This one sneaked up on me. I knew I wasn't feeling my best, but boy did my body give me a run for the money this morning. After I got off my meds last month I gained about 8 pounds and have only been able to lose a little bit of it. So, it looks like I may need to talk to the cardiologist about going back on the diuretic. I may give it one more week with some major changes to see if it helps first. I felt like I was running (if you wanna stretch and call it running) through mud this morning. I had a spurt or two of feeling "okay" but never did feel good during this race. I kept an eye on my heart rate and it never spiked, but it seemed to have a more difficult time coming back down. It was running a bit higher than normal and taking forever to slow down when I'd start walking. I ended up walking A LOT! Frustrating. The Go Girl itself was very well organized and as always - very well done. Except they changed the course from last year and I swear they did it so t...

Okay, fine. I guess I'm just going to have to be a happy "heart patient." On one of my last visits with my PCP, I argued that I wasn't one, but she just told me we could disagree on that point. Today, for the second time, I asked the cardiologist to reverse the CHF diagnosis. No surprise - it was a "no" again. His nurse did tell me I have the better kind of  CHF though and she agreed with me that it is mild - but must be managed. So I suppose I will just concede and be content to be a heart patient....at the Oklahoma Heart Hospital. Sigh. But there is some real good news today and still a few modifications to be made. He had all the results from my tests they did last week. The worst of it is not really all that bad - but several things that just need to be closely monitored. I guess I'll be making more trips out to OHH. I do have a leaky valve but it's not bad - just gotta keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't get worse on me. My blood...

This was one awesome weekend! I did finish the Cowtown Challenge by doing a 5K on Saturday and a half marathon on Saturday. In between I rode bikes around with one of my friends. I enjoyed the camaraderie of all the runners and the general atmosphere around the Cowtown is just awesome - Oh - and I met Jeff Galloway himself! He is so kind and encouraging - just like Mark Bravo. I really felt very under-trained for this particular event. I hadn't run much in the last two weeks and had only done one 9+ miler in the last month. I usually have a few 10 milers in, but not this time. But - it all worked out. One of the biggest struggles I have is simply not knowing what my body is going to do on any given day. I have to keep my attitude straight and just be "okay" with whatever I have to work with. Doing a race while traveling adds another struggle - trying to eat out without taking in too much salt. Hey- the struggle is real! One night we ate at Chili's and I asked fo...

I did this local 5K this morning - mostly because it was to raise awareness of heart disease, and partly because I really liked the shirt! It was a very well done race and had several tables set up all geared to help educate about healthy lifestyles and heart health. They even had a cardiologist from the community who gave "heart healthy tips" every few minutes. And the atmosphere was wonderful - lots of dancing and laughing and families enjoying being outside and being active. I loved it. This race was significant for me since I have had some symptoms this week after being free from them for several months. As they cropped back up this week (all mild) I had to remember how bad they used to be and the things I've learned about listening to my body. Actually I started getting shortness of breath early this week after a 9 miler on Sunday. Not sure if it's to blame, but that's the first time I've had it in a long time. Blood pressure was running high too - no...

So I did my first ever trail race this morning. It was a 4-miler but more like 4.33. It was really cold like 27 and stayed at that temp the whole race even though I warmed up quite a bit. I think about mile 3 I could feel my toes again. Lol. I did trip a couple of times, but I only fell once - minor scraped up knee but no biggie. I think I'll try to find some more trail races - but I am pretty sore right now so I might take that back when I try to roll out of bed in the morning. My heart rate ran a little higher than usual, but not dangerous. I'm sure it's because my diet has been a little loose - I'll be tightening it back up starting tomorrow for sure. I figured some of it was from pushing it a little harder since running trails is a little more work - but lots of fun for sure. This race was part of the "Oklahoma State Games." What I didn't know is if you medal in your AG you automatically qualify to take part in the Games of America in 2017. I tho...

So I guess I'm just going to have to get used to going to cardiologists and doctors. My primary care sent me to a cardiologist at the Oklahoma Heart Hospital. I think I like this guy (as much as I can like docs). He was very kind, and looked me in the eye when he was talking with me and I liked that. Of course I gave them my standard "abnormal but not bad" EKG. I also explained about my meds and how the other doc wouldn't call me back. He told me not to trust a doctor who didn't call you back. (I was surprised.) He said it's an integrity issue and it sends the signal that they don't care when they don't call you back. I agreed. At the end of the appointment - he gave me a gentle hug and promised to take good care of me. That was nice I thought. (Even though I'm not too keen on "being taken care of.") My blood pressure was great- didn't even mention taking meds for that. I have to say that's a HUGE win. I believe the drastic ...

So I was able to sustain a 46 day running streak. On one hand I was sad to end it; and on the other was a bit of relief. I had started with a few symptoms so yesterday I felt like it was better to stop rather than my body stopping me down the road. I think it worked because today I was able to get outside for a couple of very nice miles and I felt fine. But it's time to rest....I think. I learned a few things during this run streak - the longest one I've ever done. I learned if I take it easy I can do a lot more than I thought. And that I have learned to listen to my body - but that's not enough. Not only is it important to listen to what your body is telling you - it's equally as important to respect  what it is telling you. That's actually more difficult than listening...but not only is it do-able; it also means there'll be more running days ahead. One thing that's really surprised me over the last few weeks is that I've felt so good. But I'v...