Heart Attack to 10K (part 4.9) - 3 Years On, Ragged Radnage and Pete's bolus journey

PART 4.9 - 3 YEAR'S ON, RAGGED RADNAGE AND PETE'S BOLUS JOURNEY
(Phase VI - sustaining a healthy life-style)

"Nothings going to happen unless you make it happen."

There are times when I think sod it, I'm just too tired and can't be bothered to carry on with this running malarkey and healthy eating. I just want to get back to a 'normal life' where I can laze around if I want and eat and drink as I please and to hell with the consequences and there are many times over the past year I have fallen to temptations way beyond the 'occasional treat', especially where food and drink are concerned.

It gets hard trying to stick to the plan but thankfully these feelings are only fleeting as I quickly remind myself of the incredible progress I have made in the last 3 years and more importantly the benefit's I hope they are bringing, there is no way I want to undo all I have done and feel guilty when I do give in to the odd indulgence knowing only too well how quickly things could revert back to the way they were if I was to let things slip. I'm in a constant turmoil battling against my own conscious and beat myself up when I give in to temptation. I find it far easier to regulate my eating, drinking and exercise during the workday where the day is more structured and I have strict control, free time is just too full of distractions, impulses and peer pressure and that's when I'm likely to fall foul of that naughty devil enticing me to give in to my cravings.

Those 3 years have been far from a smooth ride though and besides the numerous cardiology appointments there have been further hospital visits for - a year-long prostate cancer scare (2017); a fistula in my back passage that required surgery and a general anaesthetic which in turn led to intermittent runs of AF (2018) [see part 4.5]; gastroenteritis with AKI (that was bloody awful, my BP dropped like a lead weight to 61/35 and I really felt I was at death's door) (2018) [see part 4.6] and my latest one a food bolus impaction and choking fit's (more on this later) (2019). I had never been in an ambulance before my heart attack but have ridden in 5 now with trips to Wycombe, Harefield, Stoke Mandeville (twice) and Oxford hospitals, it's becoming too much of a regular occurrence.

But it is when having some odd heart palpitations or aching in my chest and arm or any sudden pain that keeps the fear of another heart attack lurking in the background, it's a worry I just can't seem to shake off and it occupies much of my thoughts no matter how well I am progressing, but I guess that's because it is a chronic condition that isn't suddenly going to get better. Searching the internet to find some reassurance brings up these little snippets:

'After surviving a heart attack, you're probably certain of this: You don't want another one. Yet, about one in five people who have had a heart attack will be readmitted to the hospital for a second one within five years.'

These are quite scary odds baring in mind it was 3.5 years between my 1st and 2nd angioplasty and stents (OK, not second heart attack but within the timescale). But's it's not all doom and gloom, providing you keep taking the meds and improve your diet and keep active:

'Controlling your blood pressure and lowering cholesterol are important steps to help prevent another heart attack. No two heart attacks are the same. After a first heart attack, most people go on to live a long, productive life.'

Even more reassuring and where I believe my exercising has had a huge impact as proven by my improved times on parkrun:

'Most forms of heart disease are very treatable today. There is some evidence that normalizing high blood pressure and lowering cholesterol to very low levels will partially reverse plaques in the coronary arteries. They won't go away completely, but they shrink enough to make a difference.'

And this one I particularly like this one where I think again exercising plays a large part:

'Scientists have discovered how heart disease patients with dangerously blocked arteries are able to grow new blood vessels to by-pass the blockage and keep oxygen-rich blood flowing through their bodies ... but those emergency vessels don't grow in everyone with coronary artery disease.'

All the above just goes to re-affirm all I have tried to achieve over the past 3 years, tackling the risks that could lead to further heart problems:

'What are the risks of having another heart attack?
Risk factors:

• Inactive lifestyle.
• Being overweight or obese.
• High cholesterol.
• High blood sugar, if you have diabetes.
• High blood pressure.
• Too much stress.
• Heavy alcohol use or use of illegal drugs.'

Right from the start my plan has been to hit these risk areas and I think I have ticked all the boxes. The severity of my heart attack wasn't too bad which has given me the ideal opportunity to review where I am and put a fair amount of effort into exercising, realising that after a second I might not be so fortunate. I appreciate not everyone is so lucky, especially where running is concerned and I'm always mindful that the damage from a heart attack is permanent so will always exercise within my limits.

'Heart muscle damaged by a heart attack heals by forming scar tissue ..... but, because of the damage, your heart may be weakened and unable to pump as much blood as usual. With proper treatment and lifestyle changes after a heart attack, further damage can be limited or prevented.'

