new Years resolutions ?

Last Day of 2011 has arrived and I have to say it was an amazing Year for me, I have archived so much, I never thought I would have been able to do all this I did this Year.
 I did a Triathlon ( Sprint ) I did a 32 Km Night hike , which was the toughest thing I ever did in my Life but I finished it.
Sounds a bit weird but I'm proud of myself, because I have realized doing all this makes me a happy Person and that feeling is really good.
The Plan for 2012 is out and if I only manage to do half of the things I  want to do, then I will be a very happy and very likely also a very healthy Person.
 I just finished a nice healthy Stir fry and after eating nearly only Carbs over the last 10 Days, this Healthy Lunch felt really good. So back to the title , I don't really think that these are New Years resolutions, they are just a continuing of my current plans.
I finish of the Year 2011 with 71.6 kg of Weight which is an BMI of 28 , this is still in the overweight Class but I'm getting there

and here is the plan for the first 6 Month of 2012

Decision has been made, I have decided on the Run's / Races I want to do in the first half of 2012.
That Racing Calendar looks really Scary and at the same Time I'm really looking forward to it.
If I really will be able to pull this through , then I have done it .......
From February to April I will do each month a short 5-10k Running Race, I have found some nice trail Run's.
Those Races are short but Though.One 10km Road Race in February.
Then in April comes the Big one , a "short" Adventure Race , which consists of roughly 12 Km Running ( 9km of them in the Hills ), 30 km Cycling and 2 km Kayak.
If I manage that, then this will follow by 1-2 Duathlon's, one other 10km Road Race in May and lastly the other scary big one which is my fist Olympic Triathlon
Lets see if I can tick all these Boxes in a couple of month Time :

3 Trail Runs ( 4-10 km )
2 km Road Races
2 Duathlon's
1 Adventure Race
1 Olympic Triathlon

another 5k Santa Run done

this was the last Race/ Run for 2011 and at the same time this was the first Race of my next Season , at least that's the way I like to see it .
Great amazing Fun run , 800 People in Santa Costumes running on the Beach.
Those Kind of Run's always remind me why I do this, I don't do running because I like it very much , no I really like the Atmosphere at these Events.
Some of them are just for pure fun and everyone is just enjoying himself / herself some other Races are very competitive, but even on those Race I usually get a thumbs up or a Well done from the other real Racers/Runners, while I'm trying my best to finish that run .
Looking now really forward to 2012 , I had this Year some though races and I want to do most of them next Year again and I want to add quite a few more to the Catalog.
Especially Duathlons and my Triathlons.
Also of course I hope to start the Year 2012 , with a Weight below 70kg ( 1-2 pounds until I have reached that  Line ) , and if I loose after that, 5-6 Kg more then I have done it .
That would be called "normal" Weight for my Height, wow that will be great after 20 Years of obesity.

finally back in the Race Game

Today I did a 5 km Santa dash Race, I know 5 km don't sounds very long and they aren't and I was not able to run through them in one go but it felt good to be out again.
I had a really bad Cold for nearly 4 Weeks , and 4-5 Days ago I still had a very soar throat and was living of Painkillers and other nasty tasting Stuff.
The Race felt really good and for the first Time I did not put myself under any Pressure , I walked when I needed to walk and I ran when I felt i could do it .
Next Weekend I will do another short Santadash Race and I will call that Race the First Race of the new Season , so today was the last Race of this Season, Here is a Summary of Races I did :

7 x 10Km Races
2 x 5 km Races
1x 10 mile Race
1 x 8 km Race
1 x 21 km ( Half Marathon )
1 x Super Sprint Triathlon ( 600m Swim , 16 km Cycle, 4 km Run )
and one huge Night Hike of 32km (I know this was not a Race but it was the toughest Challenge I ever did )

and I practically did not do any specialized Running Training or not even running Training at all ,which might explain why I mostly finished at the end of the Race . Lets see if I can improve my Times next Year with coordinated running Training , which I defiantly will have to do if I want to survive a Olympic Distance Triathlon which I have signed up for
2012 here I come , and the Plan is to do loads of 10 km Races , 1-2 Half Marathons 2-3 Triathlons and the Night Hike again ????? Oh and if possible a Adventure Race , sounds crazy yes it is ;o)

