RUNNING THE RIDGE FOR HEARTS & SOULS: LOCAL CHARITY APPEAL


RUNNING THE RIDGE FOR HEARTS & SOULS: APPEAL

PLEASE DONATE HERE :  https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/runtheridge-heartsandsouls 
 
I’m again raising money in aid of HEARTS & SOULS having previously completed the London Bridges walk in 2017 and the Thames Valley Summer walk last summer, this time I will be running my first ever 10K race at the age of 61 ..... 25 years, 10 months and 1 day after my last race!

 Hearts & Souls are a local voluntary run charity based in Wycombe hospital that fund the excellent cardiac rehabilitation classes which help around a 1,000 patients to recover from cardiac events each year in South Bucks. 
 
This part of the rehabilitation programme is not funded by the NHS and relies entirely on charitable and legacy donations to keep it free at the point of use at a cost of about £25,000 per year. This is not some high profile national organisation but a small local charity who rely mainly on a small pool of those who have been through the progamme to help today's patients.

My own reason for doing this is that I hadn’t ran at all since the Wycombe half marathon in 1993 when I suffered a heart attack while out walking from Bledlow Ridge on 28th Dec 2016, this was my second heart event having previously been diagnosed with unstable angina and having an angioplasty with stent in 2013, it has been a slow but steady progress to get my fitness back to a level where I am now able to run this distance.

Following the heart attack I was treated in Harefield hospital where I had my 2nd angioplasty & stent and was again invited to the award winning cardiac rehab. in Wycombe hospital in Mar 2017, this was my second time so I knew what to expect.

I found that after my first heart episode the uncertainly in your own ability to carry out even the most mundane tasks like climbing the stairs, lifting the shopping or supporting the mighty Wycombe Wanderers makes you almost too afraid to even try, that you might be over exerting yourself and god forbid, that you will give yourself a heart attack – it’s a real fear. Attending those first rehab classes had rebuilt my confidence, given me the belief that I could get back to a normal life and that playing with the grandkids wasn’t life threatening and I wanted that same reassurance again, but this time make proper life-time changes to my routines & diet with more determination to improve my health & fitness so I wouldn’t be back in another 3.5 years.
 
And so, over the past 2 years I attended the 6 weeks of cardiac rehab; 12 weeks of FFIT (football fans in training, a diet and fitness lifestyle programme run by the Wycombe Wanderers Sports & Educational Trust - promotional video featuring my good-self); increased my step count from 3,500 to 15,000 per day; started out on the weekly Wycombe Rye 5km parkrun in Oct 2017 completing my 50th run just before Christmas 2018; rejoined the FFIT boys for a weekly circuit training and recently started to extend my running with support from the local running community with runs up to 15km. I’m now feeling the benefits through increased fitness levels, weight loss, lower cholesterol, heart rate & blood pressure and improved physical and mental well-being all helping reduce the risk and fear of another heart attack.

Two years of exercising and some of the amazing people I've met along the way all captured in pictures ... here
 
I have much to be grateful to the cardiac rehab, giving me the knowledge, belief, confidence and inspiration to go on and make these changes and so wish to return the favour and help those who are now facing that same uncertainty and fear about their own future by running the challenging mixed terrain and hilly ‘Ridge Off Roader 10K’ in May. There is a good reason entering this particular race as the start and finish line are exactly where I had my heart attack in Bledlow Ridge - it's pay back time!.

Please help me to raise as much money as possible to support this vital/invaluable/essential service, you never know when you or some-one close might be grateful for their help and support.

I support this charity with a passion but limit my fund raising to once a year so like to put in as much effort as possible to each one to get the maximum return, I make no apologies for constantly pushing this. I'm not going to set a time target on this run as I suffer with angina when under exertion which can be affected by the conditions on the day and adjust my pace accordingly, but I would hope to finish in just over the hour.
 
PLEASE DONATE HERE :  https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/runtheridge-heartsandsouls 


Thank-you for taking time to read this and in anticipation of your kind support.

Peter 




Thank-you for reading and I would love to hear your thoughts on any subject I have covered, please leave your comments below or email me at peterjemmett@aol.com



My full story - from heart attack to half marathon:

Part 1 - That fateful day. (Phase I - heart attack)  click here
Part 2 - Back home & drama at White Hart Lane. (Phase II - home recovery)  click here
Part 3 - They tried to make me go to rehab, I said yes, yes, yes please. (Phase III - cardiac rehabilitation)  click here
Part 4.1 - Getting FFITer and Harefield & Heartbreak hill revisited (Phase IV - sustaining a healthy life-style)  click here
Part 4.2 - Walking for heart & soul & finding parkrun (Phase IV - sustaining a healthy life-style)  click here
Part 4.3 - End of year 1 round-up and assessment (Phase IV - sustaining a healthy life-style)  click here
Part 4.4 - Falling heart rate: fitter or hibernation? (Phase IV - sustaining a healthy life-style)  click here
Part 4.5 - Pain in the bum, going senile and sub 30! (Phase IV - sustaining a healthy life-style)  click here
Part 4.6 - Sub 29, attack of the AKI and 1 year old (Phase IV - sustaining a healthy life-style)  click here
Part 4.7 - Pushing the boundaries (Phase IV - sustaining a healthy life-style)  click here
Part 4.8 - Bling, bling, bling, two 10K's and a 5K. (Phase IV - sustaining a healthy life-style)  click here
Part 4.9 - 3 Years On, Ragged Radnage and Pete's bolus journey (Phase IV - sustaining a healthy life-style)  click here
Part 4.10 - Coping with COVID-19 and what they say (Phase IV - sustaining a healthy life-style)  click here
Part 4.11 - Living in the lock-down (Phase IV - sustaining a healthy life-style)  click here
Part 4.12 - Plus and minus 3.5 years; heart attack to half marathon! (Phase IV - sustaining a healthy life-style)  click here
Part 4.13 - Is it worth the risk? (Phase IV - sustaining a healthy life-style)  click here
Part 4.14 - Mix bag through Covid - End of year 4 (Phase IV - sustaining a healthy life-style)  click here
Part 4.15 - Getting back in the groove (Phase IV - sustaining a healthy life-style) click here
Part 4.16 - Reintegrating back into society (Phase IV - sustaining a healthy life-style)  click here
Part 4.17 - Get that crazy rhythm (the low down on AFib) (Phase IV - sustaining a healthy life-style)  click here
Part 4.18 - The 5 year itch, time to cut the CRAP! (Phase IV - sustaining a healthy life-style) click here
Part 4.19 - The last word (Phase IV - sustaining a healthy life-style) click here
 Part 4.20 - Persisting with parkrun (Phase IV - sustaining a healthy life-style) click here
Part 4.21 - Stuck in reverse (recap of 2022) (Phase IV - sustaining a healthy life-style) click here
Part 4.22 - Starting all over again 6 years on (Phase IV - sustaining a healthy life-style) click here
Part 4.23 - God bless the NHS (Phase IV - sustaining a healthy life-style) click here
Part 4.24 - What I can, when I can (Phase IV - sustaining a healthy life-style) click here
 Part 4.25 - Life changes (Phase IV - sustaining a healthy life-style) click here





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The rest of the story

Heart Attack to 10K (part 4.1) - Getting FFITer and Harefield & Heartbreak hill revisited

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GETTING FFITer. (Phase VI – sustaining a healthy life-style ) "Nothings going to happen unless you make it happen." I already knew I had an enlarged prostate, but during early April 2017 that I noticed that I was having to visit the little chairboys room a bit more frequently and it was becoming more difficult to pass water. I thought this might be due to a change in medication so mentioned it to my GP on one of my many visits. This prompted the doctor to get a little more intimate with me than I was comfortable with as he gave my prostate a little tickle (you'll probably have to pay extra for that in a house of ill repute!) and he then referred me to the Urologist. A blood test showed my PSA ( Prostate-specific antigen, a protein released from the prostate gland into the blood stream) to be 6.2, this was cause for concern as anything over 4.0 could indicate the presence of cancer cells. Normally, I believe the next stage would be to go for a biopsy, thi
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Heart Attack to 10K (part 1) - That fateful day.

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THAT FATEFUL DAY. (Phase I – heart attack) Being at a bit of a loose end and with nothing better to do during that dull period between Christmas and New Year (or the Plymouth Argyle & Cheltenham Town matches as my fellow Chairboys & girls would remember it), I decided to go for a walk in the local countryside around the rolling Chiltern hills. Overnight it had frozen, but the bright winter sunshine turned the early frost into a mist persuading me that it might make for some good atmospheric photographs. So, on Wednesday 28 th December 2016 (a date now etched into my brain) I drove out to Bledlow Ridge, parked the car in a side road just after mid-day and set out with my camera on a 6.8 mile walk that by the time I returned to the car would become an adventure I wouldn't forget in a hurry and ultimately have a dramatic change on my priorities and the way I live my life. I had been meaning to walk the Radnage area for some time and with the afternoon bright sunl
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Heart Attack to 10K (part 4.17) - Get that crazy rhythm (the low down on AFib)

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Part 4.17 - Get that crazy rhythm (the low down on AFib) (Phase VI - sustaining a healthy life-style) "Nothings going to happ en unless you ma ke it happen." I'm not sure who is actually reading this blog or even if you find it interesting or not, with little feedback it can be difficult to know how well it is received.    I'm certainly no expert and just write from my own experiences and what I have learnt by facing or overcoming certain problems as they occur, I hope by writing this blog to raise awareness on matters of the heart so others might consider their own health and fitness needs and seek medical attention, if needed, before letting things get out of hand ..... at the very least writing this stuff helps me to recall my recent medical history & achievements 😉. My biggest concern of late has without doubt been Atrial Fibrillation (also known as AFib or AF) and its quite noticeable from my conversations that many 'non-hearties' have no idea what t
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Heart Attack to 10K (part 3) - They tried to make me go to rehab, I said yes, yes, yes please

