The Diagnosis is In


Well, it's been a while since I mentioned those heart palpitations. I wore a heart monitor for a week and the diagnosis is in. I have premature atrial contractions (PAC).

What does this mean?

It means my heart sometimes has an extra beat. Which I'm told is common and not serious. I can feel this mostly when I'm laying in bed, when things are quiet. What I know is that it is felt more frequently when stressed, tired, too much coffee or dehydrated.

This link explains it much better: cardiachealth.org

What to do now?

Yoga, meditation, relaxing…I need to dial my sheet down, big time.

Stress is a funny thing, it creeps up and I don't think I'm stressed. But if I stop and look at all the balls I have in the air, I can see how all those things could add on the pressure. Even the kids being home during the summer and keeping tabs on them — they treat every day like it's a Friday, always pushing back on their curfew.

The good news is that I can keep on running . . .

Except for a little anemia that is dragging me down.

What the what, you say? (Yeah, I said that too)

My blood work also came back and everything was A-O-K. Only thing – my ferritin was low-normal. Well, who can have a springy, jogging-on-air run when you're anemic? It's as if weights are tired around my ankles.

The last few workouts since vacation brought tears to my eyes. With all my training in the bank, effort and might, I felt like I should have been running a 6:45 pace. But I was struggling at 9:35.

Geeze. It sounds like I'm falling apart before your eyes. (Can't forget about my pulled hamstring :)

I'm keeping a positive attitude with the help from Lisa, coach extraordinaire. Her kind words: "So make the necessary lifestyle adjustments and take the iron and you should be good to go. Correct those issues and you will feel like your old self."


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