>Decaf please.

>Hello friends. Halfway through my marathon training, I thought I encountered a possible setback, but am now relieved to say that I can go full speed ahead after a week of rest.

I’ve had little heart flutters now and then through the past ten years or so where it feels like my heart is racing and in my throat, but it goes away within 20 seconds or so. This morning when I was getting ready for church, it caught me by surprise and didn’t let up after several minutes.

I had spent the night at my best friend’s house, and I told her mom about it when she got up (her mom is a nurse practitioner). She took my pulse and it was around 165, but blood pressure was fine.

After 30 minutes went by and it didn’t subside, even with trying different things, we decided to go to the hospital. Amelia went ahead to church. We were both scheduled to sing on the worship team, and I was supposed to play. Thankfully she could play in my place.

Her mom Carey took me to the ER. It’s a small town and I got in very quickly. They took my blood pressure and hooked me up to an EKG, which confirmed that I was having an episode of supraventricular tachycardia (SVT).

After another 30 minutes went by, my HR was down to around 145-148, which is still ridiculously high for just laying there. They gave me a dose of Adenocard via IV, which basically stops your heart for a few seconds and resets it. That was the weirdest feeling ever.. very unsettling! But it did its job and my HR went back to normal, 60-70. Since I’ve been running, my resting HR is lower, 55-60.

They drew blood and monitored me for awhile and then let me go.. Carey and I went to get breakfast.. I was starving! So glad Carey was with me because I wouldn’t have known to get blood work done. The ER doctor just wanted to send me on my way.

Today I left work after lunch to get to my appointment with a doctor in Carey’s office. The first thing the doc told me was that I was significantly anemic. She didn’t give me any numbers, but she prescribed me iron pills to take twice a day. I was also dehydrated, which honestly does not surprise me. Twelve ounces of Gatorade on a three-hour run doesn’t really cut it.

The doc ordered an echocardiogram so that they can take a look at my heart and make sure everything is fine. I have that scheduled for next week. I go back to her in six weeks to have blood drawn again.

She did say that I can run long distances in preparation for the marathon (yay!) but that I need to drink enough fluids before, during and after. I’m going to be taking this week off of strenuous exercise. Our schedule has only six miles for Saturday, and if I feel back to normal, then I’ll go. Otherwise I’ll pick back up with training next week.

Lesson learned! So, here’s my plan: no caffeine, good rest, good sleep, healthy eating, and lots of fluids. I’m so thankful that so far it’s nothing serious and that it’s easily managed by small lifestyle changes. I would love it if I could manage my diet well enough to get all my nutrients and vitamins from food.

I stopped into Starbucks on my way out of town and saw Emily. She let me have her mark-out for the week: decaf House Blend.

Here’s to a restful and thankful week! Spring is right around the corner.