lab results

I had my iron checked again to see if 4 months of iron tablets has been working. I've been slow the last couple weeks, and though I knew it was probably the technique change I thought I'd just get the iron checked again, as my coach suggested a recheck to be sure that it had improved.

Good news! My serum ferritin has increased from 20 in June to 78 now! My serum iron is 87 (range 40-175), and TIBC (iron binding capacity) is 384 (range 250-450; lower than in June, which is good - means my body isn't craving iron quite as much). I've been taking 4x65mg tablets daily, which seems to be doing the trick (2 in the morning and 2 at night).

So, that eliminates low iron as a cause of my recent slowdown, and pretty much lays the blame on the necessary technique changes. Hopefully a month or two of reduced volume will take care of that problem.

My hematocrit is still on the low end of normal, however. It's 36.1 (range 35-49), which is OK but not great for an endurance athlete. The iron tablets don't seem to have boosted it at all, sadly, and there isn't really much else to be done about it. Well, I suppose I could get a hysterectomy or undergo early menopause...yeah, right! Anyway, my hemoglobin was 12.3 (range 11.9-15.9) so it's also on the lower end of normal. Seriously, I'm glad to be normal and healthy, and now there is nothing left except good technique and good training. Good to know! Now let the hard work and fun of training continue.