Exercise and heart disease

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Aliveandrunning February 22 2014

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A tolerably good Cambridge parkrun today. The sun shone in a bright blue sky and it was chilly rather than cold. Nevertheless, I wore a long sleeved top and a light jacket with tracksters (plus gloves initially). I’ve no doubt the extra clothing has a mildly torpid effect on my running ability. I feel much freer and fitter in the warmer weather above 14-15C plus. I don’t mind running in the heat although with parkrun, which starts at 9am, the temperature is never a big issue.

Lorna volunteered as back up time keeper AND took all the hi viz bibs and jackets home to wash, at least 40 of them. Each of the Cambridge runs needs upward of 40 volunteers and at the moment they are having difficulty filling the positions. Today we had a rare, stern address at the start, informing the assembled runners that the future of Cambridge parkrun was in jeopardy unless more people volunteered and didn’t leave it until the organisers were tearing their hair out which was happening each week.

309 took part in the run today and I came in at 129 in a time of 24 mins 41 seconds. My ex-arch rival Mike finished 80th in 22 mins 57 seconds. He is now a Zeus like figure living on Mount Olympus while I am a minor deity inhabiting one of the forgotten little Greek islands dependent on sailors blown off course for company. Still, the days are getting warmer, and like a wronged and injured gun fighter (Clint Eastwood, for example) I feel myself getting stronger and preparing to take revenge. Oh yes, it’s only a matter of time before my adversaries will be scorched by my slip stream as I pass them like a dragster. Won’t everyone be surprised when I deploy my parachute on the finish line to bring me to a halt. They will beg to know the secret of my success and I won’t be slow to tell them : an increase in Brussels sprouts consumption and a new wonder breakfast: broccoli porridge.

A well known parkrunner, Terry, in the 65-69 age bracket, walked the 5K course just two weeks after having a heart attack, taking around 55 minutes. An act of defiance in the face of a life threatening illness probably but not very sensible,  I suspect.

My son and daughter, Dan and Isobelle, both got personal bests at Valentine’s parkrun. Dan is now sub 20 mins and Isobelle was less than 30 seconds slower than me. Great running, children, but remember, it’s participation and setting a good example by running alongside and supporting the slower runners, that’s ultimately important. Not getting a fast time. Remember that and slow down for the next five races, kids.

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Aliveandrunning February 21 2014

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Yesterday evening was particularly spooky as the terrifyingly atmospheric image attests. To distract myself from the raw fear of the unusually odd noises outside, I made myself a date and raisin cake. You can imagine the shock, and a sizable amount of horror, I experienced when I climbed the ancient stairs in our home and opened the door to the master bedroom.

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Spock, on my side of the bed and indisputable evidence of having consumed three quarters of my cake before it had cooled down. I remonstrated with him and demanded he beam up without delay. The sadness caused by the loss of my cake was assuaged by the decision to nip off to a 24 hour Tesco and buy new ingredients with a view to immediately bringing a new cake into the world. The journey turned out to be quite a trek. It was late at night. There was life in the store but not as I knew it. I gingerly negotiated the aisles and weird nocturnal shoppers, paid up and returned home.

On the running front, I ran 13.2 miles plus a 5k parkrun last weekend and this went well. In two weeks it’s the Cambridge Half Marathon. Lorna will be giving good support and four of my children will be running as well as loads of friends. I’ll probably go for a further two long runs before the Half. I don’t carefully taper down before a long race. I just listen to my body, man; it’s in continual/continuous dialogue with me.

Tomorrow is Cambridge parkrun. A running acquaintance in the 65-69 age range had a heart attack during a half marathon two weeks ago and apparently he will be starting the race with Peter who is in his mid 80’s and still runs. Well done, Terry. Get back to running fitness as soon as you can.

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Aliveandrunning February 14 2014

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Nice break from the wind and rain on Thursday around the Cambridge area, at least in the morning. I went for an eleven mile run, including a long stretch by the side of the Cam, stopping only to take some pics. I decided not to eat before running and therefore I didn’t have my daily porridge until around 1pm. Then I had my lunch at 1.30pm.

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Before the run I took Rupert for a walk in Worts Meadow.This tree is fascinating. It’s a walnut and despite having a huge hole in the trunk, still produces leaves and nuts. The sap still rises! The pool in front of he walnut is magical. Don’t scoff at the tree’s condition or suggest it should be cut down. The water will suck you down then spit you out like a cannon ball. It will remember you as well. Don’t take any risks. Openly offer the tree compliments. It’s very susceptible to flattery.