nasty Cold

I have now for 2 Weeks a rather nasty Cold , ok this is the first Cold I had in nearly 2 Years , which is a absolute Record for me but I'm getting really bored with the Cold now. I kind of hope that I will not have a cough for the next couple of weeks but I will need to wait and see . This is one of the times where have to remember to protect my Lungs because of the Alpha Part in me.
As soon as this Cold is over I really want to start my training program again , haven't done any exercise for Weeks now and I really need to catch up again . the good news is that I seemingly still loose Weight, I really close to be below 70 Kg, can't wait that my Scale shows for the First time 69.xxx kg . That would be a really nice Christmas Present.
My current BMI is 27 , that is still overweight but not too far away anymore from "Normal Weight . Not bad since I started this Year easily with a BMI of 33 or even above that

nothing really interesting just some more plans

after the 10Km Trail my turned Knee really bad , I couldn't put any weight on it for at least 3-4 Days, thankfully it has now eased up but I'm really nervous to go for a Run again because even when I did last Sunday the Knee flamed up again.
I guess the only way to see is try it out .
I hopefully have also from next Weekend the chance to get on a very regular Basis into a Pool , I will sign up on Friday / Saturday the Membership for a nice affordable Price.
Also the Training Plan for a Olympic Triathlon is now pinned to my Wall at home, it is a 12 Week plan and even though I don't plan to do in 12 Weeks a Triathlon , I still think that structured Training will help me to build up a good basis and I doubt 12 I will be able to run exactly through the 12 Weeks, with Christmas and Holiday's upcoming I will have quite a few Breaks in there .
The important part for me is the word Structured and looking at the plan I need to learn to do Quality Training and no longer Quantity Training
So next Races, honestly no real idea, I still need a run for November , I haven't found anything really nice yet. For December I have 2 Santadashes on the Line , those are fun Runs but they are really good 10 K Runs

a very long 10km Trail run done , a race Report

on Saturday I did the 10 km Hunters Trail Run and this race was the toughest Race I have done so far this Year and that includes the Half marathon.
The Good News was, I finished the Race the bad news  I finished last and the really bad news was that  I was last by nearly 10minutes. To be that far behind hurts , what also hurts is my knee, it hurts quite a bit and I'm sure it is  inflamed and not "damaged"/ Injured.
I hope this is sorted in a couple of Days , I'm not sure what has caused the Problem , could have come from new Runners, something I will see .
Back to the Race, what a Trail run it was, up the hills , down the Hills , through the Woods, over the Fields jumping / crawling over Tree Trunks or under Tree Trunks. Everything was included , I really liked the Race but it was a bit too though for me at my present Training's state. To fix that  I need to get my Training's plan organised . I have looked up online for a training's plan and found a nice manageable one, but I think I need to be accountable to someone , so as soon as I'm able to get my Car fixed i will get to the Local Triathlon Club and introduce myself .

Finish time for the Hunters Trail was 1h:36min and a bit

10k Trail running upcoming

tomorrow I have another 10 km Race , it will be a Trail run so very likely a rather muddy and slippery race , nothing where I even remotely can hope for a Time improvement . Strangely enough it seems that i haven't gotten any faster over the last year.  i guess to get faster i would need to train on a regular basis . So my 10km time is currently between 1:11 - 1:18 Hours , which is very slow indeed but my Main Goal this year was to be able to finish 10 km Races and  I think i can answer that with a YES .So goal for next Year should be to improve the Time .
My Car is broken at the Moment so I either have to cycle everywhere or walk , I cycled yesterday Evening around 30km for a Shopping trip and I have to say the last 5-6 km were really though. I guess it's not to bad that I can't use the Car at the moment , it gives me quite a few Training opportunities ;o)
Lastly my new Triathlon Necklace arrived today, really happy and proud to wear it

