Everything's OK, sort of

After some tests, doctor visits and some more procedures I am glad to say that my mother is fine, well sort of.

The big scare was the possibility of breast cancer but after tests they confirmed that it is not breast cancer. We were expecting the worst as she is not a youngster anymore (turning 67 on Sunday) but she is an amazing strong women and told us that what happen must happen and she's prepared.

With all the test results cleared, we are all relieved and thankful that she is fine.

I said there were three health issues we were concerned about in one of my previous posts. The second issue was the fact that she's a diabetic and when they tested her they found that taking tablets doesn't help anymore. She now has to use an insulin injection everyday.

There is nothing she can do about it and she is busy getting the hang of it, testing her sugar level everyday and giving herself an injection.

The third issue we will only have the result by mid March. Don't know exactly how to put it but according to the doctor she may have some heart disease. I think it's Cardiac Arrhythmia(irregular heart beat) which may be the result of her having high blood pressure for some time. They made an appointment for her to see the Cardiologist on the 11th of March. I am not 100% sure on what exactly is wrong but I will be able to provide a clear answer after her visit to the specialist.

This can be a serious issue but she said she is not going to stress about it in the same way as the breast cancer test and whatever the Cardiologist say and decide she will handle it when she gets there. Hopefully the test will also come out fine.

I guess one can look at it one way and say this ain't looking good or look at it the other way and say she is just doing fine and we're glad she's alive and can enjoy everyday with us.

I've read some article from Ben Greenfield, a well known Triathlon Coach about Carbo loading and your eating habits/ consumption during the last week leading up to your race. In short it basically say to start the Monday before the race with 50% of your diet consisting of Carbohydrates and having more Protein.

You then up your Carbo intake by between 5 and 10% per day, ending the Saturday before the race on a 80% carbo intake for that day. He also gives examples of what to eat when and how much.

I've never done any formal Carbo loading before a big race and has never followed a formulated eating plan before a race. Usually I just eat whatever I want leading up to a race and then having some pasta/pizza the night before the race. I will write a more detailed post next week on what I ate, when and how much and if it made a difference.

Will see how this idea/ experiment unfolds and if it will make any difference come Sunday. Luckily I still have some time and races to experiment with before Ironman South Africa in April. This Sunday I am also going to stick with the run/walk technique, only difference is this weekend I'm walking 30 seconds after every 10 minutes of running instead of 1 minute.