It's not an animal from the Chinese Zodiac. Although the Year of the Boo-boo Kitty did start on a schedule that's not in line with the Gregorian calendar year. (Or is it Julian? I mix them up.) If you're wondering why there's only one race report for 2008, so far, it's the Boo-boo Kitty.
The Year of the Boo-boo Kitty started on August 20, 2007, the day after I got home from the Danskin Seattle triathlon. I had trouble swallowing, like someone had put a clamp at the lower end of my esophagus, and I felt weird and headache-y, exhausted, dizzy, lightheaded and incredibly stupid. And after that, I felt awful every day for almost 10 months. My nerves tingled and burned, my muscles twitched, I'd fall asleep at odd hours but sleep badly at night, and I had a headache continuously for those 10 months. My limbs ached contstantly; my bowels were in a tizzy. Worst of all, any kind of physical activity made me feel worse. Much, much worse. A slow one-mile walk would leave me as exhausted as an Olympic distance triathlon used to. And I would feel extra-awful for a couple of days afterwards.
I had test after test, and headache pill after headache pill, to no avail. The doctors at Kaiser didn't want to say it was chronic fatigue syndrome because I could get up every day and go to work - at least after the first month or two. And maybe it wasn't chronic fatigue syndrome. But it was something really nasty. Dana called me "Boo-boo Kitty," which seems like a good name for it.
I fell out of touch with my triathlon club, my online tri friends, and readers who emailed me. I felt bad but I just didn't have the energy to email or post messages, let alone go to tri club meetings. And it was really painful psychologically to read about other people's races and great workouts. I would get pangs of loss and envy every time I saw a cyclist streaking down the road.
And all this time, I was working to finish up Shape up with the Slow Fat Triathlete. I felt somewhat fraudulent writing a super positive, gung-ho fitness book while I was languishing in Boo-boo Kitty land, muscles burning and twitching from a trip to the mailbox. At the same time, though, I was realizing the truth of what I was writing so much more vividly than I could have before Boo-boo Kitty struck me down. The joy of movement? The incredible satisfaction of feeling your body grow stronger and more capable? The great fun of being outside, running or riding around? Oh yeah. Yeah. I really, really felt those things in their absence.
Gradually and inexplicably, Boo-boo Kitty released its claws. Little by little, I started to feel more like myself. The aches eased, the tingling died down, my mental focus sharpened. I could use my muscles without the bizarre burn, and I felt a little energy coming back. Sometime in June, or maybe July, I didn't have a headache for a day. Now, in November, I don't have headaches most days. I started to be able to walk, slowly at first, for a half-mile, then a mile. I rode my bike on the flat for five miles, and that was one of the happiest days I'd had in a long time. Now I can walk about 4 miles, do some strength training, or even ride my bike 11 or 12 miles. And it feels freakin' fantastic.
It's not all good times and noodle salad yet. I'm still cautious about pushing my body, and I still get some gnarly headaches. The Boo-boo Kitty Syndrome (BBKS) left me slower and fatter than I've ever been, which is super humbling. My core muscles are feeble, my flexibility is shot. But now I feel confident that I can and will make an epic comeback. I'll even answer all my emails. Eventually.