Took my resting pulse in bed this morning. 48bpm. It might have been lower, but I had to get out of bed to get the heart monitor and strap it on!
Still,I'll settle for 48.
What I'm uncertain about is my max HR. As I rapidly approach my 54th birthday then the '220 minus your age' rule of thumb (or should that be rule of ventricle?) gives me a max of 166. But on my bike ride the day before yesterday I had an average of 152, or 92% of my theoretical max. Now I'm pretty sure no-one can exercise at 92% of their max for 44 minutes, so I think my own max HR must be higher.
Until I can get out and do a maxHR test, I'm going to use 180 as my max. This is a figure from my last maxHR test, performed at least 10 years ago. Even this higher figure means that I was biking along at 84% of max, and, when walking yesterday (I went to post a letter in the village and took the longer way home, walking briskly all the while [isn't 'briskly' a fabulous word?]) my average was 95, or 53% of max.
I think I need to find the more sophisticated rule of ventricle for working these things out. Can anybody help? It seems the height of conceit to imagine I'm doing my stuff with the heart of a 40 year old.
Tuesday, 10 August 2010
Thursday, 29 July 2010
It's a start!
After being hunched over a computer all morning I took advantage of the fine weather to nip out for a quick 30 minute walk this lunchtime. What a gorgeous day. Lakeland in full colour. Enough tumultuous cluds to make it look exciting, incredibly vivid green grass - thanks to all the rain - and peculiarly pink-hued sheep.
I had a fantastic time and... (dramatic music under...)...I RAN A BIT!! All of 50 metres up and over a grassy hummock but it's a start. I felt a slight groin pull, so will have to be careful, but WOW!
It's hard to imagine just how good it was to feel the wind flowing on my face as I eased over the grass. It's dispiriting how knackered I felt after having done it! I'm back to square one and will have to find a nice programme to ease my way back in. But that'll be fun compared with not being able to do it at all.
One good thing - being so out of condition, I got a huge endorphin rush from running just one little hillock. The fitter you get the longer/harder you have to run to get it!
Sorry for the breathless tone. I'm a bit excited.
I had a fantastic time and... (dramatic music under...)...I RAN A BIT!! All of 50 metres up and over a grassy hummock but it's a start. I felt a slight groin pull, so will have to be careful, but WOW!
It's hard to imagine just how good it was to feel the wind flowing on my face as I eased over the grass. It's dispiriting how knackered I felt after having done it! I'm back to square one and will have to find a nice programme to ease my way back in. But that'll be fun compared with not being able to do it at all.
One good thing - being so out of condition, I got a huge endorphin rush from running just one little hillock. The fitter you get the longer/harder you have to run to get it!
Sorry for the breathless tone. I'm a bit excited.
Smiley rating 10/10
Friday, 9 July 2010
One step at a time...
An update. I'm on the mend. I can sit, get up again (which was harder than it sounds a couple of days ago), walk around for a bit, and very nearly wash and dry my own feet. This sounds weird, but I couldn't bend for a few days; I could just about reach my knees! I can do my sandals up now, but socks are an impossibility!
I'm still not allowed to lift 'anything heavy' - but what is heavy? The coffee pot? The cast iron griddle pan? The hosepipe to water the fern collection before the ban comes in? Shopping bags? Can I take the bins out? I've done all of those except the shopping bags, which is the only example the surgeon came up with when I asked the question. It's all suck it and see. But I can begin to picture myself out running again....
This is the dangerous time. Overdo it now and I could be back to square one. I must be patient.
One side-effect is that the enforced idleness has meant I've put on weight. So I'm now eating less. It makes life cheaper!
I'm still not allowed to lift 'anything heavy' - but what is heavy? The coffee pot? The cast iron griddle pan? The hosepipe to water the fern collection before the ban comes in? Shopping bags? Can I take the bins out? I've done all of those except the shopping bags, which is the only example the surgeon came up with when I asked the question. It's all suck it and see. But I can begin to picture myself out running again....
This is the dangerous time. Overdo it now and I could be back to square one. I must be patient.
One side-effect is that the enforced idleness has meant I've put on weight. So I'm now eating less. It makes life cheaper!
Thursday, 1 July 2010
The journey begins...
