Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Become Triathlete Heart



"Training is what you are doing while your opponent is sleeping in."

~Brian Owen






Triathletes, take heart.

Look to your left and right, and take note of the people you see. Are they like you? Do they shave their legs in anticipation of a race? Do they not only strive for greatness in one sport but in three all at once? Can they swim farther than anyone you know, bike farther than anyone you know, and run farther than anyone you know---in the same day?

You are a triathlete. That makes you different for a lot of reasons.

One difference is your heart. Your heart, as a result of training, is able to provide your body with more blood per heartbeat than the people you see to your left and right who are not triathletes (and given they are not freaks of nature, cross country skiers or rowers). This results in an ECG which you see above. This is my Ecg.

Triathlon induced characteristics include the low heart rate (BPM = 42), otherwise known as bradycardia, and abnormal voltages. These are indicators that you heart, and really your entire body, has, over time from training volume year after year, become a very efficient beast. It sucks the oxygen out of your blood at astonishingly efficient levels. Your heart has more voltage for a more solid beat and stroke. Your heart is strong enough to push blood around your entire body such that it beats less times per minute than other peoples hearts.

Triathletes, take heart. Because of your lifestyle choice, you most likely have lower circulating triglyceride levels, lower overall body fat percentage, and blood glucose that is well controlled. And as a result of these things, the chances of having one of the now typical American ailments is vastly reduced.

But be careful, you might be called obsessed, weird, crazy, or worse. Just look at the people calling you these things and feel bad for them. Count to 10 and realize in that time span, their hearts had to beat almost twice as many times as yours did to keep them conscious.

4 comments:

melanie said...

wednesday, 16 july, 2008 11:00 MAT

aaron says: "But be careful, you might be called obsessed, weird, crazy, or worse."

*hugs* for aaron. don't feel alone though. they say these things about mathematicians as well, along with giving you "that look"...

,` )

Aaron said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Aaron said...

And pharmacokineticists. We like to call ourselves "mathemeticians on drugs."

What kind of a pharmer am I?

melanie said...

thursday, 17 july, 2008 19:25 MAT

at a dinner party when you say you're a "pharmacokineticist", what reaction do you get ? as you allude to, i would hypothesise that the average person would give you a blank stare and polite smile and nod or ask "what is that ?".

i can guarantee you that there is no misunderstanding when i say i'm a mathematician. i get the shake head, shiver, look of despair (or maybe admiration ?) from people.

perhaps i should come up with some other title for my discipline. maybe, i dunno... patterns and relationships analyst ?

as a statistician, i could see myself as a numerical engineer... but statistician does not seem to hold the same negative aura that mathematician does.

hrmm... i shall have to think more about this...

,` )