Espresso tasted soooo good this morning a 7:15am. I finished one, then fired
up my Rancho Silvia Espresso machine again for a follow up.
Big mistake.
As soon as I finished that second one, I could feel my heart rev up and the beats feel inconsistent.
I've noticed my heart doing weird things over the past couple years, not
racing like Ken Dawson's, but feeling like it was missing a beat. After a
24-hour heart rate monitor and a cardiac treadmill test, the problem was
diagnosed as an extra heart beat caused by something irritating my heart -
coffee, alcohol, chocolate, something. The cardiac doctor said there was nothing
to worry about and I was the healthiest person he'd ever seen in his office.
It certainly had an impact today.
The plan was a 1-2-3-4-5-4-3-2-1 minute interval ladder with rests half the
time of the interval. The shorter intervals are hard: VO2 max hard. As the
intervals get longer, the effort reduces from above 90% of max heart rate down
into the mid-80% percent range.
My heart rate monitor was useless: it thought my heart rate was 103-109% of
max, even while standing still. It was also on espresso.
The first 4 intervals went as planned, but the fifth was other-worldly. 20
seconds in, and I felt my heart...doing something..not sure what, and the heart
rate monitor would jump from 109% to 38% and back. My legs were totally dead, as
if I could not clear lactate. I struggled mightily, and the distance I covered
in 5 minutes was a bit shorter than normal.
During the 2:30 rest, skiing felt hard, even at an "easy" pace. I did the
fourth interval, also frustrating, but featuring a long downhill that helped,
but called it a day after that. I was on my slow skate rollerskis, so the last
couple miles back to the car were hard. Fortunately, I ran into Doug Heady, Bill
Kaltz, Yvon Dufour, and Tony Percha, giving me a break as we gossiped about the
latest in Michigan Cup ski racing.
It's 5:00pm know, and my heart rate is still up at 86 beats per minute - it
should be much lower. The easy two hour bike ride yesterday afternoon may have
contributed to this condition, but I'm feeling that I may have to put away my
espresso machine and my Starbucks Gold Card, wean myself off coffee, and see if
my heart becomes less irritated.
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