Kona Ironman , what an Inspiration

did kind of a Marathon last Night and this Morning , the marathon was not me doing Exercise , it was watching some of  the best Athletes in the World doing exercise .
I was watching the Live Stream for the Kona Ironman World Champion Chips and what an inspiration. Watching Chrissie Wellington really fighting to win this Race was absolute amazing , to be honest after 40 miles into the Bike Ride I did not think She would be able to pull it off, but that is what makes her and all these other Finishers so special , they don't give up. Also seeing Julie Dibens fighting as long as She could with a injury and still not willing to give up showed me how amazing these Guy's and Girls are.
after the Pro finished the Race , i went into Bed and woke up early again ,the first thing after grabbing a Coffee was to watch again the Rest of the live coverage , this time seeing the Rest of the Age Grouper coming into the Finish line,again truly amazing what these Athletes did and then at the finish Line they got a hug from Chrisse and other Pro racer. seeing 70 or even 81  Year old finishers and double Amputees crossing the line made me ask myself again what is different and the answer is simple. I'm sitting here in my Living Room and drinking lazily Coffee while these Athletes did a huge amount of Training over the last couple of Years.
Damn i want to finish a Race when I'm in my 70th or even older and the only way to do this is getting out there and doing the Run / Bike and Swim
See you later

Race Report and future Plans

I did it i did my first ever Half Marathon , that means I managed to do 13 Miles or in Metric 21 Kilometers and a bit. It was though actually it was really really though but at no time was there a question of quitting this Race. I knew I couldn't run a good time , if you have  not trained good enough you can't expect wonders. The Hills in Donegal are not really made for running so what I did was walk fast the hills up and run on the flat and downhill parts. I would have been happy if the Race would have been finished after 10 miles ( 16 km ) but I managed to get through the last 3 Miles . I managed to do the run on 3 Hours which is by Half marathon Times very slow buy again I knew I had not trained enough. Most importantly was that I really enjoyed it, so now to the next Plans.
I might do another though Half marathon in November, it would be kind of special of doing that one but more about that in another post.
I also signed up yesterday for a Olympic Triathlon next Year , that one will be in June and I better get into Training to be able to finish that one.
Today I had a ultrasound Scan of my Liver , as an Alpha there is a risk of Liver Damage because the "bad" Stuff gets trapped in the liver .I don't think my liver is affected in any Way but I really appreciate that the Irish Alpha 1 Foundation is looking after me so well, i also received a letter for a MRI Scan next year where they will check out the Status of my lungs.
My Job is now to train over the Winter month as much as possible , to loose the rest of the Excess Weight and to keep healthy as much as possible.
For the weight loss and the Health i have bought now a High end Juicer and that Stuff I'm juicing is extremely tasty but I have realized i still have to watch the calories from that juicing because it has the same amount of Calories as if  I would eat that stuff . i  need to make sure that one of my mails , probably Dinner gets replaced more often than not with a Juice or a smoothie and not that i drink that Juice on Top of my Dinner

Evening before my First Half Marathon,or not ?

If everything goes well then I should start in roughly 16 Hours my first Half Marathon , problem tonight is that I'm not feeling too well, the cause could be either a upcoming Cold in that Case I might not be able to do this tomorrow or the other Reason could just be that my Body is somehow rebelling.
 I think there is a small chance that I'm getting slowly into the Menopause, that could explain the on and off Feeling I sometimes have.
So I hope I can start the Race tomorrow, I have not even remotely enough trained but I think this Race will be a closure of the current Season and then I''m really looking forward to what  I call next Season the Start of my Triathlon Season

and here is the next very stupid Idea, really can't help that

I found this Race Yesterday, it is a Ironman over 3 Days and you have the possibility to do 1 Event or all 3 Events. I'm seriously thinking of doing the Cycle on this Race , this would be a 180 km Race, can't believe that I even thinking of doing this .
This Idea has 2 Advantages , firstly the scare Factor to get my Training done in the Winter ( The Race is May ) and secondly if I'm able to do that Cycle Race I know I easily can do the cycle on the Half Ironman . which would leave me with a lot of spare Time to train for the Run and the Swim .
Swimming will be a high priority this Winter anyway.
I really will need to get some Swimming Lessons in the next couple of Weeks because I realize I'm just don't have any Technique in Swimming and to get faster I have to get this sorted out.that is something I can do in the Cold Season in the Pool , so hopefully when the warmer Season starts again I can try to apply this in the open Water swim.
So plan for now is to get a Training's plan up and running ,which will concentrate on Cycling as much as possible, as Cross Training i will do Swimming , Yoga and running in there.
I can't really let the running down too much because I'm bad enough in it anyway.
So next Week will be my first Half marathon, in which I very likely walk quite a bit because the Course is extremely hilly .

