Looking Good at Mile 14

Here is a pic that someone took while we were running (I am orange and Chip is to my left in the red). This one is at mile 14 and I was still feeling pretty good. Notice the graying beard. Since I transferred to inactive reserves, I decided to do something different...hence the beard. It will probably come off before I head back to work in 2008. Just too itchy and Deb and Tori don't like it.

14 Seconds

Yes 14 seconds from qualifying for Boston!! Here is the link to the results and the following is the low down on the race.

Started out on Saturday morning with a warm temperature of about 61F. The humidity was around 80-90% while misting off and on most of the morning. The finishing temperature was around 70F. Frankly, it was too warm for a marathon especially when one has been training in cooler temps.

Chip and I started out with a 7:45 pace and pretty much kept on track most of the run. Chip suffered from a serious side stitch around mile 18 and dropped his pace hoping to recover. I kept on pace heading into mile 23. I would say I hit the wall, but it did not seem like that. Aerobically I felt pretty good. I was not breathing excessively and my heart rate was still reasonable. However, my thighs started to feel like lead and my stride was starting to get quite sloppy (feet slapping the pavement). I kept saying to myself this is starting to feel like a death march so I exaggerated my arm swing to help my stride.

I kept making progress, but my pace was dropping like a rock. My pace the last 3 miles was around 9:00 to 9:15. In fact, I lost all of my time cushion the last 3 miles. As I headed to the finish line, hoping not to get a thigh cramp, I was concerned about even the slightest dips in the road. With my sloppy stride, I was afraid I would fall and not be able to get back up. I kept looking at my watch as I knew the time was slipping away. My main goal at the end was to finish on my feet and still running. Even the chip timing carpet was a struggle to get over as I headed into the finish.

My gun time was 3:31:22 and my chip time was 3:31:13. I had to run a 3:30:59 (which rounds down to 3:30). Hence the 14 seconds. As I walked toward the food and drink area, my thighs were burning. I knew I could not squat down, in fact, when I went in to get a massage, the lady had to pull my shoes off since I could not touch my feet. What was nice was staying at the hotel across the street (Embassy Suites) and taking an ice bath then a shower after the run. I even made it to our neighborhood Christmas party that night (beer is a great carbohydrate).

Sunday was a struggle and Monday...ohh man...my thighs were hurting. I parked as close to my office front door as possible and avoided all stairs. Walking downhill is extremely painful when your thighs have been abused by a marathon. Tuesday was a little better and I managed to run a very slow 2.5 miles. Today I walked 2.5 miles and my legs are not hurting. I got a new pair of expensive insoles today (they are heated in the oven and then you step on them so they mold to your feet). I hope they will help my feet since I got another big blister in the middle of my right forefoot (which popped at mile 24). That was probably the most serious foot issue. I lubed my feet up with bodyglide and A&D ointment. Plus, I tried a modified shoe tying method (lace locking) which I think kept my heel in place.

Well it is soon time to start training for the Mercedes 1/2 marathon. I am thinking about running the Music City Marathon in April to see if I can lower my time. I feel that I should be able to run under 3:20. I just need to get a little more distance in my legs.

Almost There

Saturday is MARATHON DAY. I wish it were a movie marathon day. I am getting apprehensive for two reasons. One, the temperature will be warm....low mid-50's and high low 70's. Not exactly ideal running temps. The other reason is my feet. Yup...the ones with three black toes (one left and two right). In addition to black toes is blisters. I often get blisters on the bottom of my right foot near the base of the toes. This typically occurs only when I run long races (at least 15k or more). Although this is a fairly flat course and slower than usual speed, I hope I don't start to develop blisters during the race.

I have tried a number of things and haven't quite found the solution yet. This time I will try bodyglide and A&D ointment. Hopefully I can lube up enough to prevent blisters and sore toes.

My feet have recovered from my beach run where I ran barefoot and got some really great blisters on both big toes and one smaller toe. Oowee! That was dumb.

I have been on a two week taper and last week I actually felt more pent up energy than this week. I could not sleep well last week and woke up earlier than usual each day. This week I have been tired every night, going to bed on time (one night even an hour earlier than usual) and sleeping pretty well through the night. My running this week has been minimal at best and no running yesterday and today.

Well there is not much more I can do to be ready. I want to enjoy the run, make my target time (<3:30) and not be terribly sore for a week. So I will get out there and git r done. I will let you know how it turns out.

2 more weeks

Here I am at the beach, relaxing and waiting for T-day. All of my hard marathon training is done. Now I am at the sharpening stage as I begin my taper for the marathon on 12/8. I think I am ready.

My heart condition has been fine. Just a little tweak every now and then. I am still recovering from my last 20 miler this past Sunday. I am just ready to get the darn thing over with so I can not be in a training phase for a while.

However, my plan is to run the Mercedes 1/2 marathon (too hilly to undertake the full marathon). I really want to get this first marathon under my belt so I can decide if it is worth doing more. The training plan I have been using seems to work...of course, I have not run the race. I would like to do this type of training and run a few races. However, being an engineer and somewhat anal retentive, I am sticking to the plans and it does not call for any races in the preparatory phase.

Did I mention I was at the beach? Trying to take some time from work to just chill out and do some reading and play with the kids. I recently decided to move to the inactive reserves so that means no more drill weekends. It also means no more drill pay! However, I am ready to put the military in the rear view mirror and do other things. Next week I will be out of town. Then back in town the following week prior to the big race.

So now I must begin my taper and think about writing more in my blog. I did have a good lead for a post recently, but I cannot remember the subject matter now. That is what happens when you wait too long to post a thought on this thing.

Journaling has never been a strong suit with me...and it does not seem to improve any time soon. SLB (seeya later bye).

Long Time No Write

Well it is time for my monthly update since I cannot seem to do it on a more frequent basis. So what has been going on?

Training is going well. Ran a 10 mile pace run today with Chip. Felt pretty good. Tomorrow is the second of three 20 milers. Ran the last one a couple of weekends ago while I was working in Dothan. That day, Sunday, I ran 20 miles in the morning and then worked nearly 15 hours. I have completed most of my other runs without any injury (knock on wood) and no illness. I returned from my week in Dothan worn slap out. In fact, after a "rest" weekend last week, come Monday I felt like terrible. I came home from work and hit the bed. I felt like I was coming down with a cold or something. Next, I felt ok and ran 7 hill repeats late in the afternoon.

