Falling Asleep

Falling asleep has been difficult for the past year. I like being in bed I just can't sleep.  And I should note:  It's a King-sized bed!

I know I have trouble falling asleep and getting a good night's sleep because my Fitbit reports that every morning. And I check it every morning!  Hmmm...that could be part of the problem.

I get up super early.  Some mornings on the weekend, I'm up as the parties are winding down.  I've hear a few party-goers chuckle as they see my running by.  And by super early I mean 3:30 am!  

The morning routine is pretty rigid every day including weekends:  I make the bed, brew coffee, read before taking Milo out around 4:15 am.  We walk for about 20 minutes and he does all his business.  I think he likes it because he trots along at a brisk clip.  He may be doing that to get back inside quickly.  Once back inside he marches back into his crate and curls up.

I head out around 4:45 am for my morning run.  My goal is around 45 minutes and most mornings I get through that comfortably.  I've give up raw speed and rest days to keep up the consecutive day streak...now over 1,600 days.  

After showering and breakfast, I spend a few minutes on the computer before heading out to drop Milo off for the day.  The weekends are a little bit different:  Saturday I head out for my Big Breakfast cheat meal (Eggs, bacon, toast, hash browns) and on Sunday its Church.

As you may imagine by mid-afternoon I'm pooched!  A Coke Zero caffeine hit is necessary to get to the end of the work day.

Once home, the trouble begins.  Milo and I like watching TV.  Again, I believe he likes it because he curls up on his special fluffy blanked on the sofa beside me.  I usually make it 45 minutes before nodding off.  Around 8 pm I stumble out with Milo for his last outing before heading back in for the evening.

I read, write and listen to music for about 45 minutes before turning in for the evening.  And that's the challenge:  I don't fall asleep quickly and then once asleep, I wake frequently throughout the night.  

I've tried everything:  Over-the-counter sleep aids (don't like them...they leave me groggy in the morning); Melatonin (How many are too many?); Meditation; Hot showers; warm milk (Ugh).  Nothing seems to work.  I've heard CBD works but I've not tried that yet.

I know, I know...the early evening napping probably has something to do with this.  And certainly the stress of the past year still plays heavily on my mind.  I've pretty much resigned myself to this being my normal.  It's really quiet at 3:30 am and I've read some really good books over the past year.

Falling asleep...may not be a problem at all.

Until next time...

Sleep Apnea: Not so good for Running

Sleep Apnea.  Undiagnosed during regular checkups and invisible to blood tests seems to be the root cause of the deterioration in my running performance.  That's the latest theory anyway and we're back to some intensive testing.  Whew!  Or should that be 'Yippee!'

I met with the 'Sleep Doctor' last week.  That's not his primary specialty however after he reviewed all the test results over the past 9 months, his diagnosis was that sleep apenea was the root cause for the sudden deterioration I experienced last year in my running performance.  

It turns out that I have a pretty severe case of sleep apnea.  I'll spare you the details of physiology that led to this but surfice to say the results of the overnight sleep test indicate that I briefly stop breathing 30 times each hour.  This is exhausting to say the least and his diagnosis is that it has affected my running performance most directly.  Put another way, if I wasn't a runner and noticed the sudden drop, the condition would have continued un-noticed.  I'm looking at the full CPAP sleeping aparatus by this fall but first...another test!

Mid August I heading to another overnight sleep clinic for a CPAP test.  I'll be hooked up to monitors and sleep with the apparatus attached.  This is to help calibrate the pressure of the oxygen in the pump and evaluate what type of mask works best.  I've been hooked up once before so although un-natural, I'll be able to sleep.  Contacts, wires mask et al.

Once through all this the Sleep Doctor feels that once I get back to being able to actually rest when I'm sleeping, I'll be able to reverse the oxygen processing that has declined. Not back to mid-30's levels of course;  I'd be happy to pre-September 2016 levels.  

So Larry, my Reggae Marathon running friend, you're still safe in the Reggae Marathon Challenge...for now!

Until next time...
ThatRunninGuy