Training's runs and upcoming Race and some more

did my "long" run Duty today and managed to get 12km under my Belt, the Time I needed for the 12 km was pretty bad but I still don't really care about Time, so I have 2 weeks left until my first Half marathon and I know know that Race will be extremely though , it will be uphill for a very long Period. Anyway I hope just to enjoy it somehow and what is more Important it will be the Distance that somebody who will do in an Ironman 70 .
I still can't get it out of my Head so my decision is made, I will do the Training for an Ironman. I will need the whole Year to get ready for this but I think I'm willing to put in this work.
It is scary to even think about this but  I will not let my Lungs , my Alpha get into Way, I'm Healthy , actually very Healthy right now , so grabbing this and see how far I can go.
Just a little bit more on Health and Weight Loss, I'm happy to watch the Numbers on the Scale going down at the Moment , I'm nearly there to what is called a Normal Weight, can't believe it I have at least lost 30kg ( 60 Pounds ) if not even 40kg ( 80 Pounds ) over the last couple of Years, it was a longs Way it was very often hard but I have learned so much about me. I can't believe that I'm still the same person that started this Journey so many Years back. I think I will dedicate one of my next Blogs to this Journey
So for the next 2 Weeks a couple of short runs and one long run and then the Half Marathon ;o)

very Stupid Idea , oh yes

my first ever sprint Triathlon is now nearly 3 Weeks in the Past, however there is not a single Day where I don't think about Triathlons. I'm not even sure I enjoyed my first Try on a Tri that much, however I can't get Triathlon, Triathlon Training , Triathlon Distances out of my head and the most Stupid thing I can't get out of my Head is :  IRONMAN 70.3  

Something is telling me I should take up that Challenge , which would exist out of : 1.2 mi. swim • 56 mi. bike • 13.1 mi. run ( that is in Kilometers: 1.9 km Swim, 90 km Cycle and lastly a half Marathon of 21 km ) .

Ireland had two Weeks ago it's first Ironman 70 event and I expect it to be back next Year in September , so  I would have 1 Year to train for this and if I go with it, I will need every single Day of this Year to survive that .
I haven't even done my first Half Marathon yet and I know I will have problems to finish that Race, so even thinking about that Ironman Challenge seems to be extremely Stupid, but as I said I can't get it out o my Head.
If I take it on, it will mean the biggest Commitment I have done , it will mean quite a few expenses and it might mean to do a really horrible Race in a Years Time .
So why the Heck is it bugging me so badly , I guess several Reasons , firstly nearly every Challenge I did set myself this Year I have conquered and done .
I did : a 33km Night Hike , which was a extremely though Hike in the Wicklow mountains, I fell in more Bog holes than anyone else, my Feet were soaked through , for some reason I couldn't eat during the Night but I did finish it .
 I did nearly every month a 10km Race ( Doesn't sound much but it is big for me ) , I did my first ever Triathlon and lastly I lost a huge amount of Weight.
I haven't been so healthy in Years and I know I have to keep this Body Fit and see how far my Lungs can take me .
So setting myself though Challenges  and conquering them, seems to keep my Heath up , it makes me proud of myself and it is very satisfying.
 So I have been thinking what should  I do next Year , a Marathon ? Sounds a bit Boring just to do running , an Adventure Race , yes absolutely and if possible I want to do one next Year, but for some Reason it doesn't sound so appealing like the Ironman 70  .
 Things I want to do next Year again are the Night Hike , certain Trail Runs etc but I need something special, which would be IRONMAN 70 , just not sure if I'm though enough to do one , but  I guess the only Way I ever will find out is to Try an Ironman.
I give myself another couple of Weeks to figure it out , in that Time I can start to look into Trainings Plans and books etc, because even if  I don't do the big one I defiantly do the Smaller ones Olympic Distance and sprint Distance

