Well the 2008 Mercedes marathon / 1/2 marathon have come and gone. This was a good news/bad news race. First the good news.
Both of my kids completed the race today in fine fashion. I am very proud of the way they trained and the effort they put into the race. I only hope that they will try it again next year and improve their times. Nonetheless, a dad cannot be anymore pleased with their fine accomplishment. That was the good news.
Now the bad news. I started the race with flutter in full flutter. I kept hoping that my heart would revert back to normal, but it would only do it when I stopped to walk. I had positioned myself behind two people that I can normally run with. Now these two folks ran their best times in several years. They dropped me going into mile 5 at the beginning of the 1 mile uphill to the 10k point. Running with flutter in full force is like driving a 4-cylinder with only 3 firing. What I believe that basically happens is that with flutter, the blood flow is lessen some percentage (10-15% or more). So basically when running at my usual 1/2 marathon pace, I am draining the energy faster from my body because it cannot recover when less oxygenated blood is reaching the critical running muscle groups. My pace was off nearly 30 seconds per mile which resulted in a 1:38. Now granted, that is pretty good time for most people so I cannot complain (too much). I just hate the fact I could not perform at maximum capacity especially on a perfect running day like today.
Fortunately, I see the cardio doc on Tuesday and more than likely I will try the beta blockers which will control the flutter (I hope), but knock down my max heart rate some amount (probably 10-20%). So with that said, my fastest days may well be behind me. It really sucks the big one.
I may have to find another hobby...basket weaving anyone?
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Congrats to the kids (no names because this is the internet). Though you are bummed by your performance be sure to praise them. My guess is you were probably the only dad out there who had 100% participation from the offspring.
I hate to hear about the flutter. I know you're bummed about it but still a very good race. I may have to take you up on the basket weaving since the doctors still have not figured out what is ailing me.
Another good hobby is making homemade beer in the basement!
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