Lagos "the center of excellence"
Welcome to my attempt at communicating and sharing my training experiences. Lagos the center of excellence is what is on the sign as you are driving toward the island where I live in Nigeria Africa. In Wk 8 of beginner OS and am amazed that I have made it this far. Wk 6 I attempted a 90min. run outside, in the secure community by the sea where I do my test runs, but only made it 80min. It was hot, humid and brutal. I even got brushed back by an SUV going 40 or so mph. Results: unspeakable amount of sweat, several episodes of difficulty breathing while running and crying, followed by an indulgent short crying jag at the end of the run. It was cathartic; I felt like I shed a lot of frustration and irritation on that run so I was proud of myself for giving it my all. At the same time I was upset b/c I was so slow and I quit with only 10 min. left. Then my husband attempted a similar run and found it just as difficult and trying. We commiserated. Banana Island during December in the early afternoon is a hard place to run. The bonus is that IMTX is hot and humid so my hope is I am getting the mental training in for that kind of heat and humidity. Wk 7 feeling very weary but not from training, from life. We were told that the power in our 12 story building would be out on Friday from 8:30 to noon. The power did not come back on till Saturday 9pm. We live on the 11th floor so we got to trek up and down the stairs several times before the fun ended. Afternoons and weekends I hold a part-time position as a Sherpa for my two daughters. BONUS! taking the stairs with 30lbs of stuff. No seriously it didn't sting until we return home at 5 pm on Saturday with power- in the lobby and the first 4 floors. Stuff like that makes me giggle because it is so absurd. We did feel the sweet relief of a/c that night but only in some of the rooms b/c the compressors broke in two of the units and the cooling agent had leaked out of the one that services our bedroom. Wk 8. No problem! I got this. We are traveling back to the US this weekend for the holiday's. Mental bank soon to be refilled. In relation to training I would like to say that I completed the bike test this morning. I was foolishly excited to do the ride. In my head I figured I would just go. No spin ups or hard sprints. Stupid! The entre 40 min. is hard. OH yeah, there's that. I am revisited with the feeling of, "what the hell have I done" and I think I am going to vomit. Just like the day after I registered for IM. This journey IS what I signed up for and I do love it. Thank you for letting me get out of my head and vent some of my thoughts. Happy Holiday's all. Take care and stay safe.
Comments
Coach, I have done some homework on wiki but there is much to learn. So after Christmas I can watch some videos and read some info. BTW, Peace Corps must have been much more rugged and taxing than this expat experience. For the most part we live a comfortable lifestyle with modern electronics the work most of the time.
Have a very happy holiday, stay safe and healthy.
Your power story reminds me of traveling to Venezuela when the only "5 star hotel" was the one with a generator for when the power went out (every day) but they didn't tell you that it only supplied power for the hotel Bar. OK, the power is out... lets go for drinks.
Good luck, Keep at it.
@Dana - nice work on the run test!!
We choose to live overseas and fully appreciate all that the experience offers. One of the benefits is the bliss we feel when we return to the states and get to do the mundane. For example, running outside in the cool temperatures, and having the freedom to run anywhere I want - without security, on safe well designed roads/sidewalks. I don't dread work outs or feel guilty about missing one I love each and every opportunity to get to do what I can. The only thing is I feel like time in the states is slipping through my fingers like sand and I just can't hold onto it. I absolutely love the healthy lifestyle people choose to attain here. I love that there are novices and old salty dogs working out together reaching for personal bests. It is fantastic! My mental bank is clearly refilled. On my first run I was reminded of the kids movie "Open Season" where there is a domesticated bear and a wild dear. The wild dear finds the domesticated bear in his garage and convinces him to go "outside" I felt like Boog the domesticated bear going "outside" for the first time. It felt great! My times were improved and I felt like I could run forever.
The first bike ride off the trainer I felt like a newborn. My mantra was "Easy, don't wipe out!" I was careful with my turns, when taking a drink, or looking behind. I had to not get my front tire stuck in the grove where the road & the side of the road marry; the basics. On this ride I had gusty wind and intermittent rain so it was packed with great experiences. Ended up having some thrilling times reaching top speeds of 26mph (don't mock the slow pokes) downhill with the wind at my back. FUN! Got in trouble for that with hubs. and my legs complained a little.
New Years Eve I went out for a run and felt good so I headed out to do some hills. I was about 4 miles from home when the migraine started. This is not the first time I have had a migraine on this particular run, happened once before but I forgot the end result. I usually take immitrex when I sense the first indications of a migraine. I didn't have any on me. The first signs for me are weird vision expressed in blank spots, or no peripheral vision. This lasts anywhere from 15 min. to 30 min. It progresses from one kind of funky vision to another and you know it is a migraine when the dancing zigzag black and white geometric shapes interfere with your line of sight. The goal for my run at this time was to not run into anyone or anything. After the vision phase the numbness can start. Mostly in fingers & hands and can move gradually across one side of the body to the other; including your face and tong. The next phase is usually pain accompanied by nausea. It was good for me to experience this b/c I now know I have to have my migraine medicine with me for the race. I was also thinking of carrying little flash cards with me to communicate should I need assistance. One of the stages is wanting to communicate but not being able to form words so your speech is a word salad that makes no sense. Also, with the messed up vision you can't write or type resulting in a very frustrating situation where you are stuck in your head and can't express to others what is wrong. This does not happen every time but it is best to be prepared. I wanted to see if there were other EN athletes who could share their migraine while working out experiences, if any. The bonus of working out while experiencing a migraine is that the endorphins released mitigate the pain. However, my experience this time was that once I got home and stopped working out the pain was magnified. I was out for the remainder of the day. That night and the next day I have a migraine hangover so I was moving slow.