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Yesterday evening I made spaghetti bolognese, seen here in all its multi coloured glory, with mixed salad, chopped raw onion, cheese and red onion flatbread and broccoli (a reasonable substitute if you’re fed up with sprouts. Was it Dr Johnson who said “If you are tired of sprouts you are tired of life?)

I went for my annual cardio-vascular review at the surgery yesterday morning. I’m not sure if I saw a practice nurse or health care assistant. She clarified whether or not I had a problem with a high potassium reading (no), asked me a few questions to check for depression and took my weight and blood pressure, didn’t seem to know I had a heart attack 4 years ago and couldn’t tell me if my BMI of 20.4 was outside the “normal range”. She was friendly and pleasant but I couldn’t help wondering if the appointment was a waste of time. It’s more about ticking boxes to achieve a particular standard. It tells me nothing about the current state of my heart disease.

Extremely windy in the Cambridge area today although the trees in Milton Country Park (where Cambridge parkrun is held) gave a lot of protection. Still plenty of mud around to slow me down, though. I gathered up the signs and direction arrows again after the race. It felt odd retracing my steps on deserted trail paths, and curiously enjoyable.

I read today that two cyclists in Berkshire have been killed by a car being pursued by the police after a domestic incident. I suspect that giving chase to cars not willing to stop are regarded as a perk to the police and almost no consideration is given to public safety. If you accept the transactional analysis  model of our behaviour reflecting adult, child and parental elements in our personalities then the police frequently reveal they are stuck in the immature adolescent stage. This results in a motivation to drive fast cars fast with no reasonable justification and a mandate to provoke a lethal pursuit.

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Aliveandrunning Janathon January 27

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Day 27. It’s 7 pm and I still haven’t run today. I don’t want the Janathon private security force to rough me up because I’m breaking the terms of the Janathon agreement so I’ll be going shortly. The above image of Brussel sprouts  living their life on a stalk and then allowing me to eat them is a real inspiration when I’m running in poor weather. We treat sprouts like royalty in this house and that’s why they take pride of place on the sofa.

It’s gone 8 pm and I’ve returned from a 2 mile run. The weather was OK. No rain, not too cold and little wind. I felt tired before running but much more alert and energised after.

I have to repeat a blood test because my potassium level was “a bit high.” I think it was on the high side last year so I wouldn’t be surprised  if it’s been high for the last year. I think I will have to knock bananas and sultanas on the head and look at other potassium heavy foods (although bananas have less potassium than is commonly supposed). Too much potassium can cause kidney and heart problems. Some of my cardiac meds can interfere with potassium levels. Most horrific scenario? The doc asks me to knock sprouts on the head. No Way Man!!! I can’t actually say that because she’s a ladeeee.

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Aliveandrunning Janathon January 25

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Day 25. We got up around 6 am with the intention of leaving at 7 am, whizzing down the M11, picking up two children at my mother’s house and driving to Walthamstow parkrun (East London) in good time for the 9 am start. That was our dream and it came true! We successfully participated in another (distant) mud fest and my trail shoes again proved essential. The conditions were very conducive to the slowest of times and everyone got completely splattered. It was Walthamstow’s first anniversary and we had coffee and cake to celebrate.

We met up with three old friends who have taken up serious running since they retired. The three in the middle of this picture are Lorna, Dan and Isobelle and I’m wearing the red/black jacket. I recorded one of my least fastest runs since I had my heart attack four years ago and came in at 34th place. Dan came in 7th place, just slightly ahead of me. A very young boy, no higher than my knees came in 10 places in front of me. I’m sure it’s not been long since he learned to walk let alone run!  Isobelle ran a good race but is no lover of mud. She and Dan are running a 10K in Brixton tomorrow and somehow have to dry their shoes. The number of runners was relatively small (88) compared with Cambridge (347) but Walthamstow are a friendly crowd and we may return (when the ground is dry).

Lorna took a load of pictures and gave good support. It will be at least 4-5 months before she can start running again and it’s vexing for her to remain in a spectator role while everyone gets covered with mud. Nevertheless it was very enjoyable morning. This swamp running is causing me to spend a great deal of time washing out mud caked socks and tracksters. I’m thinking of buying a new type of running shoe guaranteed to enable the wearer to lightly skip over boggy terrain. They’re available from makeyourfantasiescometrue.con

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Didn’t have Brussels sprouts today because I didn’t cook the meal. I’ll make up for it tomorrow morning and have six sprouts with my porridge and my usual dozen with the evening meal.

