Runninng and Recovery

[Philip]

Hello everyone.
I have wanted to do a 6 month status report but I wanted a race report to go along with it to post in active lifestyles; posting in post surgery sounds too medical and I have been trying to wean myself from a medical mindset. Scheduling conflicts and other issues have conspired against me for racing so let?s call this an athletic update.
Those that have read my earlier post know that the athletic recovery has been much more of a challenge than expected and progress comes very slow. The good news is that there is progress. Since completing rehab 10/9/06 I have worked up to 5 miles on my daily run, 8 miles on my long run and am doing one of the following ?speed? work sessions weekly:
1600 meter warm-up, 8 x 400m with 200m jogged recovery @ 7:30 pace, 1600m cool-down.
1600 meter warm-up, 3 x 1600m with 200m walked recovery @ 8:00 pace, 1600m cool-down
I am working out 6-7 days per week that is mostly running but includes 1 day of Taekwondo. If time permits I may work in a short, EZ bike ride. The cycling these days is more likely to be a recovery ride or ?it?s a beautiful day ride? than training ride.
The results of my stress test at rehab discharge showed a V02 max at 40.1 ml/kg/min which is 123% of predicted for age and gender. This and all other measured items were at or above normal. It feels good to be functioning at a ?normal? level however note that most of my age group are lumps on the sofa and this is not normal for me. I am looking forward to continued improvement and working on patience.
On another note while logged in: I am day 4 into IV antibiotic treatment for endocarditis. I hope this is no too large of a bump in the road. I am taking it slow until I know how hard I can safely push during treatment.
More on racing and endocarditis as both stories unfold.
Philip

 

[Marguerite53]

May I say, from "the sofa" ( ) that your numbers are certainly impressive!! And your determination sounds undaunted...as it should be!

Please keep us posted on your bout with the dreaded Bacterial Endocarditis. There have been others recently who have confessed their own personal fears of contracting it. They have alluded to wanting to know how it feels, what it is that tells you you have it, how it progressed, etc.. I'm sure there would be great interest in hearing of your experience.

I hope you are having a restful weekend with your family.

Best wishes. Marguerite

 

[BillCobit]

Hi Philip -

I was so glad to read of your success, then shocked by your "oh BTW" comment about BE. I too, hope this is not a significant speed bump for you. Also, please make sure to follow activity restrictions you may have - losing fitness is better than revving the engine only to throw off some gunk that causes an infarct. I hope that your condition was discovered quickly and will be cleared up soon.

Best wishes.

 

[SumoRunner]

Well, my recovery went a bit slower than that. One of my lungs had been collapsed in surgery so it took me quite a while to re-inflate it. I'd say at 6 mos you're where it took me about a year to reach. By a year post-op I'd say you could almost act as though nothing had happened.

I never did return to competitive running myself, not that I was ever that fast, I could never break a 6 minute mile and had a 10k best of 43:04. I ditched interval training altogether afterward and now keep my "races" to a much slower pace. But I do the same annual mileage and run the same number of events. It's been 15 years for me now.

Here's a little article on my home page that I wrote about my recovery back in the day.

http://home.nycap.rr.com/sumorunner/heart-stories/one-mile-today.html

 

[kodi]

I loved hearing all that. I think that I am probably a lot like you when it comes to running workouts. Those times for the 400s and 1600s are most impressive. I used to run those in my mid-fifties but think that even after I'm recovered, I'll never see them again.
BTW, how old are you?
Glad all is working out well, just take care of the BE and get back on the road soon.

 

[Philip]

Thanks to all for your replies.
Jack, your home page post is great, it has inspired me to "run a mile today."
Kodi, I am 50. The 400m and 1600m times for me are very slow but I am actually proud of them; they represent a lot of work. It is interesting how OHS can change your attitude about things. Four to five years ago I would not turn in a 5k race time over 19:00 because I didn't want anyone to know I was that slow and now am posting slow times for the world to see. Changes in attitude.
Marguerite, thanks for always being in my corner.
Bill, go knock out some miles; we are looking for the next race report.
Philip