Customers where I work often hear about what I've done on the bike and make comments like "you must be in really good shape." I never know how to respond; I am very active, but I have no doubts that pushing the limits for RAAM is not exactly healthy. In fact, I sometimes think that it's a little closer to an Evil Knievel type health plan. I would liken my training to that of a boxer - most of the training is very good for me, but then there's the 3-4 big events a year that are not doing my body any favors.
All that said, I've been feeling pretty tired and run down lately. I train hard, so I was having a difficult time trying to determine if it was just a result of all that training or if I had some other underlying condition (anemia, thyroid issue, etc.). I hadn't been to the doctor in 6 years, so I thought it would be a good time to get checked out (especially since I have a hereditary leaning toward heart disease). The results are in:
Blood pressure: 120/80
Weight: 160
Total Cholesterol: 174 (under 200 is good)
HDL: 62 (over 40 is good)
LDL: 84 (under 100 is good)
Hemoglobin: 14.3 (normal)
sugar levels, thyroid Levels, ferratin levels, electrolytes, kidney, and liver tests were all normal.
Long story short is that I'm in pretty good shape and ready to give this race another try.
