September 5, 2008

almost out of focus...

Where to start? Hmm...football season is in full swing...my bike frame is still not back from warranty yet...the fall series starts next week...hurricanes are all over the place...the 8 hour race that went terribly wrong...my upcoming visit to the Mayo Clinic's cardiology department...my bestest buddy getting married tomorrow....all of life's events keeping my ADD riddled mind in a virtual tailspin....aahhh!!

Ok, since I have plenty of time to talk about football (and about UK puttin a spankin on UofL last weekend)- I'll get into the sorta serious mess. 4 years ago it was discovered that my heart was abnormal. While getting several opinions, there was no clear diagnosis on what had caused my heart walls to get so thick nor was there ever a definite "green-light" given to participate in competitive athletics. Back then I took a year off from everything, got on medication and my heart managed to get better. As of now I am on light medication, I fight a few symptoms here and there and I have been pursuing mountain bike racing with a full head of steam. One doctor advised against it, one thought it was ok and one didn't know. Who do you think I listened to?

This year I hired a coach and followed a structured training regimen for the first time ever. My goal was to achieve the greatest success possible this fall in the Florida Series expert class. Everything seems to be building quite well so far. Well, so far so good...kinda...

I went into the 8 Hour Race this past Sunday feeling good, in a good place training-wise and also in a good position as far as rest, hydration and diet. I felt pretty good that Char and I would be able to win the co-ed team class. But when I finished my first lap Sunday, I didn't feel quite right. During my 2nd lap, cramps set in (already?) and then everything fell apart for me- I shut down. I crawled though that lap and the next two fighting no energy or power at all, severe leg and body cramps, headaches, nausea, blurred vision, disorientation, a strong desire to go sleep and also fought off several episodes of passing out. This scared me, bad. I have felt pretty bad a few times when I have raced/ridden in the heat, but it usually takes over 4 hours of non-stop riding to get close to any of these symptoms- more like 5 to 6 hours. But I have never experienced anything this bad. This was well beyond bonking.

What went wrong? Dunno. Chemical imbalance? Severe dehydration? Heart issues? Heart medication reaction? Diabetes? Char and myself have been all over the internet researching possible causes. Either way, I need to get myself figured out, and who better to do it than the Mayo Clinic. I have been itching to go here for years but have hesitated due to money/insurance reasons- but now they are covered. I am hoping to get an answer on my heart condition and an answer to racing mountain bikes at the expert level. Can I? Can my heart handle it? Do I have hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (my original diagnosis) or not? Or is my heart even the problem? Maybe an answer will be had Monday or maybe it will take a little longer. I also have arranged for my primary care to be handled at the Mayo Clinic so if my issues are not heart related, another avenue can be taken to determine my apparent imbalance- in the same building. But for now, racing is on the back burner until I know for sure, without a shadow of a doubt, that it is safe for me to continue.

In the meantime, I will continue to spin so that I do not lose the fitness that I have worked so hard on building. I will stay busy with Avery and her homework, tennis, biking, running, etc. I will help Char in every way possible with her race season and the trip to Tahoe for the XTERRA National Championship. I still plan to be at all the races this fall and I even still have it in my head that I will race next week in Gainesville. I have been stressed but I have decided not to let it beat me down like it did last time. Hell, its fall and its football season! What's more exciting than that? Also, my boy sbc is gettin married tomorrow! Party time starting tonight! There is just too much good stuff going on around me to let one hiccup spoil the party!

Oh, with me barely moving on the bike Sunday while spinning around the cuckoo's nest- we managed to get 2nd!

2 comments:

Karlos said...

Well, I hope all is well and you just had a bad day is all... I wish you the best. I thought I was next to you in the race, but I asked the person, who I thought was you, if they was Blue and they said nothing, so I pedaled past.

Todd Hatfield said...

I wish it was only a bad day...