Note: Blog post subject matter is discussed in more detail on the Athalonz Podcast.
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I want to live until I’m 100 years old. I don’t want to just be alive until I’m 100; I want to be physically and mentally active. I want to play golf, hike, bicycle, lift weights, and run until the day I die. I also plan on working until then; I like what I do and I feel I’m finally really good at it.
I also want to watch my granddaughter grow up and be an active part of her life. I have this dream that my granddaughter, my daughter, and I run half-marathons together. Three generations running together is motivating for me. While I’m sharing dreams, I also dream that my granddaughter follows her mother’s career path, who followed mine, and we have three generations of patent attorneys working together. My granddaughter is two. So, I need to be healthy and active for a long time to come.
To this end, I started seeing a doctor that practiced anti-aging and hormone balancing about 10 years ago. My doctor found that I was low on testosterone, my thyroid was sluggish, and a few other things. I was given medication for my thyroid and testosterone and supplements for the other things. It helped. I was feeling better and had more energy.
About the same time, I started running mainly because my daughter was running and it gave us time together. It turned out to be a lot of fun. We entered half-marathons together. We weren’t competitive, we ran just under 10 minute miles, but we enjoyed the time together, the training, and the atmosphere of 10,000 people gathered together to run.
We started with doing two half marathons a year, about 6 months apart. We’d train for the half-marathon, run it, and then slack off on our training for three months or so. We’d pick the training up a few months before the next half marathon. We did this routine for 3 or 4 years.
About 4 years ago, we decided to run at least four half-marathons per year so we wouldn’t slack off on our training. Shortly thereafter, my daughter became pregnant with my granddaughter and she back off on her running. I stayed committed to running more half-marathons.
In the first half of 2018, I ran in four half-marathons. I was in the best cardio shape of my life. I was fit, but not as lean as I wanted to be. I’ve never been as lean or as fit as I would like to be. That’s a story for another day.
In August of 2018, I was on a business trip to Colorado. Prior to my meeting, I did a little workout in the hotel’s gym. I didn’t do much or push too hard, but I didn’t feel right. I ate breakfast and got ready for my meeting.
About 20 minutes into the meeting, my vision started to blur, my hands began to feel numb, and my head began pounding. I’ve had some migraine headaches in the past and assumed that’s what this was. But it was different. It affected my memory. I couldn’t remember topics and fumbled with answers in the meeting. My colleague stepped up and covered for me.
We flew home that night. I was still having migraine symptoms, but they were less intense than earlier in the day. Typically, if I can get a good night sleep, I’m fine in the morning and assumed the same for this migraine. Only, when I woke up in the next morning, I felt worse.
My wife, who had just finished naturopathic medical school, took me to the hospital. While tests were inclusive, the medical opinion was that I was experiencing TIAs (Transient Ischemic Attack). A TIA is a temporary blockage of blood flow to the brain. It doesn’t cause permanent damage, but it’s a warning sign of a potential stroke.
The doctors had no answer as to why I was having TIAs, so my wife began investigating. It turns out that taking testosterone can increases red blood cells, hemoglobin, and hematocrit. In my laymen’s terms, when these factors are high it means that there’s too much blood in the body. When there’s too much blood, it becomes thick, which creates a whole host of potential medical issues including TIAs.
The treatment is easy; donate blood. I did, but it took nine months to get my red blood cells, hemoglobin, and hematocrit down to safe levels. I went from being in the best cardio shape of my life to being on the verge of a stroke because I produced too much blood. And it happened in a short period of time.
I am now almost back to that level of cardio conditioning and fitness and I get my red blood cells, hemoglobin, and hematocrit checked regularly. I also monitor my blood pressure. For me, when my blood pressure starts to creep up; it’s time to donate blood.
My wife is now my doctor and we’ve both learned a valuable lesson about testosterone: it helps with so many health issues, but it effects on the blood need to be closely monitored.
About Me:
I am the CEO and Founder of Athalonz, LLC., I am a founding partner of the patent boutique law firm of Garlick & Markison, I am a survivor of child abuse, and I am an inventor on over 300 patents.
About Athalonz:
Athalonz is a technology company based on Mesa, AZ. It develops and sells athletic footwear, which incorporates its patented technology that leverages the laws of physics to improve athletic performance. Website: athalonz.com
About G&M:
Garlick & Markison is a patent law boutique firm that assists clients in building a patent business within their business using proprietary tools and techniques. Website: texaspatents.com
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Today was a good bit of climbing. A little over 2,000 feet of elevation gain. Not as much as day 1 or day 2, but not trivial. I am really enjoying traveling through the small towns. The people have been friendly, the service has been good, and the food has been excellent.
