Free at last, free at last. I thank God I'm free at last.

Liberating words indeed from a great American, Dr. Martin Luther King. These words came to mind a week ago for reasons other than what Dr. King used them for. I finally was able to cast off the “medical chains” that have held me back for months from confidently training for my upcoming marathons in Europe and surprisingly, enjoying day-to-day activities with my family and friends. Let me explain.

For months my two doctors (Dr. Mues and Dr. Ireland) and I have been trying to find a blood pressure medication and associated dosage that would protect my heart and control my marginally high blood pressure without causing adverse side affects. The beta-blocker (Metoprolol) I started with caused fatigue, dizziness when standing from a sitting position, circulation problems, etc., and they are famously known to hurt running/athletic performance. Frankly, while on this medication I wasn’t the most fun person to be around … my family can attest to that! I couldn’t effectively complete my workouts. Luckily, cutting the dosage in half gave me an opportunity to run and complete my first marathon in August (see prior blog post about that adventure). Because some adverse symptoms remained, Dr. Mues prescribed a non-beta-blocker (Cozaar), which is supposed to be more athlete-friendly. Well, things went from bad to worse. All the adverse symptoms I had with the beta-blocker returned PLUS the new medication dropped my blood pressure too low (in the range of 75/55 to 90/70), so much so that I couldn’t finish most of my workouts and I was lightheaded all day. After another doctor’s visit I was prescribed yet another drug (Bystolic), a beta-blocker, a drug that supposedly got good reviews from athletes … WRONG! With this drug, I couldn’t even finish one lap at the Dome without gasping for air or feeling fatigue. Now, I’m beginning to think I’ll never run again; my trip to Europe should be canceled; I should give away my Alpine and Nordic skis, etc. … I wanted to go hide somewhere and mope. During this time I also was feeling despair, probably some depression, grumpy as hell…I was an asshole! OK, confession is over.

It was time to visit Dr. Mues (again). I arrived at his office with my carefully prepared written notes. He congratulated me for keeping my notes to one page this time, as I previously had provided him 8 pages of notes (and 3 tables charting my blood pressure measurements) the last time I visited him … at that time he jokingly (I think) said I had a obsessive compulsive disorder. (Aside: Dr. Mues told me that teachers come in with their notes in a spiral notebook, lawyers come in with their notes on the back of napkins --- Bill, is that true?---, and scientists like myself come in with bells, whistles, charts, diagrams, encyclopedias, and the kitchen sink). Anyway, Dr. Mues told me that he wanted me to try using a half dose of the Cozaar, if that didn’t work; we’d try a half dose of the Metoprolol. He also suggested that maybe all I need to do is lick a pill and maybe that dose will do. He said that in a joking manner but he wanted to make the point that athletes are difficult to treat because most of the medication and dosages designed/prescribed are intended for over-weight, out-of-shape people, and not for 150 pound runners. So I buy a fancy pill splitter on the way home and at home start making a huge mess splitting these tiny pills.

I waited 4 days before going back to the Dome to see how things would shake out. I haven’t any great expectations the first “trial run” on the day before Thanksgiving. I run my first lap cautiously, then my second, third, fourth, and so on. Before I know it, I’ve run 3 miles without any hardship … hooray! I stop at 3 miles, afraid to push it any further. I’m thinking on the way home that maybe, just maybe, good fortune is headed my way. I was correct. I proceeded to add 10K runs on the Saturday and Sunday after Thanksgiving … I was so excited that I called my fellow “European Trampathon” buddy Bob Bowker to tell him the good news. Bob offered strong words of encouragement and was happy to hear the joy in my voice. He had sensed the last few times we talked that I was depressed about my predicament and that I was no longer excited about planning our European adventure…I confessed that he was right.

Since that phone call with Bob, my training has steadily improved without experiencing ANY adverse symptoms. I’d also like to think that my disposition has improved and the only fatigue I feel now is properly related to my weight training and running regime. I’m regularly running 10Ks as my base run and my once-a-week long run is now up to 10 miles. Once a week I’m plugging in some speed work also…something I couldn’t have dreamed of doing just a few weeks ago.

Yep, I’m free at last! Free from the medication’s adverse symptoms, free from feeling depressed about my inadequate training, free from feeling fatigued, free from the grumpiness, thank God, I’m free at last! I still have a long way to go to get back where I was athletically before the January 13 heart operation, but I now I have the renewed confidence that I’ll get there eventually. Rome, Paris, Madrid…here Bob and I come!