Survival of the fittest

Thanks Mark.  I'm learning to take it slowly.  I was pretty tired on Friday and realized that doubles were not an option even if one of them was just rehab. 

I swam on Thursday...1000 yards...and skipped the bike ride.

I decided to ride a bike at rehab on Friday and got in 7.5 miles.

Got out on the road this morning.  I got in a total of 3.3 miles with 1.5 of jogging and the remainder walking.  The jogging is getting a bit easier.

nkrichards wrote:Yes, Doug...I'm chomping at the bit...but learning that I need to make sure I don't get to excited.  I do still get tired if I do to much.  But the definition of to much is changing daily so that's good.

I'm still learning but my understanding at this point is that I didn't/don't have the type of plaque that comes to mind when you hear of Cardiac Artery Disease.  Normally the plaque is full of calcium and bulges from the walls of the artery narrowing the artery and limiting the blood flow to the heart muscle.  My plaque is a thin layer of softer plaque that doesn't show up on normal tests and it doesn't narrow the artery...hence no symptoms prior to my cardiac event.  Apparently this type of plaque is more common in women and also more vulnerable to breaking loose and causing trouble.  So I had no symptoms and no problems at all until marathon day when the plaque broke loose.  When it did the platelets rushed to that area to heal the injury (ie blood clot).  Because I have an extremely large artery and was running I was able to push the blood past the clot for quite some time.  This became more difficult as the clot grew larger and my pace slowed more and more as the blood flow was restricted.  The last 3 miles I have very little memory of the race course and I had very little feeling in my hands and feet.  When I stopped running the artery blocked completely and a portion of my heart muscle was not receiving any oxygen.  This portion died before they could get the artery opened back up and restore the blood flow.  The damaged area is fairly small but it is damaged permanently.  But the heart is figuring out ways to pump more efficiently and work around this non-functioning portion of muscle.  I'm on anti-platelet medication to help slow/prevent clotting in the future, statins to lower cholesterol while helping with inflammation that might cause another piece of plaque to break loose, and a beta blocker to slow my heart rate and lower my blood pressure while the heart learns to work around the damage.  I am also at risk for irregular heartbeat as the electrical impulses are confused by the dead muscle.  The beta blocker also helps with this risk factor.

No tractor work for a few days but I am headed to the local fair where we'll buy a lamb in the 4-H/FFA Auction to support the youth in our area.

Thanks, Nancy, for the very detailed and very appreciated answer.  It gives me some scenarios from which to plan.

Just catching up, congrats on the great EF! I hope you hang in there with the walking and what jogging is prudent. 

Even with insurance things are so expensive...I know that. I am glad you had some saved up and you have had such a good outcome so far and looks like things will keep looking up.

Julie wrote:Just catching up, congrats on the great EF! I hope you hang in there with the walking and what jogging is prudent. 

Even with insurance things are so expensive...I know that. I am glad you had some saved up and you have had such a good outcome so far and looks like things will keep looking up.

Thanks Julie...yes the improved EF was great news.  The cost of this event is a bit overwhelming...I'm just glad we're in a position to be able to afford it without having to make to many difficult choices.  And it's hard to complain when I hear stories of others who were/are not as fortunate as I was/am.

Sunday I was still feeling the effects of slightly overdoing things but I got in an easy 6 1/2 miles on the bike.  I'm still learning how hard I can push my body without feeling more tired than I should the next day.

I skipped my Monday morning workout and just did the afternoon session at rehab.  2.7 miles on the treadmill.

Tuesday I ventured out onto some moderate hills on the bike and got in a total of 9 1/2 miles.  Felt good.

Wednesday I caught up with my swim group.  I got in 1500 slow easy yards and then we watched the start of the Cascade Cycling Classic (pro race).  It took off from the pool parking lot and they rode the first 2 1/2 miles on the route I take to/from the pool which is also a portion of the MacDash route.  It was cool to see.  Rehab in the afternoon.  I had some trouble with my EKG leads and had to stop a couple times so only ended up with 2.2 miles but that was fine as I'd had a morning workout already.

Today I ran on the road again.  I'm trying to figure out how fast I can run safely.  I know I've been running a bit to fast.  I slowed down a bit today and was able to run 1 1/2 miles without stopping to walk and within an OK HR range.  I did walk 1/2 mile at the start and a mile at the end for a total of 3 miles.  It was a nice run.

