"Ejection Fraction"

Ever heard of that?  I'll bet not!  It is basically a measure of your hearts pumping efficiency. And you can take it literally.  It is a fraction, with the amount of blood your heard chambers hold being the denominator, and the amount of blood it spits out with every pump the numerator.  My EF is 61,  which is just perfect thank you very much!!

How do I know this? Well from the echocardiogram that I had done because this senior citizen doctor  in Hamilton (no not me, he was the senior) told me that I had a heart murmer and potentially something called aoritc stenosis.  Briefly that means that the valve leading from your heart to your lungs is  fubared ( if you don't know what that means ask Elly) and may need repair or replacement!  And of course with that would come all kinds of other complications such as thickening of the heart wall etc. etc. Nice eh?  So I have been just a little anxious for more than a month now waiting on this test to prove that the kindly old gentleman had perhaps heard his own heart malfuntioning but certanly not mine.  The echo results state unequivocably "there is no evidence of aortic stenosis".  Phew!  Somehow I couldn't imagine a future where I would have to slow down because I had heart problems....that would have been a bit disheartening...lmao!!!

Anyway, all's good Cory.  Of course you knew that didn't you?

(run 7.3 kms, swim 1000 metres, weights)

“Excuse me Doctor, I think I know a little something about medicine"---Homer Simpson

...and I really like this one...

"If you find it in your heart to care for somebody else, you will have succeeded."---Maya Angelou

Love
Peter

"Swimming Lessons"

All right! Here's the deal. In order to achieve the overall time that I have in mind but ain't gonna tell you about, I need to be riding my bike 1 hour and 20 minutes after the starting horn goes. Allowing 4 minutes for my transition this leaves me 76 minutes for the swim. In 2009 I took almost 84 minutes. So that's an improvement of 10 percent and after churning around in the pool today I came to the sad realization that it is an improbable task....make that inconceivable, unachievable, out of the question, and impossible! Of course with that realization came the sudden freedom to go ahead and do it anyway. That may sound funny but that is exactly the way my mind processed it. Now I just have to figure out how.

So, I took my first lesson today. And it was free believe it or not! Swimming next to me was a 60 year old gentleman who I have known for years as he has also been part of the running community. Every morning Steve makes the 3 km walk from his house to arrive at the pool by about 6:30 am. He then proceeds to do his regular 80 lengths ( 2 kms) and then retraces his steps home. Today I offered him a ride and he took me up on it. As we were headin out he asked me to hold on for a minute while he took off his fluorescent vest and folded up his cane...his white cane!

But what about the lesson you may ask? Actually Steve is not a very fast swimmer so I don't think the lesson was about stroke improvement. He lives by himself in his own home, and never asks a thing of anyone other than a guiding elbow now and again. He is totally and completely blind, and goes to the pool every day and swims 2 kms. I think that was the lesson. It's actually quite mezmorizing to watch. He swims right beside the lane rope but never touches it, never veers off course, and never crashes into the end of the pool. I'm pretty damn sure that if I demonstrated the same kind of effort I would achive the times I want. Let's see if I have the resolve.

To give you an idea of where I'm at, I believe that I need to be able to swim 1 minute per lap in the pool without my wetsuit to have the confidence to achieve the time I need in the lake with my wetsuit. The Ironman distance is almost 80 laps and today I did 4 at that pace! Got a ways to go eh? Tomorrow I will try for five!

(30 kms computrainer, 1000 metres swim)

"One of the most important lessons that experience teaches is that, on the whole, success depends more upon character than upon either intellect or fortune"---William Hartpole

"Remember, there are no mistakes, only lessons. Love yourself, trust your choices, and everything is possible."---Cherie Carter-Scott

Love
Peter

"Feeling Better"

Sally reminded me not too feel bad cause I'm an old control freak, and Old John fixed my Internet Explorer problem.  I think you're both brilliant! 

I worked all day including a trip to Brampton and I barely had time to get a quick run in.  I think that's the best solution for my jet lag....I couldn't take a nap!  So now it's 9 pm and I'm ready for a good nights sleep.

(7.3km run 33 mins)

If you don't want to work you have to work to earn enough money so that you won't have to work."---Ogden Nash

Love
Peter

"Discouraged"

It's been a day of rethinking. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak! Or maybe rather the spirit is willing but the mind is weak. I think there's a difference. Whenever we feel challenged it's how we think it out that will determine one result or another...positive or negative as we choose. Even as I write that I feel a little less discouraged as I remind myself that I have the power to choose. The reality is that I am getting older and my body will simply not behave the way it did even 2 years ago, and I need to acknowledge that. I need to acknowledge it and adjust accordingly.

