Three Months Post Ablation

Holter Monitor

March 6, 2019 - I picked up my Holter Monitor from the University of Ottawa Heart Institute.

I get to wear "Ticker" for two weeks.

Pasties

"Ticker"

I had a Holter before, but it was during the summer months and I'm finding the pasties are irritating my skin this time around, but I only have a few more days and then it's back to the Heart Institute until the six month anniversary. 

It's hard to believe that it's been three months already, but at the same time I'm feeling good and getting back to my OTF and did some running, but if you live in Ottawa it's been a bit tricky to get around streets with the whacky weather so limiting my running at the moment to the indoor treadmill with my OTF and the occasional social run.

Hopefully I'll see this in my stats the report as I'm curious to know if I'm in normal sinus rhythm. That is the goal!

As part of my three month anniversary I also started a Stress Management workshop.

Workbook

This is a six week course that will help my 💓 manage stress. So far Week 2 and it's been an interesting group of patients.

Most of them have had heart attacks so I feel a bit odd with an arrhythmia condition; however, this is part of my cardiac rehab and it was suggested I take it. So every Wednesday evening I'll be doing some meditation and defining the stressors in this forum.

Team Heart

Also I finally saw the group photo of "Team Heart" look for me running with some of these amazing heart patients at Race Weekend.

2019 Team Heart

March Break, Team Nuun Gear & Snowboarding Oh my!

I took March Break off to have some me time and I did a few things. One of which was to hang my medal hangar and hit the slopes on the snowboard and head to the border to pick up my Team Nuun Gear . It was a fun week to be off and the weather was just fabulous.

Here are a few photos from the week.

10 Runs at Calabogie with Eunice

Dad's Medals (50th bday gift from the girls)

Top of Calabogie and view of the Lake

Team Nuun Gear, Singlet, Vest & Jersey

 

Eunice and I at the top of Calabogie

1st Race of 2019

Medal Monday

The last week of February I was gearing up trying to figure out what to do with myself other than trying to do ALL THE THINGS!.

I saw a lot of messages on my social media feed about the upcoming hypothermic race out in the hi-tech sector in Kanata. I've done this that past three years and the motivation to get there was strong!

Needless to say I signed up for the 5K because who doesn't like the post bRUNch afterwards???!! 

I posted that I registered for my 1st race of 2019 and my friend Liisa went ohhh where is this race and what are the deets? Well that perked my day to know that someone was willing to run my moderate pace and keep me in check as if I was left to my own vices you know what may happen! So she checked with her hubs and bam she was in!

Race Day was as expected at the Marshes Golf Club and cars everywhere so I parked at one of the hi-tech buildings close to the start and made my way in. The excitement was mounting as not many knew I would be running so soon...neither was I, but it was 5K I was looking forward to being with my people.

Race Ready

I saw my Team Awesome fellow ambassador Tegan 1st and we promised to do a photo and we forgot! Oh well next time. I connected with Luc as well and Heather from the Grant Crossing RR and then Liisa arrived. We got a group shot courtesy of Heather R.

1st group selfie of the day courtesy of Heather R

Then the girls went off to the bathroom and I connected with another group selfie.

Normal

Not so normal

I went out to meet up with the Run Ottawa crew for 8:45 before the start of the race and saw some familiar faces from the RunYOW crew.

Photo courtesy of Ian Hunter

Photo courtesy of Ian Hunter

At the start of the race Liisa and I went to the back of the pack since I didn't want to be trampled. We met up with Jenn and hung out with her until the official start. You can see Jenn hamming it up while Liisa and I were oblivious.

Photo courtesy of Ian Hunter

Photo courtesy of Ian Hunter

Once we got under way it was  a slow shuffle at the start and I was off on my 1st race of 2019.

Shuffle, Shuffle with Liisa

We kept a nice steady pace and we chatted almost the entire way about all things to keep us moving and motivated around. We actually went around a few people as we moved on the course. The road conditions were great and only a couple of ice patches, but otherwise good weather and decent road conditions. The race itself is just a 5K loop out and back so we all started with the 10K and the half marathon folks. It was fun to see friends as we passed each other.

Hypothermic 5K done

Our average pace was pretty steady and we didn't take any walk breaks. We finished strong and Liisa came ahead of me 😉

My official time was 37:36 and we earned the bling and the bRUNch!!

5K done!

Yum!

Greate race with even great friends (running your pace) and run support crew seeing everyone!

