Taking Control of Your Wellness / Health / Future
So, in the wake of Chris Gleason's death at the Philadelphia Marathon, we have all been questioning what we do and why we do it. I am right there with you…the hardest part is that there's no answer that's right for us all when it comes to our own personal health.
At some point, the exercises of thinking "what if" becomes a vicious cycle in and of itself, ultimately undermining your ability to do anything meaningful.
So after some thought, here are my top few tips/thoughts on what you CAN DO to take control of the situation instead of worrying about whether some renegade plaque build up is planning to break off and get you.
1. Get an annual physical with bloodwork, etc. The full 10 yards and pull no punches and get all the data you need to know about yourself.
2. Get a referral to a cardiologist for an EKG and some basic screening. It can't hurt.
3. Review your will (you DO have one!) to make sure that all your affairs are in order should something happen.
4. Review your life insurance. I just upped my personal policy so that, in the event that I pass, my family can buy the house and take care of the kids in school, etc. Total cost for adding this coverage for me as a young healthy guy was $56.85 a month. Complete no brainer.
5. Get ID. Chris didn't have a Road ID and there was no way for the paramedics to contact Jennyfer…I have one, and am working with them right now to come up with a Team deal that will have a memorial ID option for Chris. It's the smart thing to do.
I don't have all the answers, but I am doing my best to squeeze all positives out of this sad moment. I hope you are doing the same.
Did I miss anything?
P
Comments
No point in having an exam then not following through.
For example: for some folks, high cholesterol or high blood pressure are genetic and not diet/ exercise related. If despite all of your best efforts you still have out of whack numbers, then yes, you may need medication for your health.
If anyone is on the fence, they are offering a 15% off coupon valid through 12/7. Coupon code 'pcsanta15'. Go here for more details:
http://enews.roadid.com/public/?q=preview_message&fn=Link&t=1&ssid=13312&id=8g3xt2dvooh6dyfnmayrtyygyygb9&id2=kkuvocyh7macp1bw6c7sj0a69nxn5&subscriber_id=afaepnklzdmlinyxbxcgkpiscgjxbab&messageversion_id=btzomvglbodllmyvtnmcolmwnkwlbom&delivery_id=btoexpfttryhkqusrpivbtntqryybil&tid=3.NAA.BNwXfA.CIhu.MvTw..TD_g.s.MSA.s.ARKl.n.TtU9RA.TtU9pw.T2eVlA
Something ain't right if the "heart" thread gets 40+ replies but the "I can do this now to prepare thread" only gets 4. Wake up calls don't get any clearer than this people.
We wear RoadIDs too, I was planning on updating them for our whole family this year with our new cell phone numbers. But I'll hold off until you get the deal squared away, that sounds like a great idea to honor Chris and to help his family.
For me in my life, I lost several good friends at young ages, so I've never taken for granted that I would be around. Taking part in dangerous sports (skydiving, motorcycling, flying small planes, scuba diving, etc.) also has had a way of keeping it in the forefront of my mind. More recently, my local triathlon friend and mentor was killed while on her road bike a few years back. My philosophy has been therefore to control the variables that I can, keep my final affairs in order (will, etc.) and then to let go of any worries about that which I cannot control and just enjoy life to the fullest.
My kids are 15 & 12, and we actually had just had a long conversation about death while on a hike this summer. They know that I feel absolutely unafraid of dying, have lived the best life imaginable and have no regrets about my time here on earth. The only regret I would have is in not seeing them grow up and not being around for the rest of their lives. But hopefully should anything happen to me, they will remember our talk and know that I am totally at peace with it.
A bit less tangible, but decide what risks you are willing to take (there is some inherent risk with getting out of bed in the AM) and be at peace with the outcome and let your loved ones know.
I like the RoadID idea!
Always file a "flight plan" with someone who will notice if you're not back on time. Lots of stuff out there can do this for you... I have an app that has my iPhone send an e-mail to my husband every mile of a long run with my location. If I was involved in hit-and-run or something like that he knows where to look for me.
What app is that? I'd love to use it for cycling, but can it be set to email less often that once a mile? I think my SO would get annoyed at that frequency
I have a Road ID on my xmas list. Was there last year, too. I know I need to get one. The main holdup is not knowing what I want it to say. Trying to think of a good quote or something motiviation. I'd rather have it with a tribute to Chris G! It would solve all my Road ID procrastination problems!
Got a will (my wife is always dragging me to lawyers every time she flies off to a third world country, like Mongolia or Haiti), got life insurance (the giant medical group I work for buys us $300K each), got a road ID (although I was wearing it when I had my accident, the EMT used my cell phone to call my wife - when putting names in your "contacts" identify one as "wife" or "emergency contact" - otherwise, who knows whom they'll call!? Also, I use the ankle strap of the Road ID as to hold my chip in races as well; and I wear it when skiing), I've got an appointment with my Doc on Monday, my annual check up after the last IM of the year. Let's see, what did I miss...? Can I start trsaining again, coach?
Thanks to everyone for your contributions!
I am an 8-time Ironman. Ex-collegiate runner. What could a physical possibly show up? (As a doctor in New York, we are required to have health assessments each year to keep practicing).