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Aliveandrunning Janathon January 22

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Day 22. What a silly running god am I! I had a terrible cramp in the middle of the night following the reduced recovery sprints with the club. I managed not to take, or consume after running, a banana which was suggested by shazruns and Sam and I didn’t drink adequately when I returned home. As a consequence (apart from the tremendous pain in both legs at 3.30 am) the phlebotomist had great difficulty drawing blood for my annual full blood count today. She commented that I was dehydrated and that “the body wanted to hold onto the blood.” She asked “Did you have a couple of pints to drink this morning? You probably breathed that amount out during the night” “Errr…..no…but I did have a cup of tea.”Searching my memory banks, there may have been a similar problem last year which I completely forgot about.

What have I learned from this sorry state of affairs? 1. Listen to and implement sensible advice. 2. Drink much more water and not just the ambrosia that we gods just love to sup while reclining on Mount Olympus.

I ventured out for a 2 mile run with our dalmatian Rupert. I have never done this in the 9 years he has been with us because I didn’t think he would be able to trot beside me  and run in a straight line. We left at 8 pm ie when it was completely dark and honest folk were off the streets. On the positive side, at times he trotted very nicely and only crossed in front of me once, expecting to cross the road as we usually did, on a normal walk, at that point. On the downside he wanted to stop frequently. I pulled him on but we still stopped on five occasions for him to do a substantial wee (my fault – I should have toileted him before we went out). Plus he pulled for the first mile. My running form was shot to pieces by holding on to the lead and his collar came off. The run took 2 minutes longer than it normally does. Nevertheless, it was 67% successful and I might try it again. However, I won’t be taking him to parkrun anytime soon.

Pictures : Rupert after his run this evening and an elm tree, slowly succumbing to Dutch elm disease in Worts Meadow, Cambridgeshire.

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Aliveandrunning Janathon January 20

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Day 20. Before doing the Janathon run, as usual I took Rupert the dalmatian for a walk in  Wort’s Meadow and the wood beyond. Many of the trees have interesting lichen growing on their trunks and branches and they look particularly striking when the sunlight illuminates them. Today the sun was obscured by light cloud but the hard frost created a lovely patina of crystal whiteness on everything. It’s a great temptation to snap images on my mobile, despite variable quality, and yesterday I stopped several times running along the  river Cam.

I was very cold this morning, despite wearing loads of layers but by mid afternoon the sun was out and it warmed up marginally. I ran 2 miles without anything remarkable happening except me thinking how fortunate I am to be able to run, and run each day , and enjoy it. On my return home, I cooked a roast meal and then picked up Lorna at the station. She was on a business  trip overnight and I missed her.

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Aliveandrunning Janathon January 15

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Day 15. “Ooohhh……….what a lovely dog. I bet he loves to run with you. Don’t those Dalmatians run beside carriages of the rich?  Or used to in the past when horse drawn carriages were common and posh people wanted to display their sense of style.”

This is Rupert. I’d love to take him running with me. I’d love to take him to parkrun where dog running is allowed. He gets along very well with other dogs and he’s grown up with children. Unfortunately, he finds it impossible to run in a straight line and frequently stops suddenly. In a large group he would be a complete liability and trip up large swathes of runners. I mention this because I had various commitments today and took Rupert for a walk later than usual. I then went for a run and started cooking as soon as I got back. It would have saved time if the dog walking and run had been combined. It’s not too late, though. I’ve successfully bid for a carriage and four horses on Ebay. They’ll be delivered on the weekend and we’ll go for a trial run as soon as we can. I’ve discussed this approach with Rupert and he’s agreeable in principle. I think it will work. I’m sure he’ll learn to run continuously ahead or behind me so a parkrun with him is possible……as long as he’s accompanied by a carriage and four horses!

The 2 mile run went OK. It was dusk again and the temperature was a mild 10C. Yesterday it was considerably colder and I really didn’t warm up all day. I attribute this to the side effects of my cardiac medication.

My wife Lorna was contacted by Addenbrookes Hospital today and offered a cancellation appointment tomorrow to see an orthopaedic surgeon with a view to assessing and treating her Achilles tendonosis. It may well require surgery and we don’t know if running in the future is an option. We are keeping our fingers crossed. In the meanwhile I hope she continues to take some great photos of me running.

