isolated non-conducted p-waves during sleep

I posted a similar question in the general heart forum, then saw this on rhythm.  The answer to my 1st post leads me to a specific question.  Here's the background.  I am 39 yr old male.  I have been running since high school track and have had a resting heart rate in the low 40's even high 30's for as long as I can remember.  For many years I ran 15-20 miles a week but last year I decided to take up marathoning.  I completed my 1st marathon after 6 months of specific training and noticed after the race that I was experiencing an increase in skipped beats which my doctor told me were probably PVC's and I shouldn't worry about them.  After running Boston Marathon this spring I found the frequency of the PVC's disconcerting.  My doctor suggested a holter monitor and, if indicated, an echo-cardiogram.  The Holter results came in with hundreds of PVC's but also, at night my pulse dropped as low as 26 with several pauses.  Most were less than 3 seconds but between 2 and 15 pauses (the data I have is not broken down enough) were between 4 and 5 seconds.  2 ECG plots were provided in the Holter data for these long pauses which show a single P wave with no QRS complex after it.  I suspect that this only happened 2 times in 24 hrs but definitely less than 15, all in a 1 hr period at night.  My cardiologist felt I may need a pacemaker but referred me to an arrythmea specialist for a 2nd oppinion.  I have had an echocardiogram with normal results.  I would like to be well educated when I talk to the specialist.  I have read that pauses, very low pulse at night, and AV blocks can be normal in athletes but the 2 incidents of dropped QRS complexes concern me.  In case the level of athletic performance is an indicator, I placed in the top 4% overall in Boston and typically place in the top 1-2% in local races.

Specificially, can a couple dropped QRS complexes with a preceding P-waves during sleep, in a trained athelete be be considered normal, or is it likely that it is 2nd deg type II av block and may require a pacemaker?

[RNRita]

In my opinion, and this is only an opinion, I have seen many an athlete exhibit strange cardiac abnormalities (and I say this as they are not normal to us untrained people) that would cause me to lay in a dizzy wreck on the floor.  A bradycardia like yours would leave me weak, but doesn't phase you because your body is trained for this.  That being said, the QRS complex should always be present or I would suspect an AV block of some sort.  There are athletes that do amazing things but have an underlying problem.  I would be interested to see what the EP specialist thinks and if he suggests a pacemaker, I'd be on the table in hours!  If he has seen this before, please let us know.  I would see no reason for your ventricles to ignore your sinus node, especially at such a slow rate.  Keep us informed.