A new tack

I've figured out what my problem is, or at least part of it: endorphins.
I didn't run Monday or Tuesday--I was so sore, walking was enough. I did yoga and felt less sore enough to run yesterday. However, I decided to keep it short. I think, I hope it helped loosened me up, but it was still a pretty blah run. Today's run felt marginally better so I went for 25 minutes. And just past 20 min or so, I felt the discomfort melt away, as it sometimes does, though not usually that clearly. I felt like, hey, I could go for longer, see more things--that's a big reason why I run, to see stuff. But I was good and cut it short.

I guess that's been a big part of the problem--I've been trashing myself more than I realize. Most of my runs these past couple of weeks, once I got back into running, have been about 60 minutes. Usually it's no big deal to run that everyday, what with the absence of speedwork. And it's very tempting to stretch a run out when it suddenly gets better after twenty minutes of discomfort. What's the point of doing just the warm up and not the run afterwards which feels better? Unfortunately, I don't have a full tank of gas, and I sailed unaware into debt.

How to get out?

Don't run the same somewhat hilly hr+ route every day! duh!
Go back to the easy-hard principle, even though 'hard' is 'easy'.
Scrap any hopes of training for anything for the time being.

I'd thought about going back on a restriction diet--this wish was renewed when I noticed yesterday that the raw pain was gone and then I realized that the whole wheat mini-wheats I'm trying to eat for breakfast had slipped off the menu sometime before the weekend. I've been eating a bunch of fruits and vegetables, meat and gravy instead. No biggie, except that I'm supposedly going to get tested for gluten intolerance and/or celiac disease, which means I have to consume the stuff so that they can see the damage. I'm raring to get those tests underway because the wheat thing actually makes sense--how is that I can go to Asia and eat raw things and seaweed and hot pepper paste and feel great, and go to Texas and eat beans and hot chilis and so forth and feel great, and then I go to somewhere else where it's bland and bread all the time, and I fall apart? My husband and I pieced it together, and then I talked with my NP and went on that restriction diet and I actually felt normal and it felt so good.

But my consultation isn't until April! Wouldn't I have time to go on and off another restriction diet? Wouldn't that help diagnosis? But perhaps not as much as royally trashing my digestive system--get a good brew of antibodies cooking for several months. I'm crossing my fingers that my appointment will get bumped up, though. Meanwhile, I'm trying to look at the positive side: I'm in a technician certificate course which will end with a 2-week clinical in April, after which I will get a new better job--with new better intestines too, hopefully. That coinciding improvement and the anticipation will make my rebirth all the more satisfying and complete. It'll be a whole new chapter in my life. Perhaps.