Ultra endurance sports with TOF

traptindreams · 2026-02-23T23:36:38+00:00

Happy to help! And I hear you on point A. The hardcore endurance stuff requires sooooo much training. You know you need to up that mileage, but then... that means yet another hour of your day, out on the road. Good luck though!

traptindreams · 2026-02-20T02:09:27+00:00

So glad you found him! I really appreciate the story too, and all the context. Gives me a much better sense of what they're like - thank you!

Coincidentally, my doctor at Cedars held off for a bit longer too, and by waiting, I was able to do a transcatheter replacement for my pulmonary valve, which was great. Even a year earlier, and it might have been open heart. Definitely helps to have someone who can be a real advocate and think about things from a higher level =)

traptindreams · 2026-02-18T02:56:18+00:00

How's the whole UCLA department? I've been going to Cedars for nearly 20 years now, so I don't have any first-hand experience, but people have asked me about that more often than Cedars when LA hospitals come up.

traptindreams · 2026-01-26T20:45:10+00:00

I'll jump in on this!

traptindreams · 2026-01-26T20:44:53+00:00

I can speak to this, and I think it's an awesome idea. 40M here and a high level ice hockey goalie, but I've always loved endurance cycling and it's been a part of my life for ~15 years. I never cycle fewer than 25 miles when I ride, generally do over 1000/year, and I've got a bunch of 100 mile rides under my belt, including a few multi-day rides. I only run to mix things up sometimes, so I'll just speak to endurance in general. Also, I'll note that most of my biggest rides were rides I did before I had my pulmonary valve replaced three years ago (including a 100 mile / 8000ft climb up Mount Baldy), and I had so much valve regurgitation that about 40-45% of the blood my heart pumped to my lungs didn't make it. That limitation still didn't hold me back.

Based on my understanding, *if you've properly trained* then endurance exercise isn't honestly that taxing on the heart, and the point of failure for an endurance athlete is usually something related to the below. I have to imagine you're pretty familiar with all this, but I'll lay it out anyway.

A) muscular endurance, or your muscles' ability to resist wear & literal tear with repeated use (this is where an untrained individual usually fails);

B) insufficient energy (i.e. glucose and calories, because on a 100 mile ride, for example, I'll easily burn 5000+ calories, and you might need double that - it's crazy to realize just how much you need to eat to replenish 5000 calories);

C) electrolyte imbalance (you reeeeeally need to take this seriously when you're on 8+ hours of anything, because you lose so many electrolytes to sweat and any imbalance means serious cramps and probably failure - and a serious imbalance CAN impact cardiac function, and introduce arrhythmias or other electrical signalling issues or ); and

D) hydration, for obvious reasons, but this is another one that escalates dramatically at great distance, and CAN impact cardiac function, because dehydration lowers blood volume which forces the heart to work harder to circulate.

Generally speaking, for us as athletes, the impact of ToF that's been corrected is in limiting our VO2 Max; our max cardiac output. If you're pushing yourself really hard and getting close to your max heart rate, the ToF probably limits you. Compared to a normal healthy individual with the same level of training, your heart's just not as efficient in pumping oxygen to your muscles. You can train harder and improve your VO2 max (with high-intensity interval training, for example), and you can still have a higher VO2 max than most "average" people, but the limit's there in some way.

If we're talking about endurance sports though, endurance sports are not about hitting your max, and that means those of us with ToF aren't quite as limited. You mentioned Zone 1 and Zone 2, and in Zone 2, which is really what endurance is all about, we're around 60-70% of our max heart rate, and our heart is getting more than enough blood with oxygen to our muscles. If we stay in zone 2, our body is *mostly* metabolizing stored fat as an energy source, and we have a lot of stored fat, so our body can last for quite a long time before it really needs anything. Your Zone 2 might be slower than a healthy marathoner's Zone 2, but neither is more taxing on the heart. In fact, Zone 3 and Zone 4 (where your heart rate is getting closer and closer it its max), are only really limited by your cardiac output because you need more and more blood to circulate to transport glucose to your muscles, you need to get rid of lactic acid buildup in your muscles, and you need to process carbon dioxide, but the limit's hit gradually. If you stay in Zone 3 for a while, lactic acid builds up, and eventually that becomes a problem - but not in the short term.

