Bleaaaaargh.

Well, that didn't go well.

Friday morning I woke up feeling really weird. Woozy, spacy, dizzy, out of it. I needed to run that day. My typical routine is to down a cup of tea and head out a half-hour later. Nothing else, really...my late-night snacking typically gave me enough fuel to run on. But it was obvious that wasn't going to work this time. I whipped up some scrambled eggs with veggies and grody low-fat cheese like a good South Beach dieter, waited a couple of hours, and then went to the rec center to run on the track. I needed to do 2.5 miles and found it easier to measure the length on the track.

Well, as soon as I started running I knew it wasn't going to go well. I felt like I was running underwater, like I had weights around my ankles. And my heart-rate was crazy. I could feel my heart pounding just when I was doing my warm-up walk. I think all in all I managed to run a mile total, with lots of walking interspersed.

I got home and told Jeff what happened and weighed my options. Obviously I needed a bit more fuel earlier in the days I was going to run. Did I need actual carbs? Should I break the diet on run mornings, and have a piece of toast with peanut butter or something?

In the back of my mind, I was worried this wasn't related to the diet, although it seems to timely not to be. I was secretly concerned it was my thyroid acting up again, because the symptoms were quite similar. Plus, I've been having some of the other symptoms lately: aching joints, difficultly falling/staying asleep particulary.

I decided to give it another try. Saturday morning I was more proactive. When I was up at 5 a.m. feeding Sam, I had a snack before going back to bed. I felt a little better when woke up. I ate breakfast, sticking to the diet but not holding back on portion, and waited a few hours. This time I mapped out a route in the neighborhood.

Same story as before. Same sensation, and about the same results. I ran almost a mile before giving up and walking. I kept trying to run again but just couldn't.

I have a 5k scheduled in two weeks. Right now I can barely manage a mile. What to do?

I am sticking with South Beach (the first phase) through this Friday. This isn't the full two weeks suggested by the program, but I'm pleased enough with the results I've seen so far (my belly is noticeably diminished) to cut it a bit short. During that time period, I'll keep trying to run, and I'll run as much as I can. Hopefully after Friday, when I add some carbs back into my diet, I'll see a return of some energy too. If not...well, perhaps the pressure of the crowd at the race will motivate me past my leaden feet?