Health hiccup and more running and cycling!
September 18th, 2008 | Published in Living, Personal, Running, Sports & Adventure | 20 Comments
So I took myself to the doctor in office today since I needed a medical certificate.
And then I find out. Everything else is fine with me — no allergies, no fits, no weaknesses — except one small problem…
“Your BP is a little high,” he says. (130/90 for those who can decipher the numbers).
“You should exercise, and try and lose some weight,” he adds.
My friend V who is with me comes to my rescue and pipes in, “But doctor — she does yoga, and she runs every weekend.”
The doctor gives me a “I-don’t-believe-you –can-even-run-a-mile” look and I nod my head vigorously to tell him that it’s the truth and nothing but the truth.
“Well,” he says, “we’ll monitor your BP for about 4 weeks and take a few more readings to be sure.” So it seems like I have to check my pressure over the next few weeks just to make sure that I’m not veering towards a serious problem. Anyway, I did a google search and apparently, in the 130 range, it indicates hypertension and can still be prevented by taking a few measures.
The irony however is that I’ve been trying to be health conscious over the last few months. I exercise more than I have in the last few years. I eat reasonably well (no diets for me!) but I ensure good portions of veggies, fruits and sprouts, nuts and drink lots of water through the day. No sweets, since I don’t have a sweet tooth. And after all that effort, my BP is now threatening to play spoil sport.
Hmph!
I might as well go back to junk food and my slothful days!
Anyway, despite this minor hiccup, I am registering for the **Kaveri Trail (21K) and the Bangalore Ultra (25K) runs in October and November followed by a cycling expedition in December. While I had ambitions to run a full marathon this year, considering my preparations I did realise that I was aiming for too much. So I’m settling for 2 half marathons.
Sathish told me about the cycling expedition in Goa and it sounded really exciting especially since I really enjoyed cycling in Pondicherry and Goa will be even more fun, I’m sure!
So I’m all geared up now for the next 3 months — loads of activity to look forward to and to prepare for. I’ll just have to take extra care of my health and hope it doesn’t let me down! And take that cycle out a little more often :-)
** The Kaveri Trail is held near Srirangapatna and is a very scenic trail where you have the option of doing 10, 21 and 42K. The Bangalore Ultra is held at another scenic location — Hesaraghatta — near Nrityagram and Our Native Village. If you’re interested and want to register, do log into the websites mentioned for more details… And I ran my first long distance event at the Ultra last year in December so if I can do it, I’m sure anyone can!
September 19th, 2008 at 1:16 pm (#)
Wow, the Goa cycling expedition sounds really good. Are you able to manage 6 hours of cycling everyday? Curious, because I was wondering if I could do it. Anyway, it all sounds like you are going to be having a lot of fun.
September 19th, 2008 at 8:33 pm (#)
Anita,
Reduce your salt intake. That will help you a lot.Drink plenty of water to flush the sodium out of the system.Sodium is the culprit.
September 19th, 2008 at 8:45 pm (#)
Hi Anita,
“Rich man’s best friend is health”. In your case however it should be “Rich woman’s best friend is health”.
Good article.
Thanks
SP
September 19th, 2008 at 8:46 pm (#)
http://www.forbes.com/free_forbes/2005/1010/039.html
September 20th, 2008 at 2:27 am (#)
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September 20th, 2008 at 2:52 pm (#)
@ Banno: yes! now that you mention it — 6 hours seems like a lot :-) i have no idea how i’m going to do it but that’s why i mentioned that i need a lot of preparation now!
@ Poornima: i drink quite a lot of water. the salt — yes — everyone’s told me about it. i actually don’t even have too much salt but i guess i’ll have to keep a strict watch now!
@ SP: did rich? :-) that wouldn’t be me! but your’e right about the health. thanks for the link!