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THEY TRIED TO MAKE ME GO TO REHAB. I SAID YES, YES, YES PLEASE! (Phase III – cardiac rehabilitation) the cardiac rehab team 21 st Feb 2017 and I start phase III of my cardiac event when attending the first of 6 weeks of cardiac rehabilitation classes, but this part of the story really began back at my heart assessment 3 weeks earlier. Besides receiving my pedometer and starting an obsession in counting steps [see part 2], a series of measurements were taken which have since become the base point for tracking my subsequent progress.  My heart rate was 59, blood pressure 153/96, weight 98.2 kg, height 177cm, BMI 31.34 and waist 107cm. The Cardiac Prevention and Rehabilitation Team set long term targets against these measurements – blood pressure <140/90, weight 58-78.3kg, BMI 18.5-25 and waist <94cm. [Care4Today Cardiac Rehab video, this features the actual team I was with ..... click here ] Part of the assessment is to do a ‘shuttle walk test’ during which you wear
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Heart Attack to 10K (part 4.23) - God bless the NHS

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Part 4.23 - GOD BLESS THE NHS (Phase VI - sustaining a healthy life-style) "Nothings going to happ en unless you ma ke it happen." Just occasionally I like to write something other than about my heart condition, highlighting my appreciation, experiences or support received over the past 6 and a bit years, to this end I have already written special blogs covering Cardiac Rehab , FITT , AFib awareness and Parkrun . Today I would like to show my admiration and gratitude for the tremendous work & service given to me by the NHS , not just for my heart problems but for other aliments I suffered over the same period. Recently I have been reading a 'question & answer' social media platform where the question of health care in the USA gets heavily debated when compared to the UK and elsewhere with 'socialised healthcare' and I admit knowing very little what happens over the pond other than it being 'private' and driven by insurance with terminology su
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Heart Attack to 10K (part 4.20) - Persisting with parkrun

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  Part 4.20 - PERSISTING WITH PARKRUN (Phase VI - sustaining a healthy life-style) "Nothings going to happ en unless you ma ke it happen." I only intended to write another blog if there was something special or significant to write about; well, since the last blog in May 2022 my AFib (Atrial Fibrillation - heart arrhythmia ) has moved up a level to from paroxysmal to persistent which is a fairly significant change in lifestyle for me and as a result I would like to write my own tribute to just how important parkrun has been, especially through this period of relative inactivity as it has been the only bright spot during a period where I have become concerned about my of lack of exercise, but as crucially how it gave me the opportunity to progress my health and fitness drive soon after I completed both cardiac rehab and the Wycombe Wanderers FITT lifestyle programme in 2017, months after suffering a heart attack. Parkrun has become a constant feature throughout these blogs
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Heart Attack to 10K (part 4.6) - Sub 29, attack of the AKI and 1 year old!

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PART 4.6 - SUB 29!, ATTACK OF THE AKI & 1 YEAR OLD! (Phase VI - sustaining a healthy life-style) "Nothings going to happen unless you make it happen." I kick-off this blog still on a high from my two sub 30 parkruns from the previous blog [see part 4.5] .... I was on a roll and living the dream!  Welcome Blue Peter But it was summer so we took a much needed a break and I enjoyed few days away from it all with the Mrs down in Looe on the south Cornish coast, this was always going to disrupt my training schedule but I did manage to at least get out for a daily early morning walk along the coast path to help keep up my average step count and make up for those fried breakfast's, eating out and a couple or more local ales. This was intended as a quiet get away but everywhere we visited I kept bumping into people who wanted to talk 'football', much the my wife's annoyance, but this was not really surprising as the Wanderers were playing in Plymouth th
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Heart Attack to 10K (part 2) - Back home & drama at White Hart Lane

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BACK HOME & DRAMA AT WHITE HART LANE (Phase II – home recovery) Not the New Year's Eve I had planned but I was home!! 4 to 6 weeks off work, no driving for a month, lots of rest, no lifting – welcome to phase II of a cardiac event. Sounds good but it soon becomes tedious, never mind at last I get to see those photos that had led to all this excitement in the first place [see part 1] and that was about it for the first week or so, sitting in front either the TV or computer or reading a jolly good book I got for Christmas about a tale of a Chairboy who missed that famous FA Cup run* with the odd excursion past a few neighbours houses and back mummified with my WWFC scarf wrapped tightly around my head to keep the cold air at bay. The instructions were simple enough, plenty of rest and start slowly with gentle short walks, a little light dusting etc. and gradually build up the pace and length of the walks and resume normal daily activities over the next 4 weeks. * 
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