Off to bale a bit more hay tonight...

ounce wrote:

nkrichards wrote:Yes, Doug...I'm chomping at the bit...but learning that I need to make sure I don't get to excited.  I do still get tired if I do to much.  But the definition of to much is changing daily so that's good.

I'm still learning but my understanding at this point is that I didn't/don't have the type of plaque that comes to mind when you hear of Cardiac Artery Disease.  Normally the plaque is full of calcium and bulges from the walls of the artery narrowing the artery and limiting the blood flow to the heart muscle.  My plaque is a thin layer of softer plaque that doesn't show up on normal tests and it doesn't narrow the artery...hence no symptoms prior to my cardiac event.  Apparently this type of plaque is more common in women and also more vulnerable to breaking loose and causing trouble.  So I had no symptoms and no problems at all until marathon day when the plaque broke loose.  When it did the platelets rushed to that area to heal the injury (ie blood clot).  Because I have an extremely large artery and was running I was able to push the blood past the clot for quite some time.  This became more difficult as the clot grew larger and my pace slowed more and more as the blood flow was restricted.  The last 3 miles I have very little memory of the race course and I had very little feeling in my hands and feet.  When I stopped running the artery blocked completely and a portion of my heart muscle was not receiving any oxygen.  This portion died before they could get the artery opened back up and restore the blood flow.  The damaged area is fairly small but it is damaged permanently.  But the heart is figuring out ways to pump more efficiently and work around this non-functioning portion of muscle.  I'm on anti-platelet medication to help slow/prevent clotting in the future, statins to lower cholesterol while helping with inflammation that might cause another piece of plaque to break loose, and a beta blocker to slow my heart rate and lower my blood pressure while the heart learns to work around the damage.  I am also at risk for irregular heartbeat as the electrical impulses are confused by the dead muscle.  The beta blocker also helps with this risk factor.

No tractor work for a few days but I am headed to the local fair where we'll buy a lamb in the 4-H/FFA Auction to support the youth in our area.

Thanks, Nancy, for the very detailed and very appreciated answer.

+1

It's great to get a better understanding of what happened to you. It was very involved, but it seems like something you'll be able to move past as your heart muscle rewires itself. That's great news.

Nice job on mixing up the types of exercise. I think baling ought to get logged as cross-training, too.

Tap-tap-tap...

This thing on? Hello?

Mark B wrote:Tap-tap-tap...

This thing on? Hello?

Sorry...I've had a tough few days...mentally...not physically.

Physically I'm doing great.  I'm able to swim 1500-2000 yards without any issues.  I finished a 500 in 11:00 last week...my PR is just under 10:00 so I'm pleased with that.  I ventured out onto the hills on my bike and got up to 12 miles which is the distance I need to bike for the MacDash.  Stopped half way through to check my HR and have a drink.  No issues.  I'm only up to 2.5 miles of continuous running...the MacDash run is 3 miles.  I haven't felt ready to run farther yet but the runs are getting easier.

Rehab is going great.  I've worked hard enough to really get my HR up and haven't had any problems.  I still have room for improvement on my recovery but it's getting better.  I'm still struggling to figure out how far and how fast I can go without feeling exhausted the next day.  My HR is influenced by the medication so the old rules are out the window.  I'm doing better and the mistakes are getting less frequent.

Now for the but...I still have a few concerns about my health that are showing up when I'm sedentary.  I think (?) it's the medication and I'm hoping Dr. B will decide to tweak my dosage.  They aren't serious...I could live with them but they are enough to make me nervous.  And...the insurance company only covers 20 PT sessions per year.  Cardiac rehab is 36 sessions.  We're trying to decide if I need to complete the other 16 sessions and if so if we can convince the insurance to cover them or if they'll be out of pocket.  I have 4 paid sessions left so I've dropped back to once per week so they'll last through August.  That way I'm monitored once per week and able to attend the education.  I will probably attend through mid-September even if I have to pay for a couple sessions.  That would get me through the MacDash.  It's very reassuring to know that my EKG is looking good!  And...the Cascade Lakes Relay was last weekend.  It was hot and my team struggled so it's probably a good thing I wasn't able to participate.  It's one of those things where even if you don't mind missing out on something it's tough when you are told you can't. 