A point made during cardiac rehab that stuck with me was the damaged heart muscle can be compensated by strengthening the healthy muscle around it through exercise, this was still very much in my mind when I took up running. Parkrun has been of a tremendous benefit to this end, it's not just the fact that the course is the same each week so you get to know how to pace yourself around it, or the fact that it is timed so you can challenge & monitor your own progress week by week, or that there always enough runners that there is always some-one running/jogging/walking at your pace and you are never alone, or that's it's free to enter, or that you get cake at the end (there's that devil again), or that it doesn't matter if you come in first or last, or that you are awarded with landmark shirts, but probably above all these is the selfless support, encouragement, belief and friendships from not just from those who freely volunteer each week to keep parkrun going but from just about everyone who turns up. There is a full cross section of society of all abilities, body shapes and sizes running for their own very good reasons and I particularly enjoy tail-walking as it gives me the chance to natter with the slowest person and find out and encourage their hopes and ambitions from parkrun - it's a way of giving something back. 

Over the last year my own finishing times seem to have plateaued with all (bar a few) between 26 and 28 minutes. I'm more than happy with this when just the year before getting to below 30 seemed the real challenge. Obviously as I have reached my level on parkrun so achieving PB's has become trickier but that hasn't stopped me from recording another 5 over the past year with the latest one of 26:32 on the 14th December 2019.

BANG!!  Suddenly I'm back in hospital. While enjoying my wife's home-made curry on the 7th Oct 2019 I managed to get a lump of beef lodged in my throat, I couldn't cough it up or swallow any liquid including my saliva so was dribbling like a baby but was still able to breathe and talk OK. After my neighbour, who is an ex-fireman, failed to remove it by using the Heimlich manoeuvre he called out the ambulance and I was taken to Stoke Mandeville A&E accompanied by Katie who came along to keep me company. Apparently the standard treatment is to drink Coca-Cola, strangely that wasn't covered on the national health and Katie had to go off running to find a drinks vending machine. Even the smallest sip was impossible to swallow and all it did was fizz up in my mouth causing me splutter, choke and gag, it was horrible. Eventually Stoke Mandeville said they couldn't do anything else and so transferred me to the John Radcliffe hospital in Oxford, this time I got the 'blues and twos' as we sped down the A418 at about midnight.

I was kept waiting dribbling and spitting into one of those little cardboard hats in A&E until having a camera stuffed down my nose to confirm there was indeed a blockage before being moved onto the ENT ward ready for an endoscopy. I had this procedure once before under a local spray anaesthetic many years ago as part of an investigation into a family history of Coeliac disease and had gagging sensations for days after, so I was pleased when they put me to sleep this time. Anyway, after having this lump in my throat for about 20 hour's (and that's a lot of dribble), they successfully pushed the bolus down and took an esophageal biopsy to rule out eosinophilic esophagitis (yeah, I don't understand it either but great words). They found a 'thin circumferential ring' so arranged for me to come back for a Barium swallow test. The appointment was not until Dec. and as I was now wary about choking on virtually anything I ate, I decided to take advantage of my company's health policy and go private to try and speed things along.

It is through the friendships forged at parkrun that led to me running longer distances with smaller groups over the past year. This is a completely different type of running, generally far more relaxed and social at a slower pace with occasional stops. I had been using these runs in preparation for entering a few organised races throughout the year and having already completed the Ridge Off Roader 10K, Hazlemere Super 5K and Hell-Fire 10K my eyes were now set on the Rugged Radnage 10K.

This is a run I had considered entering last year when I first decided to attempt a 10K as it covered part of the walk that led to my heart attack [see part 1]. But it was too short of notice to prepare for it, so I decided to put off the challenged until the following spring with the Ridge Off Roader. For training, I again met up with a few fellow runners - Kris, Theresa, Clodagh, Katherine, Charlie and Dionne for a trial run around the Radnage course in what turned out to be incredibly muddy and filthy conditions after much rain, but this just made it all the more fun and I think we all felt like big kids splashing around in puddles, getting caked in mud and playing on a rope swing we found in the woods! (being the geriatric of the group I declined on that one).

On Oct 23rd I made a return to Wycombe hospital for the Barium swallow. This is quite a straightforward procedure where I had to take sips of this white chalky gloop while an X-ray followed its progress through my esophagus, this was performed at both vertical and horizontal positions on a moving table. It was fascinating watching the images on the X-ray screen which clearly showed what looked like a ledge sticking into my throat, or as the diagnosis put it a moderately tight oesophageal web (see photo). You are warned to expect pale stools for the next couple of days but I didn't anticipate to be literally shitting bricks! The bloody things sunk to the bottom of the toilet pan and just sat there even after some desperate prodding and several frantic flushes.

Back to my training and with 2 weeks to go to the Radnage run I again met up with a couple of my fellow running buddies, Katherine and Theresa, for my 5th go at the 'Attack the Attack' course including the original walk that led to my heart attack [see part 1], and this was my 3rd go at running it. It is starting to prove quite a popular run with the 'your pace or mine' mob with 8 members so far joining me on what has been 3 very emotional runs this year, so thank-you in addition to those already mentioned to: Paul, Ann, Josephine, Kris, Elly and Nicky for making it all possible and joining me on what is a very personal route close to my heart (excuse the pun). I'm now considering making it a regular run for the group and with your help and enough practice I WILL eventually run up 'heartbreak hill!

