Someone told me Joe’s been having heart troubles.
Yeah, I guess so… he has too much heart. He’s in third place… overall men’s!
Rock on, Joe!
I noticed this too and was surprised, but happy to see him back. Can anyone elaborate on his condition? Is he cured, symptom limited, or ?
support crew said he was having atrial fibrillation (arrhythmia in the atrial chamber of the heart) that seemed to be triggered by open water swims in cold water…So, now that he is out of the water, hopefully he is fine…
This condition is actually treatable by surgery (ablation therapy) and using other means (identifying triggers and eliminating them…although in joe’s case that would mean stopping tris), supplementation with Mg, Selenium, Co-Q10, L-Carnitine and a bunch of stuff…reducing stress, eliminating coffee and other stimulants.
I just got back from IMLP the water temp was was warm very close to a non wetsuit event. The weather was great. Cool in the morning with no wind.The high is 80f.The swim was great 1856 swimmers. Only a fue dfn’s for the swim.A lady had a panic attack.Steve was the last swimmer out of the water #1610. A large crowd (600) cheered him on to the bike.Very nice for Steve.
Dirt (lifeguard)
He’s not cured, but he is certifiable. Certified crazy that is.
He has changed a few things since his first episode of A-Fib during IM AZ. This is his first IM since then and he seems to be fine. It is all a guess when and if he will have more problems with the A-Fib.
So the Male Amateur just finished and was first across the line, despite a 35 minute deficit start. Tony Delonge, 31 and its said to be his first IM.
The condition usually gets worse over time. My first episode came after a seventy mile ride/ten mile run brick, I was cruising home about seven miles on the bike whem my heart blew. It was over a year until the next. It was four years from my first episode until I had to have an Ablation. There not fun but done as an outpatient. Unfortunately they run around $70,000 dollars. Don’t ask me why? I was only in the hospital eight hours. They have a high failure rate and usually require a second or third treatment. Mine failed after eight months although I came back for one year and manage to climb back into AA shape. Unforunately something else came along and knocked me back almost terminating my life. I still train at around 60% of my former level but there is no point racing anymore after running up front for years. As it is the sport changed and the cost have escalated to a point where I had already cut my race schedule from ten to twelve races a year to three or four.
I would expect that Joe has a 50/50 chance of surviving in the sport before he ages up again. If he can’t learn to back off then he probably is nearing the end of a great run. I doubt he would want to go on as a MOP. The thrill is in the chase and when it goes you have to make a lateral move.
Hi Cavebear.
My husband has had several bouts with A-fib, but so far, no ablation, just the cardio-version procedure.
Can you tell me how old you are? He’s 56 and his first episode was 10 years ago. I just want a barometer.
Thanks, and be well!
Good call, cavebear. Although not suffering from this special condition, I also have trouble with my heart. Without going too much into detail, all of it is certifiable coming from screwing around with my body way too much when I was younger (training while sick and not getting the proper recovery and treatment for viral infections etc.).
Since I want to live the rest of my live and still swim, ride and run, I made the decision to keep the livestyle (with the Drs. permission), but to forgo the racing and hard training. It is very hard to let the guys go if they rev it up from the 70-80 percentile of what you could do even right now. You know that you could hang with them and are still stronger than some of them. This is very hard to do and everybody who can still participate in our sport with a mental “restrictor plate” has all my respect.
We don’t know, Mr. Bonness maybe did just have an easy training session out there 
I would expect that Joe has a 50/50 chance of surviving in the sport before he ages up again.
This was his last race before he ages up in September, so I guess that changes the odds.
Joe backed off considerable since his diagnosis in March. He expects the condition may worsen over time, and I expect he will not find much motivation as a MOP athlete, even though that’s how he started 20 yrs ago. Fortunately it is not a life threatening condition and until it become a problem, I expect to see him at the start line.
Many years ago there was an article in Inside Tri titled, “Alligators and 3 Ironman in 4 weeks can’t stop Joe Bonness”. We can now add - heart conditions to the list.
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