I have not had any heart problems over the past month. The near illness this past Monday had me worried since I have been getting the flutters after being ill. But so far so good. However, the death today of a US marathon runner (Ryan Shay) collapsed and died during the Olympic Trials in NYC. Usually situations like this are heart related which always concerns me. Life goes on. May God comfort his family and friends.

Work has been busy. I spent an unplanned week at the plant in Dothan working my tail off. Fortunately, the project I was working on got resolved and I was able to come home.

The kids' cross country season has come to an end. They are both interested in running the Mercedes 1/2 marathon and have started training for it. I hope they are able to complete the training and the race. It will be a good lead in for track season.

I am also considering starting a running club for folks in this area of the city. Really it is aimed at the kids as they transition between seasons. I have to figure out all the rules and review the information on the RRCA and USATF websites. So any local folks that read this blog (all 1 of you...if even that much) are welcome to join.

As far as Oklahoma State football...lost with a last second field goal to Texas while leading the entire game. How frustrating is that??? After seeming to recover and find some offense, they still cannot find any defense. This is the third or fourth time in the last few years that OSU has led Texas and then Texas comes from behind to win. Next week is Kansas which has come from nowhere to have a 9-0 record and just hammered Nebraska today with 76 points. OSU is on the bubble to be bowl eligible and have three games left with Kansas and OU, both top 10 teams, left to play. Baylor is in between those two and is the only hope for "guaranteed" win.

And now, OSU's former coach, Les Miles, led LSU to a last minute win over Alabama. What a game!

Real Post

Been busy. Work, kids, wife church and running are taking up most of my time. So what has happened over the past two weeks you may ask? Stuff.

Here are some highlights:

I am co-leading a men's church group called Joshua's Men (or Jmen). We went on a short retreat on 9/21-22 up to the Ocoee River. We had a great time. Shared thoughts on a book we are reading, sat around a campfire, slept in a cabin on a very uncomfortable mattress, and ate camp food. Saturday morning we finished reviewing our book of the month and then played touch football. One of our younger members was all over the field. He played QB on the other team and intercepted most of our passes. THEN we went rafting. The water was up because they had the upper section running. Our guide asked on a scale of 5-10 what kind of trip we wanted. One of our more daring members (yeah...he sat in the back) said he wanted a 10. A 10 is what we got! Some of the rapids were really up and we smacked every one of them hard. As we approached the last rapid, the guide asked if we wanted to flip the boat and Jerry (still sitting in the back) yelled out YES! The rest of us (especially Chris and me since we were on the front) said NO! Well we didn't flip, but we hit that last rapid head on and hard. So hard in fact that the only thing keeping Chris and me from landing in the back of our 6-man raft were the four guys behind us. Can't wait until next year!

Been running. Chip is in my Jmen group so we altered our schedule to fit the trip. We ran 17 miles this past Sunday morning which was very nice and cool. Towards the end, we picked up the pace. I felt pretty good especially since I had a caffeinated Goo at mile 13. Just like getting a little turbo boost. I felt pretty good afterward, not good enough to be very active other than going to church and playing Halo 3 with my son. Ibuprofen is my friend!

The kids have had some XC meets and are improving. I am trying to talk my son into training for the Mercedes 1/2 marathon in Feb. He gives me that kind of "no way in heck" smirk and says "ya." I told him I would run it with him...no luck yet.

My wife is still doing a maternity leave. She is finding that the daily grind is a daily grind. She had been counting down the days until the teacher returns. However, the teacher called and asked her to stay another two weeks ;-( While not happy about it, it is better to get maternity leave pay than sub pay.

Work has been going ok. Some things have happened that left me somewhat disappointed. So after stewing over it a few days, I decided to drop it and move on (not necessarily change jobs or companies....yet).

So you have the abridged version of the past 2 weeks.

Please Post

Well my good friend Anonymous left a comment that I needed to update my blog. Happy now?

A Hint of Fall Weather

Ran this morning with Chip and we did a 7 mile pace run. I actually felt pretty good once we got into the groove. It was in the mid-60's and fairly humid after the Friday's rain. Tomorrow instead of doing the prescribed 10 miler, we are going to run 15 miles and do the shorter run next weekend which will fit with both of our schedules. I did all my runs this week, swapping the Tuesday and Thursday runs. I did the 5X800 repeats on Thursday in an average of 3:05. I actually felt pretty good.

On an utterly different subject, I watched my alma mater (Oklahoma State University) get hammered by Troy University, 41-23 (with 13 gratuity points scored at the end of the game). There is an absolute lack of defense which will be thoroughly exploited when they play Texas and Oklahoma. Further, at one time they were considered to have a dynamic offense. However, I have not yet seen much offense in the two games I have seen this season.

Boone Pickens donated a record $165M in cold, hard cash that was to be distributed to the athletic department and geology school. Evidently they recruit rocks in both areas cause I did not see much in the way of football players last night. Goes to show you, even a rich guy can't buy a win for a team like OSU.

I think for their future schedules they need to play some directional schools because this season I don't they will be much better than one. Coach Gundy, please don't come back to Alabama and embarrass the OSU alum in the land of Alabama University, Auburn University and, evidently, Troy University!

OK...I am done ranting. My kids ran XC meets this weekend. Alex did much better and ran a 22:06 for the 5K and Tori ran 17:31 for the 2-mile. The weather this morning was absolutely wonderful especially compared to last week. Everyone runs better when the temperatures get cooler. Overall, both of their teams did much better and they are looking forward to posting better times over the next few weeks.

Whooeee

It has been a while since my last post...no surprise!

I have been keeping with my running. Ran 7 straight days last week and took off (sorta) on Saturday. I ran my Saturday run on Friday (7 miles easy) because on Saturday my kids ran a XC meet in Moulton (the heat really affected their races especially my son who did not run until 1030) and then I came home and helped with a local criterium downtown (here are some photos). I got home at 2300 (11:00 PM) and then rolled out of the rack for a 0600 start on a 14 mile run with Chip. We managed an easy pace until about mile 10 and then cranked it up a notch. This run was followed by church and then a short nap ;-)

Monday I managed a 3 mile run on the treadmill at work (I did kick in a 6:30 pace for about 1/2 mile late in the run) followed by stretching and some weights for my legs. I was a bit sore on Tuesday, but I had a great 35 minute tempo run in the heat. I really pushed the run because it felt good to be out. Besides, I had to travel to Augusta this afternoon so I wanted to get my run done at lunch.

