Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Quick update, and pointer to myGarmin training page

I've continued this week to do some nice rehab rides, both road and mountain bike. Every day I seem to get a little more pulmonary function back which is really encouraging. Rather than continually post individual items here, I thought it would be more efficient to just point you at the myGarmin web site where I'll post results. My workout page on myGarmin is here.

Back when I was still thinking about doing the Copper Triangle and after I'd had the cardiac stress test, my GP and I agreed that I should  target an upper heart rate of 150 for that long a ride. I've been using that as an upper bound for these rehab rides and backing off as my heart rate approaches 150. It's definitely been a good limiting consideration - I still feel like I have some pulmonary, strength and cardiac capacity left as I bump up against the 150 limit. I think I'll keep at 150 for this week as a throttle on the intensity of the workouts. I am going to talk to the oncolology team about this. I'm wondering when and if I should up that limit to gradually introduce some more stress into the workouts in the hope that it will stimulate more pulmonary function.

Another thought I've had is that I'd really like to get an exercise physiologist on the team. The oncology and pulmonary folks are great specialists but neither of them are all that expert at evaluating how bodies respond during exercise. It seems like our team could use some more expertise in that specialty. I'm not sure how do that within the confines of what insurance will pay for and I'm  not so fired up for this type of advice that I'd pay out of pocket dollars to get it. But something I'm thinking about...

2 comments:

  1. Sounds like a training regiment! I'm glad that you have found a way to proactively approach your rehabilitation back from chemo. You continue to inspire me!

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  2. George and Susan - I just spent some hours reading your chronology. Reactions...
    - it was educational and entertaining
    - your love for one another shines through
    - your resolve will prevail

    Thanks for sharing. I am now following.

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