Bouldering=Good for the Heart

So last weekend was the ABS 12 Open National championships and also the first stop on the UBC Pro Tour! I competed in qualifiers and semi-finals and placed 15th overall. For me, 15th is a big deal. For one, I placed 30th last year and to go up 15 places makes me feel so good. I also am satisfied with how placed due to what went down in the qualifying round...

11:08 am...I began my first climb for qualifiers. Flashed the first and the second problems. I came down from the 2nd problem and sat down in the chair. Suddenly, my heart skipped a beat and started racing at 300 beats per minute! This heart condition is known as Supraventricular tachycardia (SVT). I have had this before and it is still an unknown cause. When this happens, I have to sit down and do absolutely nothing until it stops due to the lack of oxygen going through my body. But, I was on problem number 2 out of 6....I'm not going to just wimp out and miss a chance at semi-finals. I trained so hard and flew in from Boston! So I decided to climb. I could only give the remaining 4 problems 1 good go and even still I would fall off halfway due to muscle failure from the lack of oxygen. Every climb was a constant fight for consciousness and my chest was unbearably painful. After the 6th problem, I stumbled over to the medical tent where the staff couldn't even count a pulse because my heart was beating so fast.

If someone has this abnormally fast heartbeat for too long, it can cause blood clots. I was going on an hour of a 300bpm heart rate and was therefore rushed to the hospital. There, they recorded a 260bpm heart rate which was definitely less than when I was competing. Luckily, the wonderful doctors at Boulder Community Hospital were able to bring my heart down to a 120bpm rate, which was out of SVT range. I placed 20th in qualifiers, making it into one of the least slots for semi's. The next day my heart was still beating at 120bpm, but fortunately didn't increase. I was able to move down to 15th place, where I now end my ridiculous tale.

I am blogging about this because I think it is important for people to hear that someone tried their hardest for something they love. I believe that there is no excuse to quitting and I certainly showed it. So next time you are climbing and you think your cut hurts and you don't want to push it, think of this blog post. It is a good reminder to realize what you want and to push to your limits no matter what. No one ever said that climbing was safe in the first place!