Heart attack to 10K (or maybe that should be half marathon) - 'my story'

  Part 4.21 - STUCK IN REVERSE (RECAP OF 2022) (Phase VI - sustaining a healthy life-style) "Nothings going to happ en unless you ma ke it happen." I would normally do an end of year blog on the anniversary of my first cardiac rehab heart assessment on the 31st January 2017, but 2022 has careered so far off the path I set myself that's it feels like I've been going backwards - negating a lot of what I have achieved, so I felt compiled do a re-cap of the past year just so I have a personal log if nothing else. It's been a disrupted year where due to a deteriorating heart rhythm, my exercising and running levels suffered significantly and consequently I've got a bit porky undoing 5 years of weight loss and I've been getting a little too near for comfort to my heart attack weight again. I shall try and keep this blog brief but it has been one helluva year. After 2020 where I had to several hospital appointments (not all cardiac related), for my 2021 new year ...

Part 4.16 - Reintegrating back into society   (Phase VI - sustaining a healthy life-style) "Nothings going to happ en unless you ma ke it happen." Following on from my last blog where I might have come across feeling a bit sorry for myself, having had both Covid vaccinations, it is now time to come up with a plan to re-integrate back into society and regain some of what I have lost in terms of fitness and drive throughout the whole pandemic. Over the pandemic I have concentrated more on my stamina by running lone long-distance trail runs though these have fallen by the wayside a little of late as my motivation wains, on these I have not worried about time and resorted to a fair bit of walking but have consistently achieved between 15-20km with typical elevations gains of around 300-500km which give the heart a helluva good workout.   Recently I have been finding it particularly difficult to keep up a regular steady pace over any distance especially when running on my own, wit...

  Part 4.15 - Getting back in the groove (Phase VI - sustaining a healthy life-style) "Nothings going to happ en unless you ma ke it happen." Since my heart attack the support and encouragement I have received from so many different groups and individuals have been key in my progress to follow a life plan I set myself to make improvements to my health and eating habits, to help reduce the risks of further cardiac problems, and I have relied heavily upon this support going right back to my cardiac rehab. From the nursing staff and fellow cardiac patients during the rehab, Sam and Andy and all my fellow participants on the Wycombe Wanderers Sports & Education Trust FFIT lifestyle programme as well as Gee with the Monday evening FIT Xtra sessions, the volunteers and runners at Wycombe Rye parkrun and then the enthusiastic mob at YPOM (your pace or mine) who helped to take me much much further than I ever dreamed possible when setting out on this journey (I would have been ec...

Part 4.14 - Mixed bag through Covid (End of year 4) (Phase VI - sustaining a healthy life-style) "Nothings going to happ en unless you ma ke it happen." So, I've made to the end of year 4 (anniversary of my cardiac rehab. heart assessment on 30th Jan 2017 [see part 3]) but this has been far more challenging than expected due to all the restrictions that have tightened and then relaxed and tightened again as Boris tries to control the pandemic since last March, though throughout this period I have in the main remained in my own lock-down and avoided contact with those outside my own household bubble. It has now been 45 weeks since I started 'working from home' and although the vaccination programme has started, I'm not in the first batch for the most vulnerable (over 70's etc) so must wait my turn and hoping by March I might receive my first dose, this will be a year since I last went to work in the office and I'm not even too sure where my desk is now ...