So far the training is going well. The long runs are starting to hurt some, but my recovery is pretty good by Tuesday. Chip and I had talked about skipping the easy Monday run, but I found that the treadmill run is not bad (first 1/2 mile my knees are crying) and I think the weights will help strengthen my joints.

Thursday I have 5X800 on the track...now that will hurt! This weekend is a 7 mile pace run on Saturday followed by a 10 mile run on Sunday...piece of cake! However, those pace runs and long runs are really starting to be a challenge. I just can't wait for the 10 mile pace run followed by a 20 mile easy run the next day.

It is still summer!

Got in an easy run today of 3.6 miles. Legs are feeling better, however, my shins are hurting a wee bit. Probably a mild case of shin splints from running on the road too much. Tomorrow I have a 3 mile run at pace which I will probably do after work in the 'hood.

Now my wife and kids are making fun of me for writing "in the 'hood" in my blog. Nothing like a peanut gallery looking over my shoulder as I type (right Tori).

It is still hot out there, though not as scorching as a couple of weeks ago. So running is not quite as bad. I sure am waiting on the cool days of the fall to start.

Both of my kids have a CC meet at Moulton this weekend. So I will have to adjust my Saturday run to Friday. Plus, I agreed to help at the Pepper Place Crit downtown on Saturday afternoon. So if you are a bike rider and want to watch some good racing, come on downtown to Pepper Place from 2-9 PM. I am not exactly sure where it is downtown, but I guess I will figure it out on Saturday.

Travel and Running

I have been on the road the past couple of weeks (eating and drinking too much). I did keep up the running except for one easy day each week. I feel like I am on schedule with my training. However, I did read an article on the Rocket City Marathon website and noted a comment regarding the amount of running required the 4-6 weeks prior to the marathon in order to avoid the dreaded "WALL." My weekly mileage won't reach the prescribed amount, however, I think I will be alright. Now remember, this is my first marathon and I am shooting for a 3:30. My best 1/2 marathon is 1:31:30ish on a hilly course (Mercedes in the 'ham) this past Feb.

Now my training for the 1/2 included a couple of 20 mile runs and several 7-10 mile tempo runs along with hill repeats each week. My mistake was not running 1/2 marathon pace runs especially since I was shooting for a sub-1:30. Now that I am 45, I am not sure if I hit my middle-age peak (I realize my real peak is long past ;-)).

Anyway, my running partner and neighbor, Chip, and I ran a 6 mile pace run (target of 7:50) on Saturday for a total of 7.5 miles (included a warmup and cooldown). We started a little slow on the pace run and ran several waayy to fast. Then Sunday we ran 13.2 miles in 2 hours (probably a little too fast). Monday (and today), I was one hurtin' pup. Knees hurt, legs sore, and just kind of achy from the waist down. I did run a 3.6 mile easy run on Monday (34 minutes) which did not help my achy, breaky legs. Today was a 35 minute tempo run that I did during lunch at work. After aching all morning long (and sleeping poorly last night), my legs finally felt fine after the run.

Thank goodness tomorrow is another easy run followed by a 3 mile pace run on Thursday. Well I am ready for bed so I will bid thee goodnight.

PS - The flutter has come and gone recently. In fact, after my last post, I had several instances of flutter. I think I was anxious about my pending trips. Anyway, I have had a couple of flutters over the past couple of days, but nothing dramatic. We'll see how things go over the next few weeks. So far, it has not affected my running.

Hotter 'N Hell (or Birmingham...take your pick)

Well after my last post talking briefly about the lack of flutter, it rears its ugly head. Nothing substantial, but I did have it come on Tuesday (off and on all day long). But I am still running and sweating like...whatever sweats a lot.

Runs this week were pretty good except for Tuesday and they went like this:

Monday - 3 miles-treadmill (stretch and weights)
Tuesday - 30 min tempo run
Wed - 2.5 miles-treadmill (stretch and weights)
Thur - 5 miles with 3.5 at pace
Fri - off
Sat - 5 miles
Sun - 11 miles (I am writing this in advance)

My recovery has been very good and I have been diligent about sticking to the plan and running hard when I am supposed to and especially running easy when I am supposed to.

Next couple of weeks will be tough since I will be traveling. That is what always made biking a challenge. I just need to get the workouts in and not eat like a pig (since I have tendency to overdo it).

I have drill this weekend so it will make for a long week next week.

It did rain yesterday and some today. Hallelujah!

Hot, Hotter and Hottest

Whoowee....man this temperature is freaking unbearable!

That is what your garden variety wuss would say. I on the other hand have been a running fool. I started my 'thon training last Monday. Needless to say, I had a little muscle pain still lingering, but the pain has pretty much subsided now that my legs are used to running nearly everyday.

Here is my run list over the past couple of weeks using Hal Higdon's Advanced II 18-week marathon training plan because I am a glutton for punishment (go check it out):

Sunday - 10 (started at 0630 and ran with Chip)
Saturday - 6.5 (with a 5 mile pace run in the middle with Chip)
Friday - off day
Thur - ~4.5 miles with 3 hill repeats (make those thighs scream baby)
Wed - 3 miles on the treadmill, stretch and weights
Tue - ~ 5 miles with a 7:30 mile in the middle (sucking in this hot dry air...well...sucks)
Mon - 2.5 miles on the treadmill, stretch and weights
Sun - 9 miles (it was unbearably hot at the start and just got hotter)
Sat - 5 miles with about 3.5 at pace
Fri - off
Thur - 20 min warmup, 4-1200 repeats with the high school boys, 10 min cooldown (ouch)
Wed - 2 miles on treadmill
Tue - 40 min run at moderate pace
Mon - 2 miles on treadmill

Well that ought to be enough to bore you to tears...

While I welcome the challenge of the heat, I must be careful and stay thoroughly hydrated so I don't flutter. Drinking warm water during a long run is certainly a highlight of the summer.

Regarding the heart stuff, no flutter at all. However, every now and then I feel like it is going to kick in, but nothing happens. I am sure I am not out of the woods since everything I have read says it never really goes away on its own.

