Heart Attack to 10K (part 4.24) - What I can, when I can

Part 4.24 - WHAT I CAN, WHEN I CAN

(Phase VI - sustaining a healthy life-style)

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

As covered over my last few blogs, since returning from the Covid I have never really got back to where was hoping to be, becoming less active, slower and as of result together with my diet slipping, a bit more podgy.

Before Boris separated and isolated all of us I was enjoying some excellent support on group runs of varying distances with many of the 'Your Pace or Mine (YPOM)' (photos) members which kept me progressing and pushing further with my fitness plan, achieving beyond anything I could have dreamt or hope to achieve when I first started out in 2017, improving my weight loss and generally feeling better than I had in years.

Your Pace or Mine and me at Parkrun

The YPOM group sessions was of a great benefit to me pre-Covid at a time when post heart attack I was still re-building my fitness, stamina & increasing my running and I will always be grateful for the support I received during that time.

This all came to a grinding halt when Covid struck but I still managed to get out on my own for many cross-country trail runs of up to 15km and really enjoyed re-discovering some of the more remote parts of the wonderful Chiltern hills (photos). But it was around this time that my paroxysmal (intermittent) Atrial Fibrillation (AFib) [see part 4.17] became more prominent and regular and this in turn interrupted the ability to exercise, having to work around and rest when I was suffering episodes.

I was kinda hoping to pick up where we left off before the pandemic and re-join in the organised runs once it was safe to do so again but I had become very 'stop-start'. I was finding it difficult to keep up when with a group, so only did the one 10km run from Spade Oak where I felt I struggled a just little too much in an attempt to keep up the pace and keep the pack in sight.

Still running (just)

On the other hand, Parkrun [see part 4.20] with all its support and 'free pace' became my 'go-to' although I was still hopeful to get out again for the occasional longer cross-country runs, but had become very wary about attempting this on my own. The problem here is when I have looked for support to do a run that would benefit my own individual odd 'afibrilling' pace it has been short notice due to never knowing when I might go into an AFib episode and the response was generally poor or I was competing with other organised group runs - I ended up feeling very much on my own and did seriously considered leaving the group as I was getting little benefit and frustrated knowing what had been and feeling left out reading all the exploits of those returning to running.

I decided the only way I could continue was to become more self driven, concentrate on myself and 'do what I can, when I can'

I moved into persistent AFib around May 2022, this further knocked back my confidence to go on longer runs as I had become very fatigued, especially in the evenings and unsure if I could complete a run, so I became restricted to doing just the parkruns on a Saturday morning further isolating me from the group that had been so instrumental to my progress pre-Covid.

I was started on Amiodarone (antiarrhythmic drug) early Dec 2022 in an attempt to control the AFib and the feeling of exhaustion all the time, but it took a 2nd cardioversion in Jan 2023 to get back into normal sinus rhythm. Although no longer in AFib I continued to feel very tired a fatigued with a total lack of energy, motivation and confidence to even go a short runs on my own - it's been about all I can do to force myself down to parkrun each week but I’m pretty determined to keep up even a lowish level of activity.

Still 264 days to go ....

After a full day at work, I would often just full asleep on the sofa frequently missing the end of something I particularly want to watch on TV with the evenings becoming a bit of a non-event, my full waking hours seem to be taken up by work. Typically I would have a broken night’s sleep (damn prostate), waking more tired than when I went to bed, go to work, come home and repeat the cycle over & over again with most my physical activity confined to either before work or a lunch time walk. Retirement in March next year can't come soon enough so at least I won't be working to such a structured timetable and will be able to do 'what I want, when I want', at a more leisurely pace throughout the day.

Although the Amiodarone is very effective and did an excellent job controlling the AFib, from which I am thankfully still clear (except for a couple of short episodes), it was not giving the desired result of making me feel more energetic so by mid-May 2023 it was stopped as the risks of some rather nasty life-long side effects where not worth the lack of benefit I was getting and it was never a long term solution anyway - I can't say I'm not sorry to come off this as I had serious concerns from the beginning (a drug that carries a government health warning shouldn't be taken lightly) but it does mean that persistent AFib could make a return again at some point once the drug has cleared from my system, this could take a several months as it has a particularly long half-life with an average of 50 days and a range of 20-100 days.

 

 

I think its official now that things are not getting any better. I am not just running some of my slowest times since I started on parkrun 180 runs ago back in Oct 2017, but following on from a recent exercise tolerance test carried out due to a low resting heart rate in the lower 40's (bradycardia), it looks like I have Chronotropic Incompetence (CI), a form of exercise intolerance. This is where the heart has an inability to increase its rate to commensurate with increased activity or workload demanded during exercise and symptoms include fatigue, tiredness, decreased exercise capacity and light-headedness - I can definitely relate to all of those! My maximum age predicted heart-rate resulted as 61%, with the normal target being 85%. This probably goes some way to explaining my more recent struggles and slower times on parkrun and general lack of energy and confidence to attempt more. After speaking with the arrhythmic nurse it seems there is a strong possibility that I might now need a pacemaker (not the sort that carry little numbered flags around parkrun), though he would like to delay it as long as possible as it would have to be repeated regularly throughout my lifetime due to the battery life with a risk of infection each time - he kept calling me 'young'! - (I like him)

 

My next appointment is with Respiratory Investigation at Wycombe hospital in mid July where I'm to be checked for sleep apnea, a condition where your breathing stops & starts while you sleep. I then have my next cardiologist outpatient in Nov. where I hope future plans will become a bit clearer.

Just wait until I’m battery powered and then see me fly!

Parkrun times post Covid, all time personal best 26:32

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

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 - 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