I really appreciate my family doctor. He understands me, and appreciates what makes me tick. That's why in our discussions today he never once suggested that I modify my behaviour. And when I ask for it, he is always ready to give me an opinion, and yet he is never opinionated.
I explained the whole race day story to him, and gave him a run down on my previous symptoms. I was quite prepared to ask him for the testing I had in mind, but decided not to mention it until he spoke his peace. He listened to my words, and to my heart, and then suggested blood tests, an electrocardiogram, and a stress test. He got it just right!
And his opinion? He suggested something generally referred to as heart block. It seems there are several variations of it, but basically it's an abnormality of the electrical function of the heart! His stethoscope confirmed some irregularities.
Of course this initially left me quite unsettled, but by the time I was half way home I realized, or decided perhaps, that it doesn't change a thing. I'm doing Ironman Mont Tremblant next Aug 16th, and I say that not with bravado, but with confidence.
After a whole bunch of googling I feel even better, as it seems that this type of peculiarity is not that peculiar amongst veteran endurance athletes, at least at the low end of the spectrum. It often happens as a result of enlarged and/or thickened heart muscles, and most often resolves itself as soon as you begin exercise. My symptoms in the months leading up to the race would confirm this, as I often had a short bout immediately upon starting my workouts, and then it would quickly go away.
And If my problem is indeed some kind of heart block I can still only speculate as to what happened on race day. Perhaps the cold of the lake, and then the subsequent shivering on the bike kept me in this messed up state. I am notorious for not doing a warmup before getting in the water for the start, a habit I've just this minute decided to change!
And strange as you may find this I m excited about the upcoming tests. I just know I'm gonna learn a whole lot of useful stuff. I hope the waiting list is not too long.
As to the current state of my health and fitness, I had a decent little run around the block before the doctor, and at the little hill about 6 kms in I managed to get my rate over 150. I'm pretty sure now that the current tiredness and sluggish heart rate, is indeed just part of the ongoing recovery from the day from hell! I'm still seriously considering the 25 km trail race which is a month away. I'm gonna give it a few more days to percolate
And although I woke up quite depressed this morning, the day got continually better as it wore on. I think one factor was that I avoided any Sally stuff all day, and instead did house work and battled wasps. Crazy eh, that I preferred those activities!
And why still battling wasps you probably want to ask? Well cause I found another complete, but smaller nest in the attic of the pool shed. Unfortunately the only access to this nest was way too far away to deal with it, without crawling in the attic itself. And an idiot I may be, but not a big enough idiot to crawl into a confined space with a bunch of angry stinging wasps!!
My solution was to drill a couple of holes in the outside wall through which I could harass them. I attacked through the holes with spray and poker, and escaped with only two stings...both on my head!! They sting so quickly that originally I thought it was only one, but I have two very distinct sites. And while my wife was totally supportive calling out rogue wasps as they attacked back, I think she also enjoyed the spectacle of my evasive manoeuvres. Life is good!
I finished out my day by closing up the porch attic, now that it was relatively safe to go back there. Believe it or not there were still a few of the rascals hanging around , but it seems they have forgotten that I'm the guy that destroyed their home! It's all fixed up and looking like it did before, with the exception of the constant parade of yellow jackets!
run 7.5 kms
"If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude."---Maya Angelou
....and I just love this one. The simple truths are always the best....
"If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading."---Lao Tzu
Love
Peter
I explained the whole race day story to him, and gave him a run down on my previous symptoms. I was quite prepared to ask him for the testing I had in mind, but decided not to mention it until he spoke his peace. He listened to my words, and to my heart, and then suggested blood tests, an electrocardiogram, and a stress test. He got it just right!
And his opinion? He suggested something generally referred to as heart block. It seems there are several variations of it, but basically it's an abnormality of the electrical function of the heart! His stethoscope confirmed some irregularities.
Of course this initially left me quite unsettled, but by the time I was half way home I realized, or decided perhaps, that it doesn't change a thing. I'm doing Ironman Mont Tremblant next Aug 16th, and I say that not with bravado, but with confidence.
After a whole bunch of googling I feel even better, as it seems that this type of peculiarity is not that peculiar amongst veteran endurance athletes, at least at the low end of the spectrum. It often happens as a result of enlarged and/or thickened heart muscles, and most often resolves itself as soon as you begin exercise. My symptoms in the months leading up to the race would confirm this, as I often had a short bout immediately upon starting my workouts, and then it would quickly go away.
And If my problem is indeed some kind of heart block I can still only speculate as to what happened on race day. Perhaps the cold of the lake, and then the subsequent shivering on the bike kept me in this messed up state. I am notorious for not doing a warmup before getting in the water for the start, a habit I've just this minute decided to change!
And strange as you may find this I m excited about the upcoming tests. I just know I'm gonna learn a whole lot of useful stuff. I hope the waiting list is not too long.
As to the current state of my health and fitness, I had a decent little run around the block before the doctor, and at the little hill about 6 kms in I managed to get my rate over 150. I'm pretty sure now that the current tiredness and sluggish heart rate, is indeed just part of the ongoing recovery from the day from hell! I'm still seriously considering the 25 km trail race which is a month away. I'm gonna give it a few more days to percolate
And although I woke up quite depressed this morning, the day got continually better as it wore on. I think one factor was that I avoided any Sally stuff all day, and instead did house work and battled wasps. Crazy eh, that I preferred those activities!
And why still battling wasps you probably want to ask? Well cause I found another complete, but smaller nest in the attic of the pool shed. Unfortunately the only access to this nest was way too far away to deal with it, without crawling in the attic itself. And an idiot I may be, but not a big enough idiot to crawl into a confined space with a bunch of angry stinging wasps!!
My solution was to drill a couple of holes in the outside wall through which I could harass them. I attacked through the holes with spray and poker, and escaped with only two stings...both on my head!! They sting so quickly that originally I thought it was only one, but I have two very distinct sites. And while my wife was totally supportive calling out rogue wasps as they attacked back, I think she also enjoyed the spectacle of my evasive manoeuvres. Life is good!
I finished out my day by closing up the porch attic, now that it was relatively safe to go back there. Believe it or not there were still a few of the rascals hanging around , but it seems they have forgotten that I'm the guy that destroyed their home! It's all fixed up and looking like it did before, with the exception of the constant parade of yellow jackets!
run 7.5 kms
"If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude."---Maya Angelou
....and I just love this one. The simple truths are always the best....
"If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading."---Lao Tzu
Love
Peter
Good on you Pete to avoid the Sally stuff for a day! You deserve a break. (We had to listen to Roo sing your praises tonight ;0)....) Love and big hugs to you.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that a break from the Sally stuff was one of the things you needed, and the word from the doctor was the other. As you are fond of saying, "Game On!"
ReplyDeleteLove, gail