From roadbikerider.com
http://www.roadbikerider.com/currentissue.htm#stent
Thought I'd post the article this time instead of just the link. Relative to this article, sometimes it's hard for me to tell the difference between just getting older (aches and pains) and real problems. It helps to know what to look for to differentiate between the two.
Another problem for me is that oftentimes my riding comes in spurts with gaps between. So it becomes difficult to discern body ailments from training issues.
Anyway, here's the article:
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Clark Kent's Stent
By Charles Hall
It's been 4 1/2 weeks since I received my coronary stent, and three weeks and 450 miles since I resumed cycling. I'm riding about 10% faster than before the stent, and logging about 50% more miles a week. Opening my artery didn't turn me into Superman, just a more fit Clark Kent.
My leg strength is pretty good, but I have some ground to make up on endurance and aerobic conditioning. That seems to be where my blockage held me back.
I'm writing this after a follow-up visit with my personal physician. Everything looks good. My resting heart rate is down 10 bpm to 52.
I asked the doctor what I could've done differently to avoid developing the condition. He said not much, aside from getting my cholesterol checked earlier (triglycerides 232 mg/dL, LDL 181, and HDL 43 the week before the stent was inserted).
The doctor also said that acting on my symptoms instead of ignoring them was the critical thing.
If a person is asymptomatic for coronary artery disease, medicine today does not have a simple, definitive test to reveal it. Lots of research is going into understanding the relationships between cholesterol levels, arterial inflammation and artery disease. Someday we'll have better answers.
For now, we need to note symptoms of problems. And during my most recent 3 weeks of riding, I've realized I missed some personal indicators. My body was telling me things I wasn't hearing until it spoke loudly and urgently.
Three things stand out most:
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I can climb again. Two months ago, I would grab for ever lower gears and grind up hills that are now just a training challenge. I'm relearning technique and gear selection, but hills no longer mean suffering.
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Longer rides don't leave me exhausted. My routine includes a nonstop solo ride of 60+ miles once a week. Last year it would leave me worthless for the rest of the day. Now I feel nicely recovered after a shower, a short rest, and some food.
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Riding in the heat doesn't sap my energy. I rode in temperatures in the low 90's (34C) recently. Alabama's summer heat is just not the factor it's been in recent years.
I was oblivious to the deterioration in my physical ability during the past year or 2. The differences since the stent are striking. There has been an immediate and marked improvement in my climbing, recovery and heat tolerance. My experience indicates that these are good barometers of health, and if there's an unexpected and consistent decline in them, an explanation should be sought.
Keeping a cycling diary (long advocated by RBR) can be a way to spot negative trends. By noting how you feel during rides, your times on certain climbs or courses and your recovery, you'll have a way to judge physical performance -- and potentially the state of your heart's health -- as months go by.
I have an appointment with my cardiologist in July. My goal is to be at 1,000 miles (1,600 km) post-stent by then. I'll write another update following his exam and evaluation.