Had my operation yesterday and would like to say a big Thank You to all the staff at the Day Case Surgery Unit at Westmoreland General, Kendal who made the whole experience as stress-free as possible.
Today finds me very sore, with a bruised groin sporting two whopping dressings. The ibuprofen+paracetamol is dulling the pain and, as long as I don't move below the waist, I'm all right.
In fact, today is a very good day. I'm thinking of it as the start of getting back out on the fells. I've just got to heal, strengthen, walk, and then, finally, finally, run. I'll get there.
Today finds me very sore, with a bruised groin sporting two whopping dressings. The ibuprofen+paracetamol is dulling the pain and, as long as I don't move below the waist, I'm all right.
In fact, today is a very good day. I'm thinking of it as the start of getting back out on the fells. I've just got to heal, strengthen, walk, and then, finally, finally, run. I'll get there.
Monday, 14 June 2010
There's light at the end of the tunnel...
...and it's glinting off the surgeon's scalpel.
I'm due to go under the knife on the 30th June. With an estimated 4-6 weeks recovery before any thought of gentle running. So, fingers crossed, I'll be donning the old fell shoes towards the mid/end of August. Maybe I should treat myself to some new shoes...
I'm due to go under the knife on the 30th June. With an estimated 4-6 weeks recovery before any thought of gentle running. So, fingers crossed, I'll be donning the old fell shoes towards the mid/end of August. Maybe I should treat myself to some new shoes...
Monday, 7 June 2010
Lardy update
Well here we are. Five weeks after my 'pre-operative assessment'* I still haven't heard when my operation is to be. Despite phoning the person concerned once a week.
And no running in all that time. True, I am walking quite a bit, and have started swimming, but it's not the same. Trust me, nothing makes you appreciate running more than not being able to do it. I've mentally wiped out this year. I hope to begin training again as soon as I can, post-op, and then work towards getting back again next year.
*This was it, pretty much in full, after the necessary groinal probing:
You look a pretty fit young bloke. Do you smoke?
No.
Drink?
Moderately.
Allergic to anything?
Not that I've come across yet.
Right. You'll be getting a letter from my secretary.
And no running in all that time. True, I am walking quite a bit, and have started swimming, but it's not the same. Trust me, nothing makes you appreciate running more than not being able to do it. I've mentally wiped out this year. I hope to begin training again as soon as I can, post-op, and then work towards getting back again next year.
*This was it, pretty much in full, after the necessary groinal probing:
You look a pretty fit young bloke. Do you smoke?
No.
Drink?
Moderately.
Allergic to anything?
Not that I've come across yet.
Right. You'll be getting a letter from my secretary.
Wednesday, 7 April 2010
I'm just a media tart
A while ago I was asked to write a daily diary for BBC Radio Cumbria for their feature 'Little Cumbria' on the Ian Timms show at about 1745.
I did this, and recorded it today in the BBC studio in Kendal. I say studio, it's a room with a pair of microphones and headphones and a friendly engineer called Suzy (or Susie, I forgot to ask). Anyhow, I went in and did my stuff and was delighted to do it in one take, with no fluffs or serious glitches. It took me back 30 years to my days on Radio Hammersmith, Hammersmith Hospital's radio station - except we didn't have ISDN lines back then.
If you're interested to hear what it was all about, then try BBC Radio Cumbria, Ian Timms' show at about 1745, on the iPlayer. It starts on Monday and continues all week.
Next blog will be a thrilling pre-surgery update. You lucky readers. In the meantime, keep running and enjoy it. I'm thinking of you. It really is pretty desperate when you can't do it.
I did this, and recorded it today in the BBC studio in Kendal. I say studio, it's a room with a pair of microphones and headphones and a friendly engineer called Suzy (or Susie, I forgot to ask). Anyhow, I went in and did my stuff and was delighted to do it in one take, with no fluffs or serious glitches. It took me back 30 years to my days on Radio Hammersmith, Hammersmith Hospital's radio station - except we didn't have ISDN lines back then.
If you're interested to hear what it was all about, then try BBC Radio Cumbria, Ian Timms' show at about 1745, on the iPlayer. It starts on Monday and continues all week.
Next blog will be a thrilling pre-surgery update. You lucky readers. In the meantime, keep running and enjoy it. I'm thinking of you. It really is pretty desperate when you can't do it.
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