I spent the entire weekend in recovery mode. And as Samarah would say…..”it was quite lovely.”
In Friday’s blog post, I mentioned, “The truth is that this week has been a struggle finding the energy to do anything.” But the real truth is that it started about 2 weeks before the See Jane Run Half Marathon. My enthusiasm for training started to fade, and I thought I was simply feeling burned out from running. Each day I wanted to run, but I physically felt tired so I translated that to burn out.
The race came, I PR’d, but if you read the post, you know that it felt awfully hard to do so.
Two days later, that Tuesday, my stomach reared its number one sign of SIBO, and every single day last week, I felt like a dead weight. I could sleep 8-10 hours and never feel rested.
I ran on Wednesday, and then when I could not recover for days, decided I needed, at the very least, a short period of recovery.
Recovery
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SIBO is a funny (and awful) thing. I had been doing so well. In fact, I still stand by every single thing I’m doing to heal it. My supplement tool box is killer, and I know the way to keep on healing without feeling like this.
The problem? SIBO and intense training do not work well together. I have fought this like h@#$ since I was first diagnosed. I believe it’s my only missing link to fully healing. And yet, I will not lie to you – I am simply not willing to give up working out and training altogether. And the reason is that I know that I can feel well and train. The only catch is that I can only do it for so long before it catches up to me and I am forced into a period of recovery.
I have been training hard since January. 5 months in, and I just need a little time to relax, recoup, regroup, and recover.
If you have SIBO, and have noticed this pattern, you might also need a recovery period. Take what you want from it for your own recovery, but this is what mine looks like.
- Cut the probiotic. As soon as I think the overgrowth might be coming back, I cut the probiotic. This is temporary.
- Ensure the B12. I believe in my B12, and I am grateful for the quality one my doctor recommended. However, I started noticing a link between the B12 and any acne flares. This is a real thing. Read ‘The Acne and B12 Link.’ So for a while, I stopped taking it. I quickly added it back in this week. I need all the energy possible right now, even if it flares any acne.
- Low-ish-FODMAP. We went to ice cream on Saturday because my soul wanted it (which trumps any “diet”!), and that is far from low-FODMAP, so I paid the price. But starting yesterday, I’ll spend at least a couple weeks low-ish-FODMAP (and also low sugar, per this post last night). (Note: I did not say no FODMAP. I no longer believe in that approach.)
- Vital Adapt. I haven’t talked about this supplement, but it’s one that I’ve taken off and on for quite some time now. Right now, during recovery, I need it. It helps improve energy and stress protection.
- 3 vs. 2 caps Atrantil, 3 x’s per day.
- 5 vs. 4 caps HCL, with all protein heavy meals.
- 15-20 (maybe not even that many) vs. 30+ miles of running per week. My next race is the San Francisco Half Marathon on July 23, 2017. I am running this race with NUUN Hydration and signed up for the second half of the race because it’s a flatter course. I figured I could possibly shave off more seconds from my current PR. In no way, shape, or form am I going to attempt that anymore. My goal is to stay around a slower 9-minute pace for the race. The goal is to enjoy all the beauty that is Golden Gate Park for the race. And truth be told, I’m kind of excited for it:)
- Sleep. Just keep sleeping those 8-10 hours a night.
I would guess that within just a couple weeks I’ll be feeling much better. In fact, after just a few days of this, I’m already feeling so much better. I started waking up again without an alarm, about 8 hours into sleep, and yesterday I had zero issues, feeling phenomenal!
When Mommy Spoonie circumstances come about, I don’t let those current circumstances dictate any future plans or prohibit me from doing anything in life.
I could choose to let a minor setback defeat me, but instead, I choose to just go hard in rectifying the situation before it gets out of control so that I can move upward and onward as soon as possible.
I have my eyes on feeling well by July or August so I can start Tina Muir’s 16-week Half Marathon Training Program. I don’t need to hope for this or cross my fingers that it will happen because I know, without a doubt, I’ll be ready!
But first…..some recovery.
Xox,
SKH
You will heal. I will help.
I really really enjoy reading about you healing your SIBO (and continuing to keep your body SIBO-free)! I haven’t come across any other bloggers documenting their journey quite like you are, and I totally appreciate hearing your story and updates. It can feel like a really lonely, burdensome process (and is really isolating), so thank you for sharing your story and helping those of us, like me, feel not so alone. ????????
It’s great that you are able to listen to your body and know when exercise (and perhaps a certain food(s) is too much at a particular time. ????
I would love to hear your thoughts on whether or not you agree with the train of thought that “food cycling” is important in keeping food sensitivities/allergies/SIBO away (ie. alternating foods and not eating the same thing every day – I’m somewhat guilty of falling into eating patterns). I think with SIBO, it’s easy to fall into the trap of eating the same foods, because they are foods you KNOW you can eat that don’t trigger bloat, constipation etc. It’s hard to eat in a diverse manner with SIBO.. (at least with my current case of SIBO). Thanks for the AMAZING blog SKH!!!!
Hi, Kylah!
First….can I just say that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your name and its spelling! So pretty:)
Second….I feel so grateful that I have been able to keep the beast that is SIBO away. I did go through 3 (I think 3) rounds of antibiotics, and I will not shy away from the fact that that really helped. But I also believe that I figured out the balance of lifestyle, food, and supplements, which is critical.
Third….re. food cycling. I do believe that eating the same things over and over is *NOT* ideal or optimal. I understand the rut. I get that it can feel better in the short term if you stick to the same things. And honestly, on the whole, I eat many of the same things, HOWEVER, I am constantly rotating now (except for some staples) and adding things every single chance I get. I’m not longer afraid of FODMAP foods and I remain low-ISH not no-ISH. I’m happy to write a whole post on this if you’d like. Just let me know any other specific questions around it.
Xox
Yes! I would love to read a post on that topic. Also, I would love to hear your thoughts about whether or not you were eating some carbs and/or starches while you were on your antibiotics/herbs. I’ve worked with a handful of ND’s, and each has a slightly different vision of what the SIBO diet should look like. I’ve eaten all of the carbs during antibiotics (to help bring the buggers out hiding), and I’ve also eaten 0. Would love to hear your thoughts about diet during the “antibiotic/herbal treatment” phase. Thank you!!