Medal Monday

OTF 200

As well as this weekend I received my official certificate for attending 200 classes.

A big enough milestone that deserved a photo op as the studio makes these huge for members and I'm grateful for the people I've met that have challenged me along the way.

Sunday 3 group class that helped me celebrate 200!

Full class that had a lot of splat points

I'm Back

Physiotherapy Assessment - Part 2

The new normal

It's been a couple of weeks since my last update and nothing much has changed until today! February 19th I went in for my actual PT assessment after completing my Bloodwork, Fitness Stress test and attending my nutrition and stress classes.

Oh and of course this is was the day that there was the United Convoy heading from Arnprior to protest on Parliament Hill and possible traffic disruptions. Well the convoy did not disrupt me as there was more than enough warning to let people know that there was going to be oh about 200 vehicles coming down the 417 EB to head downtown. So luckily I left extra early on Tuesday and got to work early enough to leave and head out to my appointment at the Heart Institute. Oh and the parking as usual was a nightmare. I managed to find a spot, but with all the snow we had the last couple of weeks it made for street parking sketchy, but it worked. As usual I paid my fee and went up to the Cardiac Rehab centre where I met with Guy-Anne who was assigned to me to go over my results.

We had spoke on the phone a week before the appointment and discussed what Roxanne had taken from my intake appointment. We reviewed my vitals and she asked if my HR was still elevated. But as you know from my last post my HR returned to "normal" or at least it dropped down to a "normal" resting HR.

Having all those details in mind we reviewed my results. First up the stress test which is going to help determine what sort of fitness I can do. Since the test was abnormal when I took it as my ECG demonstrated Atrial Flutter it was hard to get the "normal". Seeing the trend here with the "normal"? Well there was a lot of calculations that was done and now the interpretation by my PT were that from the data of the stress test based on the start to the max output and I would be able to do 9 METS (Metabolic Equivalents).

As defined by PubMed:

One metabolic equivalent (MET) is defined as the amount of oxygen consumed while sitting at rest and is equal to 3.5 ml O2 per kg body weight x min. The MET concept represents a simple, practical, and easily understood procedure for expressing the energy cost of physical activities as a multiple of the resting metabolic rate. The energy cost of an activity can be determined by dividing the relative oxygen cost of the activity (ml O2/kg/min) x by 3.5. This article summarizes and presents energy expenditure values for numerous household and recreational activities in both METS and watts units. Also, the intensity levels (in METS) for selected exercise protocols are compared stage by stage. In spite of its limitations, the MET concept provides a convenient method to describe the functional capacity or exercise tolerance of an individual as determined from progressive exercise testing and to define a repertoire of physical activities in which a person may participate safely, without exceeding a prescribed intensity level.

Your science lesson of the day. So 9 METS is or is my current max "normal". I was given a nice chart to compare my exercise output and maintain a moderate exercise regime. So I will be studying that chart to get a good feel for this new "normal".
Next up my Aerobic Exercise Guidelines! Priority One is to ensure I do a proper warm up and cool down. I know if I'm in a class that is not a problem, but really I don't spend a lot of time doing this on my own so this will be a new challenge to tackle. In general, I need to exercise 5-7x/week at MICE (moderate intensity continuous exercise) and for HIIT 3-4x a week.
Can you feel the excitement in my blog?
Now with that in mind, my moderate HR zone should be 120-136 bpm for MICE and 126-142 for Hi HIIT and back to 90-105 for low HIIT (recovery). So this will be a bit tricky with my OTF, but Guy Anne has reminded me that not to hit those high rates so for OTF standards staying in my Green zone and below. So if I can still carry on a conversation then I'm good, but if I'm gasping then it's not so good. The message is clear that slow build back to to me is required. I don't know if I'll get back to the old me, but I'm just happy that I can get back to it again.
So on a side note, my blood work which I did almost a month ago showed amazing results. When I say amazing I have to admit my diet as an endurance runner has been terrible. So I've learned from my nutrition classes that I need to change that, but also follow the 80/20 rule and try to be healthier. So not only have I got a bit of a slow build, but I need to work on my diet and it's true. I have the next several months to change and I'm in no rush as part of the nutrition classes that fad diets may work in the short term, but long term effects are not the greatest. Now that my heart condition is potentially controlled. My best chance is to make sure I keep it that way so nutrition and exercise are important.
Now that I've been given a program it was now on to moving to getting the 2nd ECG. We called up to my EP and they agreed to get a 2nd follow up from my assessment in January to see if I was back in Normal sinus rhythm.
I was escorted by Guy-Anne to the waiting area where I waited to be served. Since it was the lunch hour I wasn't sure how long it would be and so I waited. In the meantime I was checking my email and I was supposed to meet up with a Comms person who had the hoodie I ordered. I wanted a memento to remind me of my journey at the Heart Institute so I ordered myself a hoodie.
So I met Judith who thanked me for being a social media ambassador and gave me my hoodie! It was awesome!

