thyroid

Found my thyroid results from 7/17/07 and my TSH was 0.811 (normal is 0.340-5.6). It's up to over 2 now, so that means my levels have gone down.

I haven't done a real good job of taking my medication every day; plus, I'm supposed to take 1.5-2 pills on Sunday and I've done that maybe five-10 times in the last year. I'm going to start doing that now and maybe I'll have a bit more energy.

My levels are still in the "normal range," which means I can function fine on a normal basis. My times have been slow this summer, but not horrendously slow, which they would be if I were way out of whack. I just haven't had much pep at all. So I think that although I'm in the "normal" range, I might not be at what's optimum for me or for high intensity athletic performance. It's easy to feel normal when you're sitting around, but when you start doing stuff at high intensity you notice more when things are a little off. I think a TSH over 2 is high for me. I don't recall having one that high in a long time. I wish I had records of this stuff.

This is the thing with running versus other sports. There are so many factors that influence your performance, and when every second counts that's a big deal. It's a lot easier in sports like basketball or football to have a "good game" even if you aren't feeling your best and maybe don't score as many points as you usually do. Scoring five fewer points in a basketball game is not a big deal compared to even running just thirty seconds slower in a 5k or two seconds slower in an 800.

Running is a sport that tests the physical limits of your body every competition, as opposed to just testing a skill, like shooting. It's a lot easier to shoot a basketball when you're sick than it is to run as hard as you possibly can for three miles.