September 20th, 2008 at 5:14 pm (#)
Hey Anita,
Thanks for the comment on my blog page :-) I can see you’re preparing for the Kaveri runs…I contemplated being part of it but its too close to Mumbai January.…which is where I intend running the marathon! :-) Nice blog. All the best for Kaveri and if ever you want to exchange running notes here’s someone who’s “hitting the wall” so often now that running seems more like climbing a bloody wall!
Cheers
Abs
September 20th, 2008 at 8:49 pm (#)
All the best, Anita :)
September 20th, 2008 at 11:28 pm (#)
Anita, I often end up with a low BP, and a few admonishing words from the doctor to eat better but a high BP would leave me slightly concerned but then take care and keep meeting the doctor.
September 20th, 2008 at 11:33 pm (#)
Hey anita
hope your doing good.
BP huh, im fit as a fiddle and i supposedly had high BP too, so did the doctor say, guess they have to say something and not let you go without a worry! I wonder if that is the case.
Well, I needed to ask you something.
In the month of november, would you know of any exhibitions on photography in bangalore?
If you do, could you kindly let me know.
My brother is a photographer and is visiting us and was asking.
my email is at
arvinddwarak@gmail.com
Cheers!
Arv
September 21st, 2008 at 7:13 pm (#)
Hi!
I would worry about the “90” part rather than the “130” part.
to tell you the truth, considering the busy lifestyle, sometimes 130/90 is considered normal.
It is not good but it is not bad either.
Take care
GBU
Arti
September 22nd, 2008 at 12:17 am (#)
@Abs: so true! hitting the wall is a very common occurence! i’m also participating in the mumbai event — but half marathon again. that’s the most i can think of as of now :-)
@ Manasa: thank you!
@ Mridula: i shall have to make a few regular visits now! thanks :-) you take care of your health too!
@ Arvind: as of now, i don’t know of any. but the best way to find out is the check the events listing in the papers, they would have any major exhibitions happening listed in their columns.
@ Arti: really? i have no idea what it means. let’s hope it was just a one off and i get back to normal this week! but thanks :-)
September 22nd, 2008 at 8:34 am (#)
nice to know that you also have a packed schedule for nxt few months…
btw, my blog id is sathishk not ksathish!! :-)
Hoping that by Oct 10th Shiok would be re-open… the only weekend i might be in bangalore for next 2 months & with no activity…
September 23rd, 2008 at 12:46 am (#)
Yes. The “90” part in the long run leads to heart ailments.
“130” part is Systolic, which can change during anxiety, exercise etc. [Too high systolic is not good either]
“90” part is diastolic, which the real concern.
I guess you are in the safe zone. It might be just a one off, like you say :)
Avoid too much papad, achaar etc. I’d say,though.
Take care
GBU
Arti
September 23rd, 2008 at 9:43 am (#)
do you love salty foods? Reduce them.
September 23rd, 2008 at 12:44 pm (#)
It’s high time for me to start preparing for long runs… will talk to you offline for details :)
anyway I’ll be there for Kaveri trial, at leaset as a spectator since I’ll be in Mysore in that timeframe…
October 10th, 2008 at 10:57 am (#)
hope things turn fine.
BTW list of activities sounds cool :)
October 15th, 2008 at 11:11 am (#)
I can see that running seems to be a thing for u — just read a book that you may find interesting What I Talk About When I Talk About Running: by Haruki Murakami. Check it out.
Take care of your health.
October 25th, 2008 at 2:43 am (#)
You could even check out the TFN — Tour of Nilgiri. Try www dot tourofnilgiri dot com. With all due respect to your hero, hope you have upgraded your Cyclone to something better.
November 9th, 2008 at 12:02 pm (#)
Hiya,
Don’t know how I arrived at your blog, but just wanted to say that there is such a thing as ‘white coat anxiety’, when you are in a doctor’s office, which shows a higher reading than normal. A one-off reading is of little use anyway.
Borrow a portable BP meter, and take a dozen measurements throughout the day. Sit quietly for about ten minutes, no talking, before you measure each time. Then take the average.
Happy cycling.