My new HI swag hoodie

 After meeting Judith I went up and got to the room where they wired me up and took my ECG which really only takes like a minute to do a capture and it would be read by the nurse/doctor to see what it showed, but I requested a 2nd copy and provided it to Guy-Anne and gave her the results and she gave me her interpretation and said it looked good, but since she's not qualified to actually tell me the official results until she confirmed it. So I sent it to Nurse TK and she told my P waves are back. So in layman's terms I'm back in rhythm.

I have rhythm

So to confirm I get a call the next day from Guy-Anne and she confirmed I am back in normal sinus rhythm. It is a huge relief and again another message to work with my new "normal" and rebuild and get back to training. I'm in no rush, but hopefully with some MICE and HIIT I'm well on my way. I think the best medicine for me has been prescribed and now to keep moving forward. One foot in front of the other. For now I'll enjoy the moderate exercise and will be on my recovery rebuild.

Cardiac Rehab/Progress Update and Team Awesome appearance

Cardiac Rehab/Progress Update

Two Months

Quick Recap and then to about 3 weeks ago I had been slowly increasing my workouts and then around the 7th of Jan my HR shot up to 90-100 bpm. It stayed that way until about this past Thursday, February 7th. In between that time I had an ECG and it showed my heart was in Atrial Flutter and my ventricle rate jumped 40 bpm from my post Ablation ECG. 

ECG - Jan 22/19

But like I said my HR seems to have come down on its own and my resting HR seems to be back in the 60’s. I haven’t had my follow up with the EP but I have an appointment with the Physiotherapist on the 19th. Hoping I can get them to send me for an ECG to see if I’m back in normal rhythm. 

So my activities have been on hold until things calm down and as I’ve been reminded that it could take up to 3 months for this to pass.
Hoping I can get back to it but this is my new normal.
In the meantime, I had another stress test on the treadmill February 1st where I was only allowed to walk at a speed build to a maximum of 4 mph.
I met Karl who set me all up and he sent another ECG off to the cardiologist before I started just to make sure that I was ok to proceed. Upon his return I got the green light and was able to do my brisk walk. In the end I was able to go about 11 mins and the incline got to about 10%. At least that is my guess as when I had this stress test the 1st time around they start you off at an incline almost right away. They just want your heart to start working quickly. Also each time the incline went up Karl took my BP. 
I'm personally happy, but at the same time it's always the unknown and the wait to know what is happening.
Also as part of my rehab I have to take some nutrition course as well as a stress for the heart class which I will be attending February 13th so hopefully this might help me feel more centred. More to follow the next couple of weeks.

Team Awesome Appearance

Bank Street Marathon Clinic

I had the opportunity to speak with the clinic at the Running Room on Bank Street. It was a lively crew and I was joined by alumni Mireille and we were able to speak about our experiences and pass on any tips that we had and basically just encouraged them to follow us and keep doing what they are doing.

I always feel a sense of accomplishment that I get to do this and help give back to the run community. I hope to inspire these runners when I get back on track.

Sleep Study and Bell Let's Talk

Sleep Study Results

Mark this date in your calendar January 29, 2019 has been the snowiest January since 1999. Shattering the previous total of 93cm and so for 2019--97 cm #winning 😒

So of course with all that snow that meant traffic chaos and the penultimate slow ass drive to get to my appointment at the Ottawa Hospital Civic Campus. Ok so the appointment was set at 9:30a and of course there had to be at least some snow clearing that needed to be done as I didn't want to shovel. Well cuz yeah Heart condition and not a great idea; however, given the time and knowing traffic I did a quick clearing for my car and enough for the others to be able to drive out to get both kids to exams; well actually one to exam and the other just to visit. And the final occupant didn't need to get out, but there was a path.

