Coming Along

Today's rehab session was awesome. I'm running, lifting weights, doing ab work...it's great and it keeps me disciplined. Thanks to Pam, the Nutritionist, I'm on a solid eating plan and have already lost 6 pounds. I feel good and I'm glad to be getting back to normal. Today during the run, I had the treadmill up to 7.5 mph and I ran an 8:32 mile. My heart rate got up over 165 so I couldn't maintain that speed and be in compliance of the program so I backed down. Still, I have a 17 minute window of opportunity to run each visit and I see how far I can go in that 17 minutes. I've gone from 1 mile to 1.71 to 1.88 to 1.96 (today). Trying to hit the 2 mile mark while maintaining my max heart rate.

Ed increased the weight on the strength training. I now do leg presses, lat pull dows, tricep pull downs and bench pressing on a machine. We started with a light weight and he's agreed to increase it as needed. I also do some dumbbell work and several minutes of crunches. It's a good work out but I realized that today is my 25th visit out of a prescribed 36. I'm allowed to stay on after the prescribed visit, but the place is getting busy and I might end up taking up a machine that someone else needs to use. We'll see how the next few weeks go. I thought about backing down to 2 days per week instead of 3. Especially if I'll be running outside again. Who knows. Right now, I just try to get every ounce of workout squeezed out of about an hour or so 3 times a week.

TOday, I'm starting a weight check. I weigh in every visit at rehab, but I'm heavier on their scale than the home scale. So I'll continue to weigh in there 3 times per week and weigh in at home on Mondays. I peaked at 213 on their scale and 207 on ours. Today, I'm at 207 on theirs and 201.5 on ours. Keeping track should keep me on track.

Outside...Finally

31,680 feet. 105.6 football fields. 380,160 inches. 6 miles. However you slice it, that's the distance we ran on my first "authorized" outside run. Ed told me to keep the heart rate target at 165 bpm. That made hills tough, causing us to either walk or run very slowly. With the sun to our back and the wind to our fronts, Rachel and I set out at 10:45 this morning and ran the hood. We did a 5 minute warm-up walk and then a solid 6 mile run. Again, in order to maintain the accptable heart rate, we had to walk up parts of a few hills that slowed our pace to 11:00 per mile. Looking forward to the next chance to run outdoors.

An Invaluable Team

Since the first day of rehab, I've really viewed Ed, Pat, Adelle and Alese as a recovery and support team. They're giving me the limits and the workouts and I make the best of them. They monitor me, ask me questions and make sure I'm always moving towards the correct goal. I'm truly thankful for all they've provided so far. Especially today.

I brought in the Caudet packaging and showed it to Ed. He said the drug was not for what I was told. He asked what I'm taking now. I told him Caudet and Lipitor. He asked what happened to the Plavix. I told him Plavix is combined with the other drug in Caduet. He disagreed. We looked at the literature. Sure enough, Caduet was a combination of Lipitor and a 2nd medicine. Not Plavix. Either I heard Dr Newton incorrectly, or he told me incorrectly. I'll never know for sure. I'm certain he said the new drug would reduce vasodialation. Ed and Pat disputed that. But I can't be 100% certain he said Lipitor instead of Plavix. Nonetheless, Ed and Pat called Dr Newton's office while I was at rehab today and clarified what I should be on. I had stopped taking Plavix and took Caduet and Lipitor for 2 days. Thankfully, I mentioned it to them and they questioned it. I should be taking the Caduet and the Plavix. Fortunately, I suffered no maleffects. Thank you Pat and Ed!!!

Ed cleared me to run outside during my last visit. I plan to get one in this weekend.

Back To Normal

When I got to rehab today, I advied Ed and Pat of my unscheduled visit to Dr. Newton yesterday and the change in medicine he prescribed. They both questioned the med adjustment. I told them that I was to stop taking Plavix because Caduet had Plavix in it. They also said it had nothing to do with vasodialition. It's a calcium deposit blocker. They were confused or perhaps I was. They asked that I bring them the packaging on Friday.

The workout was normal. I am starting to run a bit father duing the treadmill sessions. I have a 5 minute warm up with a 3 minute cool down leaving me with exactly 17 minutes to run. I've increased the distance during that time from 1.71 miles to 1.82 miles. Slowly inching my way to a strong and sustainable treadmill speed.

Potential Set Back - Avoided

When I woke up this morning, I had a familiar sensation. I felt the presence of chest congestion, but I couldn't cough anything up. I noticed it as soon as I woke up. I showered, dressed and went to work. The sensation didn't let up. It seemed to worsen as I walked and ease up as I sat down.

In the days leading up to my heart attack, I experienced this sensation. No pain. Just this nagging feeling of congestion that turned out not to be congestion at all. I called Dr Newton's office before it opened and had him paged.

He called back and had me come over to his office for an EKG. It surprised me to be seen so quickly in this office about which I have had several complaints. But I was taken right back and put on an EKG. Then I waited for Dr Newton to show up and read the results. He said everything is fine. He had no concrete answers to what caused the sensation...could be the recent change in diet; the weight lifting; vasodialation of my innards...or I could have some chest congestion. He changed my medicine for 4 weeks to Caudet which is a combination of Plavix and another medicine that prevents vasodialation. I took the medicine when I returned to the office. The sensation seems to have faded somewhat.

Dr Newton said I do not need to back down the rehab workload. I scheduled a follow-up visit for next week and went on my way.

By 12:30, I felt different. The sensation faded more. I feel back to normal. Seems like the new medicine is working. Good news.

Still Going

My visit on Monday the 29th proved to be routine. I started to more closely monitor my running distance and speed throughout the run. In all, I ran 1.78 miles in 17:00. (9:33 minutes per mile). I had the treadmill up to 6.7 early and tried to complete a sub 9:00 mile (8:54). I couldn't maintain that speed and keep my heart rate within acceptable range. I backed down but still nailed a 9:33 mile. Not bad for a guy with a heart condition.

Rehab closed early on New Years Eve so I didn't come in. And, Rachel fell sick on Friday the 2nd. With nobody to watch the kids, I had to skip rehab again.

Getting Ripped?

It's getting hotter in that room. I noticed it during my last work out and again on Monday (1/5) and I was unusually tired after the workout. Pat said maintenance corrected a heating problem in the bathrooms by increasing the heat in another area. That heat just seems to waft into to the workout area and it gets uncomfortable during the runs. I ran the normal routine. Five minute warm up, 17 minute run, 3 minute cool down. Since I had not run for a week, I kept the pace moderate. I stuck at 6.5 mph. The run totaled 1.81 miles in 17 minutes (9:23 minutes per mile). I felt good with that. The rest of the workout was equally as tiring as the previous week.

Something new, though. Ed started me on weight lifting. I'm set up to do one set of several exercises to work my biceps, triceps, lats, chest and legs. I finish up with ab work. Ed said these exercises will help burn the fat down. Good thing. I lost 2 lbs since last week. I attribute this to getting sick last Saturday and not really eating, and starting a new eating plan on Sunday.

On their scale, I weigh 211. At home, I weigh 204. Usually, I only weigh myself once weekly at home. But since I have to weigh in before each workout, I'm monitoring both going forward.