Low thyroid and exercise

klobins

I have a low thyroid and take medication. I love running but need recovery days between run days because my muscles and joints ache after a run. This has gotten better but slowly. I am 52 years old and would like to run a half marathon and lose 15 more pounds. Anyone have any advice about recovery foods or methods after a run. My longest run so far was 7 miles which wiped me out. I feel really tired after 5 miles. I ran in high school and college so I know I shouldn’t feel this tired. I have been on my meds for 3 months now.

rheddmobile

You're 52! What you know about how you felt in college doesn't apply. Fifty year old runners are much different creatures than teenagers. If you haven't run in decades, building up endurance is going to take a while. You also probably need to slow down from what you think you should be able to do. Most of your miles should be at a pace which allows you to talk.

If your meds are correctly adjusted your thyroid shouldn't affect your running. It's normal for beginning runners to need recovery days. Try yoga and foam rolling on your recovery days. As far as food, make sure you're fueling for your runs with adequate carbs, and enough protein to rebuild muscles after.

spiriteagle99

I started running at age 54. I have low thyroid, but it is under control with meds. It hasn't made any difference, as far as I can tell. I am now 62 and about to start training for my 5th marathon. As stated above, it will take some time for you to build your endurance again. Build your base gradually, keep your paces easy until you are running 20+ mpw, and you should be able to train for a HM.

OTOH, you shouldn't feel completely wiped out, unless you are pushing your body to do too much too soon. Have you had your iron/ferritin tested? What about things like exposure to Lyme, West Nile, etc.? There may be more going on than just low thyroid.

FL_Hiker

Yes unfortunately I don't think it is your thyroid, but perhaps your age. I have hashimotos hypothyroidism and I'm in my 20's, it doesn't effect me very much when i'm on my medication. You may just have to slow down your running a bit and take a little bit more time than you used to with your program especially if it has been many years since you ran. Going from no exercise to running 7 miles is a huge jump for anyone at any age.

joanthemom8

You are just like me. I am 52, have a low thyroid and take medicine. I run and I am trying to get ready for my first half-marathon in Decmeber. Yesterday I ran 7 miles and it was tough. I started running later in life (at 46) and although I'm doing better, it's slow progress and I ache quite a bit too. But, when I do cross-training (eliptical, strength training and stretching), it does help quite a bit . I'm going to send you a friend request, because we seem so much alike, lol.

Musikelektronik

I'm 50 and have hypothyroidism, which is well controlled on medication. Being 50 and working out is tough whether you have a low-functioning thyroid or not. Being tired is normal! I'm not a runner, but I did run cross-country and track in high school. Based on that experience, I'd say if you can run 7 miles, you're doing pretty well, all things considered.

MikePfirrman

Perhaps consider an Air Bike or rowing. Even though running if your first choice, I know a lot of runners, bikers and even Triathletes that train quite a bit either swimming or on a Rowing Machine or AirBike for more time doing cardio with less pounding. It's still cardio (and quite effective). Even a stationary bike at a gym if you don't have access to the others (or Spinning classes) would work. Perhaps limit your time and work a half training plan but replace some of the long slow work with other cardio. I'd keep your tempo/fartlek runs running, not the other cardio methods. Long, slow cardio is long slow cardio.

While specificity is important, I'm knowing more and more people that hop off the Mountain Bike to the rower to running or road biking and do well adjusting to all of them because at the base of anything is your fitness level. Some do better Cross Training.

HIIT workouts are fantastic for metabolic functioning. I'd certainly implement that if you haven't already. My wife is 57, has low thyroid and Fibromyalgia. She does HIIT on an AirBike (Assault Bike) 2 times a week or so.

AnnPT77

klobins wrote: »

I have a low thyroid and take medication. I love running but need recovery days between run days because my muscles and joints ache after a run. This has gotten better but slowly. I am 52 years old and would like to run a half marathon and lose 15 more pounds. Anyone have any advice about recovery foods or methods after a run. My longest run so far was 7 miles which wiped me out. I feel really tired after 5 miles. I ran in high school and college so I know I shouldn’t feel this tired. I have been on my meds for 3 months now.

I'm 62, hypothyroid (pretty severely, but well-controlled with meds), and quite active (rowing, on-water when possible).

If you've just been getting back into exercise in that same 3-months-ish time period, it's worth noting that IME I build fitness a little slower with age. It still happens; it's just a bit longer on-ramp, and adequate recovery along the way is much more important than when I was younger.

I think you can achieve your goals. If the running is relatively new, focus first on building aerobic base and endurance (which means running slower for relatively longer time periods at first - pushing for speed is more tiring). After a few months, starting to increase frequency, gradually, can make sense; and it will be good to start mixing in some shorter speed work if it isn't too tiring, starting with no more than once a week. Recovery time is still and always vital.

Initially, regular recovery is important - when I started rowing in my mid-40s, every other day for serious exercise was a good plan. As that got easier, I increased frequency and started mixing in more intensity. These days, I do better if I mix up my activities a bit. Some of the cardiovascular fitness and endurance from other activities will help with your running, even if it doesn't achieve as much as sport-specific training. Mixing it up can be more aging-body-friendly, IME. (In season, I row M-W-F-Sa, spin on Tu-Th, and throw in some random walking and biking. I pretty much always take one real rest day a week, which can include low-intensity activity like walking or casual biking.)

Nutritionally, just get adequate nutrition. For an active person in a calorie deficit, I favor 0.6-0.8g minimum protein daily per pound of healthy goal weight (equates to roughly 0.8-1g per pound of lean body mass), 0.35-0.45g fats (a big chunk of them MUFA/PUFA), 5-10+ daily servings of fruits and veggies for micros and fiber, and adequate fluids.

Stretching after workouts, foam rolling, icing things that hurt, Epsom salts (or even just warm water) soak can help to ease discomfort from workouts.

You mention being medicated for hypothyroidism for 3 months: Have you had repeated blood tests and have your thyroid hormone levels stabilized? It's normal to go through a period of re-tests and possibly dosage changes for a few months. If your doctor hasn't retested you since prescribing, I'd worry about that. If you're still in the process of finding the correct dosage, still being a little symptomatic would sadly be normal. It can take a while on the correct dosage for everything to turn around - this is a slow process, unfortunately. Body aches and stiffness were among my first signs that I was hypothyroid. I did find that regular daily yoga and stretching helped along the way, especially first thing in the AM because I would wake up stiff.

I agree with others about making sure that your levels of iron and other nutritional markers (vitamin D especially if you live in the North, B vitamins especially if you're vegetarian, etc.) - talk to your doctor.