What a week it’s been.  I didn’t expect it to end like this… and it’s maybe a good time to reflect a little. A real moment in history which likely many of us will see differently, but one to remember and a reminder to be kind and supportive to others. A big bump and a shock for many. 

With the news and socials likely captured for a while, I thought I’d post my own little story, for you to read. It’s a little story about what happened to me this week, and a chance for me to digest it a bit. Another wee bump, but everything will be ok.

As you may have seen on my previous post, on Saturday, after a couple of quiet and what felt like demotivated weeks of a reduction in training / exercises – I had a great time completing the Go Swim Loch Lomond event. https://lornpearsontrains.co.uk/2022/09/05/loch-lomond-go-swim-2022/

Originally planned as 5km… it ended up meant to being 4.5km and was maybe 4km or so. But whatever the distance, it ended up a well organised and safe event delivered by an experienced events team and volunteers. 

On Sunday I took time out to recover, with a nice lie in, a good breakfast out at one of our favourite places, then a nice gentle 3 mile walk through one of our favourite parks – Pollok Park. I got plenty sleep and rest, all the good stuff you need after a big event.

Taking time out with Fit Girl, to chat, and take the sights in, smelling the flowers and seeing the highland cows / and this adorable little calf. We even managed to miss the downpours.

A nice wee day, and of course with an ice cream too.

On Monday I was up early, but swimming coaching was cancelled, so I went an easy run and felt good. A strong but steady run in the rain – along to Glasgow Green and back – knowing the seasons are changing, it’s still warm, but starting to change with wetter weather and leaves turning.

I chose the nice and flat route specifically so that I wouldn’t have to push myself up hills, and tried to keep my heart rate down around the 150 zone. It creeped up towards 165 for some of it (and turned out to be a proper effort run), likely a sign that if I want these runs to be easier I’ll need to do them more often. I’m still thinking about what my training will look like into autumn winter.

Recovery was going well, I felt good, I had plenty of sleep, rest, food and rehydration. Work was good on Monday, back doing what I should be doing again. And I had a good meal on Monday night. All was looking rosey.

I woke on Tuesday early again, a little earlier than usual as I had a pre planned trip through to Dundee for work. I was going drive though, picking up a colleague at 8am. But it didn’t happen.

At around 530am Fit Girl went into the garagym, and as I woke I realised something wasn’t quite right. I had severe pain which I likely put down to the time of the month… but pain that certainly wasn’t what I’ve ever experienced, and after 5 or 10 minutes of intense pain, I started to get a bit concerned. It felt like 10/10 pain.

I knew I had to get up and shower and get ready for work and the big day in Dundee, so I attempted to get up for a shower, but then at 545am I found myself flat out on the floor after I’d fainted. 

Thinking back, this is the third or fourth time in my life that this has happened to me. The first time when I was about 13 in Mr Hutchinson’s English class. Sitting next to my best friend, I had a really sore finger (pain), and it was after PE without any lunch and at the time of the month (low blood pressure) … and all of a sudden I was waking up on the floor, hearing myself make a loud groaning noise from my mouth, waking me up. Lying on the floor and being really scared of what’s happening.

And I fainted in October 2014 (when I was 34), after an early morning session to the gym. Fuelled by a banana, but maybe not hydrated enough, probably time of the month, low blood pressure and intense exercise – likely not enough blood in my brain as it had all been directed to my legs in sprint intervals on the indoor bike. And my body decided I needed to lie down.

I managed to hit my head a clatter. As I was in the gym, and likely as a precaution, an ambulance was called and I had a good check up at the hospital. I was fine apart from the lump on my head that turned into a big back eye shiner that I had for my aunts funeral a few days later.

And it happened in 2015, after river tubing down Loch Tay with my best friends. 

Minus the pain, there wasn’t enough blood in my head after being horizontal for a long time on the tube. Possibly not enough energy in my system and being cold, maybe turn of the month too. And my body shut down.

Now that I think about it, it happened when I was about 18 too – in the canteen in uni one morning after too many southern comforts and lemonades. Dehydration / not enough food / and low blood pressure. Luckily someone caught me and the only thing that hurt was my pride by fainting in front of so many people. A lie down and some food and water fixed it.

So, around 30 years on from the first time, now when I woke on the bathroom floor, and I had a chance to realise what was going on, I realised that I knew what was going on. And I lay there, wondering what to do next.

Fit Girl doesn’t take her phone into the garagym as it’s right next to the house. And my phone was in the other room anyway. I didn’t even think of my watch. I just gave up and lay there, on the cold tiles, collapsed and waiting. I looked at my watch and it was just 5:47. I realised that I likely had another 10-15 minutes wait, and all I could do was wait. 

Once again I’d woken myself up with a horrific loud groan, then I just had to lie there and wait. Quite simply, the pain, likely low blood pressure in the morning and the time of the month, all made my brain kick in and get me horizontal, so it made me faint to get recovered. 

My Dad explained it to me very well when I was young / when it happened the first time. Nice and logically, not emotionally, the body is an amazing thing, and although it could be scary, really it was just my body self protecting and making me rest and recover. Getting me horizontal to get the blood back into my head / brain again.