another 10k Race in the Pocket

I did another 10k Race yesterday , it was a Beautiful Trail Run around the reservoir in Roundwood. Originally i wanted to skip this Race , I was rather tired and still a bit exhausted from the Sprint Triathlon the Week before.
Also I had just recovered from this rather nasty 24 Bug which made sure I never was far away from the Bathroom.

However I had signed up for it and at least I would do something for my upcoming Half Marathon, I had no expectation whatsoever for this Run,  I kind just wanted to get it over with and enjoy the Rest of the Weekend.
I didn't expect what followed , it was an amazing beautiful  at the same time Challenging Trail Run , I so enjoyed this Run . We only were around 60 Starters and I knew pretty well from the beginning that I would probably be the last finisher , which I didn't mind at all,pity was that I really had to concentrate on the Path but occasionally I just took it really slow and enjoyed the Views. in the first 5-6 km I was also really fast ( really fast for me ) but then exhaustion and the though Trail got the better of me and I nearly needed 1hr and 20 Minutes to finish this , and I didn't even finish last

I felt great after this Race and now I'm looking forward to some nice training runs , fast short ones and slow long ones, and then the Half Marathon is around the Corner.
If all these activity's I have been doing this Year, are falling under the Term: Midlife Crisis , then it is the best thing ever

Am I a Triathlete ? Yes I'm

now I'm a Triathlete, it sounds ridiculous and it kind of is, but I have finished now my first Super Sprint Triathlon and I think I can call myself a Triathlete, not a good one by any means but hey who can argue.
I want to talk a bit about my Race Day .
It was a really early Start on Sunday we had to bring the Bike really early into the Transition Area ,it was already humming and buzzing when I arrived there , so got my Bike into Transition Area , made sure Helm gloves , Glasses etc were in place and then I had time , loads of time, until my Race started.
More then two Hours actually, but I was not bored at all, It was really interesting to was the Olympic Racers starting their Race and seeing the Swim etc.
So finally it was my Time to start , and when I was heading for the Water I was extremely nervous, so we jumped into the River, jumping into Water is normally a no no for me anyway but I jumped and soon after the Swim started , 600 meters of Swim and the swim had always been my biggest fear,so I started out Slowly and soon realized I could do this . Slow, but I was getting into a Rhythm I actually started to enjoy the Swim.
Most of the other Swimmers were quite a bit in front of me but I had up to 35 minutes to finish this and  I was able to finish it in 22 minutes , not fast and I know with proper Training I can improve this, so next stage was getting into the  transition and onto the Bike. Something interesting happened here, my legs kind of refused to do anything , I felt wobbly and very hungry, I remembered now that I had my Breakfast more than 4 hours earlier and I had not really eaten anything since then. Great planning on my side ,  somehow I managed to get out of the Wetsuit and onto the Bike and I wanted to take it easy , problem was the first 2 km on the Cycle track was a steep uphill ,not easy with being hungry and very tired Legs. I had one of these Energy Gels with but  I didn't want to take it at that stage , I was hoping i could wait a couple of kilometers so that I would not starve in the middle of the Run .
So I did my 16 km Cycle in a bit over 42 minutes, which was a decent time . Last but not least was a 4 km Run , my legs took it a bit easier this time and I just wanted to finish this , so decided to run Slow ( Something I' doing always anyway ), I also finally started to eat my Energy Gel , I still think they are disgusting and I don't like them but that one really helped me to recover . But I defiantly was running out of condition and i just had to do this somehow, what I found amazing only at this Stage I was really getting out of Breath , before that, I was tired but not out of Breath , that is really proof to me that my Body has adapted to exercise quite well .So anyway with walking and Running i managed to reach the finish line , I finished 3rd last in this but again that is something I don't really care about , I want to finish the races I'm starting and if I finish last or nearly Last doesn't matter to me .
I think for somebody with Borderline COPD that's all that should matter .
Will I do it again , yes I will but I will have to train for this, the Triathlon Season is practically over and now I glad that I have the next couple of month to prepare for next Season.
And then next Year I will also have again my lung Function Test, not sure yet what to expect but I  will be happy if I hear "Lung Function is still good" or Lung Function is still OK" .