I think it's the uncertainty that's causing me to feel the way I do.  Will I be able to run/hike remote trails in the future?  Will I be able to run a marathon again?  Will I always have to make sure I'm carrying my nitro, ID, medication, phone...and telling someone exactly where I'm going and how long I'll be gone?

Enough feeling sorry for myself.  I am actually doing quite well and making good progress.  Off to swath hay...I'll stop in and catch up with everyone later.

(Now I know what swathing hay does and is.  Thanks)

Yeah, the body seems to be doing better than the mind, based on your post.  One thing that I've learned from doctors is that they KNOW how to write it to get the extra 16 visits for each insurance company.  It's like a fraternity having all the past tests for a specific professor.  I imagine it's up to the mood of the insurance person to like it or spike it.  But a point not in your favor...one of your fellow patients that came in with other pre-existing conditions than you might would have a better shot at extra visits than you, IMO.

As far as your uncertainties...yes, you'll remember to do most of those things all the time, then all of those things all of the time, when you forget.

Except for the medication and the phone, I already do that stuff, based on the premise:  If nobody has heard from me in a couple of days, what clues can I leave for them?  In Corpus Christi, I went a little further by writing down what I was wearing and even carrying in my pocket a sheet of the hotel's notepad.  That way, if I'm found first, then they knew where to find my car (I had the fob with me) and my luggage.  But if I'm missing first, then my route, clothing, and time was written down in the hotel room in order to give them a starting point.

People will start looking for you LONG before they will start looking for me because I live alone.  (I'm sure Mark's wife would flip a coin.  )

Whine about the meds and see what happens.  You're doing good, Nancy 2.0.

Those Road IDs are helpful, and I wear mine here in western NY as no one would know where I belonged if I was found - and that is a big if since it is rural farm country.  I'm guessing my dog would miss me first and then my daughter would be looking for lunch or dinner.

Keep up the good work, Nancy and that positive mental attitude.  I know how hard it is even just being hurt! and that isn't even the half of it for you. Time will give you confidence and it too will heal.

Thanks Doug and Michele...I know that I am doing very well physically and am reminded of how lucky I was when I see the other rehab patients.  In some ways I'm frustrated that everyone feels they need to know where I am and what I'm doing all the time...but I guess that's better than them not caring.

I've got a Road ID ordered which will minimize what I need to carry and provide not only ID but medical info.

Doug...you're right about continued rehab.  It will be hard to convince the insurance company to pay for more sessions when I haven't had any issues at all so far.  In fact I'm starting to have trouble figuring out what to do as when I jog on the treadmill the EKG leads move around enough that they don't register well.  The ellipse gives a better reading as does the bike but it's hard to get my HR up.  To be honest the education is interesting but the rehab sessions are more of a security blanket than anything else.  We'll see what Dr. B says when he gets back from vacation.  

My biggest problem at this point is making sure I don't over do it as it really effects how I feel the next day if I'm not careful.  I'm learning...and improving. 

I took my oldest granddaughter (age 11) swimming with me this morning.  We only did 750 yards as I had to go in for a blood draw afterwards.  She put together a team for the MacDash.  She's swimming and a couple friends from school are biking and running.  I'm really pleased...that's the reason I started this whole running thing back in 2007.

Oh...Doug...don't worry about Mark getting lost.  His family would be out looking for him quicker than you think if he didn't return.  Who would deal with Fluffy's ecapades.....

She's back! Woot!

Great job on the continued progress. I share your concern that insurance won't be convinced about allowing extra therapy visits (a pet peeve of mine), so I'd make a point of quizzing your therapists about what sort of work you can do once the insurance runs out. You're doing so well that a DIY last section would probably work out just fine.

As far as nitro and notes and such... well, you may just need to adapt to that. When I head out on my own into the woods, especially if it's far away, I leave a note with my location, expected route and approximate time of return. That's just a good idea, anyway. Anybody can take a tumble out there and end up needing help. (And as far as I know, Fluff hasn't buried those notes in the litter box.)

Congrats on your granddaughter's enthusiasm for fitness! It must feel good to have that influence.

It's hard to be motivated to blog when my running is so blah...

