Iron Deficiency In Runners

[Listen to an audio version of this blog HERE.]

I started running 15 years ago. I say that as if duration implies expertise, and to some extent, it does. But, when I began running I didn’t have a proper watch. I wore sneakers from Shopko. I didn’t have “running” clothes and I didn’t know anything about food, nutrition, or hydration. I learned as I went, from coaches, other athletes, magazines, and shoddy internet articles. I didn’t know what “rolling out” was until I went to a running camp at my future university when I was 18. I didn’t do yoga or cross train. My training plans consisted of hand-written training logs and early morning runs. It was unsophisticated or pure, depending on your level of cynicism.

The first time I even knew that iron was something to be aware of as a thing-that-could-impact-my-performance was at the end of my Freshman year of college. I’d had a really great year, earning All-Conference accolades and outpacing even my coaches’ expectations. However, by the time the end of the outdoor track season rolled around, I was dead tired. I’d been competing and training at a very high level for longer than I was accustomed to. The first year of college brings many changes and challenges, not the least of which was eating different food, sleeping poorly in loud college dorms, and adjusting to a heavier scholarly workload.