The Physical Shinn (Prior)
Last update: November 5, 2024
The John Shinnick Website
The Physical Shin (Prior)
My Body on the Road
This month’s essays are dedicated to my recent cross-country road trip. In my main article, I looked at the basic trip itself. My Homeowner article talked about taking a new car on the trip (I consider my car to be a part of my home). My Music section discusses guitar on the road. I’ve even posted some photos in my long-neglected Travel section.
But how did my body react to the trip? This was a trip covering over 5,500 miles over seventeen days, the bulk of it being on the first and final eight. This is far longer than any drive in the last five years. How would my body respond, and how would I manage my health?
My first fear was that the new car would not be as comfortable as the old one. It’s much smaller and how comfortable it would be on such a drive was a big question mark. As it turned out, this was not a problem at all. No hint of a sore back or neck or shoulders. I attribute this to my daily two-mile walks, taking numerous breaks along the way, and probably the car being ergonomically sound.
Probably related to the above, I generally slept well, even with the time zone changes. I had a couple of nights on the return trip that were less than ideal, and one morning I woke up at 5:30, too early. But overall, I slept well. I actually had brought a few sleeping pills, but took only one. As for staying awake, I had one cup of coffee in the morning (I avoided more so I wouldn’t have to pee too much – this strategy was successful) and on days when I had long drives after the coffee wore off, I took 5-Hour Energy Shots, never more than one a day, I think nine in all.
I was surprised that I was letter perfect with my meds, missing not one dose of anything. I also checked myself for Afib every morning, as this affects the dose of one of the pills. I had thought to bring some extra Metoprolol in case I needed to up the dose. I didn’t – my heart was on its best behavior the whole trip.
My diet was horrible. Lots of junk food, McDonald’s and Burger King were frequent stops. I could / should have had more salads. I had pizza on my last night, eating two slices for dinner and putting the other four in the motel room’s refrigerator for breakfast the next morning and noshing. I forgot about it. Darn. At any rate, I gained five pounds on the trip. Further, my daily two-mile walks were suspended. I’m definitely feeling the difference now that I’m back doing them again. This should be a short-term problem.
Part of my Afib routine is that I never have more than two drinks (generally wine) a week. If I’m in Afib, I don’t drink at all. And I never drink two days in a row. Well, I had a glass of wine my last night in Michigan, but the next day I made a spur of the moment decision to try to go to Shinnick’s Pub in Chicago. I’m not related to those Shinnicks, but it just seemed the right thing to do since I’d tried to do this many years before and found it to be closed. Today the pub was supposed to open at one that day. I arrived at three.
For me. this is great for long spells of driving. It's the only time I use it, but for that one purpose, it seems to keep me awake and alert. (Grape is the best!)
As for my two-days-in-a-row provision, I could rationalize and simply buy a beer and take only one sip. Just a sip wouldn’t count, would it? Or a non-alcoholic beer would work even better, but would it really be the same? I could just grant myself a pass after nearly two years of flawless adherence to my routine (note, my cardiologist didn’t impose this, only that my protocol was reasonable). Or order a gin and tonic, hold the gin, no, that would be like non-alcoholic beer. So many choices, so little time. But wait, the place was shut tight as a drum. I asked a guy who lived next door about it, and he told me that they generally didn’t open until two or three. I then met a neighbor who knew most of the Shinnicks in question. She called the manager to let her know I was there, but after waiting ten minutes, the pub was still closed. I left. About five minutes after leaving, I realized that it was only 2:00; I’d forgotten to reset my watch with the time zone change upon leaving Michigan. But by now I decided it was just not to be. And my obsessive-compulsive mania about drinking restrictions stands with no compromises!
So over all, from a health standpoint, the trip was a success. And I’m now pretty much over the shock of 2½ weeks on the road.
