Sunday, February 15, 2009

The Beat Goes On (Thanks To These Guys)

Friday February 6, 2009...Graduation Day. There were no hats. There was one gown, but it was for something semi-unrelated. It was my last day at rehab. I decided to snap some pictures of the staff to commemorate my moving on. The charming group you see here were my team of caregivers. From the left, Adele, Pat and Ed. Adele and Pat are nurses and Ed is the Physiologist. They worked very hard with me to ensure my meds were correct, to make certain I didn't over-do it at rehab, and to make absolutely sure I don't come back in there again. They are a phenomenal team and I'm lucky to have been cared for by them. Thanks to you all.





As I finished my final workout and started my cool down routine, I noticed two loud and cute little faces come running through the door. Rachel brought Olivia and Morgan down to see me finish my last day. It was the most wonderful surprise. Everyone in the clinic smiled as they saw our two beauties. Morgan immediately wanted to hit the treadmill. Olivia was ready for a steam. Rachel eyed the weights. But, we left as a family to re-start our live without rehab. It was a great way to end a great program.

Earlier, I mentioned one gown. Here it is. It's an advertisement for women's heart health month. A reminder that heart disease takes more women's lives than any other illness. I think I look pretty.

Originally, I thought I would return to rehab 2x per week for the first few weeks until I'm comfortable moving to a gym. Over the weekend, I decided to move to the gym sooner. So Monday, February 9th was my first day not going to rehab. It took some getting used to at the new gym. For one, the other clientele was much younger. Still, I wasn't in my comfort zone at the new place. I felt a bit out of place. That will settle after while I suppose.

It's been over a week now. I've been to the new gym once and ran at a hotel health club once. Today, I ran outside...7.30 miles in 1 hr, 10 min. I was tired, but recognize I'm still building those long distances. Only a month until my first post-event race. The Monument Avenue 10k. Ideally, it should be no problem. My true goal is to get to 10 miles before the race and make the 10k a breeze. Doubt I'll shoot for personal records, but I will do my best and run my hardest.

So, this blog started to be about my heart attack. Then it moved to focus on the recovery. Now, I guess it' going to track my running efforts as I endeavor to run 800 miles this calendar year and complete 2 marathons in the fall. So far, 63.51 miles completed in 9 hrs 53 minutes. 8% of my goal for the year. Were I able to run every day, I would only need to run 2.29 miles each day. In case you're curious.

So the hard part seems to be over. With the exception of the Stress Cardiolite in April and the pending green flag for marathon training, the medical part is on maintenance and I'm going full tilt with running. Look back every once in a while if you desire. It's always nice to know people are checking up on your well being.

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