My story continues to spread nationally and as part of a relaunch of FFIT by the EFL Trust (English Football League Trust) they covered my experience on the course on their web site, this was then quickly followed up by the Wycombe Wanderers SET who then ran with a slightly modified version of the story on their own web page. It's nice to get this recognition and validation that the story does have some real merit. Without any doubt FFIT helped to set me on the path and it is extremely unlikely I would have ever have taken up running without the support and self-assurance that FFIT gave me kick-starting my healthier life-style. I really hope that these publications, including this blog, go some way to help others to consider their own health and fitness needs and encourage them to act.

EFL Trust link - click here
WWSET link - click here

AROUND THE RUGGED RADNAGE THE RAGGED RASCALS RAN:

251st out of a field of 299 in 1:10:04 and 16th out of 18 in the veteran over 60's male class 20:04 behind the leader. I have to admit to being a little disappointed with these stats but this is quite a challenging course with plenty of mud still left over from our trial run a few weeks before and a killer of a long drawn out hill which saps any remaining energy before the final flat bit to the finish by the Radnage village hall where I collected my 4th medal of the year.  As always it was a pleasure to meet up with a few of my fellow runners with Warren & Kat at the start line and Charlie and few others around the course. 2019 has been all about increasing my running and it's these people who make it so much easier, both in amount and distance and overall I am very pleased with my progress.

I added yet another hospital to the growing list of where I have received treatment on 25th Nov with a visit to the Chiltern hospital near Great Missenden for my 'Upper GI endoscopy & balloon dilation'. This was pretty much the same procedure as what I had at Oxford except for stretching my oesophagus with a balloon. From the endoscopy report it seems my upper oesophagus is narrow and was 'rather snug around the scope'. 8 biopsies were taken from various places and thankfully all were clear of eosinophilic oesophagitis (whatever that is). This did however make swallowing a little painful for the next few days, but 'touch wood' I have had no further problems since recovering. The total treatment cost was £2,406.27 including outpatient consultations, worth every penny especially as I wasn't paying!

A big parkrun milestone was reached on the 11th Jan. 2020 as I took part in my centennial run, this was celebrated by wearing a special black 100 tabard and almost matching my best time all but for 2 seconds! Over the 100 runs I have been able to go from walk/jogging my way around in 37:48 to consistently running the full course in and around the 27-29 minute mark, I have achieved 21 PB's with the latest being 26:32 in Dec 2019. All my runs have taken place at Wycombe Rye except two as a tourist, one in Taunton following the funeral of my uncle in 2018 and the other at Henley on a special New Year's Day run.

The first 100 parkruns

END OF YEAR 3 ROUND UP:

So, what have I achieved to the end of year 3, the 3nd anniversary of my Cardiac Rehab heart assessment on 30th Jan 2017 when I started recording my progress? 

STEP COUNT:

I managed to maintain a good average over the year beating last year's total but this was mainly achieved in the earlier part of the year when I was out doing longer and extra runs on weekday evenings. We have ourselves a small dog now and he forces me out for short walks, but I think he regrets the summer months when we go for super long walks through the woods.

Total step counts:
Year 1 ...  4,046,492 average 11,086 per day (2023.25 miles)
Year 2 ...  5,270,911 average 14,440 per day (2635.46 miles)
Year 3 ...  5,776,020 average 15,824 per day (2888.01 miles)

WEIGHT LOSS:

This is just not happening at the moment and I remain stuck at around 83/84 kg for most of the year, if anything it is starting to go the wrong way so it really is a case of 'must try harder' particularly where diet is concerned. Researching for this blog I've noticed that my BP, though within the target is also starting to creep up again so I need to keep that in check. Understandably I was very disciplined for the first year or so after the heart attack and I need to recapture some of that self-control and determination again.

And my ambition for next year? ... to stay out of hospital would be a good start. Realistic targets would be to at least match this year's step count and try to stick to my objectives and get a little closer to my target weight. Beyond that I would like to get my fitness to a level to where I feel confident enough to run a half marathon and would love add to the £3461.00 I've already raised through sponsorships for Hearts & Souls.

The 2019 collection

APPENDIX:

On Tuesday 28/01/20 (2 days before publication of this blog) the Wycombe Wanderers v Blackpool match was delayed over an hour when 62 year old Mark Bird, a Chairboy fan, suffered a cardiac arrest just before kick-off while enjoying a pint with his mates planning Saturday's trip to MK Dons. He was taken to Wexham Park hospital where he passed away soon after arrival. This, together with the sudden death of Eric [see part 4.8] goes to show just how abruptly and unexpectedly life can be taken through cardiac events and though I know it doesn't change anything, I would like to dedicate this blog to the memory of both Eric and Mark, may you both rest in peace.



Heart attack to 10K pictorial record - click here

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


Previous:
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


Next:
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 4.14 - Mixed bag through Covid (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