in between Races 10miler done and Triathlon ahead

I have finished the 10 Mile Race on Saturday , it was a though one and I  would have loved if my Time would have been a bit better ( I wanted to run this in 2 Hours ) I finished the Race in 2:10 Hours , which is for actually not bad if I'm honest.

I did this Race 3 Year Ago an needed back then I needed 15 minutes longer and I finished at place 2666, guess how many finishers that Race had , exactly 2666 . I finished in the last Place.

 In the Meantime I have lost easily 15 -20 Kilo's of Weight and have improved my Health considerably . So overall I'm really happy, I have finished it and my only real Problems during the run have been really bad Leg Cramps , no Breathing or Coughing Problems.

This Time not last Place for me , not far from the Back but not last ;o)

I tend to get the Cough in Cold Weather but it was actually a bit too warm for the Run.

I'm kind of wondering of the Cough is coming back during the Cold Season ,I will wait and see but I think this Time I will not be too surprised and annoyed if the Cough is coming , that is just part of me in that Case.

So next Sunday I will have my first Sprint Triathlon , I'm really nervous about that one but I will try just to enjoy it .

some Words about the Irish Alpha One Foundation

I'm a German who came 11 Years ago to Ireland , I originally had only planned to stay 1-2 Years , yeah right, that was 11 Years ago.I love Ireland it has become my Home.
But because of my Possible future Health Problems I was kind of Concerned with the Irish Health System, yes in Germany I could just walk into a GP without Paying him 50 Euro just to say hello , that's the good side but is the Irish Health System really so bad, I don't think so, I have seen really horrible things in Germany so it's not so bad as everyone thinks it is.
But I don't really want to talk about the Irish Health System , I want to talk about the Irish Alpha 1 Organisation ( which is of course part of the Irish Health System ).
My first Contact with the Alpha One Foundation was back in 2004 ,  honestly I was at a pretty low Point at that time ,at that time I suffered badly from Cold and Bronchitis . I had this Cough for Month and I was in a real denial that I was a Alpha1. Hey I was a MZ and according to everyone one real Risk , however no one could explain me why the Heck I had one Cold after the next .
I confided to a Friend of mine, that I had this Alpha1 Gene and  I was pretty sure that no GP in Ireland had ever heard about it . Back in Germany barely anyone knew what Alpha1 was and that it was discovered in my Mum was probably pure Luck ( She went by Chance to the one Lung Specialist in the whole of Northern Germany who  had knowledge about Alpha 1 ).
My Friend did Research and found the Irish Alpha One Foundation , so after some time I gave in and got my appointment , they checked my Blood Levels and confirmed i was a MZ ( I knew that already because I had been tested in Germany ).
Now the Consultation started I got my Lung Function Test  , they explained me what  I should avoid ( Smoking etc ) , what I should do when I got a cold / Flu and on top of it they did send a information Letter to my local GP and explained him what Alpha1 Antitrypsin Deficiency was.
I have to Say I hate Hospitals, in my Childhood I had to visit my Mother so often in the Hospital that I nearly got sick when I smelled this particular Smell a Hospital seems to have ( the Health issues my Mum had back then where not even Alpha1 related ) .
It was not easy back then  to go up to the Beaumont and follow through with that Appointment but the Atmosphere here is completely different It was kind of a positive Charged Atmosphere ,  I have no real words to describe it but I trusted what the Doctors and Nurses gave me as a advice and  I got my follow up Appointment for the Next Year . So now for over 7 Years I'm visiting the Alpha 1 organisation .
 I get my lungs checked out , the nurses/Doctors know me they know the History etc etc . I'm always try to go the the patient Conference and I think the Work that Team is doing is just absolutely AMAZING.
I Saw on Facebook now that the Irish Alpha One Foundation  ( http://www.alpha1.ie/ ) has it's 10 Year anniversary . I really want o congratulate them for their great Work and Help they are providing , so with that Many Thanks to Alpha1 Ireland and  I will think occasionally about you Guys when I do my 10 Mile run tomorrow !

