Well, if you ever get into east coast rock climbing, thats the place to be.
It really is wild & wonderful. Or something.
I sort of did that already when I “hiked” Old Rag at Shenandoah a couple years ago and almost died. 
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I’m pretty sure my one niece did Old Rag too, but she’s an actual rock climber and in good condition and not an old chubby dude like myself.
It couldn’t have been that bad though. I mean, you made it back! So congrats on that!
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Hey, I learned to snowboard at Brian Head. Neat.
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It does. And raises others of course, which are too personal rn.
I am sorry to hear that.
Where this time? 
I like how people here know the context of the names of the workouts I do, but I don’t.
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4/2
11 km run
Pull-ups 5x8
Assisted shrimp squat 3x10
Dips 3x15
Seated banded hamstring curl 2x25
Deep knee-over-toe BSS 2x10
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I’m happy to answer elsewhere if you’d like. Not trying to throw too much of a pity party in my log either, even though this is my space.
It’s okay. Actually pretty common circumstances among international adoptees, unfortunately.
Don’t think it will be by you unless you moved!
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FWIW, I didn’t read you as self-pitying in the least. Just factual.
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Nope, still south of lower Saxony, although I am also frequently in Marburg (Hessen) on weekends because a partner of mine lives there and we go back and forth between her visiting me and me going there.
I appreciate that. 
I’d be closer to Marburg, but it still seems kinda far. 
Too bad we couldn’t meet up a couple years ago when I was in Saxony!
4/9
I felt awful from Thursday until yesterday, and I was one lifting workout away from a deload, so I just skipped the last front squat/push press session of the cycle. 
Did a couple of easy bike rides over the weekend, but that’s all. Will start the next cycle of lifting and cycling workouts in a few days.
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Brian Head (which i always thought was spelled without the space) is close to Zion National Park, highly recommend the area.
@unicornsandrainbows and I may’ve been on the same slope at the same time 
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Maybe! I grew up one hour away from Brian Head. I could hike Zion in the morning and snow board in the afternoon. And I did, many times. My childhood was as good as it gets.
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This past week has been hell. Only now am I feeling normal again, but I probably just jinxed myself by saying that for the third or fourth time over the past dew days. I need to rant somewhere about it instead of to my best friend who has been so kind to drive me to so many medical appointments over the last few days of faintness, scary bradycardia, and depersonalization:
I chalked it up to a bad period, maybe my ferritin level decreased. That actually is true based on bloodwork done on Saturday. Admittedly, I became lazy with my iron supplementation regime since I last tested three months ago. Back on that, though my levels haven’t dropped to a scary level, and I (fortunately) haven’t felt anything like when I had an actual iron deficiency. TSH, free T3, and free T4 were okay. Like for many women, my heart rate decreases during my period. And because I naturally have a low HR, it can drop a little lower than I would like. My heart flutters a bit if I have a bad period, though I’ve never fainted or anything like that.
Also, I think I have endometriosis given symptoms I’ve had every other cycle since December. An ultrasound in February revealed no cysts or anything like that. But pelvic pain bothered me again for about a day, so I slept for only three hours on Sunday night. Cutting out dairy to see if it helps and seeing a gynecologist soon to see what I can do. But that’s something else.
More importantly:
Every day since Sunday I’ve been hit with a wave of wanting to pass out and not feeling fully alive. Worse than ever before and quite different. I got an EKG done at the student health clinic on Monday—no issues, just slow. No signs of blockage. I was given a referral to a cardiologist if I’d like to investigate further. Okay. The next day, my period was over, so I presumed I’d be okay, catching up on blood loss because that must be the cause.
But then on Tuesday I needed my friend to take me home from work early because I felt like I was going to pass out. I didn’t do any physical activity besides walking earlier in the day around campus. For some reason that afternoon my HR still fell to 39–40ish while sitting at my desk, and not in a wow-I’m-so-fit kind of way. I came home, ate and drank, and felt a bit better after laying on the floor for a while.
On Wednesday morning I felt better. Seemingly normal. As I shared here, I rode my bike on the trainer and my HR was back where it was expected. Then I attended a virtual meeting, thought I should have gone to work in person given the improvements. Until I was hit with another wave of faintness that afternoon. My friend drove me to the ER, where I stayed for almost six hours. I suspected my hemoglobin was low, but after an iron panel and heart examinations, nothing came up. I seemed very healthy to them.
The doctor told me the only things “wrong” were high creatinine and BUN, though I know my measurements have occasionally exceeded the recommended range in the past. They just discharged me and told me to focus on hydration. Granted, I hadn’t had much to drink that day before they took blood, but I don’t feel like my hydration habits changed much lately.
Since nothing was wrong with my heart, I debated going to see the cardiologist. But then I woke up this morning and once again experienced a scary wave of whatever this is. HR fell to 40 when I was awake and in bed, and it almost refused to exceed 54-55 while walking around my apartment. Despite my typical low HR, this is not normal for me. I felt a little better after some food and tea, but it was still bad. I decided to go to my appointment anyway just so I could talk with some medical professional, and thankfully my friend drove me again because I couldn’t trust myself to make it there alone.
Now that I’ve had two EKGs done over the past few days, the practitioner I saw didn’t see the need to perform another one. Simply explained that low HR is normal for young, healthy, and athletic people, yadda yadda. Examined me briefly and found nothing wrong. They don’t know why I’ve been having these symptoms and only pointed out the creatinine value again as a sign of potential dehydration. In the meantime, I was given a HR monitor to wear for three days and ship back, and I can record if/when I feel bad to give them a better idea.
So, since then I’ve not only consumed a lot more fluids but also eaten much less animal protein. I read a bit online, and it seems like dehydration and bradycardia can go hand in hand? Lo and behold, I truly feel better again as I type this, and my HR and consciousness seem back to normal. However, I’m a little scared that I have kidney disease or some sort of kidney injury? Though my blood pressure and potassium level are normal… I don’t know. I guess I’m a little afraid of animal protein now. Going to eat a lower-protein diet until I get another blood panel in a week and see if it really was just dehydration or I need further kidney tests.
I realize no one here is a doctor, just needed to get that out there.
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Oh yeah. My favorite jinx phrase is “Yeah, this looks pretty straightforward”.
12 hours, 3 broken bolts, 2 drill bits, and some torching later, I’m willing to admit it might have been a little short sighted.
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4/11
I can (and should) be active while wearing the monitor, so that’s what I’m doing. I seem okay today but still not quite 100% I think. I’ll go for some walks too.
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I feel really silly chiming in because you’ve been seeing actual medical people and experts, but…what about electrolyte balance in terms of hydration?
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