My Journey Through Rehab

Had my 5 mile Turkey Trot this morning and did better than I expected. I was hoping to finish under 40 minutes which is an 8 minute pace. I finished at 39:29 and a 7:54 pace. I was very proud of myself because I run at least 5 miles every Sunday and have never been able to break the 40 mark. I guess the extra adrenaline and all the people got me moving. I actually hate seeing people pass me.

I went back and looked at last year and ran it in 45:55 and a 9:11 pace. That had been my first race and I was proud of that time. I don’t know how much faster this body can get but we’ll see if we can’t lower it again next year.

I didn’t feel guilty going back for seconds or the extra cookies and pies. I get this food only once a year so I don’t cheat myself. Happy Thanksgiving.

Gary

Went to see the heart doctor today because I’ve been getting these pulses in my chest. Not everyday but enough to get my attention. It usually happens when I drink something cold but not always. I had an EKG and an echiogram(sp). Everything looks fine but it showed I might have a slightly enlarged left atrium. This may be the first signs of high blood pressure. My father has it and so does my older brother. When he took it first it was 142/88 and the second time it was 136/82. I know part of it was nerves, I hate being in doctor’s offices. I’ve scheduled a stress test and I’m going to wear a device that registers my heartbeats for the whole day. The only steps he wants me to take for now is to start drinking decaf. I’ll do this for 2 weeks and then go for the test and see where we stand.

Gary

It’s been about a month since I started doing pullups after my runs. First set is usually 12 reps, second set 10 and third set is usually 11 or 10. I don’t think my lats have gotten any wider but they have definitely tightened up. There used to be a little jiggle in my lats but that’s all gone. My forearms are looking better and afterwards I can feel the swell in my arms so I will definitely keep doing these.

My right shoulder is also feeling better, I’ve been doing 2 exercises to strengthen my rotator cuff and I just started doing light weight benches again. These are the updates I like to write.

Well it only took a little over 2 months to get the results but the doctor’s office finally called back to tell me it was a dog tick and that type of tick does not carry Lyme’s disease. I kind of figured I didn’t have it since I haven’t had any symptoms. It’s still good to hear it from the doctor. It did teach me to check every time I came back from a run or hike. I hope I remember next year since it’s starting to get colder and I’ll be wearing pants and long sleeves from now on.