, and it’s really slamming me hard. With all the discomfort I had in my Achilles and all my exhaustion from the hill repeats, it wasn’t until the cool-down jog back to the store that I started to really feel the pain in my chest, particularly as it spread to my back. It continued after I’d stopped and stretched. It continued on my drive home.

 

And so, since I was in the car, I started to wonder why I was having such chest pain. (Yes, I’m sure some of my readers are smacking their heads – or their screens – and screaming the answer at me). But since I no idea, I decided to describe the pain to myself as if I were a patient. Why would I describe it as a “mini heart attack”, for one? And then I remembered there were other times when I had a deep aching pain that spread to my back after a run. So this wasn’t a singular occurrence.

 

And then the answer hit me, and with all my years as an SLP and all my years of running, I was annoyed I hadn’t thought of it earlier. Reflux. I went home and opened up a trusty google search to see if reflux could be induced by running. Turns out, it very well can be! And while I’m happy to say I don’t suffer the symptoms of reflux on a regular basis, it appears that every now and then I suffer the effects of it when I’m on an intense run. I guess that’s what I get for shoveling down a big dinner an hour before starting the run.

 

It’s a bit ironic that I joined the 10k clinic thinking it would be easy, breezy this year. Instead, I’ve been plagued by injuries, tight muscles, and now…reflux. Ugh, I’m starting to feel like a very sensitive runner: I used to just go out with the mantra “run and be done”. That is, walk outside, start my run by the end of the driveway, end it by the end of the driveway, and go inside to eat and shower. No warm-up, no stretches, no worries.

 

Now I need to start taking extra time to warm-up first and do stretches after. And I’m going to have to start planning my meals and the timing of meals before my run. I’ve been hoping and planning to train for a full marathon next year, but I’m really not sure how to feel about how this year’s training is going…should I be happy all these problems/revelations are happening on shorter distances and a not-important-race-year so I can work out all my kinks and revamp my training plan before the marathon training begins next year? …Or should I be worried that my body is no longer able to handle even the 10k distance, and I might have to give up the marathon training before I’ve even started?