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Aliveandrunning Janathon January 13

Day 13. A short run of 2 miles a day should be achievable for most Janathon runners, if they are sufficiently motivated. It doesn’t take long and you have the option of before or after work. I might add that a run after you reach home in the evening is an excellent way to wind down and begin to relax your body. Of course, when I was in paid employment, I seldom managed to go running in the evening but it’s a nice standard to apply to others.

An uneventful 2 mile run just before dusk. It was a cold and sunny day. I should have run sooner but I was busy fixing old clay pantiles to my garage roof. I did this successfully and also fixed some guttering so I had a small but perfect sense of achievement when I set out. Tomorrow I’ll be road running in Cambridge, in the evening, with the club.

I’m very confused concerning the reports I’ve read about the amount of running undertaken and the effect on the heart. In the Observer Tech Monthly yesterday, part of an article by Catherine de Lange entitled What Science Says About The benefits Of Running (not available for sharing) discussed running and repeated the same evidence I have heard on other occasions. A study of 20,000 people in Denmark over years found that those who ran lived on average for 6 years longer than those who did not. The biggest benefits came from running between on hour and two and a half hours a week, over two or three sessions, at a comfortable pace. There is speculation that long periods of vigorous physical activity, over an hour or two, puts too much strain on heart muscle, causing it to stretch and tear, which – over years – can lead to stiffening and scarring. One 2011 study found higher levels of fibrosis, or scarring, in the heart muscle of competitive endurance athletes aged 50 or over, compared to others of the same age. It  suggests moderate intensity running in small doses – of about 30 to 50 minutes at a time. Some argue that excessive running  can cause increased calcium plaque build up in the heart, which increases the risk of coronary heart disease.

I had my heart attack 4 months after running the London Marathon, aged 58. I don’t believe that my running regime, before marathon training, contributed to heart disease. I’m well aware of factors that almost certainly did and over many years. I think my level of fitness helped me to recover quickly and allowed me to return to my prior running ability. I could physically do a marathon again and I would enjoy the challenge but I do think it would be asking too much of my heart, given I have established heart disease. OK, no more marathons then. I can live with that (no pun intended) but what about half marathons which would still exceed recommended running levels? I currently run about 3 hours a week. If I do a half marathon, the training will increase for a period of time? Is this OK for me or risky? I don’t know. How about asking a cardiologist? Well, apart from an out patient appointment after discharge from hospital, you never see a cardiologist again. You are prescribed NICE  guideline cardiac medication and are monitored by your GP. There’s not deemed to be a problem if you don’t experience troublesome symptoms. I may give the cardiac rehab nurses  or sports scientist a ring.They provided an excellent 12 week rehab programme after my heart attack and work closely with the cardiologists. It would be good to speak to other runners who have heart problems and hear what advice they have been given concerning mileage and duration.

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Aliveandrunning Janathon January 10

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Day 10. I was due to scoot down the M11 from Cambridge to Woodford to see mater and collect my daughter   Isobelle who was returning with me to Cambridge. The plan was to run late evening (again in the dark) but the M11 was blocked by a serious accident and I set out later when the motorway re-opened. This enabled me to run in the morning, another 2 miler. I need to do longer runs which will make me feel fitter and stronger. The cardiac medication I take does me no favours in the context of running to my maximum. It limits the amount of effort I am able to put into a race. Of course the medication is doing a job of work (presumably) so I will continue to take it. It’s tempting to stop them although I concede that running faster  and getting a new personal best at parkrun is not the best reason for discontinuing treatment.

It’s Wimpole Estate parkrun’s first anniversary tomorrow and only the fittest will survive the swamps and bogs. I will require lashings of grip and traction which will be supplied by new trail shoes shown above.I’m looking forward to their coffee and a rock cake after the run but the cafe/restaurant has laid down some heavy rules, man! To enter their nice, warm  cafe we will have to take off our muddy shoes and socks and put on clean, dry footwear. Fair enough, I suppose. I’m not responsible for washing their floors. But is it right that young running gods like me should be subject to the demands of mere mortal men and their inconsequential edicts. Parking may prove to be more of a problem. The usual area is water logged and won’t be used.

Isobelle is running, Lorna will be taking pictures and son Dan is doing parkrun at Valentine’s Park parkrun in Ilford, Essex. Valentines is a fast 5K on flat asphalt paths. He hopes to do under 22 minutes. Good luck.