But I do have news.  Dr. B agreed to let me half my statin again.  I went from 80 to 40 to 20 and I'm now on 10mg.  He said if that doesn't help me feel a bit better we'll probably stick with the 20mg.  He's not ready to tweak the dosage of the beta blocker or anti-platelet med yet.  I'm OK with that.  AND he said as well as I'm doing he doesn't think we'd have any luck convincing the insurance to pay for more rehab and thinks I'm fine on my own.  I have two more paid sessions and will attend once each week so I can attend the education and I'll be done the end of August.  

I did make it up to 3 miles of running...4 miles total with my walking warm up and cool down.  Slowed a bit to keep my HR in an appropriate area but not to much.  So now I've done each section of the MacDash individually and I have a month to get ready to put all three sections together.  Piece of cake right...

I wanted to experiment with a higher HR while I was hooked up to the EKG yesterday.  I did intervals on the treadmill at rehab.  We all had a pretty good laugh!  In order to make it hard enough without going so fast that I messed up the EKG leads I cranked it up to a 5% grade.  After a gradual warm up I managed 2:30 @ 6mph.  Not sure I could have gone much longer.  I took 5:00 to recover at 4mph and then cranked it back up to 6mph.  The 2nd and 3rd interval were actually easier than the first.  It was a safe place to play with a harder effort and I enjoyed the challenge.  I also provided some good entertainment for both the staff and the other patients.

It was only a matter of time but fire season is here in force.  We are inundated with smoke and exercise outside is not an option.  They closed Hwy 26 (the main road between Marks house and mine for those of you that aren't familiar with the area) due to a fire in Warm Springs.  Last I heard they lost one house...haven't heard any news this morning.

Today will be a rest day and we'll see what tomorrow brings.

Great news on the meds, and the treadmill "test" at the higher heart rate!

I'm afraid the fires are just getting started. I'm looking out the window now and can see were getting smoke from some fire somewhere. I think we're going to see a lot of that until the autumn rains set in. Hope none of the rangeland fires threatens any of your property.

Mark...We're pretty safe where we are.  Our home and outbuildings are all surrounded by irrigated farmland and the crops that could burn have all been harvested.  Our farmland does border a large canyon and a fire roared up the canyon a few years back and caused some excitement but we were never in danger.  The fire in Warm Springs is 15-20 miles away.  Other than air quality and the inconvenience of the hwy being closed it's not close enough to affect us much.

We finished baling our 3rd cutting hay yesterday.  The weather has cooperated and we'll get a 4th cutting this year.  Yah for the increased production but it does mean we have to harvest again in September.  Four more trips across the fields to swath, rake, bale and pick up the hay.  The weather and the demands for water for the spotted frog may sharply curtail our irrigation water next year so we'll take whatever production we can get this year without complaint.

On the running front baling hay prevented me from doing much until yesterday.  I had an opportunity to run before it got to warm and decided that with a few days of rest I should be able to push a bit longer.  I might have gone a bit farther/longer than I should have but it kind of feels nice to have sore/tired legs...it's been awhile.  I got in a total of 5 miles on the route with rolling hills.  Kept my half mile walking warm up and cool down so ran 4 miles.  Started a bit fast but settled in to an appropriate pace fairly quickly and finished comfortably.  Pace 10:41 and HR 139 for the running portion.  It felt like a real training run.

That's a good pace and turn of events to where your legs barked, but the heart said, "No biggie."

Is the price of hay stable or dropping?  You're making it sound like a 4th cutting is unusual, so it made me wonder if other areas of the state are clamoring for hay.

Maybe you should build a habitat for the spotted frog, so you can get some extra water!

Four cuttings? Wow. That's impressive. Yay, irrigation!

Is it alfalfa hay, or something else? And how many acres do you have in it, anyway?

Nice job on the running! One benefit of the extended haying season is that it's forcing you to ease your way back into running. Annoying, but probably helpful.

Training update first...I got in a nice bike ride on Monday.  12 miles on the race route.  I'm handling the hills fine...not fast but steady and that's good enough for now.  We're still having smoke issues so have been swimming every day so that air quality isn't an issue and I can get some sort of a workout in.  My times are coming down nicely and more importantly I'm feeling comfortable as I push the pace slightly.  Rest day today and I need it.

Fire update...I had to drive to Clackamas (near Portland) on Monday to pick up a new irrigation pump so I drove through the area where the fire had burned/was burning.  Wow...it burned right up to the playground equipment at the school, around the church and several houses and went on for miles.  The most interesting sight...as I drove up the steep grade heading out of town, the guard rail was sitting on the pavement in several places.  It took me a few minutes to realize that the fire had burned the wooden posts that were holding up the metal guard rail. 