BP=135/85 (Pre-Hypertensive)
Fasting Glucose=96 (Pre-diabetic)
Fasting Cholesterol =257, LDL=160
Weight=158.8 at 5'6". BodPod measured body fat=24.5%=Overweight with excess fat.
At age 43, risk of MI in the next 10-years with these parameters=4-7% depending on your calculator. Risk is that of the average population.
Things I do routinely that really suck for my health. Sleep is fractured and undpredictable. As a neurosurgeon, I take every 4th night on average on call for trauma (spine and head injuries) and can be up all night. Even if not doing surgery, I get paged and have to call back several times a night (sort of like sleep apnea). In the summer I can easily get woken up 1/hour. Then get up and work 12-16-hour day. There might just be a little stress in there too. Fueling my midnight surgery is the 24-hour donut window at Tim Horton's and a variety of other fast food establishments.
Needless to say, these numbers from May were a wake up call, made only more painful by Chris' death. I have been working diligently to put my life and house back in order and restore my health to what it should be. I am taking more control of my call obligations and being more rigid about my scheduling to be sure I get enough sleep and not believe that the frenetic pace I have been operating doesn't have negative consequences. While night patrol is always going to be a part of my life, I make sure that my schedule the following day now has some holes or ends earlier so I can get home to sleep.
I've moved to a much more vegetarian oriented diet. I do allow some dairy (a little cream in coffee and Greek Yogurt mostly) and will eat some fish or lean chicken, turkey etc (but no more than 3-ounces and no more than 1/day, I use a scale to weigh everything). Cholesterol intake has been <100mg/day for a while now. While cholesterol intake doesn't necessarily equal blood cholesterol numbers, it is a good marker for how much animal you are taking in as plants don't have any cholesterol. So far the response has been good. I am down 11.4 pounds from my max weight at the time of my health assessment of 159.6 to 148.2 this morning. My BP is back in the normal range. Assuming I haven't lost any lean muscle mass my BF % should now be 19% which isn't Kona worthy, but is back in the upper part of the healthy range. In January I will take another visit to the BodPod and get another lipid profile and fasting blood sugar to evaluate those parameters. I will do my level best to get my body fat down to single digits by March and the end of the OS. To assist with the weight loss I am using Al's challenges (frequent runs and swims) to add volume to the OS workouts for calorie burn purposes. After 5-weeks its going quite well. Lots of extra 3-mile runs and 2000y swims at easy-mod intensity burns a lot of calories without adding too much intensity. My PMC CTL is at 71 right now. I am using intermediate OS which also helps me keep intensity rolled back a little. If my weight and lipid numbers are golden in March and my FTP only bumps a little, I'll take that in a flash. <br />
On the philosophical front. Being a husband, father, neurosurgeon, and athlete are important to me in that order, but only in the sense that I would value my sight, arms, legs, and hearing in that order as well. Each is an integral part of who I am and giving up any of them would be like cutting off a body part. I think that Ironman can definitely be part of a healthy lifestyle on many levels, but as clearly my numbers and health parameters show is not enough in and of itself to guarantee a healthy lifestyle.
I picked this one up when I volunteered in New Orleans after Katrina: make a binder/PDF google doc/something of all your important information -- like those health, life, and disability insurance policiesn (and, in the case of NOLA, deeds to your house, birth certificates, etc.). Make sure you have contact info for all these things readily available and know whose name the policy is under -- and make sure the beneficiaries, executors know who they are.
On my RoadID I like to include medication that I'm allergic to also in addition to my name and both my parents phone numbers (clearly should be the person who can make medical decisions).
Oh, and on that note, a will is great, but I've found it just as valuable to have a power of attorney for healthcare and living will. Power of attorney for healthcare names a specific individual designated to make medical decisions on your behalf, and a living will spells out what kind of medical treatments and life-sustaining measures physicians should carry out. Doctors rely on these documents only when you are unable to make decisions due to your medical condition. And when you do these make sure that all of your family/close friends know so that in that situation your loved ones aren't needlessly struggling when there are documents there to help.
@ Daniella: I use the Cyclemeter app which, name aside, does a lot more than cycling! http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cycl...95774?mt=8 It can be set up with less frequent updates so you don't drive everyone crazy. Also, warning: it's way off on actual speed which provides great entertainment for my DH. I'll get home and he'll be like "Geeze, what's with that 12mm at Soos Creek? Did you stop to pee or something??!"
But, I'm curious about this...I wouldn't have thought that I would need to wear my Road ID during a race. Shouldn't the bib number give emergency numbers? Either by the registration forms or maybe they could add the emergency contact number to the bib.
I mean, hell, many of these races hand write our pre race weigh ins on the back of the bib.
Anyway, let me know when that discount happens and I'm in.
@ Chris - a couple of thoughts about the Road ID during a race. I wear it during a race to hold my timing chip. And I also think that, if all I have on is a bib and body marking numbers, then if I crash out on the road somewhere, and the first responder is a random motorist, then there's no need to contact the race site to find out who I am by checking my number against their race list - the info is right there on my ankle! My name, age, 3 emergency numbers, medical info, ...more than the race dirfector will necessarily have access to.
BTW, getting a physical in January. Hello Lipitor, my name is Chris...