10mile Starter number arrived today

I think today is a good Day to talk about this Year ( 2011 ) and how it started and where I'm now.
In my previous Blog I mentioned already that I haven't had a Bronchitis or Cold or Flu in over 2 Years , I have lost quite a bit of Weight and I also started regular Exercise, I'm a Alpha1 MZ Type , so according to many Experts I should not get any Symptoms as long as  I don't Smoke, but there are quite a few MZ out there, who have actually severe Symptoms .

So at the beginning of 2011 the only Problem I had, was  cold Weather, which causes a dry Cough  of which I can't get rid of and I was always the slowest Runner in my group. Being slow annoyed me but I said to myself ,I'm more or less just start the Running I can't expect Miracles.

So my annual Lung Function Test came up, my Lung function so far had always been very good but I never really bothered to look to deep into the Lung Function Test.
Everyone who ever had this sheet in his / her Hands knows there are a lot of other nice Numbers on that Paper ( FEV1, FEV1/FVC , PEF25-75%  )
I actually had no clue what these numbers meant and why should I bother , my Lung Function is good, the Year before it had been at 113 Percent , the only Value I remembered ( I guess a lot of People think now "How Stupid can you get" )  .
So the Day of the Lung function test had arrived and because of my Health Progress , the only thing my Brain was willing to accept was something like " Lung Function same as last Year or Lung Function has improved".

I really went to that Test expecting one of those Comments but instead  I got from the Nurse this: "Lung Function is still very good".
 It might sound silly but that comment was a huge Disappointment to me , so I took this Paper up to the Doctor and I actually still expected to hear "perfect" result" but again  I got the same Comment as before: "Lung Function is still very good.

I did not ask what they meant with that and just took this on board (Important NOTE Here : not asking Details is absolutely my Fault, I have huge Respect for the Doctors and Nurses  who take Care of the Alphas in Ireland, I'm really impressed with their Service and the Help they are giving ) .

 At home I finally started to learn what all these fancy Numbers in the Spirometer Test meant .I actually started to understand what COPD is and the difference to Asthma.
Result of my own research is :  "Lung Function is still very good"   but if I look a little bit Further Down I could interpret the Rest of the Numbers as "there could be a potential COPD problem looming". I'm kind of just above the Borderline of mild COPD Symptoms.

It took me a couple of Weeks to recover mentally from this, I also realized I could be on the wrong Track,  so the Alpha1-Runner was born.
I decided to run a 10km Race every month,  which I practically have done so far. In most 10k Races  as mentioned before I'm always the Runner just before the Walkers, I had some Races where Walkers actually have been faster than me. I have had Races where I was the Second Last and I was the Last Person in a Race.
Does it bother me ? Yes it does, I would lie if I would say otherwise , do I give up , no way because I also enjoy what I have archived so far. I actually have increased my Schedule and I'm planning to do a 10 Mile Race in 2 Weeks time , a Sprint Triathlon ( my first ever ) in 3 Weeks Time and a Half marathon in 8 Weeks Time .
I will probably be one of the last persons arriving the finish Line in each of these Races but if I reach the Finish Line than that's the biggest Win I can hope for and that's all I want finish those Races and see how far this Alpha1-Runner can go.

