Very little of what I expected actually happened this weekend. That is not a bad thing it's just a fact.
I had the day off work on Friday to go to the doctor for my treadmill test. That was planned and I'm happy to say all is well and doc was happy to clear me for any and all activity after that. I was so excited after that I accepted an invitation to join Misery Loves Company on a trail run on Saturday. I spent the rest of the day running errands and odd tasks "knowing" that after the trail run Saturday I would be wanting to lay low until my shift at Back on My Feet 20 in 24 with Tootsie from 9:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.
HA! Goes to show what I 'know'. On Friday afternoon we received messages that BoMF and the City decided it was best to cancel Saturday and make the event a 12 hour run on Sunday only from 7 am to 7 pm. The weather was awful all week and was expected to peak on Saturday with severe thunderstorms rolling through in the evening. I think it was a wise decision but there are some comments floating around FB that there is more to this than what is being said since this event has always taken place in hot, humid weather. It's summer in July after all. I don't recall the severe thunderstorm, high wind threat in past year though. As it turned out the storms did roll through around 10 or so shutting down the Electric Run 5k and delaying the start of the Taylor Swift concert at the Linc.
Showing posts with label heart health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label heart health. Show all posts
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Thursday, June 27, 2013
98% Certain This is a Benign Issue
That's what the doctor said. (Insert Happy Dance here)
I have to go back in for a treadmill test. Probably in about two weeks. Doc wants to see exactly what happens when I run. But if that test jives with everything else he's seen and heard then all is good. The office staff were having difficulty accessing the doctor's schedule at Crozer so they will call me. He usually works out of that hospital and said he'd prefer to do it himself so he can talk about the results right then. That works for me! :)
The diagnosis is PVC's: Premature Ventricular Contractions - extra beats originating from the ventricles (lower heart chambers). Combined with other underlying conditions that may be a problem. I have none of those and in fact I am in 'excellent health'. Doc's words. :)
Doc spent a good hour with me asking questions. Some of them were the same question asked in a different way but that is a good thing. His diagnostic skills are excellent. It helped me relate all the necessary details. The heart runs on electricity (I knew that part) and like any other electrical system it is subject to short circuit from time to time. Some people have 10,000 of these extra beats a day! The holter monitor I wore for 24 hours revealed 27 extra beats; 25 from the ventricles 2 from the atria. I've probably been having them all along just never noticed them before.
"So", says the doctor, "Why did you suddenly start feeling as many as you did that day you were running and why do you feel like in the past two months that it has gotten worse (more incidents)". I almost hugged him. That's exactly what I was getting ready to ask. :)
I have to go back in for a treadmill test. Probably in about two weeks. Doc wants to see exactly what happens when I run. But if that test jives with everything else he's seen and heard then all is good. The office staff were having difficulty accessing the doctor's schedule at Crozer so they will call me. He usually works out of that hospital and said he'd prefer to do it himself so he can talk about the results right then. That works for me! :)
The diagnosis is PVC's: Premature Ventricular Contractions - extra beats originating from the ventricles (lower heart chambers). Combined with other underlying conditions that may be a problem. I have none of those and in fact I am in 'excellent health'. Doc's words. :)
Doc spent a good hour with me asking questions. Some of them were the same question asked in a different way but that is a good thing. His diagnostic skills are excellent. It helped me relate all the necessary details. The heart runs on electricity (I knew that part) and like any other electrical system it is subject to short circuit from time to time. Some people have 10,000 of these extra beats a day! The holter monitor I wore for 24 hours revealed 27 extra beats; 25 from the ventricles 2 from the atria. I've probably been having them all along just never noticed them before.
"So", says the doctor, "Why did you suddenly start feeling as many as you did that day you were running and why do you feel like in the past two months that it has gotten worse (more incidents)". I almost hugged him. That's exactly what I was getting ready to ask. :)
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Another Smiling Summer Weekend
SATURDAY
I started the weekend teaching a class. Twice a year we have orientation on Saturdays for new REALTORS who just can't make it on a weekday. It's a mind game to get up for it but once my butt is out of bed I'm fine. Teaching this class is one of my favorite things about my job. I was home just before 4 to rest my feet and change my clothes and then Dave and I walked into Media to have dinner with friends and listen to some of the music going on for Media's annual Blues Stroll.
I had almost forgotten it was this weekend. We had decided not to get tickets because Dave was supposed to have games all day and into the evening. So I was glad when Maggi messaged that she and Russ were planning to come into Media and did we want to meet up. It was nice night to be outside. We were able to dine outside at Sposato's and listen to some music at the Plum Street outside Seven Stones Cafe. Unfortunately, yours truly had to bail early for need of a bathroom. We would not have stayed a whole lot later though since we both had early wake ups for Sunday.
SUNDAY
Well so much for the early wake up. I was supposed to help out at the Oddyssey Half Marathon today. I bailed. Dave left for his ball games and I went back to sleep. I took my guilty feelings out on chores: defrosted the basement freezer, cleaned the kitchen including mopping the floor; walked to Acme to shop for produce then chopped and cooked for meals the first half of this week. I also paid the bills and balanced / closed out our budget for May. There was even a little bit left over to add to our savings. Yay :) After I finished that I tried to get through a few more pages of "Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All". I've got 15 pages to go to finish book 1.
