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February 24, 2006
i'll make the most of it / i'm an extraordinary machine
hello kentie!
I love data. I love data more than I love ice cream, which is saying a lot.
Part of the reason I love science is that I love data.
What fascinates me more than data from my films, is data from my life. I specifically love to keep track of my exercising. In true commitment to that love, I now possess a heart rate monitor. Prior I had a pedometer, which recorded my steps, miles (base on stride length), time, and calories. I love it, except it was never quite right. Whenever I would run faster, I would measure less mileage (even though I ran the exact same route). The stopwatch was never quite accurate because it only measured time when I had moved forward 4 steps – therefore it stopped at stop lights where I stretched. But it did enable me to push myself to a point.
The HRM is so much cooler. A strap around my chest measures and beams my HR to the watch on my wrist, which is a stopwatch that I control. I record the data when I get back. I have numbers. I love numbers.
Did I mention that I also have a heart murmur? They found it in the ER. My awesome doctor confirmed the nurse practitioner’s diagnosis that it is from running. Of course, I did a little research and found out that it is a condition called Athlete’s Heart. Of course, I laughed, as I would be the last people to say I am an athlete. After a little bit of reading (and with the knowledge from my heart monitor), I do fall into the category with my 6 days a week 1-hour dynamic (cardio) exercise. I do just barely, in my opinion. My resting heart rate is low (~60 bpm), but right on the edge between normal and “athlete’s heart). Anyways, it turns out that when your heart is in good shape, it does things that in sedentary people would mean something is wrong. Because of the amount of blood that must be pumped with each beat, the valve just doesn’t close efficiently. According to what I read, the weird things go away when you are exercising. It is interesting.
Posted by christina at February 24, 2006 2:11 PM
Comments
Hello Kentie, that is funny!
Thanks for the congrats!
Posted by: Rae at February 28, 2006 1:20 PM