Commute and the Results

 I left the house at 7:40a and I started up Waze to plot my course. Of course it knew exactly where all the shortcuts to take, but what Waze doesn't know is that some of the sketchy neighbourhoods it took me through were not even plowed so did it save me time...meh...it was an adventure. I went from Old Richmond road to cutting through Bell's Corners and then on Baseline through another neighbourhood to do a loop through another neighbourhood to get to Lincoln Fields to the SJAM where I got to Island Park and through ritzy houses and century homes with again streets not plowed. Remember, recovery from heart surgery and of course now with elevated HR. 😡

I finally arrived at the Civic and I have to say the pathways and roads were actually well maintained. However, parking was absolutely non-existent.

It was to the point where parking attendants were doing Valet since in the actual tower it appeared there was zero spots left yet they were still letting people into the parking garage. So I passed the attendants and just took my chances and drove up to the very top and SCORE there were still spots left. So I pulled into the first spot and time...9:15a Oh did I tell you that they wanted me there 20 mins before my appointment? gah!

OK so of course I was nowhere near the actual entrance near where I need to be so I walked from the parkade to the main entrance and chivalry was out the door so sorry lady in the wheelchair for some parkour moves around you and weaving between you crazy people wanting your Tim Horton's double double fix.

I went to the information desk and said where's the Sleep clinic again? I know it's 1st floor and kind volunteer lady said I think you need to go to Elevator D...bingo that's the letter so I went super sonic to the elevator and since this hospital is ancient I felt the elevator was not even moving...oh there were three all slower than a new bottle Heinz Ketchup. 😕 

When an elevator did finally show up I went up the one floor, yeah yeah I could have found a staircase and went up, but didn't want to get lost in a hospital that seems somewhat has fifty wings.

Oh and what time was it when I actually got to the check in??? yep it was 9:25a

Oh and was anyone actually at the desk? absolutely not, but there was one guy ahead of me and we both waited and then another patient arrived. So here we were three dudes waiting to be told we have Apnea and show me the money!!!

No I kid, but the reception lady finally made an appearance and took my health card and gave me the 20 questions security check and gave me a clipboard and goes yep fill this two page questionnaire out!! 😒

So I took the clipboard and and filled out the sheets and handed back the clipboard and was called into one of the rooms where I met Dr. Leech.

I sat down and she was pretty empathetic at the slow commute and the parking and pretty much tried to calm me down as it was apparent I was stressed out. We joked about the drive and the morning, but for what it was worth it was a long morning and it was only 9:45a.

So we went over my results and of course I have sleep apnea, but it was quite the interesting conversation as the way I answered the questions and then the results reveal was intriguing to her. To be honest I answered the survey questions honestly to how I've been feeling the past couple of weeks so there wasn't really any deviation. Also the sleep study was a week before I was going for my Ablation so there really wasn't much correlation to my AFib to Sleep Apnea or is there??  She could not confirm that fixing my Apnea would help my heart, but in general and more long term it would be better for me. Of course having a Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine setup to help me breathe through the night will be intrusive.

In general, I did not provide them with a lot of actual sleep and more REM sleep. So they took what they got from me and saw from me sleeping on my back I was prone to go into Apnea 29x/hour to about 15x if I was on my side. So the little sleep I did provide them gave them these really interesting numbers. But if I did give them more sleep I'm not sure if the numbers would be in my favour.

So we got side tracked slightly as she said that I exhibit signs of a man with apnea that weighs like 250 lbs.😮

Not only was I surprised she threw out an actual "fun fact" that apparently Asian males and females for some reason are more prone to have Apnea. I'm like really? I feel like being profiled a tad. BUT what was surprising is that she said she had an Asian woman around 90-100 lbs soaking wet...yep Apnea. So part of me is thinking this is just a way to get CPAP machine sales up. The other part of me is in disbelief, but of course one cannot watch oneself not breathing while sleep. 

Here we are...what are the next steps?

1. I totally ignore this and wait and see what happens with my post Ablation healing and see if there is some benefit. Note that there isn't any evidence that links AFib to Apnea that she was aware, but it's still early in my healing
2. CPAP. Try it for 30 some odd days and see how I feel.
3. Which she believes is the right fit is a mandibular dental appliance. BUT the only catch is that I have to be sure the CPAP is of zero benefit and I need a 2nd choice.

So she wrote me up some scripts and said to get in touch with the clinic that will provide a free rental to try and then see where to go from there. But I let her know that I'm still waiting for a follow up and that I'm going to hold off until at least next week.

Oh don't worry I'll be posting that lovely experience when I get the CPAP. 

