Its been a pretty mixed week.
I was due to do weights and a bike ride on Sat. But visitors and house tidying got in the way. Then late Sat night I said I would take their dog and ours out for a walk. Keeping an eye on the younger active dogs I failed to spot our old border terrier wandering off. Well she always comes back in about an hour. Five hours later at 5.30am I gave up waiting and searching and went to bed. My wife started searching in the morning and a local farm found her wandering on their lawn at lunch time. So for the early part of the week I was "dog" tired, arrhythmia sunday afternoon - Monday. Just a bummer got nothing done. Having found freedom the dog has tried the same trick each night since.
Finally got out on my bike yesterday. I was over collecting timber from an estate near Forres and this is a run I have wanted to do for ages. Over Dava Moor to Granton on Spey, down Speyside and back over to Forres from Knockando, 83k, 800 mtrs climbing 19.5 kph. It was just brilliant - even with my heart playing up - it cleared this morning in bed. At one point there were four buzzards circling, 2 curlews and several oyster catchers.
Today I got my weights done with no arrhythmias:
1 circuit of warm up exercises
Bent over Rowing 52k @ 5 5
Bench Press 52k @ 4 3
SL Dead Lift 92k @ 5 5
heals raise 92k @ 5 5
Squat Jump 52k@ 10
Press 13k @ 6 6
Lat raise 6k @ 6 6
front raise 6k @ 6 6
Abs 4 exercises 2 sets @ 25/20 2530 30
Morning pulse 59, blood pressure 116/68
9hrs sleep but I have not caught up yet.

Out on Wed evening using a fixed wheel. Promised myself to go steady in a strong wind. OK got carried away in a tail wind to see how fast I could pedal. 178 is not bad without shoe plates. I have been using a mid shoe position over the pedals & changed to look pedals. I don't have a set for my fixed bike and anyway the toe overlap concerns me. So platform pedals & no shoe plates. Must fix the back brake though! Anyway it set off an arrhythmia. So had a disturbed nights sleep.
Arrhythmia still going on Thursday but I felt OK. I think because I have been getting more rest. Despite the arrhythmia I went out on my planned ride. A beautiful run round north Formartine into Buchan.Sightings of a flight of geese overhead, a dear & heron beside the road just adding to the day.
Took care to manage my effort, never push too hard and to fuel all the time. With the arrhythmia I can keep my pulse broadly in the 120-160 range. It bounces about. On hills I can generally keep within a 169 max with occasional bounces above and still climb at 450 metres per hour. I can live with that. So 75k, 700 metres of climbing and 18+kph.
If my arrhythmia becomes permanent & I can still do days like this life will still be good. Just made a brilliant evening. Dinner was ready when I got in and the arrhythmia cleared. What more could I ask.

Tuesday

Well got a good nights sleep last night, we all slept in and had a bit of a rush for school and work. But felt better for a 10hr rest. Often after a good sleep its as if my body does not want to get going for the whole day. My pulse can be low and I am liable to arrhythmias. However pulse was 57 this morning, which is middling and ok. I have been fine.
Home from work late so missed out on the cycling.
Did my weights the same as Sunday. Kept the same because I have limited goals for the weights - its more about maintenance now. And I reckon I have been over doing it recently.
1 circuit of warm up exercises
Bent over Rowing 52k @ 5 5
Bench Press 52k @ 4 3
SL Dead Lift 89.5k @ 5 5
heals raise 89.5k @ 5 5
Squat Jump 52k@ 10
Press 13k @ 6 6
Lat raise 6k @ 6 6
front raise 6k @ 6 6
Abs 4 exercises 2 sets @ 25 20 30 30
about 40 mins
Here's to a good nights rest.

catching up a little

Back again and hopefully will be better at keeping things up as a training log.

I keep a daily log of all that seems linked to arrhythmias so I should be able to use it easily for this - I hope.
I will skip most things just now except to say I have regular arrhythmias which knock the stuffing out of any real training.
However I still manage to enjoy myself and I would like to share it all with you.
Biggest aims are overall fitness and cycling related. I did 3,900 kilometres last year and aim for 5,000+ this. Not too concerned about speed but yes would like to be faster! Currently mostly about 20kph but depends on the hills.
Have done about 500k in each of January and Feb and probably pushed a little hard towards the end in Feb. Do some weights training and had a target for winter end ie Feb which probably had me pushing a wee bit to hard. Together they suggest over training plus I have had more arrhythmias so far this month and not been able to manage them. Out of 35 sessions cycling this year 10 have started arrhythmias and four of those this month. So more reason to think I have overdone things a little.
So Sunday did the following:
weights down very slightly from previous session:
Bent over Rowing 52k x5 &5
Bench Press (still affected by dislocated shoulder 5yrs ago) 52k x4 & 3
straight leg dead lift 89.5k x5 &5
heals raise 89.5k 5 5
Squat Jump 52k 10 (1set only I do enough cycling)
Press 13k x6 &6 (single arm dumb bell press each arm)
Lateral arm raise 6k x6 &6 (lying on side raise arm away from side)
front arm raise 6k 6 6 (lying on back raise arm)
Abs 4 exercises, two sets
1 lying on front, support to thigh, secure legs & bend trunk down then raise up 25 then 20 (aim is 2x 25)
2 same only lying on back. 25 then 25 they are easier
3 turn round repeat raising straight legs while lying on back and then on front. 30 twice for each.
Felt OK not too pushy though I note pulse was lower than usual.
Then cycled 11K. Using a fixed wheel bike I have just fixed up. Aim was a low gear and pedal quickly and not work to hard. Worked fine except I let my pulse go high 124 bpm on the hill to our house (its 10%) and being passed by a big machine got an arrhythmia just as I stopped. Damn.
Got just over 9 hours sleep. I reckon sleep is a crucial factor and for me even 9 hours is not really enough.
Arrhythmia cleared this afternoon so lasted 20 hours and did nothing today. I had planned about 20k.
By the way max pulse is believed to be about 165. Aim at the moment is to not go higher than 115 or 70% with most of a run below 110. Have been going to 120 or so which requires extra recovery and I have not been allowing for it.
OK thats a start.
My son wants help with his car, dogs need walked and I want to go to bed.

