[Linda Jennings was in her late 40s when she started running, and soon after started working with Fernando. After 6 years of increasing her competitiveness, in 2006 she won the USA Track & Field (New England) Grand Prix title for her age group (50-59). The Grand Prix is an annual series of 7 races that crowns the top runner in each age group.
What's next? For most, there are more local races and more Grand Prix years. Linda went in a different direction -- she chose to compete on the national level targeting some of the USA Track & Field Masters National Championship races. Even though these races are open to all runners, they do attract the top master runners across the country in each age group. As in the local race series, she was successful nationally, and found other women at her level competing in the races around the country. Then there was a sudden decline. Linda writes about the decline below, and her return. In two more articles, she'll talk about racing on the national circuit, and starting running in her late 40s.]
The fall of 2016 was the start of an increased decline in performance. There were sporadic workouts or runs that were “off”.
Everyone has an off day so I wasn’t overly concerned. There was also an underlying subtle fatigue. Over time the decline became worse. I still had stretches where I could run track workouts at targeted paces, had good long runs and races. Then I’d have a workout that I couldn’t run close to the target pace. Or, I’d have a long run that I needed a walking break after only a mile or so of very easy running. The next day would be a good day, no issues. It was baffling and unsettling.
Over time my performance continued to decline. Now I was no longer competitive with my peers who I had raced with. Fernando saw the issues and made changes to my weekly outlines. We tried various things but nothing solved the problem. I did address this with my Primary Care physician. He did a few tests but did not find anything wrong.
Using a chest strap heart rate monitor, I found that on the bad days my heart rate was unusually high. I used a device, similar to the EKG feature on the Apple Watch, to record the abnormal heart rate. I finally got a referral to cardiology. It didn’t take long for the cardiologist to diagnose this as Atrial Fibrillation (AFib). I have paroxysmal AFib, episodes are sporadic and typically last 18-36 hours.
The AFib would start during the night and when I tried to run in the morning, I was still in AFib so would have problems. As the AFib progressed, the episodes became more frequent and lasted longer. The bad workouts, long runs and races that I had initially may have been due to AFib.
AFib wasn’t a diagnosis I expected or wanted to have. I was assured that we would find a treatment that would control the AFib and allow me to get back to the level I was running before all this started. The first treatment was medication. It did not work. The AFib episodes continued and became more frequent. I was referred to an electrophysiologist for a cardiac ablation. Basically the ablation would create a barrier of scar tissue in the heart which would stop the erratic electrical signals causing AFib. The procedure was longer than expected so the timeline for returning to running had to be adjusted.
The ablation was in February and the recovery is still ongoing. After a few weeks of rest which consisted of watching movies, reading and naps, I started back with easy running. Did a 3 mile very slow run and needed a walking break. Each day was a little better although I needed walking breaks. Six weeks after the ablation I was told that I had no restrictions. The cardiologists were confident that I could regain the fitness I had lost. However, it would take time and would be hard. I was not ready at that time to start workouts but welcomed the news.
Getting back to running after the ablation was unlike anything I had experienced. Fernando gave me outlines that had mileage on designated days. We then progressed to adding some time at a harder effort.
During all of this there was a lot of communication. I would let Fernando know what I ran, how long and pace, and how I felt. He would adjust accordingly. Some weeks went better than others. This was a difficult time for me as everything was different and there was no timetable or guide for progress. This was another aspect that Fernando needed to work on with me. At times I was too focused on what I had run previously and how much slower I was currently. Fernando would remind me of the progress I had made and his confidence that I would continue to improve. In June I progressed enough to start track workouts. Over time I could do longer runs and eliminate the walking breaks. In August I ran a Fresh Pond 2.5 miler. These races consist of running one loop (2.5 miles) or two loops (5 miles) around Fresh Pond in Cambridge. These are “old school” races. Free, timed race held every Saturday and attract a wide range of runners. I’ve done these every few weeks to assess my progress.
Although I’ve made significant progress, I have a long way to go but confident that I can do it.