The kids are back in school, my wife is taking a maternity leave for 8-10 weeks and life will be hectic trying to run and get kids to the right spots at the right times. Next year will be nice since they will be in the same school (finally). But for now, suck it up.

Has it really been over a month?

Evidently it has. I have been running (very little riding) and my heart has been doing ok. I had a couple of instances over the past month where my heart started fluttering. Both occasions occurred when I did a long run, got hot and dehydrated. I am trying to continue the running and drink more water during the runs.

I don't know how much I have been running over the past month. However, I spent a few days in San Francisco (stayed near the wharf) and ran everyday. I stayed on central time so that meant I was up at 0400 and running by 0500. One day I ran to the Golden Gate with a friend that attends the same meetings. The next day we ran to the Bay Bridge. It was really nice running in 55 F early in the morning. It was interesting seeing all the folks wearing long sleeve shirts, gloves, tights...I was just wearing a shirt and shorts.

This past weekend, I ran about 4 miles on Sat morning and then the Twilight Retro Run 5k at Trak Shak with both of my kids. I started with my daughter in the back of the pack because she was afraid she would get trampled at the start. Then I ran to catch up with my son who started near the front. I ran with him to the finish in a not so impressive ~24 minutes. I then ran back along the course until I found my daughter and finished with her. Although the run started at 1800, it was hot. Thankfully it was overcast, but I still cannot run hard when the temp is 80F. We had a good time especially when they held the best retro outfit contest.

I ran 8.4 last night after a brief rain. This was a slow paced run. However, I woke up early this morning around ~0200 and my legs just hurt. About 0400 I finally got up and took some Tylenol and the pain finally eased enough for me to go back to sleep and sleep through my alarm. Not sure why my legs ached so much. I probably should have taken an ice bath after my run. I think I will do so next weekend after my long run.

In the next week or so, I will start my training program for the Rocket City marathon which is Dec 8. I feel like I am in good shape to stay healthy and not have any major episodes of flutter. I also need to lose a few pounds. I would like to get down to 155 lbs by November and I am about 165 lbs right now. Every bit counts!

I will try a little harder to keep this up to date. But I ain't making no promises.

Still Here

I was reminded by neighbor Jim that I had not blogged in a while. As far as the fluttering goes, it has been fairly uneventful over the past several weeks. I just have to watch dehydration and drinking alcohol. So I cannot over do it running (or any other exercise), get dehydrated, then recover with any kind of alcoholic drink. Usually I must get rehydrated before having a cold beer. Oh well! It could be worse. I am willing to live with that "problem" as long as I don't have the long fluttering episodes.

As far as running, still running. We were on vacation last week in Colorado Springs. I did not do a lot of running, but got in a lot of walking at the higher altitude. There is the Pikes Peak Marathon I read about, not sure I want to tackle a 26 mile run that heads uphill for 13 miles to 14,000+ feet.

I have been running steadily this week. Trying to overcome a slight injury to my lower left leg. RICE. It sure has seemed to help. I was too tired today to run having run over the past 3 days. My plan is to work on increasing my distance and enjoying the run. I have not run with my HR monitor for a while now. However, I need to start getting serious about this marathon training (Rocket City marathon).

Now if I could get serious about this blogging business!

I am gaining....weight!

So it has been a few days after my Dallas trip. I did walk on Sunday with my wife (3.6 miles), run on Monday (7.2), run on Tuesday (2.5), and run on Wednesday (~3.5). My legs were very heavy on Tues and Wed due to inconsistency. I hope to run again this evening after work. Of course, I am on another trip. Atlanta yesterday and Wash DC today and tomorrow. I am trying hard to keep running and minimize eating. Both are very hard to do.

I noted a few days ago that I have gained weight. A few pounds sure makes a difference when running. I don't have a defined plan right now for running a late year marathon. But I plan on mapping one out soon which will help keep me focused.

Regarding my flutter. I have had very few episodes over the last week and a half. Just a few short blips. However, a little too much wine on Saturday resulted in a case of flutter that evening and during the night. So I cannot go a drink too much alcohol otherwise I will flutter. I had a couple of beers last night with dinner and had a short burst of flutter. Then it went away.

I quit taking the blood thinner medicine because I feel it is more risky to be on it with minimal flutter. If I start having more sustained episodes, I will resume the medication. I will start my aspirin once a day when I return home tomorrow.

Not sure what to do about seeing another cardio. Once I get a little down time from traveling, I will try and see another one just to follow up.

On the Road Again...no really

I sit here in lovely Dallas, TX for another stinkin' meeting. I did manage to get some things done this past weekend. First, I attended a men's retreat with my church group. Had a great time. Sunday I had Navy reserves. Not such a great time. I had to do the semi-annual PRT (run 1.5 miles, pushups and situps). Monday was work and a 6 mile run. Fortunately, my neighbor Jim ran with me and kept me at a reasonable pace.

Oh, I turned 45 on Saturday and my wife and kids threw me a nice little b'day party. Thanks to them for making it special!

I have been doing pretty good on the fluttering. Really have not had a serious episode of sorts since at least last Thursday. There were several moments over the past few days where I thought I was going to start a flutterin'. But nothing really happened. Now I did have a short bout right after dinner tonight. But it was short <15 min and I am not fluttering as I type. Still seriously contemplating going to another cardio doc.

While I don't have a game plan other than get out and run. I am sorta planning to try a marathon in late fall. I will have to see how this flutter business plays out and my traveling. I will be on the road quite a bit over the summer so I need to watch my intake and be disciplined in my exercise. I did note that over the past 3-4 weeks I have put on about 8 pounds. Whoa! Now I need to get control of my intake or really up my exercise which has been somewhat less than desired.

Keep me honest folks...I need your help!

Where Have I Been?

Been on the road...traveling with work and working too much. Things are going ok. Still have occasional flutter. Nothing too sustained, but it is still there. A couple of weeks ago, I was on a three day trip and drank a beer or glass of wine each night. Each day afterward I had stop and go flutter. I have not had another alcoholic beverage since then.

Traveled to Texas for a meeting, went to see mi madre for Mother's Day.

I have been running a little more. Trying to get in a few miles each day (4-5 days per week). I did do a Ride of Silence this past Wednesday. It was only 8 miles at 12 mph. My butt did ache slightly along with my arms...out of the saddle way too long.

My goal is to start training for a marathon and run one in early winter, Nov-Dec timeframe. Hopefully this heart issue will allow me to train for it.