Me, Alpha1 and a little bit more

In my first Blog I made a very ( very ) brief introduction what Alpha1 Antitrypsin Deficiency actually is, I could  talk about Alpha 1 the whole  Day , Symptoms , Problems , Health Issues , at which Stage is the Research etc etc etc .
I'm a so called MZ Type and no one really knows why some MZ Types get the full blown symptoms ( COPD , Liver Disease etc ) and some go through their whole Life without knowing that they have it. One mayor factor is Smoking , there is no question about that Smoking and being a Alpha 1 ( Regardless which Type ) is a extremely bad Idea .  There is a kind of a Big Research worldwide going on what the other Factors are , so I don't know  if I ever will get COPD or Liver Damage .
My Mother had the full blown Symptoms , however I have to say She never stopped Smoking ( Something i thankfully never started )  which was very likely a major Factor for her declining Health
So now about me , my next Birthday will be my 40th birthday and if you would have asked me 6-7 Years Ago, I would have guessed that I will be a very sick Person by the Time I hit 40.
6-8  Years ago, I had constantly Bronchitis , I had one cold after the other , I was nearly constantly on Antibiotics, my Body was never able to recover and even when I did not had a Bronchitis I had a constant cough and Mucus Problems and to top that off I was not Overweight I was OBESE and lastly what I did not realize at that Stage was that I was very Stressed the whole Time !!

So over the Years I changed my life bit by bit and my current Health Status is, I would say nearly perfect . I still have a few too many Kilos on my Body but I haven't had a Cold or Bronchitis in over 2 Years, that alone is amazing .
I also started to to Exercise in every shape and Form , lastly I took up running and now comes the part that still upsets me , even though I'm Training kind of Hard, I can't run fast , in every 10K Race I'm doing I'm the one who is running in the Back , just in front of the Walkers . If other Runners hope to break the 5 min /Km Mark I hope to break the 7:30min/ Km.
 I had races where Walkers have been faster than me .
I have to say that took a huge amount of willpower not to be too disappointed about that, I'm guessing a lot of People who Read that just think what a Wimp and that might be true,  but what I want to say with this is , if you are an Alpha 1 and have no obvious Symptoms you still might be very different to the runner next to you who is same age , same Weight , He /She might get quite a bit faster over the Finish Line

If I look at my annual Lung functions Tests I can clearly see that it is going a bit downhill , I don't know yet where it will stop but I have sworn to myself I will do everything in my Power to keep as healthy as Possible.
I have therefor certain Rules in my life which I rather strictly follow these Days :
Stress , I do NOT allow negative Stress , I have changed Jobs , I actually have changed the country ( More about that in another Post  )  , basically I have changed my whole Life .
These Days I enjoy my Job , I enjoy my Life and if I  have sometimes a Stressful workday it is not negative Stress
I think this was the most important Change in my Life , I really believe that Stress is a mayor Health Factor
Everything else fell afterwards  into place , it took ages to loose Weight to change eating Habits but when my Stress was gone I had time to concentrate on this. it took  over a span of over 5 Years to get where I'm now. I hope that I will be at the end of this Year on  normal Weight but if not then I accept it and will continue to improve my eating habits.
Sport is these Days a major factor in my Life and that is what this blog will be about the Alpha (MZ)  who took up Sport and wants to blog how far I can get . I want to know how far I can improve with my Age and will compare this with my annual Health Check

Welcome to the World of an Alpha-1

Let me start with a short Intro what what Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency  is and what it can cause , here is the official Statement from the  Alpha 1 Organisation :


Alpha-1-Antitrypsin Deficiency (Alpha-1) is a genetic disorder that can cause liver and lung disease in children and adult


Alpha-1 Antitrypsin is an important protein produced by the liver, which is released into the bloodstream and travels to the lungs.  Once inside the lungs it provides protection from the destructive effects of infections and harmful irritants, particularly tobacco smoke


I will go into exact Details over the course of this Blog but here is a short info what does that actually mean . People with Alpha 1 , could go through their life with no Symptoms in their whole life ,they probably don't even know that they have it, the other extreme is, people might need a Liver or Lung transplantation 


So in which category do I fall in ? To be honest I don't know yet , in theory I should be fine , I have only "half" a bad Gene ( I'm a Mz type ) and I should have enough protection in my Body to never ever get real symptoms. That's the theory , unfortunately no one can give me a guarantee on this, because there are plenty of people out there with my Gene Combination who have real Heath issues . So that's the general Stuff out of the Way, I will finish this now and in my next Blog will put myself in and what I'm doing and i guess why I'm doing it