Farming update...interesting questions Doug and Mark. 

Hay prices are down as are all our prices.  Prices always fall when our dollar is strong (exports slow) and on the west coast they have been affected by the Port of Portland slow down as well.  Commodities piled up on the docks and customers looked elsewhere.  I'm always amazed at how quickly the market reacts to price changes.  Farming is now such a global economy that somewhere in the world a farmer is reacting to rising or falling prices and changing his cropping plans.  Prices for any one commodity don't stay high for long.

We are getting a 4th cutting of alfalfa...we get 3 cuttings of grass hay.  We're able to get a 4th cutting about 50% of the time and it's mostly dependent on the weather in late May which determines how early we can get that first cutting off.  Our crop rotation changes slightly every year.  This year we have:

• 100 acres carrot seed
  
• 87 acres Kentucky bluegrass seed
  
• 72 acres peppermint oil
  
• 125 acres alfalfa hay
  
• 76 acres grass hay
  
• 89 acres wheat
  
• 63 acres grain hay
  

The irrigation districts have already built additional spotted frog habitat and done several conservation projects to improve and protect the existing habitat.  That doesn't appear to be enough to satisfy the environmental groups.  Even though the population in Central Oregon is quite healthy compared to other areas we've been threatened with lawsuits.  Wouldn't you think that the money spent for attorney fees on both sides would be better spent on additional on the ground projects?  I won't go any deeper into the politics of it all but will say that we are very concerned about the future of our water supply.

Looking forward to a rest day...

Gratz on being tired! Such a nice reason.

Thanks for the acreage breakdown.  So, how many peppermint acreage does it take to make X oz of peppermint oil and where does it get produced?

As far as hay, in southeast and south Texas I think hay is just used for horses and cattle in the area.  And I seen just two flavors being sold, but can't remember what they are.

I've seen corn, sorghum, and cotton grown in this area and down in Corpus.

Do y'all aerial spray?

ounce wrote:Gratz on being tired! Such a nice reason.

Thanks for the acreage breakdown.  So, how many peppermint acreage does it take to make X oz of peppermint oil and where does it get produced?

As far as hay, in southeast and south Texas I think hay is just used for horses and cattle in the area.  And I seen just two flavors being sold, but can't remember what they are.

I've seen corn, sorghum, and cotton grown in this area and down in Corpus.

Do y'all aerial spray?

We produce about 80-90lbs of mint oil per acre.  It doesn't take much to flavor things so that makes a lot of toothpaste!  We're currently contracted with Proctor and Gamble but have grown for Colgate Palmolive in the past.  Peppermint oil has different qualities depending on where it's grown and Madras oil is quite popular and is often blended with lesser quality oil.  We lost our market to overseas producers a few years back and quit growing mint oil but the buyers came back when they realized the quality issues.

Our hay goes primarily to cattle, horses, sheep, and goats in Oregon as we put up small bales (100 lbs) that are easy to handle.  More work for us but we get a slightly higher price.  We're able to market to the feed stores in the valley.  A lot of the hay grown in Oregon is exported overseas.

We do have to aerial spray on occasion but try to avoid it if possible.  It's not the most accurate way to apply pesticides!

On the running front...the smoke was fairly cleared out early on Saturday so I went for a run.  4 miles total with 3 actually running.  I was pleasantly surprised that I managed a 9:54 pace while keeping my average HR at 138 for the running portion.  Nice confidence builder.  I will admit I was pretty pooped that afternoon and the next morning.

It's been to smoky to do any outside exercise since then.  Might need to figure out something to do indoors...

I've officially graduated from cardiac rehab.  I got my diploma...and a few hugs at my last session this week.  Kind of scary knowing that I'm on my own now.

I used my last rehab session to experiment.  I spent several minutes on the rowing machine...I may have discovered some muscles I haven't used in quite some time.