Still in some pain, I rolled onto my side… then I realised I needed to be sick. Another sign of my body reacting to the pain. This might sound a bit funny, I consciously thought to make sure I was only sick on the bathroom tiles (not on the hall carpet near to my head) and succeeded. About the one thing I had control of at the time.

I felt like I was so gubbed that I couldn’t move, and knew that the best thing to do was to lie and recover anyway. I looked at my watch again and it was 5:53. More time to wait. 

I lay on my back, and tried to move a little by holding onto the rim of the bath a little, but I didn’t have the energy to do anything. So I gave in, lay back and had a little cry to myself. Fit Girl would be in soon. Poor her. I hope I didn’t give her too much of a fright.

Eventually she came in and saved the day (and me). Taking care of me like she often does and has. I ended up getting back to bed, and getting my head straight to realise I had to let the people I was meeting at 8am at work and in Dundee know that I wouldn’t be available that day.

I was in total bits, but managed to let the right people know that I wouldn’t be in work. And Fit Girl was there once again to help me. She asked me when she found me if I thought I needed an ambulance, and although I’d been sick, I felt confident that I knew what it was and whilst I needed to recover it wasn’t all that serious to warrant an ambulance. I just needed to lie down and take care until I felt better. Even with the sickness, I felt it was likely more to do with the pain and shock.

As I’ve had low blood pressure in the past, I have a blood pressure monitor … so we took my blood pressure and it was 99/57. It’s usually about 110/70 so as I expected, it was low. It all made sense.

I slept for about a day, and was in bed for about 24 hours… I couldn’t eat much, but did try to, and made sure to drink water. I checked my blood pressure later on, and it was a bit better at 109/68.

I’d messaged my GP brother and got some advice from him, asked him if he thought a call to my own GP would be a good idea. He concurred my thoughts above of what had happened – pain + low blood pressure + time of the month = faint. And he said calling my own GP would be a good idea, and suggested how he would treat it if I were his patient, to give me an idea.

So after a sleep in the morning I sorted that, and was fortunate to get a call back. Some good questions which I answered, some meds prescribed, which should help everything settle down hopefully.

After I got back to bed, I’d noticed I’d seemed to have bitten my lip. And had a graze on my left knee. Then later on I realised my nose was sore. As usual with fainting sometimes, it seems the bump was worse than the fainting.

I realised that when I fainted, I likely fell onto my left knee (which was grazed) and unable to stop myself with my hands, I likely fell onto my face..! So when I touch my nose and lip now, they’re sore, and a reminder to take it easy.

I started to wonder if there might have been something I ingested at Loch Lomond on Saturday – as I was in there for 1:15. And maybe it was something working on me after that, but it was a full 2-3 days afterwards so it seems unlikely. I asked a few others who did the swim and they were fine.

And to add to the overthinking… I also realised that my Apple Watch didn’t ‘detect a fall’ so maybe I didn’t fall so hard after all. Maybe I need the new Apple Watch?! (only joking).

After all day in bed on Tuesday I knew I needed another day of recovery, so after a shower on Wednesday morning, my main aim was to eat breakfast and lunch, drink water, check my blood pressure at the start and end of the day, and get some more sleep.

It all seemed to work and by Thursday I was back to about 90% but still feeling a little wounded. And I managed to take the night off swimming coaching too, so I had a restful night too.

With the Loch Morlich Go Swim event in the plan for the 17th, I’ll take a serious look at whether it’s a good idea (or not) and play it by ear, likely deciding the night before I’d I’ll do it or not. As a start I emailed the race director Richard Pearson to ask if I could drop back down to the 3km swim (as I’d upgraded to the 5km). And I will decide nearer the time if I will do it or not.

If I don’t do it, I will still go up to Inverness for the long weekend to see my best friend, her husband and her twin boys who have just turned 4! Along with my good friend who was like a mum to me. If I decide not to do the swim, it won’t be the end of the world, but we will see how I am.

My plan now is to continue the recovery, rest some more, have a nice relaxing weekend and wind down at work before our upcoming time off work. And have a real reset whilst off work.

When these things happen I tend to get some concerned and thoughtful people getting in touch and telling me to rest up and be careful. And it’s here where I say that my health is of the utmost importance to me and I promise I’m very careful. I know my body and I listen to it. I also listen to every bit of feedback and concern I get, and it makes me think. In the same light, I know how important rest and recovery is. The pool, lochs and the streets (and medals) will always be there.

My brother always gives me good advice, as my Dad did before him. And as always, I ask and listen, and I know he’ll always be there to look out for me, as he always has done.

Lucky for me I didn’t do any lasting damage or even get any bruising, and lucky for me I have Fit Girl by my side to help me day in day out too. And after some rest and recuperation, my BP this morning was a more usual 115/74, so that’s good too.

I’ll now take some time to wrap up my work before we take some time out from work, and so I can get myself back to being the best I can be. Bumps can be a good way to wake you up sometimes.