Feelin' Good.

So the 5k that Sarah and I thought was taking place this morning, actually took place yesterday.  So, yeah, apparently we didn't quite pay close enough attention to details on that one.  Nonetheless, while I didn't get to push myself against the official clock of a road race, I did surpass my goal of running 5 consecutive 5ks this week. My normal pace is somewhere just north of 9 minutes, but when I'm feeling good and its not too hot (damn this heat slows you down), I've run some consecutive sub-8 minute miles. Weekly total miles came to 17.15.  That represents a new weekly high and its also the first time I've run for five consecutive days.

I'm just about where I wanted to be at this point. That's good. I think Team Boomer is going to begin reaching out to runners and provide access to their coach beginning next week. I'm looking forward to having some additional input.

This week was auspicious with respect to health news as well.  I made the early trip up to Boston to see my CF doctor at Mass General Hospital on Tuesday.  Its only the third or fourth time I've visited them, but I've already established an excellent level of cooperation with and respect for the team.  I met a new member of the team this week, Mathew - a physical therapist, who specializes in working with folks with CF.  He was an outgoing, well spoken guy and explained to me that I'd be doing an exercise test.  Essentially throwing me on an increasingly challenging treadmill and monitoring my physiological vitals.  Apparently all this exercise is paying off because (I don't think this was hyperbole) when we finished and he took a look at the numbers he told me that I was probably in the top 1% of patients with CF with respect to cardiovascular function. He was especially thrilled with how quickly I recovered (pulse rate, oxygen saturation, blood pressure). A veteran of 8 Boston Marathons himself, he had encouraging words for my efforts and gave me a great deal of confidence that I would actually be able to do this. 

From here it was over to the clinic office where I performed my obligatory pulmonary function test (PFT). A PFT is a hallmark of all CF doctor visits and consists, essentially, of blowing as hard as you can into a long tube attached to a machine that monitors things like volume and rate of air flow. PFTs produce a metric that nearly all CF patients (and their health care team) place above all others when monitoring the progress of the disease - the FEV1/FVC.  FEV1 stands for forced expiratory volume in one second - the absolute maximum volume of air you can blow out of your lungs in one second. FVC stands for forced vital capacity - the total amount of air you can forcibly blow out in one breath (measured during the same hulking gasp and exhale as FEV1). The ratio you produce is compared to a regression curve of what is considered normal for one's age and body mass index and reported as a percent.  What is considered normal depends on the patient and who you ask, but anything below a 70% is usually considered problematic for someone with CF (at least that's been my personal perception). My last time at the doctor's (March) I had blown the lowest FEV1/FVC of my life (~63%). Not a good thing, but not terribly shocking as the disease progresses with age.  This time around I had some additional, albeit tempered, good results.  I blew a 68% (pre-albuterol) and a 70% post-albuterol.  This is a step in the right direction, but certainly something I look to improve upon as I continue training.

So with the completion of this morning's (almost) 4-miler, a midst this relentless heat, I'm feeling good. And now a little celebration. Sarah and I are hopping in the car and headed north along the coast to Portland, Maine. Lobster anyone?

Road-trippin'...

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