It's still to smoky to exercise outside so I've been spending a lot of time at the pool.  We swam a timed 500 on Wednesday and I was shocked when I swam a 9:56 PR!!!  It was only two seconds faster than my old PR but I've only been at/under 10:00 4 or 5 times.  It didn't even feel like I was pushing that hard.  Swam a self timed 500 this morning...always hard to do as we don't have a very visible clock...and came in at 10:35.  I really feel like my swimming is nearly back to pre-cardiac event level.  Not quite as confident about my biking and especially about my running.  Not sure how putting everything together in 2 weeks is going to go and missing time on the road because of the smoke isn't helping.

I figured if I can't exercise here I'll go where I can.  Called my daughter and we're meeting on Mt. Hood tomorrow for a training hike for our Appalachian Trail trip.  Were doing a 3 day hut to hut hike in New Hampshire the first week of October.  I had to get a new backpack for this trip so I had it fitted yesterday and dug out my hiking boots.  I'm going to put a bit of weight in the backpack...not to much...and we're going to hike 4 or 5 miles tomorrow.  The weather is a bit iffy...we don't mind getting wet but if the predicted winds come in it may not be safe to be out on the exposed section of the mountain.  We'll make the call in the morning.  Hot drinks at Timberline Lodge not matter how far we end up hiking.

The NH section of the AT is not that bad having done it a few items - of course, I was 20-something when I did it! Sounds like fun and you will be more than ready.  Ran down Mt. hood last year - well, the auto road at the start of HTC.

It was a pretty wild day on the west side, so I hope you managed to get your Mount Hood hike in. I also hope you managed to avoid the crush of all the Hood to Coast teams. (Michele: Our weird August rain/windstorm trashed the HtC finish line area. They had to move the party indoors!)

Also, many congratulations on graduating from cardiac rehab! And major kudos for your swimming PRs! One small side benefit of all the crappy air is the opportunity for you to work on swimming. Still, I hope September brings enough rain to shut down the wildfires as soon as possible.

Our hike went well.  The weather looked ominous and it was windy and chilly at the lodge but once we got started it was fine and the weather actually improved.  The mountain top was in the clouds and not visible but we had good views under us.  We got in 4-1/2 to 5 miles with some elevation but not to much.  My boots and pack both felt great.  I was tired but not exhausted.  We had chowder at the lodge afterwards.

We avoided the HTC crowd as they were at the lodge the previous day.  My son ran...during that thunderstorm Mark mentioned...  Based on his description I'm surprised they didn't cancel.  The lady organizing his team was doing her 12th HTC.  She has done every leg now and saved the last leg for this year.  She was quite disappointed that she didn't get to actually finish on the beach.  They are all safe so I guess that's more important.

We got wind at home but no rain.  Didn't help with the Warm Springs fire and a new fire started much closer to home.  I don't have all the details yet but sounds like it was briquettes that weren't disposed of properly.  Started at the campgrounds near the lake and roared up the hill towards Culver.  They lost a couple vacant houses and some sheds.  We heard that some friends that farm in that area helped protect some of the homes and structures and it was a pretty wild afternoon.

Tired today but not exhausted and not to sore so I'm feeling good about the hike.  I'll probably take it easy today even though the smoke has cleared enough to run or bike outside.  I don't feel very ready for those portions of the MacDash but I think rest is more important today.

Sounds like a good day out there.

I'd wondered about that fire in Culver and how close it was to your place. We used to stay at the main campground back when I was a kid (they didn't have the one on the east side of the lake), so the Cove has always held fond memories. Rimrock. Gotta love it.

Mark, we're on the east side of the irrigation project so we weren't to close to the fire.  We farm along the edge of the Willow Creek Canyon.  A big fire roared up the canyon on the edge of our property in the mid 90's.  It was quite exciting but not nearly as close to houses as this one.

I'm realizing that the training I missed due to the smoke in our area is having a huge affect on my readiness for the MacDash.  My swimming is going well but the progress I was making in my running and swimming has stalled.  I biked the course on Tuesday after an easy swim.  It was a bit slow but not terrible.  But I was pretty beat afterwards and was exhausted the next day.  I'm a bit concerned with putting everything together on race day.  I haven't been able to schedule any biking/running workouts yet.  Not sure my legs will be ready to run when I get off my bike.

I'm still a bit tired today but feeling better.  I plan to run today but won't push to hard.  It's been several days since I could get an outdoor run in and my legs need a reminder of what running on the road feels like.

Just over a week till race day.  I'm going to have to try and find a balance between getting enough rest and feeling prepared for the race...