Maze in the long run - follow up...

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Posted by Anders Kingstedt on September 23, 2001 at 14:11:04:

Hi,
Yes, this post is in part about distance running. Please excuse the pun, but it really is unintentional. Because this post is also about the status on what can expected in the long run when it comes to Maze (with ref. to previous and recent posts on the subject).

I participated in a very special cross-country race yesterday. The course was extremely demanding. You could, in fact, call it "extreme running" (I believe there is a "trend" towards this kind of running, i e running "off pist"; in the forest, off trails, through swamps, waters, up steep hills and so forth). The course was roughly 10 K and took us on a very tough excursion through the wild, stony, wet and quite hilly forests of southern Stockholm (Sweden). Bear with me, there is a point - of sorts - coming :-). Although reaching the finish line really tired and worn out, I still managed to hang on to 41'st place overall (out of some 1300 participants) and was roughly 4th in my age group (40-45 - I'm 42). I was some 6 minutes after the first place finisher (who ran 40.11), covering the course in 46.48. Now to the point. I ran a comperatively easy 10K a little more than 6 months after my Maze back in -99. At that occasion I finished 17 minutes behind the winner. Yesterday I'm 6 minutes behind. If this trends continues, I will be shooting for the world record in a couple of years...:-). Seriously though. This goes to prove that it IS possible to regain a resonable shape after a Maze operation, given - of course - a moderate to hard training effort (I run and work out on a daily basis). Please note the choice of word - "possible". No, the response of the heart is NOT as before. I still notice a slight "delay" from time to time, especially when running hills (I lack a better description of the phenomena). This delay, possible due to a vertical movement inflexibility in the heart's interior, manifests itself - for me - in an onset of lactic acid, especially in the early stages of a run / race. Over the years after the Maze, this "inflexibility" has however diminished in strength and duration. For the first time since the operation I now in all honesty feel that I will again be able to compete on a fairly competative level without being more than marginally hindered by my past difficulties. I certainly don't have to point out how great I think this is. Again - I know that the background of Mazers is very different. Not everyone has been running in the past (or will be running in the future, for that matter). And far from everyone has been so fortunate as I have to be able to keep on training even throughout the Afib difficulties (I ran vigorously when in chronic Afib more than 6 months before the operation). But that is not the point. The point is that it is possible to get back. And it is, I believe, also possible to push yourself without having to be afraid of another onset of Afib. I don't know what things will be like in another 3 or 10 years. But given the life quality I now enjoy in comparison to the Afib and medicine affected reality I endured before my Maze, I would be more than willing to go through with the procedure one more time, if it would ever come to that (not that I believe it will).
In conclusion: sorry about the long post. I sometimes get carried away. But I do write with the best of intentions! Take care and keep on training, whatever your sport!
Best regards,
Anders

Ps. In view of the recent events in the U.S.A., our own lifes and worries may seem petty. For all it's worth I would like to take the opportunity to say that the world griefs with everyone who has been affected by the terror on the 11th of September. Let's hope and pray for something positive to come out of all the misery created on that day.

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