Tuesday, March 17
Training in the sauna for KonaOne of the things I didn’t expect after losing my thyroid was how much temperature would affect my body.
Before my thyroid surgery in 2005, I didn’t think much about heat or cold when it came to workouts or daily life. If it was hot outside, you sweat. If it was cold, you put on another layer.
But after my thyroid was removed, I began to notice something different.
Some days the heat felt overwhelming.
Other days the cold seemed to cut right through me.
And when you train for endurance sports, weather becomes a much bigger factor.
Why Temperature Sensitivity Happens
The thyroid plays a major role in regulating the body’s metabolism and temperature control.
Thyroid hormones help control how quickly your body produces and uses energy. That process also affects how your body generates and regulates heat.
When the thyroid is removed, the body no longer produces these hormones naturally. Instead, hormone levels depend on medication such as T3 and T4.
While medication helps replace these hormones, it doesn’t always perfectly mimic the body’s natural rhythm.
Because of that, some people living without a thyroid notice change in how their body responds to temperature.
You may feel colder than others around you.
Or in hot environments, your body may struggle to regulate heat as efficiently.
What This Means for Athletes
For endurance athletes, temperature regulation can play a big role in training and racing.
Heat can increase fatigue faster.
Cold can make muscles feel tighter and slower to warm up.
Over time, I learned that temperature wasn’t just a comfort issue — it was something I needed to plan for in my training.
That meant:
• Paying attention to hydration in hot weather
• Allowing extra time to warm up in the cold
• Adjusting pace and expectations on extreme weather days
• Listening carefully to how my body felt during workouts
Learning to Adapt
Endurance sports have taught me that the body is incredibly adaptable.
It might take time to understand how your body responds to temperature changes, especially after thyroid surgery.
But once you start paying attention to those signals, you can learn how to adjust.
Extra layers in the cold.
More hydration in the heat.
More patience on difficult days.
Those adjustments don’t make you weaker.
They make you smarter about how you train.
What Living Without a Thyroid Has Taught Me
Living without a thyroid has taught me to pay attention to things I once ignored.
Energy levels.
Recovery patterns.
Temperature changes.
And endurance sports have helped reinforce the same lesson again and again:
Your body is always communicating with you.
The more closely you listen, the better you can adapt.
Because progress — whether in health or training — doesn’t come from ignoring your body.
It comes from learning how to work with it.
And no matter how small the step forward may feel…
A small step still takes you forward.
— Danniela
IronSunshine ☀️
#NoThyroidAthlete
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