The Mezamashii Run Project is an effort by Mizuno to help create a more euphoric running experience — a more “brilliant” run — for more runners everywhere. The word “mezamashii” means “eye-opening” or “brilliant” in Japanese — it’s a word that captures the euphoric feeling of a brilliant run. In the last few weeks I’ve been fortunate to be apart of a Mezamashii Run Project fun run in Boulder, Colorado and Eugene, Oregon. During these events, I’ve been fortunate to meet hundreds of fellow runners who have had brilliant runs coming back from injury, obesity, sickness, marathons, ultra-marathons, mountain & trail races, middle distance track events, and triathalons. Each and every runner has a story of that first brilliant run when they became hooked on the runner’s high. After that first euphoric experience, the search continues, usually in the form of pounding the pavement or as famous author John Parker says in the book Once a Runner, “The Miles of Trials, Trials of Miles.”
Wednesday Night fun run at the Boulder Running Company. Yes, that's me tebowing with fellow Mizuno athlete Kristen Fryburg.
The second brilliant run doesn’t come as easily. More miles and tougher training eventually results in another brilliant run. At this point, you’re hooked and never turning back. What does happen in the meantime are rough patches, injuries, and plateaus that cause you to question yourself, your toughness, your dedication, and your talent. When you break out of the funk – the next brilliant run is unbelievable. After an incredible last summer and fall of racing, capped off with my best brilliant run to date at the Kauai Marathon in 2011, I’ve struggled.
A brilliant moment captured on video and on picture. Moments before crossing the finish line with my first marathon win and course record!
I DNF’d at mile 23 of the 2011 Chicago Marathon after struggling with strep throat for two weeks. After brief time off, I came back ripping workouts and mileage…notching as many as 130 miles at altitude in one week. The next thing I knew was fatigue, and a lot of it. I tried to cut back with no avail and finished with a poor 2:19:57 showing at the Olympic Trials. Clearly over-training was a root cause, but what is a highly motivated athlete to do? As the saying goes, “only those who risk to go to far can find out how far they can go.”
Training hard, albeit too hard, on the dirt roads outside Boulder before the Olympic Trials.
The winter and spring was much of the same with a continued feeling of fatigue. Recovery wasn’t the same and although I had some good workouts and a few good races, I was far from feeling the way I felt in August and September of the previous year. After two poor showings at the USA 25k and Bay to Breaker’s Centipede sponsored by LinkedIn, I decided to take two weeks off. I questioned what was wrong, why I wasn’t sleeping well and feeling off. I never hit over 90 miles a week in all spring and yet continued to feel fatigued. I took the time to get away from the sport and enjoy a new passion – fly fishing and camping – in the Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, and along the Bighorn River in Montana.
Fresh trout cooked in a cast iron skillet over a campfire in Montana with a bunch of friends. The mind far from putting in the miles of trials, trials of miles.
I drove back to Colorado ready to train. However my body still didn’t feel right. After another round of blood tests we figured out I had a case of hypothyroidism. My mom and her brother’s all have thyroid issues and I theorize that by over-training I set off a hereditary pre-condition of hypothyroidism. Google searching will show a lot of endurance athletes have struggled with similar thyroid issues. Fast forward 3.5 weeks of medication and I’m back running 100 miles this week – after the workout later today. My energy is back. My enthusiasm is back. Most importantly, my passion and love for the sport is better than ever before. In a decade of running, high school, college, and post-collegiate I have never had an “injury” yet. As a high school football coach told me, “the greatest test of a man’s character is in the line of adversity.”
This past weekend I’ve had that Mezamashii feeling again. Trent Briney and I, as well as a bunch of other people, traveled to camp at the Southwest edge of Rocky Mountain National Park. On a 2.5 hour run along the continental divide trail we stumbled upon a moose grazing through a field, the first time in my life I’ve seen the 1,000 lbs animal. A few minutes later we see a bald eagle in a tree looking for his next prey. Bounding over rocks, hurdling down trees and listening to nature without even hearing the sound of my Mizuno Wave Precision shoes touching the soft dirt and pine needle trail. The feeling? Euphoric.
Trent and I about to make breakfast after running between 8400ft and 9900ft altitude in Rocky Mountain National Park.
The next day we do this run along the East Inlet Trail from 8400ft to 9900ft to a gem of a lake called Lone Pine Lake. I find myself carried away hammering up the steep inclines listening to the increasing sound of my breath. At the top I’m already in the brilliant run category, taking the time to enjoy the birds singing and the Green Cutthroat Trout snatching flies off the top of the water. On the way back down we are stopped in our tracks by two moose coming up the trail. Moose definitely have the right of way, so Trent and I scale a few rocks along a cliff. The moose walk by a few yards under our dangling feet. We hop off the rock ledge and continue to float down the trail with that euphoric feeling of, “did that really just happen?”
Moose blocking the trail in Rocky Mountain National Park.
The lesson learned: there are many ways to achieve the Mezamashii run. Sometimes you turn the corner on a trail run and it’s an unexpected brilliant stroke of mother nature. Other times you’ve trained diligently for a race and you crush your goals. Another brilliant run might come after struggling for days, weeks or months.
