Feeling my mortality

I knew something was wrong three quarters through the Cycling work-out with Ogie last Thursday noon. He was subbing for Emy who was on her holiday leave.

Ogie was good, if not a little bit too enthusiastic...then again, challenging work-outs like Cycling and RPM require a lot of spirit from the instructors if we are to stay on the bikes. His approach to the sets was new, as compared to the that of Emy which, by this time, I had more or less remembered enough to anticipate the moves. And so I intended to complete Ogie's class at the challenge level he set for us.

I added resistance when he instructed and followed the cadence he set and he added and set for a real cycling challenge. We must have added resistance of at least 30% for every set, including for sprints; some climbs were even at more than 50%. Yet I soldiered on, rationalising that I have done this many times daily, even twice daily, in the past. And so it was for 45 minutes with nine sets, including warm-up and cool down.

Two things that differed from my past work-outs were that I didn't have a drop to drink during the work-out and that it was especially warm in the studio for the duration of the work-out. I was following Emy's example of challenging myself by not taking breaks during the entire routine, including ones for drinking or stretching.

I just felt light-headed during the last climb. I was so winded just two minutes into the routine that I "cheated" and reduced my resistance by 20%. I was so tired the rest of the day that I practically passed out at my desk at around 3PM. I then started to binge on the chips and chocolates I received as gifts that day. Then the finger tips of both my hands started to tingle, like after compression. Then on occasion my stomach would heave if only slightly. I was having dizziness episodes on the drive home as well but I dismissed it as post-workout exhaustion.

But I was feeling again woozy the following morning. I was having brief bouts of dizziness accompanied by light-headedness. I borrowed the office digital blood pressure monitor at around 11:30 AM and it read: 137/76. Slightly high but likely caused by the rush to get to the office, albeit late. My second reading taken at around 8PM read: 147/80; higher now but likely because of the end-of-year party binge.

It was serious enough for me to forego two successive days of work-outs. In fact, I found myself praying those nights. I mean, it doesn't hurt to be prepared to meet the Maker, right? I just had to get back today but I passed on Sam's Cycling class which is a guaranteed hyper-tensioner, opting instead for resistance training using my Facebook-based workout guide. Tomorrow I will hazard Sam's Cycling again.

Wish me luck!