Nothing But Blood Runs- Heart Failure

     Lately I've been pushing myself pretty hard in my running workouts. Hills have been my best friend and worst enemy. And today, I tackled my worst enemy, the hill I haven't been able to get up without stopping to walk for two years. Not only did I make it up it, but I ran up it. Finally, this is a marvelous day. Sadly, this hill was about half a mile into my run, so it was only the beginning. I was absolutely beat when I made it to the top, and the rest of my run was just miserable.
     Here's the strangest part to it all. I could taste nothing but blood as I reached the top of the hill and for the rest of my entire run. And this wasn't the first time. I noticed a correlation between the more strenuous the workout is the more often I can taste nothing but blood in my mouth.
     I did my research, and what I found made my heart sink into my stomach. I'm still not over it. Tasting blood while you're running or a metallic taste is actually a mild form of heart failure. So that's great to know, right? Not! If you're anything like me you're probably really scared. You're not alone, I was terrified when I learned this.
     But heart failure isn't really the correcting wording for what's going on. What it is, is simply your heart not being able to keep up with the rest of your body. So basically, it's when you're pushing yourself too hard and your heart can't keep up with your body. Better yet, it's common. So you're not alone. And you shouldn't be worried.
    So if you took Biology (as I did last year) and remember anything about blood cells, you may understand this better. But basically our red blood cells carry hemoglobin. Hemoglobin gets carried by central iron. When you're pushing yourself too hard (such as those nasty hills) fluid tends to accumulate in your lungs (nasty, right?) and that's where some of your red blood cells can accumulate. Even better, we cough that fluid up into our mouth, where we pick up the taste of iron, or blood. Yuck.
     Lucky for you, you don't need to be worried. Your heart is simply having trouble keeping up with the physical activity you are doing! You're good to go! (397)