“Its the journey that makes us stronger”

How to condense the fullness of life’s bitter sweet tides into words without missing the detail that makes life worth living. That sense of feeling. I am not training excessively, not blogging often, but I have been feeling.

I’ve got the story rehearsed and eloquent by now: It’s been a messy two and a half months after all with much explainging needed.

The body shut down after pushing the limits a bit far to a state of neuroendocrine dysfunction. Basically just not functioning anywhere near normal, not producing what it should, not reacting as is expected. The main cause is repeated bouts of hypoglycemia – which I was purposefully frequenting in an attempt to better my aerobic function reliance on fat oxidation. I had cut back on protein intake too, especially meat based protein, and as the body struggles for protein to rebuild fibers at night, it draws on glycogen stores for a process called gluconeogenesis – inducing a state a hypoglycemia even in sleep. This was the start and basis for the collapse.

I got back from racing in Brazil with a small viral infection, and that seems to start the shit ball picking up momentum down the slippery slope that bottoms at a state of chronic fatigue. The hightened cortisol levels from the infection, which are similar to the ones produced from the training stress I was placing my system under, cause a de-regulation of counter hormones. The final two weeks before leaving to the USA were stressful – my suboptimal self management to blame – and again, this stress added to the imbalances. The final strike came from the thin air in Truckee. I had not thought of the added nutritional demands of being at altitude. It had been a few weeks since positive figures, or a quality session and as the first US race approached I had to face some intensity training, which I did. Beyond this was a hazy headache malaise that lasted for two weeks and a few weeks of delicate shuffling training alongside the needed changes to nutrition patterns. I could have gone the chemical route, and that might have restored me back to neutral sooner, but was wanting to exhaust the natural options first.

The best article I’ve been able to find: Neuroendocrine Dysfunction in endurance athletes. You need to be in a state of desperation to read through all of it, but you’ll be rewarded with a lot of insight. I highly recommend the read.

Ah. Glad all that was said. There is much more, much more I can chronicle to explain, and perhaps I will still. But thats the just of it, and been dreading putting it out there for some reason. Seems to simple, so foolish.

It was disappointment on many levels. I’d decided to take greater control of my journey as an athlete. Become a student of the game. Experiment and be prepared to make greater sacrifices than ever. Intellectually it felt a fail, having been vocal on the harmful effects of insulin resistance from continually spiking blood sugar levels but never once considering there would be a similar hormonal effect of dipping blood sugar levels too often. My body became so efficient, I experienced so much more energy and vitality than ever before, I became greedy.

And now I’m knackered. Will continue tomorrow.