Alberto Salazar has been all over the news lately with his recent spat of heart troubles. Most recently, John Brant (author of Duel in the Sun, the famous story of the 1982 battle between Salazar and Dick Beardsley in the Boston Marathon) has written a fantastic NY Times article about Salazar's life, his world-view, and the brushes with death that he has had.
This set of stories has brought to focus one of my reasons for keeping up with running and overall fitness. Many runners have at some point heard of the Fixx phenomenon. Jim Fixx, author of The Complete Book of Running, became an icon with his inspiring story of going from an overweight 2-pack-a-day smoker to a fitness guru. However, a massive heart attack during a 1984 run in Vermont ended his life at the relatively premature age of 52. A genetic predisposition as well as his mid-life health transgressions may have played a significant role, as his father had suffered from a heart attack as early as age 35 (and died at 42 of another cardiac arrest).
Salazar has a similar genetic background, and (so far as I know) did not have a period of very unhealthy behavior besides his tenacity, and willingness to sacrifice himself for his racing goals.
I'm now 28 years old. My father at age 52 already has a stent put in, after suffering a heart attack at age 50. My uncles on my father's side (there are 4) are not faring that well either. My grandfather had several bypass surgeries (although he survived to a rather ripe old age). Genetics may not be on my side. The episode that I described two posts ago really scared me.
Can I outrun my genetics? I don't know the answer. Fixx might have left this world at 45 had he continued on without turning his life and behavior around. I do know that I want to be around a lot longer than 22 more years. I feel like running is doing something good for my body even if it occasionally sends me into the red-zone (or drives me anemic).
While less running would probably do the trick of giving a layer of protection, it's not in my personality. To be honest, I have to say I probably wouldn't run at all if it were only for my health. I'll save motivations for some other day.
Run today:
1pm 55 deg. F slight wind
10.6 miles moderate effort
1:12 (6:47 avg)
Just felt like going kind of hard today. Maybe it has to do with the fact that I plowed through 106 pages of Parker's new novel last night.
Things are looking grim weather-wise for our strongest men marathoners tomorrow. 45 degrees, 27mph winds, and rainy. Things look better the next day. I'm really looking forward to seeing Paula racing again.
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2 comments:
This is interesting that you wrote this just days before Ryan Shay's untimely passing. I hope they are able to determine conclusively what happened to him and why.
I too have a terrible family history of heart disease and always thought I was so much further ahead of the rest of my (sendentary) family because I run so much. But it seems this year there have been a lot of untimely deaths in our sport. I wish we had a better way of determining the actual health of our hearts. It seems the only thing doctors can do to tell if you have a problem (unless it is a dramatic, obvious problem) is do an autopsy after the fact. Scary.
I wish you and other fellow runners the best in heart health!!
Hi mindi,
I was actually just checking out your blog just this morning. It's remarkable that you've got a smile on your face in almost every one of your pictures in your GR Marathon!
It was an interesting coincidence that I wrote about it so close to the event.
I'm sorry to hear that you've got the family history thing going on as well. I've actually been told that I should already be getting my cholesterol profiles done annually even at my relatively young age of 28. It might be something to consider for yourself as well, if you're not already doing it.
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