I am fit. Mostly.
November 18th, 2009
Gasping for breath after running 10,000 meters in 52:07 isn’t a surprise, nor is it anything to worry about. In fact, if you’re not gasping for breath after engaging in such sport you probably aren’t breathing at all. Anyway, I found myself involuntary and suddenly gasping for breath while reading in bed, or driving my car. These activities barely even register as activities, so I figured I’d better have myself checked out physically to make sure I’m not suffering from any kind of post-smoking situation.
Arriving at the hospital and waiting for the doctor, I had to fill in two forms with about 100 yes/no questions like ‘does your pee burn?’ (no, it doesn’t), and ‘how much alcohol do you drink per day on average?’ (yes, I do). After handing in this treasure of personal and intimate information, the doctor called me and took me to a room upstairs to conduct the physical examination. We discussed the list of questions, and took some rudimentary measurements (length, weight, lung-capacity).
For the second time in my life an ECG was made while I was happily lying down in complete rest. Heart-rate was perfectly normal. Blood-pressure was taken: high pressure was a bit on the high side but nothing serious. Then I had to climb on a bike and start pedalling while the doctor was continually monitoring my heart-rate and taking my blood-pressure every 90 seconds or so. Meanwhile the pedalling on the bike became harder and harder, and I had to keep the same general pace throughout. Boy, that was harder than I thought. Apparently I don’t have a lot of what is known as “biking-fitness”.
And the result? My physical condition is blindingly commonplace. No suspicious rates, sizes or levels, all is functioning well within normal parameters. Except…
…my fat-percentage. It is too high. Something I have always suspected: I am too fat. The doctor told me to work out a bit more so that some of that fat turns into energy, and the rest into muscle. Honestly, I don’t want to turn into a Michelin-man or Homer Simpson or one of those brothers in the “Die Ludolfs” show on the Discovery Channel, so I suppose I had better keep on running to start burning fat.
After depositing a variety of bodily fluids for further examination, I left the hospital, safe in the knowledge that my condition is ordinary.
Ordinary, although that 52:07 for 10k stands as a damn fine result that not just anybody could better!
My name is Marco Hokke. My blog is about the things that interest me and things I might forget if I would not blog them.
2 Responses to “I am fit. Mostly.”
1Petra
November 18th, 2009 @ 8:51 pm
Is het niet een vorm van hyperventilatie / verkeerd ademhalen? Heb ik zelf wel eens gehad, zittend op een zenkussen. Kreeg ook bijna geen lucht meer. Pas veel later bedacht ik dat je ook verkeerd kunt ademhalen…
2Petra
November 18th, 2009 @ 9:00 pm
o ja, enne, het zijn de Ludolfs. En ze zijn erg tof
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