I am also going to see another cardiologist. I am not really satisfied with the one I have.

I have a busy summer ahead. Lots of travel for work and a vacation or two in the mix.

On the Road

Traveling today for a 2.5 day meeting in Knoxville. No flutter, no running, good dinner, life is good. I really need to cut back on the eating. I have gained 4 pounds over the last week and a half. Too many calories and too few runs/rides.

I actually feel pretty good. So I think I will leave it at that!

Monday is...well Monday!

Actually got a 3.9 mile run at today at lunch. I noted once while running up a hill that I hit 169 bpm on my HR monitor. That is a little high and should usually be about 150 bpm. I did not note another spike in my hr during the rest of my run.

While stretching, I laid on my right side to stretch my left quad and started to get unusually light headed. I had just stretched the right quad while laying on my left side and did not note the same effect. A little weird.

After a quick lunch, I did have some flutter so I continued drinking water to recover from my run. After a while, the flutter disappeared and did not return. I did not suffer any more light headed moments nor had any other problems. I did come home and mow the lawn. I still did not have any problems.

Just gonna keep tracking this stuff to see how it all turns out. I may try a different cardio doc since the current one seems more interested in getting my on drugs to regulate my sporadic hr. I am not so interested in doing drugs. So we may have a parting of the ways.

Sunday

Since my Wed checkup, things have gone pretty well. I have not had a serious case of flutter except for Saturday afternoon. My daughter and I worked in the yard trimming back the frost burn on the bushes and pulling weeds. It was a tad warm and I probably started to dehydrate since I was not drinking enough fluid. After we were done and I showered, I was sitting on the couch and started to flutter. My wife and I had to run some errands so along the way I stopped to get a Powerade. After drinking the Powerade, my flutter stopped and I really did not have a recurrence of it the rest of the day. It appears that I must be careful about my activity and hydration.

So it is mid-afternoon on Sunday and I feel pretty good. I plan to start running on Monday to try and regain some of my conditioning. I would still like to do a marathon and may shoot for the Rocket City marathon in Huntsville. So I will need to set up a training plan and be more meticulous about being ready to run as opposed to how fast I want to run. I also need to get back on the bike, but it is not really calling my name like in previous years. I think last year's burnout was more mental than anything else. But I need to regain the joy I felt when riding and not ride just to go through a hammerfest.

Doctor Visit

Well the doctor visit went ok...basically I paid a $25 copay for the doctor to agree that I did not need to take any action such as drugs for my flutter. He still cannot give an explanation or even a hint of what my problem may be. I may be a bit unfair, but doggone, the doc should discuss more than a drug therapy. I don't want to take drugs for the rest of my life.

My flutter for the past two days has been basically non-existent. Hope I am on a roll.

An unrelated issue - we started receiving spam faxes this afternoon from 732-542-3012. I did a little research on the net and ran across this site. The guy that owns this site did a little homework and offered several suggestions on how to exorcise this fax spammer. Be aware that he is a little profane in his writing. I followed the advice which is contact the Do Not Call Registry, contact the FCC, and call the morons on a separate number (732-389-3900) and complain.

Friday thru Sunday

Things went ok this weekend. Friday I did not have incident of flutter. However, Saturday was pretty good even after lunch (small bbq sandwich, potato salad and water). I worked out that afternoon and the only thing I noticed that was unusual was my heart rate at the end of my run. I peaked at 178 bpm which is normally is all out effort. I did not feel that fatigued when my heart rate hit the peak nor was I running that fast. A little disconcerting.

That evening I attended a dinner. After standing around during cocktail hour ($2 glass of ginger ale), I started having flutter come in and out. I had to introduce someone during the dinner, so I had the usual spurt of adrenaline and then really started having some chest pounding flutter. But I seemed to recover from them fairly quickly and it went down to minor flutter after I headed home and went to bed.

I woke up in the middle of the night and noted just a slight amount of flutter. The same thing occurred when I got up to go to work on Sunday (reserves). Nothing significant all morning. I ate Chinese food for lunch and had some sporadic flutter all afternoon. I played a game of frisbee football and did not note any problems. In fact, I really did not have any flutter any time after that.

On Cruise Control

Well since my last post, I have had very few noticeable flutters. Nothing sustained like previous posts. I did have a big lunch today...loaded calzone with a sprite. The previous couple of days I have been eating fairly light lunches...typically a vegetable soup of some sort. It actually feels good to feel good.

I would never realized the impact these heart situations have on folks. Yes, I do understand that any heart problem, however slight, is a serious issue. But the impact to your quality of life is tremendous. It has now been nearly a month since this all re-started. It is almost like having the flu, where is really knocks you into the dirt and you slowly recover with time. I have certainly changed my diet and have been extremely conscientious of everything I eat. I have eaten more fruits and just worked to keep my intake in check. I have never been prone to gaining weight. However, I have reached the point where age is starting to affect my metabolism.

What is even worse is that I have been exercising infrequently and I have not been on the bike since last September. Plus, my running has only started up again and it is painful to regain a reasonably fit state. I have drill this weekend so I will see how things go.

Tuesday/Wednesday and eventless

Things have been going well since yesterday. I have only had minor flutter twitches, nothing sustained not even for a few minutes. I ran 3.5 miles on the treadmill at lunch yesterday. My only concern there was that at the end of my run, my heart rate was at 140 bpm which is higher than usual based on pace and incline. It should hover in the low 130's. I am not sure if that is due to declining fitness (not having exercised consistently since this mess started). I had some black bean soup for lunch and fruit (banana and apple). I did have a couple of twitches afterward, but nothing consistent. For dinner I had popcorn, fruit and a sprite because I had eaten some granola late in the afternoon.

Today has been similar except that I did not run at lunch. I had a bowl of chicken vegetable soup and an apple. I am ensuring that I remain hydrated throughout the day. I am even eating granola as I type.

My neighbor Jim left me a comment about seeing a GI doc. That is something that I will discuss with my cardio doc next week. I hope I am transitioning back to regularity because I hate being irregular.

