I just met with the cardiologist and I got the all-clear!
YAY!!
He said that I am classic case of mitral valve prolapse. Not officially diagnosed until I get another echo and stress echo next week but he says it occurs in tall, thin people (did I mention I really like my cardiologist?) and that I have some other classic symptoms like my fingers are long in proportion to my wrists (?) and Im really sensitive to caffeine. Depending on what the tests say I either wont need treatment, will take beta blockers or may need an ablation (non-surgical procedure). Ill take any of those as long as I can still be active, which I can (not exercising isnt a form of treatment, its a form of punishment- LOVE my doctor). It would also explain Sundays SVT. So other than wearing really awesome electrodes to monitor me for arrhythmias over the next month, and limiting my caffeine (chocolate included
), looks like Ill be good to go! Triathlons, marathons, and ultramarathons, here I come!
I do today what you won't, so tomorrow I do what you can't.
Up Next (OMG): JFK50 | My Running Blog
Glad to hear that! You and Nita can start a club.
Only if joining will make me fast like Nita ![]()
I do today what you won't, so tomorrow I do what you can't.
Up Next (OMG): JFK50 | My Running Blog
DCtoPgh wrote:
lenzlaw wrote:Glad to hear that! You and Nita can start a club.
Only if joining will make me fast like Nita
No pressure. ![]()
We've come this far and it's still the same,
Runnin' out here in the rain.
Just one more mile, if only you could fly.
(Apologies to T. Rush and J. Tempchin, for the paraphrase)
No wonder my ears were burning
...
Been there, done that, on everything you said last October. And fully expected for you to report exactly what you just did. Isn't the peace of mind the BEST?! It was for me. No more stressing if I'm killing myself.
And you'll be way faster than me. You just gotta believe in yourself a little more. That's the hardest thing for me too.
Go get 'em, Kat!
Kat -
That's surely great news!
From some reading and from some of my own experiences, I feel that some of the so called "norms" are left wanting.
1. I had mentioned this before on the forum: When I first started training for a marathon, I went for a full physical with my doctor and he said I had a cardiac murmur and referred me to a cardiologist. The cardiologist did a full series of tests with all sorts of skin-peeling attachments on me and came back with a quote that was music to my ears: "Are you an athlete? The graph says you are."
2. When I run, my HR goes upto insane levels, close to 200! As much as I like it, it's NOT the count from my age till 220
Then I read what Hal Higdon had written about a girl he was coaching. Her HR would run upto 240, but she was an awesome runner! Apparently there are some variations in people that are medically inexplicable. So these days, rather than get bogged down by these empirical guidelines, I just go by my feel - as stupid as it may be!
So like Charlotte said, get your running gear on and go out for a run to celebrate - with or without the electrodes!
On a different note, I wanted to ask you about yoga as you had mentioned that in another thread. I had posted a question for Jen, which went unanswered
I am beginning to dust up my yoga routines, which I agree are totally complementary to running while soothing me mentally. What asanas do you do? After years of just running, my body flexibility is down the toilet, so gotta work on getting my ankle behind my neck!
Kat -
That's surely great news!
From some reading and from some of my own experiences, I feel that some of the so called "norms" are left wanting.
1. I had mentioned this before on the forum: When I first started training for a marathon, I went for a full physical with my doctor and he said I had a cardiac murmur and referred me to a cardiologist. The cardiologist did a full series of tests with all sorts of skin-peeling attachments on me and came back with a quote that was music to my ears: "Are you an athlete? The graph says you are."
2. When I run, my HR goes upto insane levels, close to 200! As much as I like it, it's NOT the count from my age till 220
Then I read what Hal Higdon had written about a girl he was coaching. Her HR would run upto 240, but she was an awesome runner! Apparently there are some variations in people that are medically inexplicable. So these days, rather than get bogged down by these empirical guidelines, I just go by my feel - as stupid as it may be!
So like Charlotte said, get your running gear on and go out for a run to celebrate - with or without the electrodes!
On a different note, I wanted to ask you about yoga as you had mentioned that in another thread. I had posted a question for Jen, which went unanswered
I am beginning to dust up my yoga routines, which I agree are totally complementary to running while soothing me mentally. What asanas do you do? After years of just running, my body flexibility is down the toilet, so gotta work on getting my ankle behind my neck!
I'm stuck with the electrodes for the next month so they'll be my new best friend. I did go for a run last night which felt AMAZING.
As for yoga, my yoga practice is back to being practiced only as of this week and even when I practiced regularly I never developed to a great extent. So I've been doing a lot of sun salutations, warrior poses, twists, chair pose, and core and balance stuff. My balance, flexibility and core are strong, but my upper body strength is my current limitation. I was following an intermediate series yesterday and my shoulders were so shot I had to take a break out of down dog
Sigh... I'll get there!
I do today what you won't, so tomorrow I do what you can't.
Up Next (OMG): JFK50 | My Running Blog
Thanks for this post, Ramesh. I've been recently told by an unnamed MCM running "friend" that I'm topped out pretty much on gaining any more speed because my heart rate is too high and will hold me back. I told him the exact same thing, just because my HR is higher than his doesn't mean it's not normal for me or is a problem.
I went through the battery of tests myself and was told my heart was "beautiful" and healthy and perfect, so I no longer worry when my heart rate starts to soar when I'm running. I sometimes have to walk a bit when I feel it getting too high for my comfort level, but otherwise, I know I'm causing no damage. Quite the opposite. You can't go by those stock calculations like 220 minus your age.
Ditto on the yoga. After practicing religiously for 3-4 years, then getting into running and giving up yoga completely, I've become extremely inflexible. Time to find a balance. I miss yoga, the calmness and the flexibility for sure.
Awesome, Kat! I kinda figured it was something along those lines, but nice to get the all clear signal.
The topped-out speed thing is a crock of ****, not surprising considering the source.
He's just fraidy-scared you're gonna keep beating him. I'm not a follower of the heart rate monitors, but it seems to me that as training improves, one can run faster than before at the same heart rate. Absolutely no facts to back that up, it just sounds logical to me.
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