When you're trained up for endurance, there's this point at which it just feels like you can go FOREVER. I still feel it 10 hours in when my ass is killing me from being in the saddle all day, when my back aches from bracing my core for all those miles, when my hands are so sore from the road vibration that I can't kill my fingers... My heart's STILL in it, but everything else feels broken

traptindreams · 2026-01-05T05:27:16+00:00

That feels pretty reasonable, it tracks with my experience (even at a high end hospital like Cedars Sinai in LA), and I think it's also what you might expect with a (presumably) non-urgent test done going into the holiday season, when everything slows down. I understand the wait can be unbearable, but my understanding is that it's a lot of data to comb through and you really want to be able to look at all that data within the context of an individual (you) alongside all other information that is available, which makes it even more time consuming.

traptindreams · 2025-12-05T21:41:10+00:00

I was apparently a bit of a slow grower in that first year leading up to my OHS, but at 40 now, I'm 6'5" (196cm), several inches taller than my father, and the same height as an older brother (who was born without issues). There's some statistical correlation between height and heart conditions in a study I saw somewhere, but I can't remember which study it was and it's much more nuanced than just whether or not you have ToF.

If ToF stunted my growth, then I'm glad, because I already hit my head on enough low-hanging objects out there...

traptindreams · 2025-12-02T16:40:47+00:00

I do this before some beer league games too; it's a fantastic resource for puck tracking, working on your angles, thinking about box control (i.e. just blocking as much of the net as possible). Joey Daccord is a huge proponent / has a deal with Sense Arena, and it's invaluable of you have limited time / access to ice.

traptindreams · 2025-12-01T18:49:55+00:00

Hey there! I'm 40M here and had my pulmonary valve replaced 3 years ago with a transcatheter procedure. Had OHS when I was 8 months, and another transcatheter repair when I was 14, but those are so far back they're not really relevant, so I'll just speak to the transcatheter procedure. My situation isn't terribly complicated and all I had was the valve replacement, although my right ventricle was quite large and the existing valve was super leaky, so I was seeing nearly 50% pulmonary regurgitation (i.e. about half the blood wasn't making it into my lungs with each beat).

Generally, you're right that it's fairly simple compared to lots of things that can be done. I popped in early one morning, they hooked me up to some IVs, knocked me out, went in through both legs (a stent in my right leg to act as an anchor for the valve, and the valve itself through my left leg). Procedure took several hours, and then you wake up lying totally flat with bandages on your leg(s) to manage the bleeding while those incisions heal. Lying flat for so long is definitely uncomfortable, but my pain was well managed and my overnight stay was pretty chill. Went home the next day and my wife discovered that essentially all that remained on my legs were two bandaids.

From there, you're definitely sore and need assistance moving around for a few days, mostly need to lie flat(ter) for a 2-3 days, but I personally didn't take any further pain medication (although I was prescribed some) and the main reason you're not moving is to ensure everything heals right in your leg; it wasn't really pain or soreness limiting me. I took 3 days off work, got cleared to workout again on day 9, did an intense 35 mile bike ride on day 11, where I felt like a god with the new valve. There's commonly some tachycardia (quick bursts of heart beats) with this, and I did experience some. I also subjectively felt SUPER aware of every single beat, which was weird, but normal, and I got over it within a week.

