My injuries are lingering on, and I think I may know why. Vitamin D deficiency. Anyway, when I went to the doctor with my shins, he took X-rays and got my Vitamin D checked. The X-rays looked fine, but my Vitamin D turned out to be low. It was 17 ng/mL, where 30 ng/mL is standard.
Some internet research tells me that vitamin D is essential for the absorption of Calcium which is important for bone health. It is also crucial for muscular strength. If you have an appetite for medical jargon, you can read this article.
I have a supplement that I am taking and also spending more time in the sun over my lunch hour. As you may know, the best way to get vitamin D is by exposing your skin to direct sunlight. You cannot sit behind a window pane since the UV rays that you need gets filtered out by glass. The sun has to be high enough in the sky so that there is a minimum filtering effect by the atmosphere. Needless to say, you should not wear sunscreen. In about half the time before you start burning, your skin will synthesize the maximum amount of vitamin D it can. The lighter your skin, the faster it will work. If you can get your vitamin D this way, it is the best. Oily fish, liver, cheese and egg yolks contain small amounts of vitamin D, and some food like cereals are fortified with it.
I ran 20k this morning and struggled through ITB pain in my left knee and runner’s knee on the right-hand side. I felt some pain in my left hip and my left groin as well. Then, the right shin started acting up around 14k. This is the same pain that almost crippled me during and after the Great Run of Punjab. What a mess.
As I ran, I was thinking about these things. 1) This is not fun. 2) God knows what is best for me and I am in His hands. 3) I may have to implement my cross-training plan which consists mostly of cycling.
I am also stretching and massaging and hoping that I will be ready for the Mumbai marathon on 20 January.
Keep running
Stephan
P.S. Please support the organization that I am supporting during the Mumbai marathon. Purnata is doing fantastic work to prevent one of the most pervasive evils in our society, human trafficking. Please support my fundraiser here. I put down Rs. 10000, but so far that is all that is there. Even Rs. 500 will help.
Running with a Friend 