This is the second Sunday in a row when the temperature was 63 degrees at 4:30 AM. I can't believe this is February. Personally I'd prefer some more winter weather. Winter in Dallas is usually great for walking/running.
Today I did my long walk at White Rock Lake again. We had some rain on Friday and it was gray and cool on Saturday so I thought North Shore would be too muddy.
I decided to do some hill training, so my plan was to do two loops of the lake; on each loop I would leave the lake trail and do four repeats of Loving Hill. All went well except that I was pretty sore after the first loop. Loving Hill is great training for Heartland because it is a long, somewhat steep hill (similar to the rolling hills of the Heartland course), not a short and very steep hill.
I wasn't as fast as I was last week, but I that's because I was so fast last week and I'm still a little tired and sore from that effort. But today felt like a good effort and I maintained a fairly even pace throughout the morning. So I'm pleased with today's training.
Distance: 26.64 miles
Time: 5:18:43
Pace: 11:58
On a scary note, we had some serious medical drama this week. My wife went to the doctor for her five year transplant anniversary appointment and bone marrow biopsy. After the procedure (she's had at least ten of these!) she fell asleep, then I noticed that she wasn't breathing! She used to have a high tolerance to the sedatives and pain medications they give for the biopsy, but I guess her tolerance has worn off and she was overmedicated. The nurse called a "code" and doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners all rushed in and started giving her mouth to mouth, preparing IVs and breathing bags, etc. They gave her a dose of Narcan to immediately counteract the effects of the narcotics, and after that she woke up and was really confused to see about 10 people in the exam room.
Thank goodness she was OK and there were no long term effects. We stayed at the clinic until well after 7:00 so she could be observed and we could make sure she wouldn't have any further problems. She's doing well now and feeling fine.
What's the lesson to this story? ALWAYS take someone to the doctor with you. I've spent enough time in hospitals with Angela to know of the potential for mistakes, mismedications, lack of attention, etc. I don't blame the medical community as a whole--they are understaffed and trying to do too much. But it is so important to have someone knowledgeable about your personal circumstances and health history to help mediate for you and keep an eye on you. Don't forget it!
Happy training, everyone.