Event #13

This was an odd event. I woke up early this morning (0300ish) and I was fluttering. I woke again at 0500 and my heart was still fluttering. Part of my morning ritual is to weigh myself and I noted that I was about 1 lb under the norm. Based on my minimal activities yesterday, other than the walk with the dog, I concluded that I was slightly dehydrated. I know that dehydration has been a precursor for the flutter. I had a bowl of cereal and banana for breakfast and then headed to work. I drank a hot cup of decaf tea and then a couple of glasses of water. Around 1000 I noticed that my flutter had stopped. I came home for lunch and had a bowl of minestrone soup along with some fruit. I waited all afternoon for my flutter to return and nothing came. After work and a fine haircut, I came home, walked the dog and had dinner (baked potato with turkey chili on top...and some cheese). As I write, I still have not fluttered and actually feel pretty good. One can only hope that I have a good night.

A Random Thought

I was thinking of an old school friend that I probably have not seen in 20 years. His name is Jim Hammond. Not sure why I thought about him, probably because of some fairly memorable encounters we had over the years we were in school together. I guess it goes to show you what kind of impact you can have on a person (good or bad) and not even know it.

I will give you a quick run down of our three encounters. Before I do, you have to know Jim a little bit. He was never a very big guy, but he was tough. He was the youngest of three brothers and his two older brothers were fairly good size. He was a nice guy, we just never really hung out together that much.

4th grade - Pee Wee football. He was on one team and me on the other. Near the end of the game, the other team's halfback was scooting down the field when the clock ran out. The back stops about 30 yards from the end zone and everyone else quits the pursuit. Then the coaches are yelling for him to run and us to tackle him. I was the closest and started running after him as he took off. Next thing I know I am flat on my butt against the fence out of bounds. Jim had come from the side and taken my legs out from under me with a flying block (the below the waist block was legal then).

8th or 9th grade - Jim and I are auditioning together for an special choral group. As we are singing the audition song, I am having trouble following along. The reason is that I usually followed the piano. Finally at the end of the song, Jim turns to me and says, "You need to follow the notes on the song sheet." Frankly, it was kind of a revelation. I know it sounds stupid, but duh!

9th grade - playing tackle football in a neighbor's yard. Of course, none of us are wearing any kind of protective gear. Just playing football like kids usually do (or at least used to). Anyway, I am running the ball and Jim tackles me from behind landing squarely on my left heel as I am laying prone on the ground face down. I try to stand up and quickly fall after trying to put weight on my left foot. Unable to stand on my foot, I stand on my right and start hopping home. The funniest part, though not much of one, is the last view I had of the other players is them standing there staring at me and not saying a word or helping. As I got closer to home, I take one more look and they had resumed playing football like nothing happened.

So what did happen? I did not break anything, but severely sprained my left ankle and was in a cast for 9 weeks. I probably limped on it another 3-4 months. Moral of the story is don't play football without pads even though it would not have helped me any.

Those are my memories of Jim. Heck, he probably does not even remember those moments, but they are forever etched in my mind. So those are the kinds of impacts we can have on other people and not realize how we may have impacted their lives.

Multiple Events - Call them #12+

Sunday - Church, lunch, fluttered off and on starting around 1330 and still kind a going right now. I had chicken and pasta penne (from Taziki's). I walked the dog about 1730 and got back feeling slightly light headed. Probably fluttered the entire walk.

Saturday - Ran 6 easy miles after helping our pastor's daughter move to her new house. Ate lunch around 1330 (corn tortillas, refried beans and salmon with tomato sauce) and started fluttering right after. Fluttered on and off all afternoon while it was raining outside and I was playing Xbox (sooo much better than Pong).

Friday - Fluttered some in the afternoon and not much in the early evening. Fairly uneventful day even though I ran about 3.5 miles at lunch.

Thursday - I really don't recall what happened that day (that is what I get for not blogging regularly). Since nothing stands out, I probably fluttered some, but not a whole lot.

Event #11

Well the streak ended today at about 1500. I did not run today and went to eat lunch with my wife (turkey club sandwich, fries and water). I did have a bite size butterfinger afterward and later a small fireball. Not sure what triggered this event.

Overall, the event is sporadic. Just kind of comes and goes. I had a four corn tortillas with ground beef for dinner along with a small glass of V8 tropical. Even as I sit here and type it kind of comes and goes. I just hope I don't have another episode like the other night.

Right now I am pissed at my internist. I had bloodwork done nearly 2 weeks ago and still don't have the results. I have called 4 times and no response other than the results are with the doctor for his review. Now it is time time to get a little ugly. This is a real pet peeve. I am concerned about my health and the results are in his hands and I ain't gettin' jack!

If anything is wrong with you, you better plan on taking care of yourself cause no one else does!

Could it be a new record

It is now 2020 (kinda like hindsight) and I have not had one incident of flutter. I did not run today because I am trying to slowly ease my way back into it. Plus, after last night's episode, I needed time to recover.

One other thing about last night is that the chest pounding was somewhat violent. It did not feel like the usual flutter; instead, it felt like a violent muscle spasm which is not the norm. Trying to keep track of all this to share with my cardiologist in a couple of weeks. I will probably have to consolidate it into a more readable format.

Ok...maybe not...Event #10

Everything was going fine yesterday. Ran 3.5 miles on the treadmill, fairly easy at lunch. Ate lunch (leftover rice and fish preceded by Pepcid AC). Drank water. Participated in a 3 hour conference call (OK...most things went fine).

Around 1600, I went to my daughter's track meet to take pictures. My heart started fluttering around 1700 (maybe slightly earlier). I was on my feet until about 1900 when I finally called it quits. With off and on flutter.

Ate dinner (spaghetti with red sauce and a couple of pieces of bread). I had a glass of V8 Tropical juice followed by a glass of OJ. Then I ended up with a case of continuous flutter even as I went to bed. Woke up at 2330 to go to the bathroom with my heart still fluttering. Tossed and turned until about 0130 when the flutter finally quit. My chest hurt this morning from all of last night's activity and I am tired.

After complaining to my wife, she pointed out that the red sauce, V8 and OJ may have been too acidic for my system coupled with eating late. That would explain the late night problem, but doesn't shed any light on why I cannot stand for prolonged periods, in the afternoon/evening, without having some episode of flutter.

I will see what today brings.

I Give Up...on the numbering of events...

Well, I should write that my flutter has taken a turn for the better! I am not having any consistent bouts of flutter over the past few days. Yesterday I ran the Christ Church Run to the Cross 5K and came in 13th overall and first in my age group. Not bad for zero running over the past 2-3 weeks. My time was 20:36 which was about 45 seconds slower than last year. But for no running, I will take it. The temperature was around freezing and the it was windy. Not quite ideal running conditions, but I felt pretty good.

