Cross Country Skiing

Linda and I got each other new cross country skis for Christmas. We ordered them from a Maine company called Akers Ski -that was ironic since our first sets had been ordered from LL Bean (Freeport, Maine) back in 1975. The Bean's skis are all wood with hickory bases. The three pin bindings are outmoded and the boots were shot a long time ago. But I won't throw out those classic skis. One of these days, I may see if the bindings can be switched out without weakening the ski with new drill holes -perhaps not.

We couldn't wait for Christmas to open them once UPS dropped them at the door. We've been out twice to trails in a local park in pretty good conditions. Yesterday, we did close to an hour and really worked up a sweat in the high 20's temps. It was a good workout day for me since I had done my hour and a half Saturday morning spinning class. This is a great class with a serious instructor, and it's geared to triathletes, serious cyclists, and other sorts who like to suffer.

Sunday Ride

Here is a screen shot of my Garmin page showing the data and map for a 73.5 mile ride I took over to a family reunion on Sunday, July 11th. Click on the image to enlarge it or go to my page at http://connect.garmin.com/activity/40108167. Garmin says that I burned over 5200 calories though I fueled the trip with just 3 packs of Gu gel -the stuff must be potent -more sugar than I typically eat in a month. I stopped at my Mom's just past Canfield for about 45 minutes late in the morning and my quads felt pretty tight when I climbed back on my Trek 5200 for the last leg over to the picnic grounds where the reunion was held. I've had the Trek since 2001 though I recently added Speedplay pedals which work great with my new Sidi shoes. Much of the trip was on route 224 between Akron and Youngstown which wasn't too busy on a Sunday morning though the traffic that was present was flying. At one point, I was passed by a convoy of wide load trucks that were using about 2/3 of the pavement and all of the berm. Fortunately, they swung over for me so that I didn't have to bail into the ditch bordering the berm. Near Youngstown, there were some sections of teeth rattling washboard asphalt. The weather was wonderful - low 60's when I left the house just after 6 a.m. and low 80's by the time I arrived around 1 p.m.

Here are a couple of scanned pages from a booklet titled Outcomes which was handed out at a recent Grand Rounds session at Fairview Hospital which is where I had my bypass surgery. Click on the image to enlarge it to readable size. The picture is me dancing with my daughter at her wedding which was in a beautiful outdoor setting near Chagrin Falls, Ohio. The article is a fairly accurate rendition of what happened to me on June 3 last year. I was told, however, that it was more like 15 minutes between the time my heart stopped and when it was restarted. There is no mention of my adoption of a plant-based diet in a quest to keep my vein grafts patent. Also, well-before the 12 week mark (sternum healed rock-solid), I was back to limited weight lifting. I have been progressing my workouts, and the spinning class that is mentioned is now up to two hours and is very intense. Many of my workout mates are triathletes. I run trails with my pooch, Casey, and lift heavier weights than the typical 20-40 year old at the place where I workout. I have been lifting 2 or 3 times a week, spinning twice a week, doing yoga a couple of times in between, and playing tennis several times a month. Not bad for a guy whose ER report listed the diagnosis as "Sudden Clinical Death." Both my cardiologist and surgeon (identified in the article) say that I suffered a plaque rupture which is an acute (sudden) event where a narrowed portion of a coronary artery splits and results in formation of a clot which acts effectively as a cork in the particular artery (in my case, the trunk of the left main -not good!). How fortunate (blessed) was I to have a cardiologist and pediatric intensivist within a few yards?

Hiking at Sunrise

Here are a couple of shots taken by my hiking buddy, John Shaffer, at River Styx Park a couple of weeks ago. We meet for a sunrise hike once a week no matter the weather. This day, it was about 5 degrees when we started. I'm carrying my pooch, Casey, after he came up limping with ice balls between his toes for the second time. The first time, I thawed his foot with my ungloved hand. The hand stayed cold so the second time he limped, I figured the over the shoulder carry was better than frostbite. He didn't seem to mind!