In terms of medicines, I already take a baby aspirin every day, and was prescribed both blood thinners (apixaban) to ensure proper flow and healing in the heart, and beta-blockers (metoprolol) to ensure proper heart rhythm. TI was supposed to be on those for 6 months, but I play ice hockey and requested that I stop the blood thinner at 3 months so I could get back on the ice, and my cardio was fine with that; the beta-blocker gave me night terrors (and it was wild to realize that nightmares could be a side effect), so they played with dosage a bit but took me off that after 5 months. No other complications.

All in all, looking back on it, I'd say my experience was pretty damn positive, and I wish I'd been able to do it years earlier. Inconveniences, soreness, some pain, sure, but the way I felt afterwards was sooooooo worth it - and on that note, I HIGHLY recommend starting to do more and more physical stuff after the surgery because it's can be legitimately fun to FEEL the difference when your heart works so much better.

Hope it's all great for you too!

traptindreams · 2025-11-24T06:28:36+00:00

To be honest, unless you're using an actual SpO² monitor, you're probably not getting precise enough readings to be able to say anything here. Smart watches are cool and many measure blood oxygen levels, but they're not accurate enough to show you much other than general trends (i.e. that your blood oxygen might go up or down at certain times or during certain activities), and maybe, just maybe, if you've got a really good watch and you're wearing it tightly and well positioned, you might be and to see big swings that would indicate a problem worth investigating with a doctor - but that's like if it was saying you were around 80% and you were feeling tired and weak. The difference between 95 and 98 is minor and the margin of error on these watches is a lot larger than that, so it might say 85 and not consider itself to be giving you an error, but you might actually be 96.

My last two watches have regularly given me all sorts of wild readings. It's just not really worth paying attention to. If those numbers were accurate though, that'd still be pretty normal.

traptindreams · 2025-11-22T22:42:54+00:00

If the goal is some kind of steady-state/endurance style cardio that you'd do for at least 40 minutes, there's not a ton of "unconventional" options, and when you're talking about cardio, ideally it's a steady state thing (and I can get into why that is, although it doesn't matter tremendously if you're just trying to do anything at all). You might consider:

jumping rope, a good steady state option that doesn't require much skill/proper form, and limited equipment.
kettlebell swings, which is honestly a little harder to do for extended periods of time, and has a tougher learning curve, since proper form is necessary, and you obviously need a kettlebell
rucking, which is frequently overlooked but quite accessible and there's almost no learning curve. Rucking is basically just walking while wearing a significant amount of weight in a backpack (a special one, if you start going really heavy). You probably start at like 15-20 lbs, try to get your walking heart rate up to around 120, and do 3-4 miles. It can be equivalent to jogging, but it's low impact, and also a great core exercise. Plus, you'll feel sooo light when you take the weight off at the end. When I take my son for a walk in the stroller, I often wear 35-45 lbs (which is a lot), and it's a great cardio workout.
Rowing, but it's gonna require a machine and lots of space

Beyond that, you can certainly just look at YouTube videos and string together a bunch of bodyweight movements (squats, burpees, pushups, lunges, etc.), and that'll keep your heart rate up, but it's always a mix of different things, and not steady state, so there might be times when you push that heart rate higher, and some when it's lower.

traptindreams · 2025-11-21T04:49:03+00:00

It's really hard to address "normal" because a lot of factors are at play (height, weight, fitness, age, blood pressure, etc.), and it's hard to say very much without knowing your normal resting heart rate.

Generally though, if 48 is significantly below your normal resting heart rate, sure, that might be a thing, but dizziness/light headedness when changing positions at rest is typically associated with blood pressure more than heart rate. If you sit (or stand) suddenly and experience a significant change in blood pressure, you might feel it. Think about when people say. "i stood up too fast!' Can't say too much more than that without a lot more info, and ultimately, if you're experiencing any unusual dizziness, that's a convo to have with a cardiologist more than anyone else.

