Marathon running

[jasonan]

I am a 21 year old male who just had their aortic valve replaced and have just joined this forum. I ran a marathon and some half marathons and did a few triathlons before developing endocarditis which eventually led to my transplant. I'm about three months out of surgery and have begun running again. I want to do the Chicago marathon in October which will be exactly one year after my surgery. I also want to do some half marathons this summer. So far I'm able to run five miles without any problems.

I've read about people getting back to their previous fitness level but I was wondering if anybody has any experience with returning to such high fitness level, such as running a marathon, that quick after their surgery.

Thanks.

 

[scott.eitman]

Heck, if you are funning 5 miles at 4 months, as marathon at 12 should not be a problem.

I was working out with the local HS wrestling team at about 18 months after my first surgery. I had not worked out during that 12 months, but felt great.

Good luck to you.

Scott

 

[Bean Counter]

I don't see that as a problem. Two weeks ago I hit my 6 month mark and was given clearance to resume normal training again. I am planning on running Chicago in October and am also heading down to Austin next month to run a 1/2. I just did my 2nd post surgery tempo run last night and it felt good to run hard again...no issues.

Head over to cardiacathlets dot org and you will find a community of people that resumed an active lifestyle after their surgery. There is one guy who ran a marathon 7 months after his open heart surgery.

Are you from Chicago?

 

[tprice54]

I agree with my buddy, Bean! I ran a marathon at 9 months, as some others over at cardiac atheletes have. It is definetly a good goal to have as you go forward, understand there will be more ups and downs that you were experiencing before surgery with your training.

 

[jasonan]

Thanks everyone!
Tprice-Did you find it a lot harder to reach your previous level? Was your time drastically slower?
Bean Counter- I was born in Chicago but I'm living in North Dakota right now.

 

[SumoRunner]

One problem you might have with returning to previous fitness level would be if you are on a beta blocker. That tends to lower your max heart rate so you can't go all out. On the other hand, marathon pacing should never bring your HR up to 100% anyway.

The only thing holding you back then would be self-doubt. Erase that by doing a few shorter races in the months leading up to it.

 

[kodi]

I'm old enough to be your grandfather and I ran a marathon 1 year and 1 day after my surgery....my anniversary gift to myself. It was far from my first marathon, in fact it was #51. My time was one of the slowest but one of the best just by achieving that goal. I have never been able to get back to my pre-surgery level not only because of the surgery but also because of my age. You will definitely have ups and downs in your training and as Sumo said erase self-doubt when you have it. Listen to your body and you'll do great. Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.

 

[Philip B]

Marathon?

Marathon?

I think many of us have returned to the pursuit of the activities we enjoyed prior to surgery. The level at which you can compete will be influenced by factors like medication and age.

As noted in a previous post the www.cardiacathletes.org website has many members who've returned to serious pursuit of competitive athletics after having heart surgery. It's a good group of folks and the site has some good resources.

-Philip

 

[tprice54]

Well, I have theories on returning to previous fitness levels, but I cannot find any funding to really test them!
The younger you are, the "easier" it is to return to pre-surgery level. Those of us that had surgery in their 50's seem to have a harder time. 3 years post op and I am just getting my 5k times back, my marathons are still 45+ minutes slower.

 

[nate_c]

I had my AVR in late August. Registered for a marathon this coming May, so that will put me at about the 9 month mark, if all goes well. So far, I've done long runs of up to 13ish miles and felt pretty good, though still a little slower than I was (but improving). My personal plan is to run this first one in May as more of a fun event, and then I'll run another one in the late summer "for real" (just past the 1 year mark) and really push my time as much as I can. At three months, I think I was somewhere around 3 - 4 minutes off my previous training pace in most runs (which weren't too far)... I've experienced some of the ups and downs Tom mentioned, with some unexplainable bad days, but mostly good days, and a clear upward trend with each new week and month. I'd say, go for it, especially since it would be on your one-year anniversary date. That's very cool.

