Much tired, very exhaustion

I don’t know if summer heat is just catching up to me, or I’m tired from the change in routine since school started. But I can’t seem to make my legs move any faster.

I don’t seem to remember feeling this much fatigue in previous summers. I know historically I am chronically tired in September as I adjust to full-time teaching again, but this feels different too.

Last Saturday I managed 14 miles, but I can hardly describe what I was doing as running. Tuesday I did okay at the track, but Thursday was rough. It didn’t help that we’d been without AC at school half the day–90ish degrees, 30+ teenagers per class, no air circulation at all–which did not help pre-run hydration efforts.

Yesterday I was supposed to run ten miles, but around 3.5 I started to feel dizzy and nauseated, and my head pounded. I tried to tough it out to get to five and turn around, but after a water/electrolyte/salt tab break just past four, I decided eight would have to do. I shuffled along the return route for another mile, but it wasn’t long before I reached a point where I couldn’t keep running. My left quad was unhappy and I felt like shit.

I walked the last three miles back to the car. As I sat in the grass waiting for my BRF to finish her 14 miles (not far behind me), I felt like I’d run twice as far, twice as fast. I wanted to take a nap, and if I’d had a longer wait I think I would have crashed right there.

At our post-run coffee date, a Venti coffee made the headache go away, but after a while I felt fatigue wash over me again. For a few moments I actually put my head down on the table. Not because my friends’ stories were boring, but because I couldn’t keep my eyes open.

And in true fall fashion, there was no rest for the weary. After I came home and showered, I watched a little football on TV and then it was time to leave for the Texas – Oklahoma State game.

On the shuttle to the stadium, I wanted to take a nap except I’d put my hair up and if I leaned back in the seat, I’d have an uncomfortable lump in the way (#longhairproblems). I felt like I was walking through Jello as we made our way to the stadium. But we were a bit early so we wandered around Bevo Blvd for a while–Deep Eddy Vodka was giving out iced bandanas (sadly they were iced with water, not vodka) and a Coke truck passed out plastic shot glasses, your choice of several flavors. A shot of Vanilla Coke perked me up considerably; a Topo Chico inside the stadium helped too.

I managed to stay energized through three quarters. It was a close game and we were on our feet, making noise the whole time. The fourth quarter, though, found me sitting down, exhausted and anxious.

We took a 13-point lead midway through the fourth and I relaxed a little. But if the last eight seasons have taught me anything, it’s that no lead is big enough for me. And rightly so. We almost snatched defeat from the jaws of victory when we made some nearly-fatal errors that brought the game within six. It came down to an onside-kick (we recovered) and 1:30 to run out the clock. No one left early.

“Don’t Stop Believing” via https://twitter.com/TexasLonghorns/status/1175600750094966784

By the time we started the hike back up 21st Street to the shuttle, my adrenaline was wearing off. It took another hour or so to get home; I slept for about 9.5 hours and feel less drained this morning, but I’m also not really inclined to do anything that requires exertion.

One of my BRFs is a nurse, and at coffee suggested perhaps I take more Vitamin D and iron. I’d been pretty good about vitamins until I got the plague, and then I was taking so many medications I just couldn’t juggle anything else. Oops. So I’m going to see if that helps, although it could be two weeks before I start to see improvements. I also found a multivitamin for active women–it may be bogus, but maybe not so what the hell. It’s worth a try, especially with Army Ten-Miler in a couple of weeks.