What's Your Number?

I participated in a sprint triathlon today at Innsbrook, here in MO.  It was a beautiful day, sunny and warm and not too hot. What a blessing!  I had some time to think during the race and came up with a few questions.  All of the participants in the race are marked with two numbers.  One is the race number we are registered under.  The other is our age, on the back of the left calf.

The first number doesn't say much to a general observer, other than how committed we were to the race.  The numbers are ordered by when we signed up.  I was number 595.  There were only about 610 participants, so that tells everyone that I committed to this race quite late in the process.  The other number seems to garner more attention.  It is our age.  The race is started in several heats or waves according to age and gender and which course is being competed in (there was a long and a short course).  The start is in the lake swimming.  No one is really paying any attention to the numbers of others in the water.  Most of us are trying to just not drown.  However, on the bike and on the run portion of the race most of us will glance at the person's age that we are passing or who is passing us.

I notice that if I am passed by a man with a 55 on his leg, I tend to push a little harder and try to stay up with him. I don't pretend that I am going to win the race, but I would like not to be passed by someone older than myself (though that did happen twice today!).  Here's my question: If we all walked around with our blood pressure and cholesterol numbers on our forehead, would it change our behavior?  I think it is worth a thought or two.

Many of us are rather competitive at heart, but not all.  Some tend to be more fatalistic and feel that it is all out of their control.  It doesn't really matter what someone else's numbers are, does it?  I guess if that other person were a loved one we might be more inclined to try and assist and support them if we saw that they weren't so good.  Would seeing other's numbers spur us to better habits?  It might.  The most obvious benefit to me is that it would ingrain in all of us what the normal ranges are.  I know what they are but I do this for a living.  I deal with these numbers every day.  These are numbers we should all know.  It is most important to know our own numbers but it doesn't do much good to know just one number without having a value attached to them.

Here are the ranges:

                          Optimal         Borderline               Bad
B/P:                   <130/80     130-140/80-90        >140/90

Cholsterol:
Total                  <200 (depends on the breakdown though)
HDL (good)      >45                35-45                     <35
LDL (bad)         <130              130-160                >160
LDL (for those with diabetes or heart disease:
                         <70                70-100                  >100
Triglycerides      <150              150-200                 >200

So look at these numbers closely.  What are your numbers?  If you are not in the optimal range, talk to your doctor about how to improve them.  In the race of life we win by being healthy.  We can all be winners.  It is easy to get discouraged.  One of the greatest things about participating in a triathlon is that there are many spectators who cheer loudly for all of the participants.  It really gives a boost.  Let's all cheer for each other. Don't give up if you are discouraged.  Keep running and keep trying.  Your health is worth it.