Despite the challenge of being away from home at the beginning of this week, I did an acceptable job of minding what I was eating. This week I want to keep going and also get at least 30 minutes of exercise a day. I've slacked off and I know I need it to keep my mood in check. Without a goal I'm floundering. :( I'm looking forward to maybe getting out with some fitness buddies next weekend.
The US Open (golf) is happening at Merion Golf Club this week. It will be a traffic nightmare for some around here. I'm hoping they don't discover my back roads. ;)
Heart update: I have noticed that - in addition to exercise - the flutters also become much more noticeable if I am under-hydrated, tired, or too long between meals. I mention this because it occurs to me that there is a lesson to be learned. Eating, hydration, and rest are essential ALL the time. A person's heart likely works harder/stresses anytime your body is not properly fueled, watered and rested. We take it for granted as it compensates and beats along its merry way. Whatever my issue is now, is just causing my heart to nag me for not taking care of it. These reminders are keeping me on track. After I get my heart fixed I hope I remember to continue to treat it well.
I started the weekend teaching a class. Twice a year we have orientation on Saturdays for new REALTORS who just can't make it on a weekday. It's a mind game to get up for it but once my butt is out of bed I'm fine. Teaching this class is one of my favorite things about my job. I was home just before 4 to rest my feet and change my clothes and then Dave and I walked into Media to have dinner with friends and listen to some of the music going on for Media's annual Blues Stroll.
I had almost forgotten it was this weekend. We had decided not to get tickets because Dave was supposed to have games all day and into the evening. So I was glad when Maggi messaged that she and Russ were planning to come into Media and did we want to meet up. It was nice night to be outside. We were able to dine outside at Sposato's and listen to some music at the Plum Street outside Seven Stones Cafe. Unfortunately, yours truly had to bail early for need of a bathroom. We would not have stayed a whole lot later though since we both had early wake ups for Sunday.
SUNDAY
Well so much for the early wake up. I was supposed to help out at the Oddyssey Half Marathon today. I bailed. Dave left for his ball games and I went back to sleep. I took my guilty feelings out on chores: defrosted the basement freezer, cleaned the kitchen including mopping the floor; walked to Acme to shop for produce then chopped and cooked for meals the first half of this week. I also paid the bills and balanced / closed out our budget for May. There was even a little bit left over to add to our savings. Yay :) After I finished that I tried to get through a few more pages of "Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All". I've got 15 pages to go to finish book 1.
Despite the challenge of being away from home at the beginning of this week, I did an acceptable job of minding what I was eating. This week I want to keep going and also get at least 30 minutes of exercise a day. I've slacked off and I know I need it to keep my mood in check. Without a goal I'm floundering. :( I'm looking forward to maybe getting out with some fitness buddies next weekend.
The US Open (golf) is happening at Merion Golf Club this week. It will be a traffic nightmare for some around here. I'm hoping they don't discover my back roads. ;)
Heart update: I have noticed that - in addition to exercise - the flutters also become much more noticeable if I am under-hydrated, tired, or too long between meals. I mention this because it occurs to me that there is a lesson to be learned. Eating, hydration, and rest are essential ALL the time. A person's heart likely works harder/stresses anytime your body is not properly fueled, watered and rested. We take it for granted as it compensates and beats along its merry way. Whatever my issue is now, is just causing my heart to nag me for not taking care of it. These reminders are keeping me on track. After I get my heart fixed I hope I remember to continue to treat it well.
Friday, May 31, 2013
You Are What You Eat
So I've been giving thought to my nutrition habits lately.
About 5 years ago I made a conscious effort to eliminate excess fat and sugar. It was not a total deprivation thing. It was things like switching from 2% milk to fat free milk; no dressing on my salad; no sugar on my cereal; swapping out sodas for unsweetened green tea or water; and in general watching my portion sizes. I allowed cheating though. I concentrated on being "good" but allowed myself a piece of cake at our work birthday parties for example and the occasional sweet treat or soda as a 'reward'. This actually worked for close to a year.
Then I was diagnosed with exercise induced anemia. This was easily brought under control by iron supplements but then I started training for my first marathon. So my iron counts were good but I was still tired. Two things kicked in. First, I "needed"to reward myself for reaching mileage milestones. Second, being tired makes me crave and give into comfort food. Same thing happens when I'm sick. And let's face it, comfort food is mostly junk calories. Good thing I was running a lot. And lately, I've been a little down about the heart thing lately so more junk calories.
About 5 years ago I made a conscious effort to eliminate excess fat and sugar. It was not a total deprivation thing. It was things like switching from 2% milk to fat free milk; no dressing on my salad; no sugar on my cereal; swapping out sodas for unsweetened green tea or water; and in general watching my portion sizes. I allowed cheating though. I concentrated on being "good" but allowed myself a piece of cake at our work birthday parties for example and the occasional sweet treat or soda as a 'reward'. This actually worked for close to a year.
Then I was diagnosed with exercise induced anemia. This was easily brought under control by iron supplements but then I started training for my first marathon. So my iron counts were good but I was still tired. Two things kicked in. First, I "needed"to reward myself for reaching mileage milestones. Second, being tired makes me crave and give into comfort food. Same thing happens when I'm sick. And let's face it, comfort food is mostly junk calories. Good thing I was running a lot. And lately, I've been a little down about the heart thing lately so more junk calories.
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