5 x Marathoner dreaming of more, with PM!

Hi,
Im a journalist. I live in Costa Rica - yes, beautiful, huh! - I ran 5 marathons so far: twice NY, Rome, Paris, and Athens. Now, last month, I got my pacemaker. And first question for the doctor was "can I run more marathons", he said "yes, that little fella on your chest, is like a BMW".
So, I hope to run my sixth in September.
Any marathoners here?

Im 37 years old. Its been just a month after surgery, but I hope this afternoon, the doctor will let me run again now :P Is it too soon? Thnks for all the advice!

8 Comments

Hi mcordero

by IAN MC - 2015-03-16 02:03:56

I have done a few marathons including London, Istanbul, Vienna , Paris and Athens ( I loved Athens with that fantastic finish in the Olympic Stadium and the early morning start in the village of " Marathon' ; a pity that I did it in torrential rain though ! )

The main factor which will determine whether you can still run marathons is how your heart rate now responds to exercise . It depends on why you had a PM fitted

If you have it to correct some sort of heart-block, chances are that your heart-rate will increase as normal when you run ,so you will be able to continue marathon running without any problems

If you have it to correct Sick Sinus Syndrome , chances are that your HR will not increase as it should and you will have to rely on the Rate Response feature of your PM to put in extra beats . This is OK but it is not totally physiological i.e it is not like the real thing ; you may still be able to run marathons but your times may suffer. I have SSS and have not done any full marathons since getting a PM ( but I blame advancing years ! )

I wish you well and hope that your little fella is a Ferrari and not a BMW .Let us know how you get on in September

Cheers

Ian

Hi mcordero........

by Tattoo Man - 2015-03-16 04:03:09



.....I am with IAN MC on this...my simple understanding is this...

You needed a PM because your heart was not working properly..

A PM is about Health / Life issues..not about giving back sporting prowess..BUT..a PM does give you the fantastic luxury of still being a runner....SO..

Draw a line under your personal history re running and open a new account as a Post PM athlete...unlike IAN, I am a very poor runner but still enjoy running races in the knowledge that with an 8 year old aortic valve and a 4 year old PM, wherever I 'run' I am still a 'winner'.....as are you...

My very best wishes to you..keep PM Club up to date with your running plans..people like you are inspirational to all Members, be they runners or not..

Tattoo Man

Still learning

by ultrapacer - 2015-03-16 07:03:51

I'm no expert but this is my experience I have had coronary artery disease since my mid 30s with several catherizations and a bypass 4 years ago. I am now 61. During these years I have run about 35 ultra marathons, mostly 50 milers on trails. I got a PM 6 weeks ago. I intend to run 2 50ks this summer. We all are different but the time and place to learn what you can do is while you run. Good luck as you get off the couch

Ultra pacer

Running

by golden_snitch - 2015-03-17 03:03:44

As the others said, your ability to continue running as you did before the pacemaker depends a lot on your condition and whether you need the rate response sensor or not. If your condition is a heart block "only", then you will most likely not need the rate response. Your sinus node will keep dictating the pace, just like before the pacer.

If you want to do another marathon in fall this year, you could consider doing Medtronic Global Heroes:
http://www.medtronic.com/globalheroes/
They will sponsor you for either the marathon or a 10 miles run. I'd love to do the 10 miles, maybe next year.

Best wishes!

THANKS FOR ALL THE ANSWERS

by mcordero - 2015-03-23 04:03:16

finding this page has been so helpful… Now I don´t feel like a weird person with a little machine on my chest. :) My first 10 k will be on May, and so on, 10, 21, 30… till I reach marathon.

Thanks! I already got a new Garmin…. I hope I can send pictures to show my progress… :)

Marathoner here

by pmrunner - 2015-03-23 04:03:47

Hey mcordero, I also do marathons and have a pacemaker. I am 38 years old and have had my pacemaker since 2006. You can definitely keep running marathons but maybe start out with 10K since you just had your pacemaker put in a month ago.. I got my next marathon in Cincinnati OH on May 3rd. Since you have done 5 marathons already you will have no problem getting back to the training. I don't even wear a heart rate monitor anymore while running. As you know once you get into your training you figure out you body pretty quickly on what it can and cannot do.

another marathoner

by rusty - 2015-03-27 09:03:55

mcordero, I've been running marathons in the Northeast for 24 years now. 22 completed. I'm having a PM installed on Monday, so I have many questions. I'm 62 and diagnosed with SSS, so I'm not totally sure how the PM will respond to running. Current pulse is 36 BPM.
Many questions for my doc on this subject. Just found this forum this morning and am thrilled with the info available.

Marathoner

by jedkon - 2015-04-06 02:04:33

Hi All,
I have been implanted 3 weeks ago.Also I am runner, and already run 10 marathons so far. As my disease is heart block and asystole, I hope to run again soon. I don't want to jar my wife and run all what was planed for 2015, but as I was drown for BMW Marahton in Berlin, it will be my first long run this year.
If I am lucky, next will be Boston 2016,it depends on cut off time, as i did 3:14:03 recently in Warsaw (minimum for Male, 41 is 3:15). Hope to met some of you, during the race.

BR,
Konrad

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