Food is Necessary

I typically don’t have a problem with eating. I like food.

But in the last three or four weeks, I have had a problem. I can’t eat. I’m not hungry.

I have been sick with stomach issues that made it nearly impossible to eat, and now a nasty cold, which makes it hard to eat and breathe at the same time, but this started even before that.

I don’t know why, but I haven’t had an appetite at all. And when I don’t have an appetite, I don’t get hungry for anything in particular, and when I am not hungry for anything in particular, I don’t cook. And thus I don’t eat.

Which wasn’t too big of a problem last week when my stomach was hurting and would hurt worse anytime I ate because I wasn’t running.

But this week, I started running again since in less than a month I will be doing 39.3 miles in two days.

Tuesday wasn’t too bad, I made it through our 8 yassos (800 meters – 8 times – fast) without any issues.

Wednesday I ran the slowest 7 mile run I think I have ever run. My legs felt like lead. I had no energy.

Thursday I could barely make it up the four hills and run to the Annex and back.

It was at that point that I realized what I knew but had never experienced to this extent. If I am going to run, I have to eat. Apparently a protein shake, 1/4 cup of almonds, and a small plate of Orange-Scented Broccoli the day before isn’t enough to fuel a run.

But the problem comes when I try to eat and can’t. And I have a 14-mile run coming up on Sunday, so I am concerned about it. Can I do it? Can I make myself eat?

I really became aware of how much of an issue this is as I made three kinds of cookies last night. Typically I would constantly be snacking on the cookies as we decorate them. But I didn’t. I had a couple, but even then it was more of a taste-testing to make sure they turned out the way I like them rather than I want a cookie kind of feeling.

I am not sure what is going on with my body, but I need to figure it out so I can at least get enough fuel to finish out these last few weeks of training and for the race. Because I haven’t trained this hard and this long to fail here at the end.

Have any of you that are runners ever had an issue like this? If so, how did you get through it?