Regarding the flutters, I had a mild bout yesterday after eating some Girl Scout cookies (Samoas). However, they went away and then I had a twitch every now and then. This whole episode of flutter is just really weird.

Today after church, my son mowed the yard while I used the weed eater. Afterward as I was surfing the net, I had a 10-15 minute bout of flutter over an hour ago. Nothing since.

I think tomorrow I will start running easy at lunch to see what happens afterward. As the temperature returns to normal after this recent cold snap, I may even start getting out on the bike. It may be better for me to ride to reduce the stress on my body (my dad's suggestion). Plus, I am sore today after the run yesterday!

Event #9

Actually I had a pretty good day. I had a few blips here and there, but nothing consistent or consistently inconsistent. While I am typing this note, I am having minor blips. Comes and goes. So what did I do different? Well, nothing.

I had a hamburger and fries for lunch. Took a 1/2 day off to give out registration packets for the church's Run to the Cross tomorrow. Came home and played XBox with my son. Had a pepperoni calzone for dinner. I probably should not have stuffed my gullet at dinner, but I love calzones.

I feel that these episodes are slowly dissipating. In fact, I am thinking of running tomorrow just to test the waters a bit. I don't plan on running hard, just hard enough to beat my son so he won't get the big head. However, that day will soon come that I won't be able to keep up....I will still have more money than him (at least for some time).

I will let you know what happens tomorrow after the run.

Un"eventful" So Far...oops I did it again...#8

Started off today feeling pretty good. Woke up a little too early, but otherwise feel fine.

A recap of yesterday's flutter. Fluttered occasionally yesterday morning, but not very often. Ate lunch with my wife at the Pita Hut (cilantro-lime chicken pita with a Sprite preceded by a Pepcid AC tablet). I noticed after lunch that I fluttered as I drank the cold drink or at ate ice. So I stopped doing that and shortly thereafter the flutters quit. In fact, I don't recall fluttering much for the rest of the day. An occasional burst, but nothing significant. I even thought about running, but quickly decided not to push my luck.

Ate breakfast this morning (bowl of cereal and milk) and have not fluttered even as I type. I had a 1/4 cup of coffee since I have decided to wean myself off caffeine. I am almost down to zero vices. Now if I could quit dogcussing other drivers on 280, I would be at zero ;-).

1551 Entry - Shortly after a modest lunch of hamburger helper, I started having minor episodes of flutter. Most of the afternoon I remained flutter-free with the exception of the occasional twitch or two. It seems, and I hate to be optimistic, that my fluttering is slowly subsiding. I just don't want to aggravate it and restart the longer flutters. So I will continue to "take it easy" which means I ain't running or riding! There is the Run to the Cross 5K this weekend. I will be there, working at registration. Hope to see you there!

Events # 6 and 7

What a crappy way to start a day. Ate breakfast (bowl of cereal with milk) this morning and shortly thereafter, event #7 started. This is the first time I have had fluttering in the morning and I am really disappointed that it has started. So instead of getting better, I feel like I am getting worse to where this stuff will progress to a chronic, never ending condition.

Event #6 occurred yesterday right after lunch. I ate 1/2 sandwich and not more than a few minutes later, I started fluttering. Like previous days, the fluttering was intermittent until about 1830 (right after dinner - hamburger helper). I attended another track meet yesterday afternoon and noticed that the flutter would stop after I sat down for a while (on some occasions, but not all). I also took an OTC Pepcid AC tablet right before I ate dinner. Maybe it helped.

I slept restlessly last night. A storm came through and my daughter came downstairs to sleep with us (a normal occurrence). Even my wife complained about the poor sleep last night.

Well back to #7, I hope that maybe it will quit later this morning and I will post any changes later today.

Event #5 Sorta

Why "sorta" you may ask? Well after eating lunch yesterday at about 1145 (turkey sandwich w/ lettuce, tomato and a pickle along with a cup of chicken noodle soup), I started going in and out of flutter starting at 1300. This basically went on all afternoon and into the night right up to bed time. The flutters never lasted long. But I could feel them coming on so I would stand up and walk around or lay down on my back or side and they would quit. I ate a hamburger and corn for dinner at about 1800 and I did not notice any difference in the flutters. Just wandering in and out like a butterfly.

I felt pretty good when I woke up this morning and have gone right up until lunch with no fluttering whatsoever. I wish I could figure out what I do in the morning that I could replicate for the remainder of the day. I don't know if it is some kind of biological rhythm clock thing or what. It is still aggravating nonetheless.

I am about to eat lunch. I am going to try and make lunch last a while rather than eating the entire meal at one sitting. I am having a tuna sandwich (lettuce, tomato and pickle) along with a glass of water and apple. I am thinking that by stringing out the meal, I would be less inclined to flutter. We shall see...I will keep my faithful readers posted (all zero of you ;-))

Event #4

As an epilogue to Friday's event. It finally quit as I went to bed. My wife did mention that about 0220 Saturday morning, she woke up as I took a large breath and then seemingly stopped breathing before I started almost panting. She put her hand on my chest and could feel my heart racing (I don't think she could determine that I was fluttering). She said this went on for nearly 45 minutes. She feels like she has a newborn in the house that you check on throughout the night to make sure it is still breathing. No wonder I woke up tired. I just wonder if I do this every night??

Event #4 - Saturday, at a track meet until about 1430. Event #4 started around 1300 shortly after I had a bag of popcorn and a gatorade. Something just ain't right. I almost believe that if I quit eating, I won't have anymore fluttering. Of course there are side effects!

The fluttering was not consistent. I got home a little after 1430, had a bite to eat. Feeling lethargic and fluttering in and out, I laid on the couch and took a nap. Now I am not at nap person. I haven't taken one in years because I usually nap and wake up cranky then I cannot sleep at night. However, I slept maybe an hour, woke up feeling somewhat refreshed and the old heart was beating in a normal rhythm. I think I may have found the solution!

Took a shower and the wife and I went to a Sunday School party. I ate moderately and drank Sprite / water. No further episodes the rest of the night. A friend at the party who has had his share of heart problems suggested that I may have acid reflux that triggers my fluttering. He suggested an antacid before major meals to see if that helps. I am willing to try anything to get my normal rhythm back.

