Scintillating Scotoma?

(sigh)

Another day on the treadmill, but this session wasn't so good.  I've been trying to assess why ever since.

I set out to do the hill profile of the La Jolla Half Marathon, planning on a very modest pace.  I figured that wouldn't be too hard at this stage of the game.  But I started to drag at around 45 minutes and after only the 3rd hill.  My heart rate was elevated higher than I would have thought too.  I wound up having to compress the final "big hill" due to time, but it would have been a real struggle to finish as programmed. 

I may have been a little shallow on calories during the day leading up to the workout, not to mention I might have left myself short on water too.  Or maybe I'm just tired from this weekend and yesterday's run.  I don't know.  I'm planning a flat, easy-paced 60-75 minute run tomorrow, preferably in the cool of the morning or evening.  If I feel fatigued on that one I'll know that I'm performing below par for some reason, and I'll need to fix that before leading up to the real La Jolla Half Marathon, weekend after next.

I'm kind of decided to run with friends of Joan on Sunday rather than strike out on my own for a solo long run.  I'd like to have some pace help, expose myself to some new running surroundings (Mission Bay), and see if I can get out of my need for running solitude.  I just hope they aren't too chatty or that I won't feel bad if I have to let them drop me.  I only wish they'd run on Saturday instead of Sunday.  I'd like to have the day after be a no-run day, and I'd rather that be on Sunday rather than Monday.

As an aside, I think I've figured out what the odd visual anomaly is that I've been experiencing more frequently these days.  Seems that about once every 3-5 days or so (maybe not that often), I get this "dazzling" effect, as if I've looked into a bright point of light and am suffering from a temporary blind spot.  That's not quite a good description since it's not really a blind spot.  It's more like a wavering splotch that is just off focal center, and it expands over the course of about 20 minutes before disappearing.  It's most often a sickle-shaped patch that has a shimmering sort of distortion, but it's hard to examine since, as I said, it's stays just off from my focal point. 

After a little research (and worry that I was experiencing some sort of stroke symptom), I've determined that it is a scintillating scotoma.  Apparently it is associated with migraines and not stroke-related issues, which is good.  I don't experience any pain or discomfort before, during or after.  It's just a little annoyance, and is typically over within 20-30 minutes. 

The first time I recall experiencing it was in 1999.  I can still vividly remember wondering what the heck was going on when I noticed it, standing in the master bathroom of our home on Camino Festivo.  Until recently, it was a very rare event and I never bothered checking with a doctor about it.  Lately, maybe over the last couple months, I'd guess it happens about every week or ever other week maybe.  That started to get me worried, even though I feel no other effects from it.

I've decided to keep a record of occurrences just in case the increase in frequency might be an indicator of something requiring attention.  The last episode was on Monday, around 5PM, while I was at Ralph's picking up a few groceries.  I could sense it coming on from the lights in the store, and it wound up lasting almost exactly 15 minutes before I could feel it letting up.  I'll make a note of the next time it happens.