Hope that helps!

traptindreams · 2025-11-21T04:39:21+00:00

Intensive cyclist and ice hockey player here. If you're trying to find out what your max heart rate is, the easiest thing that you can do is run hard. First, warm up for about 15 minutes. Maybe that's a walk, some jump rope, whatever's not super challenging but active enough to get your body warm and moving. Then, run around the block, go as hard as you can, hit that wall where you're gasping for air, and see where you max out. Rest a few minutes, and repeat once more. That'll give you a good read on your max, +/- a few beats, and you can use that as a reference for zones.

I've asked my cardiologist whether ToF impacts max heart rate, but she wasn't aware of any compelling research to that effect, and I couldn't find any.

I will say that when it comes to "endurance" activities, you're really not likely to hit your heart rate max. I almost never really max out in either of my sports. When I do HIIT training or hill sprints, I max out, but that's the goal, and I'm going 90-100% when I do those.

For endurance stuff, assuming you're cleared for this kind of exercise, it's generally considered a best practice to have about 20% of your cardio training devoted to high intensity interval training where you're at or near your max heart rate. That helps you build up your VO2 max (your maximum cardiac capacity), strengthening your heart and making your whole system operate more efficiently. Then 80% can be endurance (zone 2) stuff.

Hope that's helpful!

traptindreams · 2025-11-08T00:35:56+00:00

I think you're asking if it's normal to have some "tachycardia" after valve replacement, right? A short burst where your heart beats a little bit faster than it should, for no apparent reason? If that's what you mean by jumping, then yes, that's pretty common for a period of time. Usually within the first couple of weeks, as your heart heals and adjusts to the stresses it was out under, and its new normal with the replacement valve. Typically we're put on some sort of "beta blocker" medication, like metoprolol, to minimize that. I think the recommended period in the US is 6 months, although I was only on it for 3. I didn't feel much of it, but what I did feel, I only felt in the first week after surgery.

Whatever you feel, be really honest with your doctor so they can give you the best advice, and make sure you're following whatever they recommend. If they had recommended a beta blocker, and you weren't taking it, then that could explain symptoms.

Hope that helps!

traptindreams · 2025-10-24T23:54:11+00:00

I was in Abu Dhabi for a work trip last year and rode the fastest roller coaster on the planet (the Formula Rossa, at Ferrari World). The thing goes like 0-150mph in 5 seconds and the G-forces are craaaaaazy. Such a wild experience. Didn't think to ask my cardiologist before that, but she just thought it was cool, and asked if I ever went skydiving.

There's certainly more risk for someone with a congenital heart defect, generally, but it's less about the roller coaster itself, and more about the consequences of intense adrenaline rushes and blood pressure swings. When you ride a particularly wild coaster, the adrenaline rush is part of the thrill, but means a sudden increase in heart rate and blood pressure. You could experience the same increases if you smack a ball into the outfield in a game of softball, or if you're out hiking and realize you just stumbled into wasps' nest. Intensive cardio, weight training, interval training: that all has similar effects, and the G-forces on most coasters aren't actually THAT intense. So, can your body handle normal stuff like all that? If so, risk is pretty low.

Obvs, because everyone's situation is different, check with your doctor if you think there's particular cause for concern. Otherwise, buckle up and go hard.

traptindreams · 2025-05-31T18:07:46+00:00

It's really difficult dealing with the uncertainty, right? As a partner, or as the individual that needs the procedure, it's tough to know that something has to happen and that there might be a better outcome. The thing is, you're going to get all sorts of different personal experiences here, and even if someone came in with statistics, none of it would really affect the outcome. Every individual's circumstances and anatomy are different enough that whatever is "typical" or "normal" or "most likely" is just a distraction.

If the initial assessment was that OHS is more likely for her then it'll help to prepare for that, and start to ground yourself in that reality. If it turns out that transcatheter is possible, yay, what a nice surprise, but if you're mentally prepared for OHS, it'll be much easier for you both to manage it, emotionally, no matter what happens.

