If your mother was so shocked at your birth that she could not hold you. Would you say there were some obstacles to overcome?
Nick Vujici was born without arms or legs. He has a “chicken drumstick” toe as he calls it. It is toes on one side of his torso. Nothing else. When you see him for the first time it’s a shock. No arms or legs.
“You can’t even stand without risking to fall.” ― Nick Vujicic, Life Without Limits
To say he faced extreme obstacles in life is an understatement. Think “holding your fork to put food in your mouth”. Only problem is you don’t have arms, hands or fingers.
He was bullied at school because of his disability. He recalls that at some stage in his early life he had feelings of helplessness and isolation.
Invest in this and you will FEEL the rewards, here’s the deal.
www.myafibheart.com
“It is health that is the real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver.” — Mahatma Gandhi
With a billion dollars you can buy almost anything, ok maybe everything you want. BUT.
You only have one life and one body.
There’s no renting or lending of a body. You only have that one you’re in now. So hang on to it!
“Men talk of killing time, while time quietly kills them.” Dion Boucicault
Unfortunately we sometimes only know our body is biodegradable if we go through some things. You may be one of the lucky ones and instinctively know you have to take care of your body.
Is there something like the best exercise for an AFIB heart?
This post will talk about people that have had AFIB but who are in “rhythm” now and who want to exercise. I know there are many people in permanent AFIB who still go on with their exercise, but I’m not going to discuss it in this article.
“Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live.” Jim Rohn
Now that you have AFIB are you going to neglect your heart and body?
That one sentence could be my whole post for today. I know there are AFIB warriors who live life with AFIB and have a full life, but being AFIB free is the first prize.
That knowledge of having a cut/scared heart due to my CHD called TOF(Tetralogy of Fallot) is still there. That keeps me ever grateful, happy and never complacent, but humble that I have life(and have it more abundantly – for those who know what I’m talking about).
There are many people out there who are living with AFIB or the consequences of being born with a CHD(Congenital heart disease/defect). It can be a struggle.
Because of that, every AFIB free moment should be celebrated, we do it differently. One way I do it is by staying fit and taking part in something like the Cape Town Cycle Tour.
For me it’s not a race, it’s an event a celebration. Celebrating a heart that is working 100% in a city that captures your heart every time you visit it. I love Cape Town!
Last year there was no Cape Town Cycle Tour for the first time in 39 years due to wind and possibility of unrest on the route. I was at the starting point, all dressed up and nowhere to go. So I went home……………disappointed, but understanding the big decision that had to be made. Safety first!
This year I was there again, AFIB free and all. I should have trained harder. I know I trained less than in 2016 when I did a 03:53 time. Luckily this year I was riding with a newbie, one of my best friends, but he was super fit! Thankfully he wanted to do a “slow scenic ride”. I was relieved. Continue reading AFIB FREE Cape Town Cycle Tour 2018→
Like always Cape Town was wonderful during the Cycle Tour. Everything worked out well and I had a wonderful ride. This was my best race time ever!
Cape Town is really a beautiful town and an amazing place to stage a race like the Cycle tour.
Blouberg: a piece of Cape Town at dusk
AFIB THOUGHTS
I live a perfectly normal life and usually do not think of my AFIB that much. When something big comes along like the Cape Town Cycle Tour, which is 109km (about 67miles) I must say that I tend to think a bit more about my heart and how it will react to four hours of cycling. When I think about my training, I usually think it was not enough. This year, the longest ride that I did was 80km on a flat course, but I did train regularly.
I don’t know about other afibbers but I sometimes “feel” my heart. What I mean is that I do not feel my heart all the time but now and then I get that sensation that my heart is skipping a beat, just beating irregularly or “hard”. This worries me sometimes!
Through my own research, I have made the following conclusions, of what it may be.
Ectopic Heart beats, read more about it at: Ectopic heartbeats, PVC and PAC’s
Before the Argus cycle race, I do tend to think about those times that my heart reacts strange, but I must say that during most of my races and training rides my heart beats in rhythm. Sometimes I only get a few strange beats in the beginning of the ride. I put that down to nerves and my heart “changing gears” to get the first few pedal strokes going.
2016 CAPE TOWN CYCLE TOUR EXPO
Like I said this was my best ride ever and I did a time of 03:53:07, of which I am very proud of. I know I can do better, and maybe next year my time will even be better.
This will be my 6th Cape Town Cycle Tour. Will I beat my best time of 04:09:01 in 2014, and does my 2,5mg Bisoprolol taking AFIB heart slow me down?
Last year I did not take part in the short “fire” race, but this year I am ready to take on the 109km. I’m very happy and blessed to have received an entry for the Cape Town Cycle Tour of 2016, after the announcement of the new entry procedure.
Does anyone have enough time to train? It was the same this year, I felt that I just did not train enough.
With work, children, work again, blog/website, other meetings, school meetings, work again, some squash games, chores around the house, driving children to all sorts of activities, it was difficult to do more than an hour and a half every second day. Many days I missed my bike, and in January, I missed a whole week.
So for January, I did 452km and February 420km. About 90% of that was on a mountain bike in the Free State. OK! and I know the lack of mountains in the Free State are obvious, but what can I do, I live here.
This year I’m going for a sub 04:00:00, and that means anything quicker than four hours will work for me. Are there people only working four hours per week? Yes! I have read the Tim Ferriss Four Hour Work Week book, and I hope to achieve it one day.
Sorry for that, just got sidetracked by that four- hour target. My best time of 04:09:01 timed by Racetec in 2014 was so so close, but yet so far.
Many of my Mountain Bike buddies have done the Cape Town Cycle Tour under 4 hours, and some sub 3:30 with their mountain bikes! Yes I hope you feel sorry for me because sometimes I ride with them and they only go on and on, on those bikes of them. I have done the last 3 Cape Town Cycle Tour races on an old Raleigh RC3000.
My plan is to use the Raleigh the last time this year, break the four hours and then do a nice slow site seeing tour next year on my mountain bike. The Cape Town Cycle Tour is the largest timed cycle race in the world, about 35 000 people take part in it every year. I think it is the most beautiful race, but I cannot say in the world because I have not done any race outside of South Africa yet. Below is a photo taken in 2011 from Table Mountain in Cape Town during the Cape Town Cycle Tour weekend.
Cape Town Table Mountain
Does my Bisoprolol and enlarged right atrium make me slower? I do not know because the larger atrium has been there for, I believe from my birth, and I have been using Bisoprolol for many years. I have read that a side effect can be lassitude, but it is difficult for me to say because I have been using it so long. Truth be told, after about 100km on my bike I do get a bit lazy to push those pedals down.
Actually, I do not care that much if it slows me down because I’m just happy to be AFIB free for the past two plus years and able to do things like the beautiful “Argus” as it is known by most of the “old” Cape Town Cycle Tour cyclist.
My experience is that some types of exercise are more likely to put my heart in afib.
A few years ago I only played squash (racketball), and my doctor suggested that I rather do some swimming or cycling. Well, I did not use that advice immediately and kept on playing squash, but I did think about his comments. Slowly I started running a few km’s every now and then but kept on playing squash because I loved it and did not enjoy the running that much. Also, the running was though!!, and I did not do anything more than 5k’s. Continue reading Best Exercise for Afib→