Overall I am grateful that I can participate and that my personal expectations are greater than I ever imagined. I cherish the challenge and want to perform better for longer.
Time to wrap it up. Thanks for your support and help, hope you had a merry Christmas and Blessings to you in this New Year.
Either way, let's pinky promise that you're going to bring the medication with you!
Coach P. Thanks for the reply. It is hard to narrow down what triggers my migraines but in the end it does not matter. It was a valuable lesson for me to keep realistic expectations and plan for race day. I will not have a "perfect" swim, bike and run on race day because there will be unexpected trials and difficulties that are out of my control. All I can expect is to do my best. Planning, practice and patience I think is key. Still interested to hear if other athletes have faced similar experiences and how they managed them.
Paul, I have not read the article you referred to but will. I think the picture accompanying the article is a friend of mine. Makes me feel all grown up, Yuck! This experience is defiantly a love hate one; I love to hate it here. He, he. Seriously though, my life is full of blessings and I am reminded how very lucky I am every day.
Vacation over! Hello pain cave/my living room.
I attempted a half marathon distance today, on the treadmill, but only made it 9.14m at about 10 to 10.30 min. mile pace before I could go no further.
The weekends belong to the family so traditionally I have moved work outs around so the longer ones are during the week. For me the IM plan requires weekend work but I can still keep it shorter by swapping. Kids in school, spouse at work so 7am to 3pm is my time. Not bad. I know. Can you help me make the most of it?
Thanks in advance for your help.
+ Monday = Swim only
+ Tuesday = blah blah.
I am not really able to discern how you have set up your workouts thus far.
This past week
+Monday = 30 min. swim/45min. run
+Tues = 60 min. swim/60 min. bike
+Wed = 30 min. swim/ not feeling well with subsequent migraine
+Thurs = 2hr. run (9.14 miles)
+ Fri = 30 min. swim/120 min. bike
Looking ahead to this next week per the beginner IM plan wk6
+ Sun = 120 min. bike
+ Mon = 60 min. swim/45 min run
+ Tues = 70min. bike/25 min. run
+ Wed = 120 min. bike
+ Thurs = long run outside (13.1 miles? or more)
+ Fri = 150 min. bike/35 min. run
+ Sat = 60 min. swim
What I generally did for the outseason was not rest Monday but move the work outs so that they were Mon. Tues. Wed. Rest Thursday, Saturday's long bike or brick on Friday. Take Saturday off and Sunday do the Sunday work out.
I am happy to report that on Sunday I did 150 min bike then 35 min. run. This was huge for me. Felt very accomplished which in turn helped me feel motivated to keep working. I have maintained the work as directed. My mantra for this week #workworks.
Let's keep run / walking the long run...curious to know if there's an exertion level (certain Heart Rate?) that can trigger the migraine?
1) We need to rest it, so no running right now. You can cycle and swim, but no running.
2) We need to make sure your running shoes aren't part of the problem. Do they rub on the bruise? Put them on, mark the back/top of the heel cup..and then see where that lies in relation to your discomfort...you might need some different sneaks for the interim.
3) When you are home can you get in to see someone here, like a PT? Would be nice to get an opinion of what's going on.
4) www.athletestreatingathletes.com -- you might need to work on foam rolling and doing some trigger point on the AT...I am guessing there are some adhesions in there due to the trauma / time off...so some good loosening up sessions might do the trick.
Please keep me posted....
Since Thursday I iced it, rolled my legs and took Motrin. Today and Saturday I was in the pool. I am going to show up for the marathon and see how it goes; no expectations would like to participate but don't want to wash out my chance at IM. Currently I have no pain. Feels good but am still treating it with respect.
I do have a new pair of shoes that I have used for a few of my shorter runs on the treadmill. Wednesday I wore them and felt fine, Thursday I wore the old ones. It may be a factor. I plan to use the new shoes from now on.
Adhesions sound bad. Unfortunately, I won't be home long enough to see a PT. Will keep you informed.
FYI. WK15 RR#1 I should be here in Africa with access to my treadmill and trainer; however, it is also in the middle of Nigerian presidential elections and all hell could break loose. We are leaving the end of Wk13 training to go on spring break. We may not be allowed back in the country at the end of wk14 training if the social structure implodes while we are away. That is REALY my biggest fear. Can I make it work? Sure, what choice do I have? We may end up returning to the states in which case I would be in The Woodlands and can ride my husbands try bike on the IM bike course. Or we may get stranded in South Africa. Who knows. Just wanted to let you know what is up.
So, the plan is to get & stay healthy and hope for Nigeria to hold it together for a few more months. NO Problem.
I am up and ready for this my first marathon. So excited and energized to do this. I pray that all goes well and I report back with a permagrin and finisher medal.
I thought about EN while running, mostly how do they do it? The nutrition went real good. It was 37 degrees upon start and 50 at finish around 11:30. So perfect temp for a long run vs. 89 to 95 heat and humidity. What a difference. A little rain that didn't last long but it was overcast and that worked for me. No migraine.
So I have a lot of take away lessons from this experience but overall I feel I have to work on loosing a few extra lbs. The suck would not have found me so early had I not been carrying around the extra weight. I am motivated to train, train, train if only to avoid the suck for that much longer. Achilles is sore, but honestly during the run it only bothered me a little; no more than the other aches and pains I was experiencing. Learned there is a PT in Lagos I can go see so I will call him next week.
I have a question...don't have the 4 keys DVD. Can't get it sent but is it online somewhere? I can try to have another expat mule it to me in their luggage if need be.
I have been wanting to share pics of Lagos life but don't know where they would be appropriate. Also, don't have any EN gear for the pics, yet, so it kind of doesn't make sense.
Time to get to work.