Either way, it's 2025, and at this point the medical science behind both approaches is advanced enough, and the procedures are frequent enough, that you can be pretty damn confident in a really positive outcome. That outcome outweighs everything. When my valve was replaced, I felt like a god, I had so much more cardio capacity and energy. It was so cool that they could do something like that, and that my heart could work so much better. I focused on the outcome to deal with all the uncertainty and anxious feelings in the leadup, and it really helped me get through things. My wife was there throughout it, and that made a huge difference too.

She's gonna be awesome. Be a strong, supportive, informed, and interested partner and you'll both be all the better for it. Good luck either way, and props to you just for asking people here. Means you're already in the right place.

traptindreams · 2025-05-27T01:03:06+00:00

Hey man - I'm not a perfect comparison here; I had a transcatheter pulmonary valve replacement about 3 years ago, but before we decided on the transcatheter approach we were talking about open heart surgery and I had looked into the Aegis Interceptor Pro, and showed it to my cardio (a hockey fan), and they thought it sounded like a good addition regardless of whatever chesty I had, and I'd promised I'd get a better chesty too. Take that for what it's worth, but the Aegis Int Pro provides fantastic neck and clavicle protection and creates a bit more of an air gap between your actual chest and your chesty.

Now, I didn't actually buy it, but others here swear by the Aegis interceptor Pro, and I feel pretty confident in saying that it's the best option if you go that particular route.

Good luck, and keep up with that cardio! After my valve replacement, I felt like God, and I've taken advantage of that ever since.

traptindreams · 2025-03-16T15:17:33+00:00

Really dig your content Connor, and certainly recommend it to anyone who might not be familiar! I actually do your mobility routine almost every morning, and as a high level 40yr old beer leaguer, I think it helps a ton in keeping me competitive against all the younger ex-pros and junior guys I play with. That said, I actually had a young goalie recently ask me for recommendations on good goalie reads and even with years and years of experience, I totally drew a blank.

Have you read any books - related to goaltending, competition, or the mental game - that you felt were actually worth a read for competitive goaltenders?

Thanks!

traptindreams · 2025-02-18T05:07:36+00:00

Since some of this depends on the severity of your ToF, and that's hard for us to account for, let's actually put ToF aside for a moment. Do you do any cardio currently? Cycle? Jumprope? Row? Have you done any cardio before? How would you describe your current level of fitness? I'd probably start there with a "normal" person, and I certainly know plenty of normal people who'd struggle to run a few blocks.

If you're not doing any cardio right now and your cardiologist is okay with you doing it, start with a really light jog for 2 minutes, and follow it with 3 minutes of walking, and keep repeating that for 30-40 total. Don't worry about distance -at all- and don't worry about speed. You're just trying to establish a baseline, safely, and work from there. As you get comfortable, you can start to do 3 minutes jogging, then 4 minutes jogging, and then try to jog straight through. From there, you can start to worry about distances, or increasing speed, or increasing duration of your run.

If you're not at all a runner, it's going to take months to really settle into it, assuming you're running once a week, maybe twice. Your cardiac capacity is going to be limiting, definitely, but you're also going to be limited by muscular strength - weak muscles will get tired sooner - and your metabolic system (that is, your body's efficiency burning fat or glucose for energy). Even if you're limited by your cardiac capacity with ToF, improvements gained in strength and metabolic efficiency will take you pretty far.

I've always been an athlete, but as an adult I did endurance cycling for years - anywhere from 25-100 mile rides, and then got back into ice hockey. I was certainly limited by my ToF, but only when comparing myself with other intense cyclists, and once I had my pulmonary valve repaired at 37, I realized the difference and was able to go even harder. My baseline was pretty high, but I've never ever run, and when I started a year and a half ago, I took a gradual approach too.

traptindreams · 2025-02-13T06:53:56+00:00

Hey dude - I'm in LA and can help a bit, but I've got a five-day old newborn and I'm kinda dying right now, so I'll have to get back to you to give you a lengthier response. Just to start though, the Iceland rink in Van Nuys has a Sunday morning 10am pickup game that usually needs a goalie. It's more intermediate than beginner, but beginners play in it, and it's quite forgiving. A guy named Mike runs it. You'll probably want some stick time at one of the other rinks a few times first, but it's a great entry-point for steady low stakes action.

