Cardiologist

I noticed last week that the curious decrease in speed I've experienced in the last few months corresponds with a curious increase in resting heart rate.

For the record:

• I take resting heart rate by taking my pulse and counting 15 seconds, multiplying by 4.
• I do this first thing in the morning, when I remember.
• My RHR for the past few years has consistently been in the mid 40s. Lately, it's been 65-75.
• In February, I pulled off a 3-mile run in under 25 minutes, which is under 8:20 per mile.
• Now, I'm having a great day if I can manage 10 minutes per mile for 3 miles.
• My training hasn't decreased, quite the contrary.
• My weight hasn't significantly changed

(Note - this post was written on Thursday night, but now, on Friday morning, I'll add - this morning's run - 6.31 miles in 1:12, took a lot of effort. 4 months ago, I could do this same run in under an hour for that same amount of effort. That's a pretty dramatic decrease in speed.)

Sigh. I really wanted to avoid going to the doctor over this, because the fix might be simple. I went over the list of things that I thought could possibly cause this, and I came up with one thing that applied to me:

Steve-sized coffee mug

I probably drink a half-gallon of coffee every day, sometimes more. I thought I could attribute it to the large amount of caffeine I've been drinking for years, and always figured that sooner or later it would catch up to me. Figuring that was the case, I immediately cut back on my caffeine to 2-3 cups per day (next week I'll probably cut back more.)

At the same time, I posted a question on the ultrarunning listserv about it, adding that I'd like to avoid going to the doctor if it's a simple fix like decrease caffeine. People Who Are Smarter Than Me chimed in and of course said, "why take the chance?" Others threw out words like "endocarditis", "myocarditis", "hyperthyroidism", and "pericarditis." But what really convinced me to pick up the phone was a couple of people pointed out that the caffeine probably was not the culprit because I've been drinking it for so long.


So today, for the second time in my life, I stepped into a cardiologist's office. Heart doctor. Think about it. It sounds scary. The damned thing has got to keep ticking, day and night, without stopping, ever. Naturally I compare it to the endurance stuff I do. I've had cramps lock up a calf muscle into an immobile vice - if something like that ever happened to my heart, that would be it!


Anyway, she did an EKG and did whatever other tests they could then, and everything seems "perfect." Blood pressure was 115/70. Oxygen was great. Circulation at extremes was fine. The heart rate wasn't as elevated as it has been; around 60 (still dramatically higher than 45.) She basically has no idea why it's happening and ordered a bunch of tests - stress (treadmill) test and echo-cardiogram on June 24. Also, blood work: CBC (complete blood count), Lipid Panel, TSH (thyroid), and a "comprehensive metabolic panel" (whatever that is.) She said she's doing all of this to look for a cause because nothing was apparent in the exam room. Sounds good to me.

She also said it's a good idea to cut back on caffeine, but she'd rather I cut back on overeating. In fact, she pointed out that it's better to drink lots of coffee if it gets me to eat less (I wish). Interesting.


So, I guess on June 25th I'll have another blog post with the results of all of this. In the meantime, it's business as usual.

New entries for Steve's blog are published every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 10:00am NY time - NO POST ON MEMORIAL DAY, WE'LL BE OUT OF TOWN

Why did I start running ultras?

This blog post by Seth Godin explains it perfectly:

All you need to know...

by Seth Godin

is that it's possible.

Mike sent me a great story about an ultra-lightweight backpacker:

"Wolf was carrying a super-small pack which weighed 14 pounds including food and water. When asked how he got his pack weight so low, Wolf would reply, 'All you need to know is that it’s possible.'"

One of the under-reported stories of the internet is this: it constantly reports on what's possible. Somewhere in the world, someone is doing something that you decided couldn't be done. By calling your bluff and by pointing out the possibilities, this reporting of possibility changes everything.

You can view this as a horrible burden, one that raises the bar and eliminates any sinecure of comfort and hiding you can find, or you can embrace it as a chance to stretch.

Most organizations forget to ask the question in the first place.

I first got the bug to run ultras when I realized that people ran ultras.

New entries for Steve's blog are published every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 10:00am NY time

A different kind of streak

The emphasis I placed on running streaks is a non-ideal way to force yourself into a consistent pattern, says Coach/Shaman/Guru Tony (more on this later), and reporting mileage to someone else is better because I can have external accountability for consistency without losing the benefit of rest days.

Thus, Tony said, "the first order of business is to abandon the mile-a-day streak."  Co-coach/shaman/guru Herb agreed. Fair enough. These guys tell me what to do, and I do it.

Buffalo chicken slices

They don't, however, tell me what to eat. Or how much to eat.

Myoplex

In the past, the only times I have been successful losing weight is when I have logged every calorie.

Pastrami on Rye from Katz's deli

My tendency to overeat and/or snack was overwhelmed by the relatively tedious task of logging the calories.

Chicken sammich with a small salad

Not only did it prevent me from overeating, it kept me eating foods where I could easily determine the caloric content - avoiding restaurants.

Chicken Parm

And it always worked for as long as I was logging every calorie.

Homer Simpson Special

Problem was, I never was able to maintain it for more than a few weeks.

Honeydew, Cucumber

The rare times I did maintain it for 2-3 weeks, the amount of weight I lost was dramatic.

Carne Asada Fries

Suddenly, yesterday, it hit me. My pattern in running was the same as my pattern in eating.

PB on Toast, Apple

I needed some sort of structure to force consistency.

Sweetheart Deal, Dinosaur BBQ

And - a streak - where I can say I logged 1 mile every day for x days, forced consistency in my running.

Two hot dogs and a sunday from Stewarts

The parallel should be obvious here.

Cracker Barrel Breakfast

So, today, Monday May 24, is day 1 of my logging-every-calorie-I-eat steak.



And, by the way, this gallery of food I ate should leave no doubt in anyone's mind as to why I'm over 300lbs. These are typical meals for me. Most are not "treat meals," whatever that means.



New entries for Steve's blog are published every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 10:00am NY time