Improving running performance

After about eight months I finaly went to a cardiologist. I was concerned because my ecocardiogram said something strange. The doctor order a treadmill test and a blood pressure holter, and he said that I was healthy. Now I can run again, I must maintain my heart rate below 145 bpm. I didn´t told to the doctor that I develop asthma with my running and my heart rate go higher than 145 bpm. Normaly when I run the heart rate can go up to 165 bpm and normaly in this moment I stop. But now I need to recover my lost fitness and I also need to do something in order to run and maintain the heart rate lower than 145 bpm.

The first thing that I prove was the homeopathy. Now I am taking some pills but I don´t feel that I am really improving. For this reason I search in the internet and I found something related with a Russian doctor named Buteyko. According with this doctor the asthma is only a consequence of a bad way of breathing. He say that some people hyperventilate. That means that with each breath I take a volume of air greater than the necessary. The consequence of this is that we have a change of CO2 per O2 greater than the normal. That means that the amount of CO2 in the blood is lower than a normal person. Then the blood is alkalyne with a lower percentage of CO2. The reaction of our organism to this situation are a lot. The two most important are: (a) a generalized vasoconstriction lowering the O2 available for the muscle and (b) to close the aerial ways for breathing - then asthma. The remedy is obvious is to tray to breath a lower volume of air. In other countries there are institutes for teaching this Buteyko breathing method.

I have runned three times making breathing excercises. I really try to breath a lower volume of air. In those moments I felt anguish. I needed to breath, but my my polar said that the heart rate was not increasing. I really realized that I can to change, but is very very hard. I am trying.

Having fun with jogging

Since my medical doctor recommended me to make sports, I pass from walking, to bicycling and finally to jogging. During the jogging you can't rest until you finish. This is probably the main reason why I chose jogging as my sport. This is an important difference with bicycling, where you can rest when the road is in a downhill. During my first stages my lung capacity was very low and I needed to stop jogging two or three times in a block. I also didn't know the length and the rate of the steps that were suitable for me. With the time I can jog for 12 km with a lot of problems. Also I have the problem that I became a little asthmatic with the sports. But no matter what will happen, I don't give up.

My preparation for my jog began with stretching exercises for about 10 minutes. I have a typical routine and with these exercises I didn't have problems during four years. I have little problems with my left leg. If I would have knee problems, these would be always with my left knee. I began my jog very slow in order to warm up all the muscles of both legs. I know that all is OK when I realize that I have no problem with the left knee, then I can increase a little the velocity.

Other important issue is my heart rate. Now I am a 58 years old man. According with the recommendation the maximum heart rate for my age is (220 minus age) 162. For controlling the heart rate I use a Polar heart rate monitor. The average heart rate of my last jogging was 150. During a race this average can be greater as 155. When I realize that I am closer to the maximum I stop one minute and then continue.

Other important aspect is that you need to overcome all the temptations that one person have, principally the refrigerator, the TV, and all this internal messages of your own mind that are permanently saying, stop don't continue and go to rest. Your mental attitude is a very important aspect to consider. You need to be very positive because the benefits after the sport journey are very important.

The current journey of jogging is about 12 km. This takes to me 1:15 hours. My average heart rate is about 150. Depending on my mood, I jog one or twice a week. It is necessary to mention that everyday I go to my office walking. I walk early in the morning for about 45 minutes to my job and in the evening other 45 minutes to my home.

Changing my way of life

In October 2003 I went to an evaluation of my cardio vascular condition. My first testing was an effort test. Secondly came a complete blood test. Thirdly a medical evaluation. Finally a dietitian. The results of such evaluation was that my weight was 85 kg, the cholesterol was about 240 mg/lt and also the triglyceride was very high. My targets were to loose about 10 kg and to fulfill a strict diet in order to recover normal levels of cholesterol and triglycerides; also the doctor told me that it was indispensable to make sports three times a week for at least half an hour and recommended to walk. The doctor told me also that considering my weight, my age and cholesterol /triglycerides levels in my blood, I was a candidate to an heart attack.

I remember that I fulfill all the recommendations of my doctors. My sports activities began with short walks with my dog around my house. In the very beginning, I had a lot of aches caused by my bad fitness condition. At that time I was 53 years old and I had never made sports in the past. Well, the time passed and I became a good walker. I changed walking for the bicycle and after that for jogging. Now I jog for about one hour and twenty minutes, that is a distance of 12 kilometers. For me this has been very good for my self esteem. Regarding my food feeding I fulfill the diet that the doctor gave to me and I loose about 15 kg. I reach a weight of 71 kg. My weight now is 74 and I want to loose two or three kilograms. Now I take a course of yoga, I have had only three classes. For me is very difficult because my flexibility is very very bad. I will write about my yoga experience in the future.

With this experience I learned that everyone can change his personal condition. It is a matter of a personal decision and willpower.