Me, crossing the finish line of my first (and so far only) whole marathon, in 2005.

The same Saturday of Veronica’s wedding (March 23) I called my mom at night. She told me that se had talked to my brother (the neurologist) about my situation, about the Alopecia Areata. She told me that my brother had said I needed to run.

I have been a runner for a good part of my adult life. For many years I ran every single day, even if it was just for 15 minutes. Something lacked in my day when ever I missed a run.

Nevertheless for the last few months I haven’t run much and I have actually let weeks and months go by without doing it.

The reason I gave myself for not running was the cough I battled and that apparently was a result of a strep infection (the one I am treating with penicillin), an injured toe (now healed), the pounds I gained and that made me feel heavy while running, and the fact that I was overall out of shape mainly because… I was not running.

It is a vicious cycle: not running made me a worst runner and made me want to run less.

Havana doesn’t help either, I live in a city where there are no good places to run. My favorite is the esplanade of 5^th Avenue (5ta Avenida), but there is no shade, lots of smoke coming from old cars, traffic noise and very hard ground.

The issue here, according to my brother, is the endorphins. Basically I have got my body used to this morphine-like substance for years and then just stopped.

Endorphins (“endogenous morphine”), according to Wikipedia, “are endogenous opioid peptides that function as neurotransmitters. They are produced by the pituitary gland and the hypothalamus in vertebrates during exercise, excitement, pain, consumption of spicy food, love and orgasm, and they resemble the opiates in their abilities to produce analgesia and a feeling of well-being.”

So, my body could be resenting that daily endorphin “high” and therefore getting stressed and reacting in a way that was making my hair fall out.

Me, finishing a half marathon, some years ago.

This is actually a well researched fact: runners do experience a “high” and one can assume that if a regular runner (like me) stops running (like me) he or she could experience withdrawal symptoms.

It made perfect sense. After the talk to my mom I called my brother and he told me: “you got to run again.” Immediately after hanging up I put my running shoes on and I went out for a three mile run. It was difficult, I had to stop several times and walk, but since then I have been doing it every day, even if it is just for 20 minutes and I have to say that after a month I am starting to feel again the benefits of the exercise: that daily energy, the regular doses of endorphins, a slimmer and stronger body, a clearer mind, and an overall sense of wellbeing. This may help my hair grow back.