In a stress test you get a major insight into how your heart really works and it hands on ways to improve training and performance. They put you on a slight incline and gradually increase the speed (and the incline). Once I reached 135 beats per minute, the test was over. All was well and the result was good. It felt like a really really intense workout. The cardiology tech and I chatted the whole time :-)
Tests like this one are good reminders that we are all very much human and subject to the frailty and vicissitudes of our mortality. Many, many people have issues with their heart, and some of these issues are very dangerous and debilitating. There is no reason that couldn't be me or any of us. We go through life assuming we will watch our kids grow up and get married, hold our grandbabies, run that marathon, vacation in Europe, write that novel. Assume nothing. Step up to the plate now because the plate might not always be there. Be careful about your daily choices. Make sure each one counts. A stress test like the one I had today made me think about my own mortality and the type of legacy I want to leave behind to my kids and grandkids. I want my normal life to sparkle with the allure of the ordinary. I want to be brave enough to grasp the impermanence of life and not let another wasteful moment go by. I want to never take life for granted and find gratitude in every single moment, no matter how satisfying or challenging. I want to:
Fight the good fight.
Finish the race.
Keep the faith.
Have faith in the future.
Have hope, be kind to all, and smile.
Embrace the older years and continue to set high expectations for myself.
The light is not out. It will not go out until the day we die. Keep shining. Leave a memory no one can steal.
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| Today's steps (including the treadmill). |