Stupid and Somewhat Scary...but also Fun

Today was the Phoenix Rock N' Roll 1/2 Marathon and, despite my greatest efforts, I ran too far. This is mostly due to the the fact that, up until Friday, I thought the course was an out-and-back, not a point-to-point. HUGE oversight. If it were an out-and-back, the plan was to run the first 4 miles of the race with my sister and then turn around. Instead I ended up run the first 6 with my sister, from the 10K mark to the 8-mile mark, then for the last 5.1 miles I did a walk/run bit with 2-3 minutes of running for 3-5 minutes of walking. My total for the day was definitely well over 8 miles which is much farther than I both wanted to run and thought I could do. While I was somewhat impressed that I could lay down that many miles off of nothing, I was kicking myself a bit for pushing myself beyond what was safe. This stubborness actually landed me in the ER at the end of the race, the result of one of the worst SVT attacks I've ever experienced.

Last winter I was formally diagnosed with Supraventicular Tachycardia, or SVT. I have had symptoms for several years (atleast since 2006) that include a sudden onset of a "fluttering" feeling in the chest and light-headedness, both which are due to a rapid increase in heart rate to 180-200bpm (atleast in my case) not associated with exertion. These episodes are very infrequent (I only get one maybe 2-4 times a year) and random and were extremely short (10's of seconds to a couple minutes tops). Even the episode that drove me to the ER and then to a cardiologist last February was only a few minutes long.

Then there was today. I started having some SVT symptoms today actually in the race, probably starting around mile 8 or 9 (oddly, this was right after I snagged a Gu--my first ever. Maybe this was part of the problem?). This was a first in that I never really had episodes while exercising in the past; they always came when I was at rest. I did walk when they surfaced but, as soon as the symptoms diminished, I'd try and run for a bit again. This was probably, no DEFINITELY, a stupid move. As soon as I felt them coming on, I should've pulled off at the nearest medical tent. Alas, that's not what happened, so no point in dwelling. What did end up happening was that I finished the race, started to head towards the exit, but then decided I ought to get my heart checked out since I was still symptomatic. As soon as I said "heart" and "SVT" I was shuffled to the back of the medical area, given a cot, and hooked up to an EKG. Yup. With a heart rate over 190 while I was lying down, I was definitely in Tachycardia. First we tried my usual "home" remedies to get out of these episodes (coughing, squeezing the core muscles, etc.) but those, for the first time, didn't work. So next came out the big guns: the IV. The goal was to get one in place so they could hit me with Adenisone to essentially restart my heart in normal mode. Before the meds though, I would be getting a healthy dose a fluids which was more the necessary fresh off the course. I was down with all of this until they took FOREVER to find a vain. I do have terrible vains that are likely extra terrible when I'm dehydrated so I don't blame the medical staff too much but holy hell did that process hurt. They tried each mid-arm twice (the second try on the left was the winner), my left forarm, my right hand, my left hand and even my ankle. My ankle! I've never seen or heard of that and you would think something of that sort would altleast be on Grey's Anatomy. I guess vains are just too blah for Meredith and McDreamy. Anyway, once they locked in to my circulatory system they administered the medicine. As soon as it hit my heart it felt like I was punched in the chest, but then, all was normal including my heart rate; after the Adenisone, I was clocking a healthy 90-100 bpm. Great! I'm thinking. Now I can find Kendra and get my free beer! Ohhh no. I guess after they restart your heart they like to monitor you for several hours. The news that I would now be heading to the hospital brought tears and panic and demands for my sister. Fortunately they did get a hold of her and she came along with me in the ambulance , only to spend 3 hours in the Tempe ER supporting me as I went through another bag of fluids, got blood drawn (more poking!), and more heart screening. That sister of mine is a gem.

On a lighter note, despite this heart fiasco, in terms of my legs, I probably felt the best I've felt during a 1/2 marathon today. This is funny considering I haven't run more than 5 miles since my last 1/2 in November. I credit the significantly slower start pace. On average, the first 6 miles were just around 9:00/mile which is the pace I've been running at for the past few weeks. Not surprisingly, this slower running with the walking did result in my slowest half time (2:19:14, officially) but since I hadn't been training, I'm 100% fine with that.

Still, the fact that my legs felt looser this time around doesn't excuse the fact that I completely ignored my heart. In general, I really need to be better about listening to my body and adjusting my workouts to it's need. Another goal for 2011!

Seacoast Half

Last week I signed up for the Seacoast 1/2 Marathon. Only 6 months early; no big deal. It's good to have some bigger to work towards now though. I'm actually pretty excited to run this race. I've been told that it's a fast course and has good goodies. It also draws a big crowd; the max registrant number (1200) is usually reached by mid-September. The goal time as of now is 1:43:43 (7:55/mile) which I think is pretty attainable if I meet the pre-goal goals of sticking to my training plan and losing weight. At the very least, I'd like a PR, which shouldn't be too hard, especially if I do even a fraction of the training I have planned.

My next race is coming up next weekend. I'm dragging Zach out again but this time only for a 5K. I don't really have a goal for this one, but sub-8:00/mile would be nice!

I've been doing ok with training though a death in the family last week resulted in no miles run for the week. It's been getting much more enjoyable to get out the door now that it's warmer out and lighter later. I'll only get to experience the nice Spring running for a couple more weeks though, which is a major bummer. I'm heading to Houston for the essentially month of May for a field project which'll mean a lot of treadmill running to avoid death by heatstroke and/or pollution inhalation. I'll also have to probably do most of my running in the early AM due to the workload demands of fieldwork, which is a drag. I'll have to get used to it though I guess; morning runs will probably be my reality for the NH summer which just might be worse than May in Houston minus the constant pollution problem.

Training for Something

I realize how silly it is of me to make a training plan for an entire year. Since my last post, I have already made changes to it and will likely make changes to those changes as the year progresses. The latest changes involve adding a fifth day of running in May to get some more mileage and to better prepare for the 200-mile 12-person relays I plan to run. This addition bumps my weekly mileage up in the summer without requiring me to run more than 5 miles on weekdays, which is good.

I have also decided I want to run a half marathon in the fall. The chosen race is the Seacoast 1/2 Marathon slotted for November 8, 2009. My original plan to stick with 5Ks this year was boring and left me with nothing to really work towards; I know I can finish a 5K but also know that I won't be running any PRs this year so there were few goals to set. On the other hand, I have only run one half marathon (The Sun 1/2 Marathon) and did it without the proper training. I'd like to drop my 'PR' from 1:59:42 (9:08/mile) to sub-1:45:00, or sub-8:00 pace. I think this is more than doable especially if I actually train for this half marathon. Another goal would be to not walk. I ended up walking a significant portion of the last 7.1 miles of the Sun half mostly because I had absolutely no endurance at the time (my longest run prior to the Sun half was one 8-miler with most of my runs between 3-6 miles). As I have it planned, I will have run several 10-milers and several weeks at 30 miles prior to the Seacoast half which'll hopefully help that problem.

In other training news, I have been doing well following my training program these first few weeks of 2009. There were even a couple days that I absolutely did not want to run but made myself. Interestingly enough, these were some of my best runs in a while. I also feel really good physically; my IT band issues that flared up after the Sun half are gone and I'm feeling strong and energized. The only quasi-lame thing is that my runs have essentially all been on the treadmill because of the conditions of the roads and sidewalks. Fortunately, I've loaded my iPod with some new running tunes that are keeping me entertained on the 'mill for now.