Motivation Monday: Gotta Have Heart

A good friend of mine had surgery last week and, like he said, he's one step closer to becoming Ironman. He was born with a heart defect and after much deliberation, he and his family decided to have a defibrulator implanted in his chest.

He says it's still sore but I was surprised by how quickly he has recovered following what I would consider an invasive surgery. They didn't have to crack his chest open but they still inserted a high-tech device inside him! Hopefully, he won't ever need it, but like I always say... "It's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it." Of course, I usually say that about things like duct tape, not a defibrulator in my chest.

It was awesome hearing about just how advanced the technology is and how far medicine has come. It also made me wonder what the future holds for treating heart conditions.

My friend just turned 30 and he's being proactive about his heart condition. My dad died from a heart attack at 63. My mom had a heart attack at 59. The odds are, I'll be sweating bullets when I hit my mid-50's. Hopefully, we'll all be driving flying cars by then and heart attacks will be like the common cold... no big deal. In the meantime, staying active is one thing I can say I'm doing for my heart. It's one of the things that keeps me motivated.

I've had family and friends express concern about my distance running. It's not that uncommon for someone to collapse (or possibly die) during or following a marathon. It's especially hard when the person is described as "young with no previously diagnosed heart conditions". So, it's possible that I could be out for a long run one day and my heart just says, "Hmmm... I think I'll stop right here." and quits on me. But the odds are slim and it's much more likely that I'm doing my heart more good than harm, so I keep going.

I don't know how many beats the ol' ticker has in her, but I'm trying to make the most of every last one.

Monday
Goal For The Day: Rest.
Distance: 0.00 Miles.

Notes: I checked my records and yesterday was my second-fastest time at Millstadt. I've finished in:
2006 - 1:43:24
2007 - 1:46:06
2009 - 1:40:08
2011 - 1:41:54.
The funny thing is, I'm pretty sure 2009 was in the rain too... even though I don't remember having to be so cautious on the ride that year. So considering I was taking quite a bit of the bike ride slow, I'm pretty happy with what this says about my relative fitness.

Daily Total: 0.00 Miles.
Blog Totals:
  Run - 320.08 Miles.
  Bike - 144.45 Miles.
  Swim - 10,050+ meters.