A Little Worried...

[Joni63]

Hello,

I started training for a sprint triathlon last year after 3 years being dx'd celiac. I knew I had an issue with dairy and caffiene, but never totally eliminated them. In the last 2 weeks I am having a lot more stomach pain, gas and bloating. I'm currently going through a lot of tests and am getting rescoped. Am starting an elimination diet tomorrow thanks to suggestions on another thread.

I ran my first 5k last Sept., then an 8k in Nov, and am signed up to do an 11k in April and my first sprint tri also in April. I was not able to do anything all week and this threw off my training schedule. I seem to go through good phases and then crashes. Wondering if I got myself in too deep as I'm also signed up for a 1/2 marathon in Oct(I actually won free entry for this one) and have some other races I plan on doing. I did see a nutritionist and had my vitamin levels checked. Everything was good, but still waiting on the serum ferritin result which was just done late thursday and has been low before. Not sure how much I can train if I don't start feeling better.

Anyone else training for events like this? Do you push through your bad times? How do you cope?

[tictax707]

Hi... I train for half and full ironmans. You definitely want to get a handle on the foods you can and can't have, but if you can train at all I would bet that you could do both races in april. There are bound to be ups and downs, but as long as you are really good about listening to your body (rest when you don't feel like training) I think it will work out. But, if you continue to feel bad you might want to postpone the events in April. When I was first diagnosed I was training for a marathon, and had to postpone that one for sure. The elimination diet should help - and hopefully you can at least improve in the next few weeks and feel up to training.

But bottom line still - if you don't feel up to training because you are tired or your stomach is upset - don't. The races can wait. Why make yourself miserable? Hope this helps...

[Joni63]

Thx Tictax! I admire you for being able to do full and half marathons - way to go! I'm curious - did you train for them before you were dx'd? How long have you done them?

I had always done some form of exercise, but this is pushing my body past what I have ever done. The longest I ran so far was the 8k. I did run 4 miles last week trying to build up to 7 for the 11k. I know I can't overtrain and increase my running by more than 10% each week (a rule I do abide by) because I will end up wiped out for weeks. I spaced it out so that after the two in April, my races are every other month in case I get wiped out. My goal is just to finish...I know I will never place in anything and I'm doing this just to have a goal to train for ,lol!

I also have a history of low serum ferritin...it was 7 when dx'd with Celiac 3 1/2 yrs ago. I went to a nutritionist and she put me on really high doseages of iron...blood checked and my iron levels were all high. I did feel so good at that time though! Now I have been off all iron supplements for almost a year and have been exercising pretty hard in that year. I just had blood drawn thursday to test it. I kind of think it may have dropped again as I don't absorb D either and have to take 5,000 units a day just to keep my level at 36! This could be another issue if it went low again.

Do you have any issues with vitamins absorption? Do you supplement with iron since your training must be quite intense?

[tictax707]

Why thank you! So, the good news is that I started the endurance distance stuff *after* I was diagnosed. I was diagnosed when I was in training for my first marathon ever. So I had to put that off for a year to focus on the diet, and then I went back and did the marathon. I switched to tris in 2006 and slowly worked my way from sprint/Olympic distance to half/full distance. I did my first ironman in 2009 and did another one last year. So really, not long. I too, do these things just to finish. I am not fast compared to the rest of the world. I love the training - the race is just a cool thing to do at the end. You sound very smart about your training (sticking to the 10% rule) and that will serve you well!!

The funny thing about me is that one of the reasons that it took so long for me to get diagnosed is that although my villi were flat I had no vitamin deficiencies. (yeah, I know. Makes *no* sense). I do have vitamin D deficiency but i am working on that. It's hard to tell if it's from the celiac or the training, or maybe a combo of both. I tried the vit D supplements with tons and tons of vit D and they all gave me really bad gas, so I went back to my old calcium/vit D combo supplement. We'll check my levels in another 6 months or so to see if anything has changed...

Anyway - I think it's fantastic that you are getting into the races and tris. I do hope you like them. Which 1/2 marathon are you doing??

[Joni63]

Your giving me such hope! I really want to be able to keep up my training and love it so far. I am not fast either and I'm only 5' 1 1/2" tall so I can't keep up with some of those lean, tall athletes. I'm just happy to be seeing improvement in myself and I joined a wonderful women's group that is so active and supportive.

I know so many Celiacs have other deficiencies, but I only had D and serum ferritin. It's so wierd how everyone is affected so differently. Hopefully your old vitamin will make your levels increase. I know that can be frustrating! And if it works don't stop taking it because it will probably go back down as mine did. Just keep getting it checked periodically.

The 1/2 is the Atlantic City Marathon. I actually won free entry into it so that was my deciding factor to do it. I knew I could handle the 10k and wanted to push a litle harder so the 1/2 was perfect! How could I turn that down?

[ElseB]

I ran two marathons before I was diagnosed, but post diagnosis have scaled back to half marathons. I just don't have the same energy I had before diagnosis, nor do I feel consistently well enough to get through the training (weird, I know - I should feel better than I did before, but alas I don't!) Halfs are manageable. If I'm having a bad week, I might skip my runs or just go for short slow ones. I figure something is always better than nothing. More than pizza, more than beer, I miss the post race bagels!!!!

[tictax707]

Your giving me such hope! I really want to be able to keep up my training and love it so far. I am not fast either and I'm only 5' 1 1/2" tall so I can't keep up with some of those lean, tall athletes. I'm just happy to be seeing improvement in myself and I joined a wonderful women's group that is so active and supportive.

I know so many Celiacs have other deficiencies, but I only had D and serum ferritin. It's so wierd how everyone is affected so differently. Hopefully your old vitamin will make your levels increase. I know that can be frustrating! And if it works don't stop taking it because it will probably go back down as mine did. Just keep getting it checked periodically.

The 1/2 is the Atlantic City Marathon. I actually won free entry into it so that was my deciding factor to do it. I knew I could handle the 10k and wanted to push a litle harder so the 1/2 was perfect! How could I turn that down?

Yes - there is definitely hope! I'm 5'4" so I don't have long legs either. I think that is super cool that you joined a women's group for support. Congrats on the free entry! I will say it's fate helping you along.

[Joni63]

Yes - there is definitely hope! I'm 5'4" so I don't have long legs either. I think that is super cool that you joined a women's group for support. Congrats on the free entry! I will say it's fate helping you along.

LOL Helpme - post race bagels! I'd go for the beer right about now! Have you ever had your iron or vitamin levels checked? Low iron can really wipe you out. It's not part of the CBC, they are separate tests your doctor has to order. Just found out I have that problem again.

I also have diverticulitus!

But I'm doing my races if I have to go at a snail's pace!