Bell Let's Talk

If you follow my social feeds of Twitter and Instagram then I won't take too much digital space and just say check out my feed on Twitter / Instagram @ottpak where I share my story and via this blog about me! Feeling defeated and down and using this space to try and find some way to articulate the emotions I have and put them into words on a screen. I merely pointed out that my family and friends were there and although a big corporation like Bell makes a big publicity deal out of this, but the message is clear. Use your voice, step up and be heard and share your story. It doesn't have to be to me or a professional, but confide to someone and just be there. I relied on my friends and family as support and they heard my cry. They were there and will still be there so I give 🙌 to them and give them 😍 for being there. #BellLetsTalk #EndTheStigma

Cardiac Rehab - Setback

Six Weeks and some change

Dec 6th 2018 seems so far away now. But yesterday January 22nd I visited the Heart Institute for the first time since leaving after my Ablation. However, mother nature stymied me and it was a Polar Vortex the past three days so that meant traffic was a lot slower in addition to black ice and of course the usual winter long drives. I even gave myself extra time and it still took a lot longer to get to the destination. Long story short I pulled up to the meter parking and if you've used the PayByPhone app I punched in the 5 digit number and maxed out my visit and away I went. I was only a couple of minutes late.

Rewind to around January 13th when I registered my last run for the Lululemon 40/80 challenge and sadly ended my RORunStreak, but I did manage to log in just over 40 K for the Lulu challenge which meant a nice discount for the girls!

However since I started back running and HIIT training my HR has been spiking higher than normal

Now back to the Cardiac Rehab centre. I met with Roxanne, a physiotherapist, who asked me A LOT of questions and basically my fitness activities. So here is pretty much the laundry list of what I do.

• running
• HIIT training a la OrangeTheory Fitness (run, row, body weights)
• snowshoeing
• trail running
• snowboarding
• cycling
• skating

Given that I used to train almost 5-6 times a week I was getting about 2-4 times, but of course with the RORunStreak I was trying to get back to where I left off prior to the diagnosis.

So in addition to the in person questions I answered a questionnaire online prior to my appointment and we went over that as well. Apparently that one was about stress and depression. Of course I didn't realize those questions were being scored! 😨

Here's the bottom line--my scores indicated stress and depression!

My reaction was mixed. Part of me was stunned and the other part of me was anxious! It was like a flood of emotions that it was happening again. The palpitations, racing heart, crack in my voice. 

So now what?

Roxanne informed me that the Cardiac Rehab centre is not just for getting you back to a more healthy lifestyle. They have a variety of programs:

• Nutrition counselling
• Stress management
• Smoking cessation
• Vocational counselling
• Psychological counselling
• Social work counselling

I was quite surprised and apparently I'm covered by this if I so choose. We talked a lot for more than an hour on options, but ultimately this is my plan of action.

I will beginning a Brief Program, but before any of that I need some bloodwork done and in addition to that I have my sleep study report to follow up with. That will most likely be in a future post.

Once I get the blood work done then my next step is another Fitness Stress Test. 

Roxanne wants to measure my fitness level at just a walk and see how my heart handles the exercise. After all it is a test of my fitness. Keep in mind the last couple of weeks my heart rate has been abnormally high and has not been able to come down. So we will see.

Next will be a follow up appointment with a new PT names Guy-Anne and then we'll see from my test results what I should be doing.

Once I get onto the program then I will have a follow up several weeks on my progress. However, before I could leave the rehab centre I had to have all my vitals taken and after Roxanne showed me how to check my pulse/heart rate and to recognize that my heart is skipping a beat. So after Roxanne consulted with a nurse they decided that I should get an ECG just to make sure that everything is going according to my EP's plan. I just have to remind myself that the healing could take as long as three months or more before my heart figures it out.

So I took my lovely requisistion and went around the corner to another waiting room and waited for my turn for the ECG.

SVP

I had about 35 minutes left on my meter and as I checked I was given number 64. Guess what number they called when I got there for ECG. 48!😧 I waited and when they got to like 54 I ducked out and fed the meter as the time was ticking! Of course time ran out again, BUT my number was called. So now what?? I rolled the dice again as I always do when I come to this place and the gamble paid off as |I got my ECG and rushed it back to the rehab centre and gave it to the admin and went on my way. I left there pretty much three hours later and not really the answers I was hoping, but more of a reality check that I'm not quite ready. I messaged the usual crew Kiera and of course work my results and I was offered by Therese to help me read my ECG or at least interpret to me what all those waves really mean as Normal has been a long way since my Ablation. I did learn about the alphabet. P QRS and T. It seems one of those letters seems to be missing in my ECG. What does that mean, well according to Therese my heart seems to be trying to work around the Ablation which may be trying to go the opposite direction that the electrical charge wants to go. So for those that haven't been following along AFib basically means that my electrical system in my heart isn't working or more that it's overworking/stimulating my heart; hence the high heart rate as of late. Of course the EP will need to verify so I went online to my ottawa heart page to see if there was anything on my ECG or a report, but nothing, but did find other interesting diagnostic reports and my operative summary. Very cool to read these. I didn't understand a lot of the lingo, but it was all medical jargon.