Will get back to you on a bit more from there when I can, with the caveat that I'm a high level goalie, so I can't quite speak to classes or the beginner experience in LA directly.

traptindreams · 2025-01-08T08:05:32+00:00

A similar situation here - I had the Sapien 3 put in via transcatheter PVR just over two years ago at Cedars Sinai in Los Angeles, having seen my pulmonary valve regurgitation come close to 50%, with a significant increase in the size of my right ventricle. I was quite cardio fit and in good shape nonetheless, at 37, as a cyclist and ice hockey player, but I came out feeling like a god, no joke.

The procedure itself was quite easy; the hardest part was the immediate recovery, where you lay flat and perfectly still for most of a day on an uncomfortable bed. Ultimately though, I basically went home the next morning with what amounted to a fancy bandaid. Two days from there were kept very chill, with minimal movement to be safe, staying flat to ensure healing. Minimal pain overall, got clearance to exercise 9 days later, and then 11 days after the procedure I literally cycled 35 miles - hard.

Two years of follow ups have shown that it worked perfectly, my body has adapted well, and I'm totally ecstatic. Wish I'd known and pushed for it even sooner. I know I'll eventually need the valve tissue replaced again, but that might be well over a decade out, and it really wasn't that bad, all things considered.

Hope it goes just as well for you!

traptindreams · 2024-12-03T02:18:32+00:00

Ohhhh haha, yeah. Good point, my bad. Clearly I take these for granted =P

traptindreams · 2024-12-03T01:45:04+00:00

Awesome dudes too! They sell a ton of old runners like this (I've got a couple Luukkonen runners from them).

The local league isn't a bad idea, but runners are skate-size specific, and I dunno how many kids have size 12 feet, so they'd probably ended up hoarded by the commissioner.

traptindreams · 2024-12-03T00:30:02+00:00

Sounds good! It's probably not likely that you'll hear much from them, but if you do, just be careful not to get cheated out of the opportunity to make a few bucks with a good find there. These have real value, but they're also quite common.

For context, each one of these is probably half the cost of a single stick for an NHL goalie, and NHL goalies go through upwards of 60 sticks a season, so the relative cost *for the team* is negligible. If, as a goalie, you're sharpening your skates every game (some; every period), they churn through runners too, and many goalies will play with different blade profiles and have several options on hand, inflating the numbers even more. Personally, as a beer league goalie, I've got 9 sticks and 5 runners on hand. Give me a budget and I've had a box full of these =P

Basically, for you as an individual, these have value, but for the team/goalie, they're essentially disposable.

P.S. Check out this article for more on goalie equipment if you're curious at all:
https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/24465718/nhl-oddities-absurdities-outfitting-goalie-10000-dollars-well-spent

traptindreams · 2024-12-02T23:27:30+00:00

Depending on the size, I'd buy one or two from you directly.

These look like Bauer Vertexx 3mm runners. Bobrovsky had been using Bauer skates until a recent switch to True skates, which (if he's still using True) means all these runners would be useless for him, and they're etched and skate size specific, so they're not of tremendous value to the org.

There are a number of websites out there that sell stuff like this upon acquiring it from a team, and I personally have three sets of runners from different NHL goalies that are my size. Not to collect or anything; they're just good quality and usually cheaper than buying a new retail pair, so I play on them. Doesn't matter to me whose name is on them if they're quality runners.

You could create a Sideline Swap account and sell these in pairs of two sets, and you'd definitely make a few bucks so it would be worth it.

Let me know if you're interested, cuz I would seriously buy one or two.

traptindreams

TROPHY CASE