I had a quite a decent run yesterday (24 kms at a 5:05 pace) but today the wheels fell off. It started out this morning in the pool with the realization that I wasn't going anywhere fast. Without my wetsuit I can barely swim 250 metres nonstop! After that I spend about 50 minutes on the bike trainer that was all I could do to survive. I had this bright idea that I was gonna do weights tonite as well but there was just no freakin way. Instead I fell asleep at 4 pm, only to wake up 2 hours later feeling completely overwhelmed.

So tomorrow's another day, right? I have decided I need to go back to square one in the pool. No wetsuit, no fancy styles, just frequent steady workouts patiently building my distance while focusing on technique. Back to how I started out some 19 years go. I think right now I am better off with shorter stints in the pool, but at least 5 times per week.

I'm also pretty sure that the time zone issue is pretty major for my aging body. I hurt all over, way disproportionately to the workouts I've done since returning home. Any travel between now and next August will have to be north-south or not at all. I'm just not prepared to suffer like this any more.

So yes Old John my friend, lots of internal dialogue but that's what it's all about eh? Talking your self into it, whatever 'it' is. I do take pride in the belief that I never stay down too long. Other than the six months or so after my illness I usually mange to find my optimism.

Speaking of discouraged, I'm really quite mystified by a strange phenomenon occuring on 2 of my favorite quote sights. Whenever I open the link to "brainyquote" or "thinkexist" and enter a search the browser refreshes to an empty page after about 5 seconds. What's really weird is that this happened to both sites on the same day. Anyone got any ideas? I have tried emptying my cache and clearing my cookies to no avail??

(swim 30  minutes, computrainer 45 mins)
"A man can get discouraged many times but he is not a failure until he begins to blame somebody else and stops trying."---John Burroughs

Love
Peter

"Top Ten Ways You Can Tell You Live in Canada"

#10)  We got Canadian Tire!  One of the few places in the world where you can get your skates sharpened while you wait for a tire rotation!

 #9)  You can get in your car anytime you want , and go almost anywhere you want, without a driver or a body guard, and with no fear of being carjacked!

 #8)  Women can walk around with their boobs hanging out any time they so desire.  Personally I haven't seen much evidence of this but I think it's a good rule!

 #7)  We have spring, summer, fall, and winter.  I would not trade this for all the tea in China!

 #6)  It is normal to eat with a fork, a spoon and a knife.  While I make no judgement about other cultures this just seems to be so much more sensible than eating tofu with chopsticks, or rice with your hands!

 #5)  You can have as many children as you want and every one of them will receive decent health care, and a public education.  While it ain't perfect I think it is still as good as any, and better than most systems in the world.

 #4)  You can vote for Stephen Harper without fear of being shot for it.  Although if I voted for him I wouldn't tell Michael for fear of getting slapped!

 #3)  We have 2 official languages but only one alphabet.  Before I seen a bit  of the world I thought this was complicated

 #2)  We do not have any one named Michelle Bachman, Bill O'Reilly, or Anne Coulter.  What's most important about this is the reason we don't have them.  Their bigoted attitudes simply wouldn't thrive in Canada.

....and the number one way you can tell you live in Canada..

 #1)  You can walk down the street holding hands with anyone you damn well want to, man or woman, wearing whatever you want, and while you may get some verbal abuse for your personal choice,  you will not get thrown in jail for it!

(24 km run 2:03:40)

"Canada is like your attic, you forget that it's up there, but when you go, it's like "Oh man, look at all this great stuff"---Anon

"I believe the world needs more Canada"--- Bono

....and especially for Michelle, Bill and Anne...

"take off eh"

Love
Peter

"Holy Cow"

No wait!  That was back in India.  I had a hamburger for lunch!
Up at 3:30 this morning but actually felt pretty good.  Then I fell asleep for 2 hours this afternoon and now I just feel so lousy.  It's hard to describe.  I desperately want to lay down and go back to sleep but I have to try to force myself back into a rhythm. I'm shooting for at least 9 pm before I let go.
I'm a little nervous as well because Michael may not be happy with my blogging lethargy....sorry Mike...I just got nothing.

(computrainer 30 kms, swim 30 mins)

“Although an ass is tired, he continues to carry his burden; he is unmindful of cold and heat; and he is always contented; these three things should be learned from the ass."---Chanakya

“The tired and thirsty prospector threw himself down at the edge of the watering hole and started to drink. But then he looked around and saw skulls and bones everywhere. "Uh-oh," he thought. "This watering hole is reserved for skeletons."---Jack Handy

Love
Peter

"What Day is it?"

All I know for sure is that it is 6 am and I have been up since 3:30.  I'm not sure if it's today or tomorrow, or even maybe yesterday.  I did just realize however that it has been 2 sleeps since I have posted a blog so I will have to back date this.  Then I'm gonna go workout downstairs since the probability of more sleep is very low. 

"Learn from yesterday, live for today, and hope for tomorrow.  The important thing is not to stop questioning"---Albert Einstein

Love
Peter