 

[SumoRunner]

I've experienced some of the ups and downs Tom mentioned, with some unexplainable bad days, but mostly good days, and a clear upward trend with each new week and month.

Let's see a show of hands, who did not have some unexplainable bad days pre-surgery too? Now, any day we can run is a good day.

 

[tprice54]

I agree Jack. Every run is a good run now! I wonder if the bad days post op seemed worse just because I was paying such close attention to how it went, unlike before surgery when I didn't really care.....

 

[spartangator]

Just want to echo the prior comments and offer another example of someone doing a marathon about a year out...
As long as your cardio's on board, it's quite feasible, but you'll likely have to manage your performance expectations. Like the prior two posts mentioned, though, any day we're out there is a good day. Looking forward toward October's race reports.

 

[nate_c]

I completely agree with the sentiment. What I meant in my previous post was simply that during the first, few months of recovery, bad days have put me off my weekly averages much more severely than they ever did before surgery. And before surgery, I could usually pinpoint a cause for a bad run, like not enough sleep or a trip to my favorite brew pub.

I agree Jack. Every run is a good run now! I wonder if the bad days post op seemed worse just because I was paying such close attention to how it went, unlike before surgery when I didn't really care.....

 

[echoguy]

Just jumping with another story to confirm all of the above. My surgery was March 10 and my first full marathon back was Mid November. I plan to run my next marathon in three weeks and hope to be able to run a bit harder. Although, like before surgery, we have to take whatever the day gives us.

BTW. Just a note on terminology from your post. You might want to avoid using the word "transplant" to discribe your surgery. While it is probably appropriate, it might lead folks to think you have a whole new heart and that could affect the way they think about your situation.

Good luck in Chicago!!!

 

[Greg a]

Jason, I just wanted to extend to you a heartfelt WELCOME TO OUR FAMILY we are all brothers and sisters in OHS As you can see we havea great group of people with wide and varied interests and EXPERIENCE whom are here for you This family is sttreet smart and not neccessarily book smart but by lifes experiences have empathy and can answer questions
Good luck with your quest and godspeed in Chicago !!!!!

I am a 21 year old male who just had their aortic valve replaced and have just joined this forum. I ran a marathon and some half marathons and did a few triathlons before developing endocarditis which eventually led to my transplant. I'm about three months out of surgery and have begun running again. I want to do the Chicago marathon in October which will be exactly one year after my surgery. I also want to do some half marathons this summer. So far I'm able to run five miles without any problems.

I've read about people getting back to their previous fitness level but I was wondering if anybody has any experience with returning to such high fitness level, such as running a marathon, that quick after their surgery.

Thanks.

 

[johnp]

keep these posts coming this is great stuff. Pre op I just loved doing my Sat morning long runs and the various mixed and tempo runs during the week. For me, runing is such good therapy. I love biking and swimming too. I've made such good friends on the course as well. It is temping to only focus on our own medical conditions, but most people have a "story" whether it be cancer, bad knees or whatever. But they all keep going.

 

[tprice54]

John, if I give one bit of advice (but I rarely do!), it would be to forget all about what you ran before surgery. Let your post surgery runs start fresh, like the first day you ever ran. I find it VERY hard to do, but it really is a brand new fresh start and you should approach it that way.

 

[kodi]

John, if I give one bit of advice (but I rarely do!), it would be to forget all about what you ran before surgery. Let your post surgery runs start fresh, like the first day you ever ran. I find it VERY hard to do, but it really is a brand new fresh start and you should approach it that way.

I cannot agree more with what Tom is saying. Some of us, definitely not me, have been able to return to where they were, or very close, before surgery and others have not. I think there are several factors involved but we are all just thankful we are able to do whatever we do.

 

[johnp]

I cannot agree more with what Tom is saying. Some of us, definitely not me, have been able to return to where they were, or very close, before surgery and others have not. I think there are several factors involved but we are all just thankful we are able to do whatever we do.

I guess thats good to note. In the past, when I wasn't happy with my splits, I would just do some 400 and 800 meter repeats.