Well I had my exercise echocardiogram yesterday. I only lasted 14 mins on the treadmill which was increasing with speed and gradient every three mins. My heart rate got up to 190 by the end and my blood pressure was 165/80. I then watched while they did an ultrasound of my heart. To use a cliché it was awesome to see, similar to seeing an ultrasound of an unborn baby. The brief report from the cardiologist was that my heart was looking good, but he will send a full report to my local doctor. What wasn't looking so good afterwards was my front. The technician made patterns by shaving some hairs for the electrodes to connect properly. I had to do some manscaping when I got home to make myself respectable, although I did a rough job of it. .........but I digress!

So I now feel more motivated to go ahead and start my exercising with intensity. Today I went for a run before work and I only worked half a day so had a swim on the way home!

So I've done some research and I reckon I need to exercise while maintaining a HR of about 150-160. This is just what I got off the internet so who knows how accurate it is, but it makes sense. It sounds like it is my resting heart rate that tells me how fit I am. I need to try and remember to take that when I wake up tomorrow. They say the most accurate time of obtaining a resting HR is just after you've woken and while still in bed. Son gave me a heart rate monitor for Christmas, so I'll be able to check my HR whilst exercising.

I feel like I've begun and i'm also feeling very positive about it. It's a project which hopefully will become a habit before I lose interest!

Stay tuned.