Wednesday 7 November

Not been such a good few days.
I had planned Saturday as a quiet day. Just took the dogs for a walk in the morning after dropping my son Garry off at work. 3k along tracks and through the woods. Very pleasant but not vigorous.


Sunday.
Slept soundly Sat night but only about 8 hours and woke with a very slow pulse – around 46. This happens sometimes. Its as if everything has just relaxed and does not want to start up properly. Its always a bad sign and the arrhythmia started after breakfast.
We had friends call in before they headed for shopping. I took our dogs and their big lab out for a 3k walk round one of the local farms. Again fairly relaxed especially as the heart rate discouraged anything vigorous. Had the arrhythmia all day till evening dinner before our friends headed home.
I generally have the dogs out for a 1.5k walk each evening before bed. I rarely miss that walk. It makes a way of seeing the year and currently I enjoy the dark nights. One of the boys may come with me as Jamie did tonight. He generally does when he is home.
Monday saw another dog walk, another arrhythmia. That makes it sound like they are linked – not at all. Like Saturday walked the woods near Garry's work. Its a lovely walk with fine views of Bennachie - our local hill. A beautiful morning with geese flying, gaggling overhead with a low autumn sun. That soon turned to rain.
Bennachie

We sell logs colonised with mushrooms and needed some taken from store up for packing. That provided half an hour harder work.
Tuesday much the same but did not have my walk with the dogs in the morning.
Wednesday today had a pulse of 60 first thing. Good 3k walk in the morning round local roads and tracks. We have a lab and a border terrier who is now 15. She is arthritic but can still walk OK on smooth ground. She is pretty deaf and her sight is deteriorating – if she cannot see you easily she will just wander off. Calling after her is no use. Sometimes the lab will go and fetch her but that is rare. I need to run after her and since that's a sudden effort try to avoid an arrhythmia!
I had planned to go out on my bike but that got lost somewhere. No arrhythmia so far! Into Aberdeen to see our son's new council flat. That is new to him. Badly needs decorating but basically its sound and he should get the keys tomorrow. That will be good. Slow pulse again this evening. So its post this and off for the dog's evening walk.

arrhythmia rules so lets start a revolution

Well this is my blog and to start with its for me. Just to put on record dealing with arrhythmia: what it does to you, how you feel, how it does your head as well as your heart. And of course how I continue to do some of the things I want, that are important to me as well as some of what I have to do as part of life.
I hope some folk may find it interesting, even useful.
I will put in bits about me as things go on.
But to start with I'm 62, a war baby born in June 45, male. I started being aware of
arrhythmias about 6 to 7 years ago. I used to jog each morning and started getting these racing heart beats. They left me breathless and not able to jog. Eventually went to the Dr and had a few tests. I was told my heart was basically sound and they prescribed beta blockers - Sotalol. Did not take them for a year but in Feb 05 I was planning a cycle trip to the French alps with a friend of mine and reckoned I ought to take them to make sure I gave the trip my best shot.
Col de Noyer nr Gap
Finally came off the beta blockers at New Year 07 and currently do not take anything directly for the arrhythmia.
Still try to cycle, keep fit etc as will become clear with the blog. Oh arrhythmias - well 3 to 12 per month they usually last 12 to 20 hours, occasionally a day plus.
So that will do for now. Except this is meant to be a diary blog. So today.
Bit knackered this morning after cutting logs for our mushroom business yesterday - 4 hours shifted and cut a few tons of logs. Had an arrhythmia during the night, not surprising since its been a heavy week with late nights. The surprise was my pulse was normal in the morning: 62-64. Slightly raised from my base of 56 but expected after the work and the late nights. Actually its the first morning for a few days where the pulse has been where it "ought" to be, past few mornings it has been a bit low which is always a bad sign.
So tired today, plutered (ie did little) doing things on the computer then went for another load of logs this afternoon. So in all about 80 mins of labour with pulse about 85. Felt better after the work
Previous winters I have done the tree felling as well as cutting. This year we are buying in the logs pre cut to 1 or 2 metre lengths and it seems to be working well so far.
I have this hypothesis that arrhythmias are partly the result of inappropriate body and heart stress. Low level work say to 65% max heart rate (and perhaps lower if less fit) will strengthen the heart and body against arrhythmias and reduce their incidence. Being sedentary or tired or inappropriate stress will all encourage arrhythmias. Feel this week supports my hypothesis.