The Cinderella Effect, my Birthday and The heat – the unbearable heat
It has been a while since I last updated this blog. But it has also been a while since I’ve been feeling way less well than usual. On the 17th of March I took part on a Powerlifting (three lift) contest in Santa Catarina, a State south of where I live. The weather was mild. It was the first time I took part on a REAL powerlifting contest – before that, it was only Bench Press and one National Deadlift contest, where I passed out at the third lift.
All this said, I was pretty anxious. I had never squatted before in a contest and even at the gym, squatting is very recent in my life. Only a few months old. When we did the load test one and a half month earlier, I hated the suit, hated the belt, hated not being able to breath and did an awful job.
I had two challenges at this last contest: overcome my fear of squatting and my panic of deadlifting with the suit and belt. I was so uptight with both that I asked my coach to do ridiculously low calls for me. Low is LOW: warm-up low. Like start the deadlift with 100kg. But all went right and I ended with a 132,5kg squat and 127,5kg deadlift. Way bellow an ideal expected 140kg, like I went in December for the Brazilian Deadlift Contest having never used the suit in one, faiting on the spot.
Oh: the bench press was ridiculous. Got very frustrated with not lifting my 75kg.
I got home quite happy with my results, quite unhappy with coming back home. We went as a team, in a Van, making jokes and having fun. Came back silent, tired. My friend calls this the “Cinderella effect”. Happens with all powerlifters. The meets are where we get to do what we enjoy, meet our friends and somehow become the best of what we are. That is where the best part of our identities is located, or maybe that is where we rescue the child within. The ability to be pure and simply happy. No matter the marks.
But then there is the way back into “reality”, jobs, families (not always that happy) and other conflictive environments. Our stallions are back to mice. I had felt this “reality shock” in other contests, but this was the worst. I got home to find a myriad of small and big professional and domestic problems, plus the weather was weird. We are supposedly already in Autumn and it has never been this hot in São Paulo. The pollution is reaching record levels. Soon I was feeling so bad that depression actually took over. To make things worse, the following Sunday was my birthday, which I hate.
The birthday itself was good, met someone – pretty special guy, no idea where this is going.
But the weather kept getting hotter and hotter. All above nineties. Gilson (coach, friend, social program partner) told us to rest Tuesday in order to do a “heavy” Bench Press workout Wednesday. I tried to do that (hard to rest with a new boyfriend, but I did my best), but when I got up Wednesday, I noticed my body was not that good. It was a really, really hot day. I had a meeting early in the morning and then headed to the gym. You will probably find the following information incomprehensible, but: 1. there is no air-conditioning in my car (cheap car, never invested in this, thought I didn’t need air); 2. there is no air-conditioning in my house (why? Lot’s of windows, big yard, never that hot); 3. there is no air conditioning at the gym (air conditioning in a low income gym inside a slum???? No way…). I spent about 90 minutes or so on the worst traffic ever (this is São Paulo, the third biggest and most jammed city in the world). When I got to the gym I knew there was something wrong. And there was: my bench press didn’t go up above 70kg.
Very frustrated, I just left.
The following day, it was even hotter. Again I spent a long time on the traffic and when I got to the gym I felt like puking, my head was bursting and I was dizzy. Gilson wasn’t there and we didn’t know how to work the blood pressure thing. The reading was strange, something like 160 by 90, and I have very low blood pressure. I was scared and went home, planning to go to the Emergency Room if I felt worse.
Finally, yesterday, I was feeling quite ok in the morning, caught up with a load of work and went to the gym. Again… on the way there, I started feeling bad. I didn’t even take my things off the car: got out, told everyone I was going to the hospital and left.
At the hospital, the actual reading of my blood pressure was “normal” (they said “pretty low”!): like 110/70. This is genetic: my family has low blood pressure. My “normal” is 100/60. But then it kept falling, falling… Until at some point, when they were starting to draw my blood, it was 90/40 . Ok… I’ve had 90/60 , 90/50 and 80/50 (and believe me: it feels WEIRD). But 40!!! What is a diastolic 40 doing here!
The doctors tested my blood for many things, including kidney function, since this level of low blood pressure is risky. They also thought I might be developing a viral infection that is getting epidemic in Brazil now: dengue (a tropical disease).
The tests showed nothing. Either I have an infection and, because athletes have much more efficient reactions, it hasn’t fully developed to the point of affecting blood test results, or it is DEHYDRATION.
They asked me to go back to the ER today. They want to repeat all the tests to make sure it is not an infection and it is not going the wrong way.
But the thing is: for a combination of reasons, I haven’t had as much water as I should, I haven’t retained as much water as I should and I haven’t eaten as I should. I discovered that too low a blood sugar contributes to low blood pressure. I am naturally hypoglycemic (my fasting reading is around 75), but my postprandial yesterday was 82 – absurd. The result is something I had never seen: I couldn’t think right and couldn’t workout.
I’ve been drinking water and eating more carbs since yesterday. I am going to the gym today again just to check what my reactions will be to effort. Stupid? Maybe, but I want to learn everything about this.
And maybe it is time to get a new car with air-conditioning…
