Time to start running again!!

Well this has been terrible to not be able to run for three weeks now. I don't know how people can stand to not be active. The sedentary life sucks! More than once I have thought about running against Doctors orders just because I would rather die running than rot away sitting around not achieving physical goals and potential. I have felt terrible as a result of not running. It is the least running I have done in years (other than a few injuries early in my running pursuits that put me out for 6 weeks). It has been traumatic to feel my fitness draining, at first slowly, and now exponentially. Perhaps most challenging is the fact that the weather here in Victoria has been brilliantly clear-cool fall weather. The perfect time to crank out some serious distance is during the vibrant colors of fall in brisk air from the ocean.

Following Thanksgiving on Monday, I will do the 24 hour Holter test and the day following I will do the treadmill test. I expect nothing more than both tests to reveal a healthy heart following suit from my two ECG and echo cardiogram tests. So far everything says I have a large healthy albeit slow (40 bpm) heart. My blood pressure is extremely low (90/50). As far as I can gather the syncope was possibly caused by a blood sugar crash due to poor fueling the morning of the run, impending flu, or possibly it was a result of stress, lack of sleep and a hard run starting cool and quickly heating up toward the end, and lastly slowing down to quickly after really cranking. I was also at the end of a strong week (100 km) and in the middle of a strong building phase to reach 160 km a week. In general not running has had a silver lining because I have been able to focus all my attention to school, and with my PhD proposal due date fast approaching I have needed the forced break in running desperately. I think I may try a few short (5-10 k) runs over this Thanksgiving weekend to help clear stress caused by solid writing. The point of this weekend is to crank out as much writing as possible, so I will have to run even though I haven't been fully cleared, just to keep sane. I will take it easy and pay close attention to how I feel. I imagine all will go smoothly and I can't wait to recover my fitness, I hope it isn't too far gone.

I will never be sedentary it just sucks. I love being on the trails, cranking up the mountains, and grinding down the rocks. I told my advisor that I will keep my running in balance with the other facets of my life; perhaps I was a bit out of balance towards the end of the Summer. I have felt my attention and effort of other pursuits slip because of the crappy mood I experienced from not being able to hit the trails each day. I don't care how many times I hear that distance running is bad for your knees, heart, and whatever else sedentary people say to make me feel guilty for my obsession, I would rather deal with the risks of running than live in a state of suspended animation not improving my health . The fact that I am not burning 5-7000 calories a week has resulted in a noticeable fat store in just three weeks. I can't wait to tap into those stores and crank out some serious distance. Once these tests come back negative and my PhD proposal is accepted by my committee I have a fantastic 25 Km run over 2 mountains twice overlooking the ocean. It is definitely time to start running again! Thanks to all those who have thought about me during my little fiasco.