A Humbling Experience

So, my heart isn't working the way it is suppose to.  After quite a few syncopal and near-syncopal episodes, I saw the doctor.  The tests weren't real bad, but they were as good as they should be.  I'll be going in for more testing soon.  Basically, my heart is beating from the bottom chambers rather than the top about once per minute.  And, at times, it slows down to 40 beats per minute instead of my regular 60-68.

  As if fainting isn't enough, it sometimes gets hard to breathe when I run.  Now, next time your run, and you're having a hard time breathing, try to determine if that how it always feels when you run, or if you out of breath because your heart isn't pumping adequately.  I could tell something wasn't right after about 4 minutes while running with the gang at Draper.  I slowed way down.  I even switched to run for 2 minutes, then walk for one.  That way was the only way I could run, and let my heart and breathing remain somewhat comfortable.  It's a humbling experience to be a runner and resort to this type of activity. 

I got in my goal of 12 miles, but it took me 3 hours.    Rather than struggling to get back my pace, I'm going to be happy that my heart and body still allow me to do what I love.

The 6 Hour Run and Jerry

OK, it's been a long time since my last post.  I guess I just lost interest, but today's run gave me a lot of time to think.  Chisholm and I got this crazy idea to do a 6 hour training run.  He's one of those amazing ultra runner's that can just run for days.  A lot of the events he does are on 1 + mile tracks/courses.  He mapped out a 1/3 mile loop that he's used for other training runs, so we decided to do it there:   the west side of Lake Hefner.

With a 7:00 start time, we hoped to beat the heat projected for the day. Well, it was hot and WINDY, Oh it was WINDY.  Only a few other people told us they'd be there, so I knew I was going to have a lot of alone time.  But this is the view from the start.  Nice way to start the day.

I don't like running around the track, and I soon realized I don't like 1.3 mile loops.  (But, I seem to be OK with 2 mile loops??)  In fact, I was bored to tears after 4 loops.  Chisholm, Tanya and I all run different paces, and we changed directions periodically, so we got to see each other often.  After some confusion about where we were, Janice joined us for some mileage.

How did we keep track of our loops?  Glad you asked!  I try to be creative, so I brought a pile of brightly colored beads and a muffin tin.  Participants claimed a hole in the muffin tin and dropped in a bead after each loop.   Multiply your beads by 1.3 to get your mileage! Clever, huh?  Then, when you're finished, string your beads on the provided ribbon for a unique Finisher's Necklace.

After finishing a loop, I saw a note from Tanya that said, that she just couldn't handle the boredom and was going home to finish her run on the treadmill.  Really?!  Now that sounds boring to me.  After a while, I guess I just went on auto-pilot...  



The Women's Room

 

We had this great aid station set up at the cars with water, Gatorade,  cookies, oranges, and those most excellent ultra food:  Candied orange slices!  While I was there re-fueling,  Keith come up on his bike to check up on us. It was near the 3 hour point.  It's always nice to have a visitor!  But he brought some distressing news:  a man very special to me had recently died.  I hadn't heard, and it sent me reeling.   You know, when you can feel the blood rush out of your face?  Not necessarily a good thing when you have 3 more hours of moving your body forward.

Jerry Reece was a man that I met while I was training for Palo Duro 50K in 2004.   I was around 18 miles into a 26 mile run out a Bluff Creek when I hear a scream and a crash.    The nurse in me kicked into gear and I ran in the direction of the scream.  In about 30 seconds, I came upon a man laying on the ground  some 10 feet from his bike.  His bike had gone off the bridge and his body continued forward.  I'm not going into the full story here, but he was initially conscious, but fell into a respiratory and soon full cardiac arrest.  I maintained CPR while his friend directed traffic on the trail until paramedics arrived.  Jerry regained consciousness before being transported to the medical center.   Some people referred to me as "The Angel of Mercy"  I didn't finish my run.



Where's the water?

While this was going on, my aunt in California was out talking a walk.  She mis-stepped off the curb and broke her leg and couldn't get up.  She didn't have to wait long before her own "Angel of Mercy" arrived.  This woman called for the paramedics and stayed with Jackie to the Emergency Room where her husband was the attending physician!  He quickly got her the best of care.  God puts people where they need to be.

Later that day, I found out that the man I helped was the brother of Sherri Rector.  Sherri and her husband Jack were quite prominent figures in the OKC running community.  In fact, I saw Jack earlier that day out running as I ran lap at Lake Hefner before I headed to the trails.  I stayed in touch with Jerry, his wife Janice and the Rector's as Jerry recovered.  I visited him at the hospital and re-hab several times.  Jerry had a very freak spinal cord injury which caused paralysis to the upper body, but not the legs.  Very unique indeed.

Both my Aunt Jackie and Jerry were released from their hospitals near the same time.  Jackie didn't survive much longer.  As she convalesced at home, she had an instant death event.  My uncle didn't want an autopsy, but I'm assuming it was a pulmonary embolism from the leg.  It was horrible to lose her as she was my mother's only sister.  When I arrived back in Oklahoma City after her funeral, there was a message on my answering machine from the Rectors.  They wanted to invite me to Thanksgiving dinner with their family and the Reece's.  I cried.  With both my parents gone and now my aunt, I didn't have any other other blood relatives accept my siblings.  I was so honored to be  asked to join their family.

Hearing that Jerry died 7 years later due to complications of his initial injury was devastating.  An everything you just read kept my brain occupied for many more miles.  Thoughts of my aunt, my mom and Jerry.  The rest of the run I dedicated to Jerry.



Why can't I run fast like them?