So for the moment I have been fasting and await with probably my elders aka other seniors for the line up to get blood drawn for my blood test.

Oh joy! In the meantime I now just relax and take it easy!😒

One Month Anniversary - Nuun, Bushtukah, RunToBeer, and OTF

One Month Post Ablation

Today January 6th it has been one month since going for my Ablation to correct the Atrial Fibrillation. Although I will be monitored over the next year nothing feels better than being able to do my running and returning to my activities. 

In fact today I returned to OrangeTheory Fitness to do my HIIT workout to see how I felt. Today's workout was a Strength workout and some base running with hills. After all the #RORunStreak the last five days I guess this workout was a good way to mix it up. I lasted the full hour and it seems my HR wasn't too bad, but there were not a lot of major pushes or all outs, but of course I was on the cautious side. 

30 Splats

This was actually quite a busy weekend with
Bushtukah, RunToBeer OTT & a BIG announcement.

Nuun Ambassador

So you're looking at the newest 2019 #TeamNuun ambassador. If you've ever done Ottawa's race weekend it is their electrolyte drink of choice. They have a variety of flavours and have added even a performance style drink that I've been using for trail runs and also for my cycling to add a bit of carbs and electrolytes.

I received the official announcement Friday and I'm excited to share how important hydration is in any sports. I preach this a lot to my girls as it is key. Our bodies are made up of over half water. So when you work out you sweat and you see all those commercials with the coloured sports drinks. Nuun is different and you just add it to water in a form of a tablet and its effervescent way of dissolving easily. As part of this new ambassador role I hope to combine this with Team Awesome and help out other athletes in "muuving" over the next year and staying hydrated and of course being Awesome.

#TeamNuun Ambassador

Bushtukah Snowshoe & RunToBeer Ottawa Chapter

My weekend started with a double workout kind of day. I know it's just a bit crazy after only a month ago I was at the Heart Institute on the operating table!

But I think today's technology and the type of procedure has allowed me to return a lot quicker than an average person. Then again I'm not your average person! 😏

Well I didn't want to overdo it at the snowshoe run so lucky I was late and just lollygagging at home and then forgetting where I was going. Of course trying to put on the gaiters and snowshoes is not exactly a quick action like snapping into a pair of skis. But I caught up to the walkers and made my way to watch as the walkers were feeding the chickadees. I managed a nice 2K walk/run and I was able to see Celia and Peggy and went back with them. Also who am I kidding I really looked forward to the cookies!

Snowshoe running...you have to try it!

Feeding the Birds

Peggy and Celia only ran in snowshoes for 1k of 2k

One more cookie before RunToBeer

After the snowshoe it was off to the hi-tech area in Kanata to get a sneak peek at the new Calabogie Brewing Company and try my hand at a 5K run/race.

It was nice to see that I can pick up my pace and I'm impressed I'm still running continuous. After the last six months of running paces 7:30/km or slower it was nice to quicken them even if it didn't last the full 5K, but I'm still on the recovery/rebuild. I may end up going back to those paces as I want to make sure I do NOT overdo it. As I am positive those close to me will be watching me carefully and reminding me.

I had a great time and even better when I saw Vlad and Tim running right by me on the other side of the road and an even bigger surprise seeing Tatiana taking photos at the end.

To the brewery

Shiny

The following were taken by Tat and she caught me off guard as I really wasn't expecting her to be there. So some candid photos courtesy of her site

Seriously WTH

speechless

The flow

My hair sparkles 😂

It has been quite the busy weekend and now we prepare some colder temps again and of course snow! A lot of snow in the forecast. Apparently as I type this there could be 10-20 cm of snow starting Monday the 7th to Tuesday! Before I sign off I recieved in the mail the other day that my Doctor has recommended me to take part in a Caridac Rehabiltation Program. So I've left a message and will let you all know how that works out.

My parting words...#StayHydrated 😉