Clean Bill

Approximately an hour after finishing the Boston Marathon in 2022 (as recounted contemporaneously in this blog), I wound up collapsing/passing out for about 1-2 seconds (mercifully not hitting my head on the floor). At the time, it wasn't truly clear what happened. I was rather insistent that it was merely because I had both legs locked while I stood against the wall in the mall while waiting for my mom to exit the ladies' room. But there was certainly lingering doubt as to whether there was more going on.

Over the course of my next two doctors appointments (September and this past April), I had additional tests, including an echo. While the echo results themselves weren't particularly concerning (as they pretty much matched what my previous echo results had shown), my doctor referred me to a cardiologist just to play it absolutely safe.

I've had a couple of visits since, including earlier today, where I underwent an exercise stress test. The tech performing the test advised me of what in would entail, and I wondered just when it would actually wind up completing. It starts out with the treadmill going at 1.7 mph and a 10% incline (though I don't believe the incline was anywhere near that steep to start). That barely had my HR budge, my BP increasingly slightly (as expected), and my EKG staying consistent. At 3-minute increments, the speed increased by approx .7mph and the incline by 2%. Very slowly my HR and BP would increase. By the time I was at 4.2 mph and 18% incline, I was still only at about 50% of my max HR (and the test is supposed to go until you hit 85% of your max HR, if there isn't anything that stops it prematurely). Finally, at 5 mph (which is the awkward point that is too fast for a walk and too slow for a run) and 20% incline, my HR started rising a bit. At last, after more than 16.5 minutes, at 5.5 mph and 22% incline, I hit the threshold of 144 (85% max HR). My legs were definitely feeling heavy and sore by that point (I never do particularly steep inclines) and my HR felt like it was racing much more than that HR would imply -- certainly labored breathing. 

Phew! Glad it was over. But everything was normal throughout the test; no issues whatsoever. Nice to have that baseline if/when I need to repeat the test however many years down the road. Next up, one more echo in a couple of months.

Since that one Boston, I have paid closer attention to how I am feeling after crossing the finish line. It's never been uncommon for me to be a little light-headed, especially if I'm going full-tilt across the line, or to even get an awkward reaction in my ears that have my hearing affected as if my ears just popped in an airplane. But I think I've finally figure out why. In Sydney, it was crazy hot, and despite hydrating reasonably well (I thought), I was still somewhat dehydrated at the finish and felt some lightheadedness. At Atlantic City, I recognized that I did a poor job of hydrating during the last half (and it was a temperate day), and was VERY lightheaded afterwards for at least 10-15 minutes. The only thing that kept me from collapsing was continued movement while I chugged an extra 1 or 2 bottles of water and a bottle of Gatorade en route to my hotel room. After MCM 50K and NYC, despite my protestations to my fellow runners around me at the finish who were standing still in my way that I would pass out if I didn't keep moving, there was actually no issue at all. It seems I was perfectly well-hydrated, and didn't have any hint of lightheadedness whatsoever after either race.

So, while I do have some continuing, consistent issues that have been found during my echos (and will continue to be monitored), any post-race issues don't seem to have any connection to them. Just hydrate well enough, and I'm good.