Anyway, I have spent most of the day on Sunday lounging around after church. No fluttering whatsoever. I did take two Tums before I ate lunch. Not sure if they worked or I was just lucky. I would like to get to a point that I can start running or riding again. I should blood work back early this week and may see my internal doc again. I want to further explore this acid reflux possibility because I have noticed a burning sensation in my chest after eating that I attributed to my heart. Plus, on some of my hard running workouts, my lower throat would burn afterward feeling like acid had worked its way up.

Event #3

Well it did not last long. After taking the afternoon off from work to mow the lawn then head over to my kids' track meet, I started fluttering. It was not a persistent flutter, but would come and go. I was helping with the long jump and sometimes it would kick in as I bent over to measure a jump and then stop when I sat down. As a race started, especially if one of my kids was running, the adrenaline would flow and so would the flutter.

Run down of events. Ate PB and honey for lunch with glass of water and small glass of OJ. Mowed lawn, edged lawn, and blew off the driveway. Took shower, at bowl of ramen noodles and then relaxed for 30 or so minutes. At about 1500, I felt like I was coming down with a fever and had to head to the meet. Got in my warm car and drove with the windows up to the meet.

Fluttered all during the meet starting about 1600. Came home at about 2015 and had pizza. I stopped fluttering, but then it kicked back in once I started writing this missive. It still comes and goes with no sustained flutter. Overall, I am still not feeling 100%, more like 80%.

Frankly, this fluttering business bites the big one.

Some good news. Both kids set personal records in their respective events. My son ran the 1600m and 800m, setting new PRs by several seconds in each event. My daughter ran the 800m and did the same.

Tomorrow I will update the blog with my post-flutter report.

Feeling Weary

I just ain't feeling right. I feel that I am pretty in tune with body and its moods. I just feel tired (not draggin' in the dirt tired, but sleep in late tired). I called my regular doc for an appointment in the afternoon. So far I have not fluttered yet today, but it is early.

Had some BBQ chicken and pork with beans, slaw and potato salad. I did sneak in some chocolate cream pie....yummy!! Had plain ole glass of h2o instead of sweet tea.

Saw the doc at 1400. He took some blood samples and we discussed by flutter history. Since it easier to get in and see him, I may just use him as my focal point to work this issue out. He wanted the blood to screen for any unusual stuff like thyroid or low electrolyte problems that may be a trigger.

I will see him after the blood tests come back and decide on the next step. He thought that my prolonged flutter on Saturday may be the cause of my tiredness. I kind of equate it to running for 10 hours and then taking a week to recover.

I did not run today. Instead I worked on my mower and mowed the back yard. Darn summer is here to early!

Had penne pasta with marinara sauce, corn and garlic bread for dinner. Small glass of OJ and a glass of water.

After dinner, around 1845, I thought I felt a flutter coming on, but it faded and has not reared its ugly head as I type this note. I will document my next event, if it occurs, sometime tomorrow. This condition aggravates the stew out of me. I told the nurse that I should quit running and lay around drinking and smoking. I know it is silly, but I hate dealing with something I cannot fix. So say a prayer for me.

Event #2

Ran at lunch, 35 minutes, fairly easy. Stretched and did some situps/pushups. During my stretching/cooldown, I noted that I was a little lightheaded (at least more so than usual). I then showered and had a light lunch (small can of tuna, wheat thin crackers, applesauce, apple, and orange...I did space out the time on eating these items) along with a cool glass of water. Found a great website on atrial flutter and while reading about it, I began episode #2 (at 1330). It has not been a persistent flutter, kind of coming and going. Right now my chest feels a little heavy like a muscle that has been working out and is kind of tired. When I take a deep breath, my chest feels slightly constricted. I will document the time it finally quits. So I will get back to work!

It is now 1425 and I have not fluttered in a little while. Maybe I am done for the day.

Oops I did it again....going in and out of flutter all afternoon. Had some tomato soup out of the can that has lots of sodium around 1515. I keep going in and out of flutter and finally finished around 1745. Had fish with broccoli and grapes for dinner.

Event #1

Well since I am posting my occurrences of atrial flutter and starting today, I decided I would number them.

So #1 started around 1915 this evening while I was at my kids' track meet taking pictures. No hard activity and it was cool this evening (did not really sweat). So I am not sure what caused this particular episode. I am still fluttering now at 2140. I came home, drank a small glass of OJ and had a 2 cups of beef broth (for the sodium). I also had a small plate of spaghetti with red sauce. So I will head to bed and it will likely be gone in the morning.

As I shutdown the computer and headed to bed, my flutter stopped (about 2145)! It usually does not quit until sometime after I am asleep. Yeah!

Heart is Acting Up Again

Had a 10-12 hour episode this past Saturday where my heart went into atrial flutter. I believe I was somewhat dehydrated when it started and it is hard to make it stop. I finally went to bed and woke up the next morning with no problem. I was tired from my heart working so hard. Atrial flutter occurs when the one chamber beats 4 times for every one heartbeat. I went to a local doc-in-the-box and they ran an EKG which showed the flutter. The doc gave me a shot of blood thinner on Saturday and then again on Sunday.

I visited the cardiologist today and he is kind of at a loss as to what to do. I don't have this all the time and there does not seem to be any regular trigger that starts an episode. So now I am on blood thinner medicine (wafarin) and will journal my occurrences.

Where Have You Been?

Since all of my readers (2 or 3) have been waiting for me to post, I decided it was time...

So what have I been doing during my last post? Running quite a bit actually. A 5k in 19:40, a 15K in 1:01:30ish, and a 1/2 marathon in 1:31:33ish. I have also ran several 15-18 milers and one 20 miler (kinda did that one out of the blue and I hurt for several days afterward).

What is next on my plate? Uhhmm. Usually I wrap up my running and start riding the bike. But doggone, it has been too cold to ride. I am thinking about running a marathon since I have done the miles. I just need a couple of more long runs 22-24 range and then I think I would be ready. I would like to shoot for about a 3:30 which would be pretty good. The Music City marathon is on April 28...maybe I can do it. In the interim, I probably run a couple of 5k's or maybe a 10k.

I will try to be a little more faithful in blogging in my blog. Maybe add a little flavor to it...you spice it up a bit. Then again maybe not. See next time around.