Just for this club-wide response below, here is my one and only club wide answer to Dogg-Years...no further responses are desired...thanks for reading...
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Yep, the physiological science I've been reading is tough to argue with.  You also can't argue with being informed.  D-Y, Did you actually read either of the articles?  They made it clear a small portion of the general population is affected by what the cardiac research showed, while the entire population of older athletes should be wary, only a small percentage are affected.

Besides other direct-descent family members that had heart issues, my brother died at 42 years old of a HA, I have been annually tested...stress, blood, etc...passed'em all with flying colors.  But, what I needed was an ultrasound to see plaque build up. When the HA happened, I knew what the symptoms were and how to react to survive.  I'm 54 in Sept...I would attribute cycling along with a great diet and a healthy lifestyle as holding off the HA for an extra 11.5 years as well as the fact I made it through the attack o.k.

D-Y, if you have no family history, if you do not have current cardiac issues, even if you are older, you are probably o.k. with 3+ hour rides at 90% HR while you race...I did it for years till it caught up with me on that ONE special ride.  But, you do NOT know for sure what is happening in your body unless you are planning to have blood taken after the race for a troponin analysis. Ride as you wish...but be aware and be ready to act....that's all I'm saying.

What GCC does for the community is immeasurable.  We all have benefitted in so many ways from the club.  Sarcasm about their canceling events indicates it is probably an uninformed statement.  Further, the information I got was from websites designed for athletes...specifically cycling, but also running...so that older athletes are informed about how their bodies respond to the stress of cycling and other endurance competition. We all should be informed. We all should keep doing the things that make us happy, just minimize the risk, and be ready if something does happen.

To my knowledge we've never met.  I'm dismissing your words as off the top of the head without thinking or reading. But, here's a thought, get informed, then think, before you write, assuming you think writing is still necessary. My earlier words did in fact help another GCC cyclist who was having heart issues after riding (a 3 hour ride) do things to get the help he needed. Helping one person made it all worth it.  The numerous (30+) mails I have read from older (45-80) fellow cyclists, almost all male, who have had heart issues and come back to cycling have given me great encouragement...I will be back...in fact, I already started road riding yesterday...just too slow & short a distance for a Sunrise ride.

Borrowing from Huan..."keep the rubber side down"...and be wary of all the dangers out there...keeps your mind sharper than a couch potato...spin the hills.  Bob Howland
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On Sun, 7/26/09, warmhearth@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <warmhearth@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

From: warmhearth@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <warmhearth@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: GCCMail: older athletes take note
To: "Robert Howland" <fizzteach@xxxxxxxxx>, "GCCMail@xxxxxxxxxx" <gccmail@xxxxxxxxxx>, "Sarah Carrier" <scarrier@xxxxxxx>, "Pete Miner" <pdm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sunday, July 26, 2009, 10:50 PM

Okay.  That's it.  I'm giving up bike racing and taking up mall walking while sucking on green tea bags.
 
You just can't argue with science.
 
GCC should now avoid liability issues by banning any club-sponsored rides over 2 hours or those encouraging heart rates above the double digits.  Can you imagine the bad publicity when 600 Horse Farm 100 riders suddenly clutch their hearts and  collapse just before the 3rd feed station?
 
I had no idea how unhealthy cycling was!  How many years have I stupidly shaved off my life?
 
So look for the guy doing gentle laps around The Gap clasping a heart rate monitor in one hand and a Quick Alert button in the other.  Safety first!
 
Dogg-Years
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
-------------- Original message from Robert Howland <fizzteach@xxxxxxxxx>: --------------

Runners, read the last sentence of this one.
 
Runners, for marathoning and hill running this applies to you too.
 
Been doing searches and lots of reading.  These two sites are representative of what you will find and what the best researchers have put out there.  The jist of these is that LONG INTENSE (>3 hours) riding/running may increase your chance of a heart attack....through in age and/or family history...you are an accident waiting to happen.  I know that very well.
 
In my recovery...I'm on day 36...I'm up to riding 13+ miles in an hour at HR = 100 bpm.  I'm doing 3-4 hours of light aerobic work, stationary cycling and fast walking, per week.  Doing some light core work with low BP exercises, some light leg weight work, too.  Right after this email, I'm doing my first road ride in my neighborhood at ~10-12 mph for ~20-30 minutes just to see how it feels.  I intend to keep building that up.  Learn from what I'm thinking....here is my current plan:
 
1 - I will wait till after my 18 Sept meet with my cardiologist before I start any intensity riding with a HR above 120 for more than an hour to an hour and a half.  Keep my weekly training volume to ~4-5 hours.
 
2 - I will push to have him give me a 12 lead EKG stress test again...preferably cycling, but I will take running...to be sure there is nothing funny going on.
 
3 - I will push to have ultrasound testing or any other testing he thinks is appropriate to be sure I can exercise safely on a bike.
 
4 - I will likely stop doing any rides over 3 hours...I will stick to 50 milers and less as well as stop doing full sprints up hills or otherwise with max HR.  But, I'm open to more riding, faster riding if I pass the first 3 tests and it is his opinion I can do more.
 
5 - Be aware of all the symptoms that precede a heart attack: unexpected fatigue, breathlessness, dizzyness, passing pain in shoulder, arms, chest, frankly any general malaise that is out of the ordinary should have you being more focused and listening better to your body.  I experienced the breathlessness 2-3 days before, passed it off, but that memory helped me decide I was having a heart attack while it was still developing...I got help by the time it was beginning to be dangerous and painful.
 
BTW: If I get a clean bill on 18 Sept...I intend to ride either the 25 or 50 miles of either the SFC or HFH...I absolve GCC of any and all liability, here and now for all to see.  If I can do that...I will be enjoying the whole thing as a celebration of being back on the road with the rubber side down.
What do you bet Lance is putting together a team with a large percentage of 30-40 years aged riders??? These wily old dogs will be tough to beat in 2010. That keeps me inspired, too.
 
Spin the hills...Bob Howland

 

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