Ultrarunner fighting Atrial Fibrilation (AF)

This blog has pretty much always been about running ultras, mostly Hardrock. It still is but now it is also about running after AFib. I was forced to miss Hardrock in 2011 due to the onset of AF but my long term goal was to get back to running milers. And hopefully help any other runners with AF who stumble upon this site. I never made it into Hardrock in 2012, or 2013, or 2014. I didn't have a qualifier for 2015. I ran Fatdog in Canada instead. That was tough. I finished my 4th Hardrock in 2016 and now I'm back to try for the magical number 5.

If you want the history of my AF the heart problems all started back on May 25 2011: http://howmanysleeps.blogspot.com/2011/05/out-of-hardrock.html

Friday, July 14, 2006

Nearly a zen moment.

Headed down to the Ironbark Forest to start the trail marking for my
Fat Ass run on Sunday. Not sure why I'm bothering to mark it out. It
seems like I could be running it on my own. Well me and the whippets. I
don't mind though. It's given me extra excuses to get down there and go
for a run on my favourite track. I just hope it doesn't rain too much
between now and Sunday.
Parked above Southside on the road after marking the track in and out
of Bells Beach and across Southside carpark. I had my Mule on with the
new bottle holders that I wanted to try out and was carrying a bag of
flour in my hand. About 100 m into the bush and I tripped and had a
really heavy fall. Luckily the bag didn't burst or I would've been
covered in flour. I blame Tim. It was just after he had been
complaining about the possibility of falling while wearing Skins and
here I was in my linebreaks eating dirt, literally. I opened the wound
on my hand from my fall on Tuesday. Twice in one week. I never fall. I
trip occasionally but I can count all the falls I've ever had on one
hand. I reckon it's because of my sore toe. I am not pushing off
properly and that foot is not lifting as high. After recovering from
that I was out for just under 2 hours marking the major track
intersections. Ran to Point Addis and back, easy pace. I popped the
shuffle on close to finishing with only the trip down to the Jarosite
mine left. I flew down there and just cruised up the long climb out.
About halfway up I stopped and looked around. I love this place. I had
one of those epiphany-like moments where you realise just how good it
is to be out there. I think that is as close as I get to the infamous
Spud-zen-moment.
Only 7 weeks until GH. I am getting really psyched out by all the hype
on CR. Everyone seems to be full of confidence while I am struggling
just to get out the door. I have adjusted my goals to meet my
limitations but am still worried how my toe will stand up to nearly 30
hours of pounding. Not to mention my ankle that aches just thinking
about it. Perhaps I should just do the 100km? I'll give it some
thought. Maybe I should just crew? I'll see how I go at 12'. Only 4
weeks away. That will be the real test. I'm really looking forward to
12', despite the injury woes and limited prep.

2 comments:

tim said...

You’re not going to back out of the GH. This is the race you think about all year!

Plus how do I get the blame for your fall?

Aussie Ultra Runner said...

Andrew, shame i forgot all about your Fatass run, too much else happening with me. I'd hope that i'm just having a long sleep when Glasshouse is on (though i can't see me sleeping the whole 23 hours you'll be out there).