Another Failed Month

I am not sure what the HELL is going on this year.  It is just one thing after another.  January was a kick ass month and I have been on a downward spiral since.  February was a disaster which you can read about here and here.

I set some goals for March thinking that it would help me get back on track only to fail at 3 out of 4 of them.  They were:

1.  Get back to normal training with a goal of ~250 miles and ~40K of vertical this month. -- Came close considering how many days I took off.  Just under 32K.

2.  Hit the weight room at least 2 times a week.-- FAIL

3. Do one 14er.-- FAIL

4.  Do at least one shorter race (5K or so) to get a measurement of fitness. -- Complete! RMRR 5K.

Anyways here are the numbers for March (click on the photo to enlarge):

As you can see I missed 9 days last month with 8 of them being in a row and the 31st due to Easter (family day).

What happened???
Low Pressure Headaches that made it so I could not even get out of bed without puking and falling over.   I could not even go to my desk job.

What is a Low Pressure Headache?
I just tell people my brain was leaking but really it is,  "Low CSF Pressure Headache is caused by an internal spinal fluid leak and may range from obvious and disabling to subtle and nagging. The brain normally sits inside a “bag” filled with spinal fluid which extends down from the skull into the spine. The “bag” consists of membranes called the meninges (as in meningitis). The fluid helps to circulate waste products out of the brain and provides cushioning and support. When the pressure of this fluid is too low – typically when there is a small leak somewhere in the meninges – the brain may “sag” downward when the patient is upright, stretching the meninges and nerves lining the brain and causing pain."

So moving forward for April I need to re-look at what my approach has been this year.  I started the year with the thought that I was going to add Crossfit into my running thinking that the added strength would do me good not just in the longer races/runs but in life in general.  I think this was just to much to recover from day to day with all the high intensity weight lifting plus running plus all the life stress in general which is why my body has been breaking down so much the past 2 months.  I really really did enjoy the Crossfit workouts and what not but they did take their toll.  My experiment has failed so it is time for a new approach.  With that said I cancelled my membership to the Crossfit gym as of the 1st of April and decided to start lifting at the rec center solo where I can do the same type of workouts in a less intense and controlled environment.  I still my do a drop in class every now and again, especially when the workout has 400 or 800 runs in it.  So with that said here are my goals for April.  Pretty much the same as March to get going again.

1.  Get back to normal training with a goal of ~250 miles and ~40K of vertical this month.
2.  Hit the weight room at least 2 times a week.
3.  Do one 14er.
4.  Do at least one race of any distance.
5.  At least 2- 20 mile runs this month.
6.  2-3 weekly afternoon walk breaks at work. 1-3 miles each depending on my workload that day.

Here's a great article that I came across this morning about How Athletes Can Avoid Burnout.  How well timed was that article for me?

I am also pondering on going back to getting a coach again to reel me in a little or if I should just go back to the way I was training back in 2010.  Not sure what I want to do.

Here's to a better and healthier April!