Cal-EZ Blog

On October 11th, I will be heading to Chicago to participate in the Chicago Marathon. This will be my first Chicago marathon, and I am extremely excited. Chicago is flat and, therefore, a fast course. Plus, the marathon runs through the heart of the city. It will be an unforgettable experience.

Wow it has been a busy month! Almost exactly a month since my last blog. I had the grand opportunity to go to the Annual Hypoparathyroidism Conference in Minneapolis, MN in June! I got to see my second family. I feel so connected to everyone when I go to these conferences. I went over 20 years without knowing a single soul with this disease, so I felt very alone at times. The conference was a blast! I got to meet some new people that I had never met in person but talked to on the internet all the time. It is always nice to be able to put a face with a name in person! I won’t dive too much into the conference, but I highly recommend it if you can come next year as it will be in Jacksonville, FL! Bring your beach towels!

In my blog from last month, I talked about wanting to lose weight and really get on the bandwagon to eating healthier.

It’s May 19th, and June is just around the corner. I love the summer! I like training in the summers. It's hard and, yes, it’s HOT, but it is good for me. It always helps me prepare for what’s coming in the Fall/Winter. On a typical training week, I always start off my Monday mornings by getting up and getting on the scale and writing down my weight and resting heart rate. It is really difficult right now since I am not on the training bandwagon yet, because I am still having some small complications. 

Unfortunately, I am going to start the blog with sad news. I tried to get into Kona this season, and I did not make it through in the lottery. However, with this being said, it turns out to be a blessing. When you consider the setbacks that I have had this season so far with surgery complications, it is a better thing for me to not have that weight on my shoulders to have to complete a full Ironman this season. That does not mean that I will not do an Ironman in the future. I will get to Kona; the question is when will I get there? I haven’t given up on my season yet. I hope I can do a Half Ironman this season, still I presume it will be in the late fall. If the timing is not good the plan will be to do several smaller races, and I will train throughout the winter of this year and prepare to do any early spring race next season. I might try to do Ironman 70.3 in Austin one more time, since it is in November and that allows me plenty of time to train.

Wow, life has been crazy since my last blog post. It seems like the saying, “when it rains it pours” is very applicable. Every time things started to settle down, something else reared its ugly head and demanded my attention. Needless to say my fitness goals continued to be less of a priority. Sometimes it just has to be that way.

That being said, I did run a 5k race, and although it was not a personal record (PR), it still was a great opportunity to dust off my racing shoes and get back out there.

While I was toeing the start line I kept thinking about where I am today and where I used to be and I felt grateful that I was running the race, even though I knew I wasn’t really trained for it.

Cleanse update

It has been just over a month since my last blog. I started my 28-day cleanse last week. I am currently on Day 11. The first week of the cleanse is probably the hardest. It requires you to get off coffee for an entire week! I can drink green tea in exchange for coffee, but talk about feeling sluggish and tired for 3 days.

I am struggling with motivation this go around in my program. I am not able to work out yet, and I won’t be able to for another month. If you thought I was going crazy before, yeah don’t ask me about it now! I have had more then my fair share of cheat days, and really that’s completely on me. Some of the requirements are that you get off bread, grains, sugary foods, and no vegetable oils (soybean, canola, etc.). My program started a bit late due to the late arrival of supplements that I need to take on the program; there was a back order on Amazon.

One of the hardest things to deal with as an athlete and a patient that suffers from a rare disease is to stop and listen to your body. As athletes, injuries are common and happen all the time, but it is when you need to stop and let your body recover that is the hardest. This can also be extremely frustrating as a person with hypoparathyroidism; we deal with things that the average person does not understand.

When I’m out running I have a lot of time to think. Most often it’s just me and the road. The miles keep ticking and my mind starts racing. I think about everything from current life to future goals. I think about how far I’ve come and where I want to go. I think about crossing finish lines and beating personal records. Most of the time, my thoughts are positive, but ever-so-often I get sucked into a negative whirlwind that could have a significant negative impact if I allowed it.

It usually starts with something like, “Why on earth am I doing this right now?” And then it may morph to something like, “Uggh my leg hurts a little.” Or maybe it’s “I’m so tired” and that may follow up with, “Uggh this is just BOOOORRRRING!,” and then if I haven’t corrected the thinking the worst thought crosses my mind:                                                                     

“I SHOULD JUST QUIT!”

My name is Josh Becker, I was diagnosed with bi-lateral hearing loss when I was 18 months old, and I received my first hearing aid when I was 2 years old. In 1988 at the age of 8, I was also diagnosed with idiopathic hypoparathyroidism. Even though my endorcrinologist had me on a regimen of diurectics to protect my kidneys, in the early 2000s, it was recommended that I see a urologist. It was then determined that I had nephrocalcinosis and kidney stones. I do not pass any of the kidney stones so they just sit in my kidneys making themselves at home. About two years ago, I went to Washington, DC, and visited the NIH. I received gene testing on a special case study that I was invited to participate in. That is when they determined I have a rare disease known as HDR Syndrome (hypoparathyroidism, deafness, and renal disease syndrome).

While Ryan suffers with hypoparathyroidism, the exercise tips listed below are good for anyone! Whether you're working on a New Year's resolution or just trying to be more conscious of moving more, let us know what you think about Ryan's tips, and if you'd like to see more of these in the future.

Exercising when you struggle with hypoparathyroidism can be very challenging; I should know. I have hypopara myself. I have good days and bad days but I do my best to keep physically active because I know it helps me manage symptoms and ultimately feel better in the long run. The following is a list of tips that I incorporate into my own life in an effort to keep (or sometimes even start) moving.