Mizuno’s A Brilliant Run Promo Video
I’m back training hard and following my dreams. I never stopped believing in what I can achieve and neither should you. Keep following your passion and achieve that brilliant run – and when you do – share it with the running community. I’ve been fortunate at these Mizuno sponsored events to meet some incredible people who’ve overcome much tougher adversity than me to achieve a brilliant run. Go out of your comfort zone and go after your dreams. I’ll be pursuing my dreams with relentless dedication over the next hours, days, months, and years and I’ll be sharing those ups and downs right here on this blog. Thank you Mizuno Running for putting the shoes on my feet & clothes on my back to go after my goals.
Happy Trails,
Tyler
Mizuno Shoes at Boulder Running Company Event
I can relate to your story as my running as not has been as brilliant as I would have liked do far in 2012. Thanks for some inspiration.
Tyler, I’m curious as to whether they thought you would ever be able to get off of the thyroid medication. I ran D1 cross country and track and had a similar experience in which my TSH was very high and I had similar symptoms to you, so I went on synthroid. I’m still on it, but would like to eventually wean off of it if possible. I also know that Adam Goucher and Galen Rupp were at least on synthroid at one time, and I would like to know if they are still on it or have since gone off the medication. Endocrinology is fascinating, and I would love to hear your thoughts and insight. I’m a big fan of yours, keep up the good work, and I trust that you will be rejuvenated now that your thyroid is under control.
Josh
Billy-
Thank you for the kind words. Trust and believe in yourself. When you do come back to where you want your running to be it will be rewarding beyond words on a blog.
Josh-
Great question. Here is my theory on the subject. When I was over-training both my testosterone and thyroid were low. I was fortunate to have an excellent doctor at the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine who understood that this was a disruption in the hypothalmic-pituatary axis. Basically my body was staying in a high stress state. When I was tested again after significant time off my testosterone had bounced back but the thyroid levels had not. There’s some evidence that shows it can take the thyroid longer to recover, but it hadn’t recovered at all from my previous level. Thus, the theory that over-training set off the hereditary condition I had. Most people develop thyroid and adrenal symptoms in the age range of 25-30, so at the age of 25 this makes sense. Basically there are 2 cases – hereditary possibly resulting from over-training syndrome vs temporary over-training syndrome. I would assume that my case is more hereditary and I’ll never go off of medication, but maybe it will return to homeostasis on it’s own. Does that make sense? Endocrinology may be fascinating, but it’s also the most complex part of the body. Thanks for the kind words and reading my blog. I hope I’m able to help you in some capacity!
-Tyler
Hey Guys,
my wife has hypothyroidism- it’s hereditary for her as well. She’s been on medication for it since she was 8 and always will be. Her levels do change and her medication has to be adjusted with it. This seems to happen every couple years. So, make sure that you’re going to yearly appointments to get your levels checked. And, if you’re ever feeling “off” for a couple weeks, it may be time to get them checked as well.
As for running, I had an awesome season (for me!!) last year- a 3rd OA in a trail race and several AG awards (40-45/49) in road races 5-15k. But my biggest accomplishments were my first two ultra marathons! I was hoping to bump up to a 50 miler this year, but I over did it with the mileage build up for the ultras and ended up partially tearing my adductor (about 40-50% was the estimate) in the late fall. I started coming back and felt great so, of course, I started building back up- but too soon and aggravated the injury. So? No races for me this year (even though I probably could, but at a non race pace- but I don’t trust myself to hold back in a race). It’s all building base and strengthening my core for the rest of the year!
Good luck to all of you and have a Mezamashii run
Erik,
Thank you so much for the reply and sharing your experience. I am getting re-tested in 8 weeks from when I first started medication. My mom had half of her thyroid removed when she was my age and has been on medication ever since. Once they figured out the right dosage, hers has not changed in over 20 years. They did an ultrasound a few years ago and the doctor couldn’t “find” the other half of her thyroid. The doctor assumed that the medication was keeping her hormones normal so the part that wasn’t operated ended up atrophying. It’s an extremely complicated organ/process – and how it relates to distance running/over-training is a whole other complication!
Erik – I’m so glad that you had a few brilliant runs earlier this year. Those races will propel you past your current adversity. I highly recommend putting your medals, pictures of the race, and other reminders in a place you can see. I have a college of photos from the Kauai Marathon on my wall and regularly look at them and remember the hard work does make dreams come true. You ran brilliantly to finish top in your age group in a very competitive age (if you look at age-graded results that is always a tough age!). Your ultras are outstanding too. I grinded out 22 miles today and could not image something over 26.2! Cheers to you!
-Tyler
Tyler, when you say you had low levels of thyroid do you know what your levels of TSH and Free T4 were. And was your T3 tested too? Also, did you ever know anything about your cortisol levels? I’m struggling with some of same symptoms (mainly bad races and overall feeling of fatigue, workouts go alright though) and am trying to figure out what is wrong.