Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy Festivus for the rest of us, et al.
You may want to return to the post as I add more over the next couple of weeks.
I looked back at my goals for 2025. From my 2024 year-end post, “On to 2025, my goals are completing all 13 Coldwell Banker Elite Grand Prix races, all 4 Stafford Series races, my 18th Historic Half, and running six days per week. A non-running goal is to use my QuickBooks Online certifications for personal gain. My final goal is to write my 2026 goals at the end of the year. Goals are best when written down and published. On On!.”
One of the Coldwell Banker Elite Grand Prix races was cancelled before the season started, and another was replaced by a race of the same distance on the same date at a park near my home. Still, I completed all the races in the series. Since 2020, I have not missed a race in the series, and my streak stands at 70. I have only nine more years to eclipse the streak record.
I had scheduling conflicts with two of the Stafford Series races and ran only the two that were also in the Coldwell Banker Elite Grand Prix. I had been involved with this series since its inception. I guess that is no longer on my list of goals.
One of my non-running plans for 2025 was to build a covered porch on the front of my house. There is no room to add a side porch on my lot. After getting plans drawn and estimates, I determined that a $28,000 addition to a $150,000 house was not reasonable, so I changed plans to a 96-square-foot deck. The deck was completed by spring.
After my brief AFIB issue in October 2024, my cardiologist prescribed Flecainide, which I thought was to be taken if I ever went into AFIB. I had another episode in January that lasted less than 24 hours. During the issue, I took a low dose of the drug. However, with the drug and increased beta blocker, my legs almost collapsed while running. I only took the drug for three days.
A couple of days before the Dahlgren Trail half-marathon, I had a follow-up appointment with my cardiologist. He had wanted me to take the Flecainide starting in October. He wanted me to start using the drug regularly.
After that race, I started taking a regular dose of Flecainide and a half-dose of my beta-blocker. Running for the next month was not impossible. Just a little more difficult, as my heart rate was restricted.
A month after the half, I did a 5km, intending to run the entire distance. One mile into the race, I was struggling to run downhill. My finish time was 110% if my 5km time. Back at the doctor, I told him I wanted off the rhythm-controlling drug. During the removal taper, my times started lowering, and by the time I was off the drug, they were back to normal.
By August, I had had no more issues and was running well. I wanted to reduce my beta blocker dosage. I started that change days before the Devil’s Den 10-mile and ran that race feeling the best I since November 2023. My heart rate averaged above 150, I had a bounce in my legs, and my breathing was not labored. However, I was not feeling well in the following days and returned to the previous beta blocker dosage. This time, my morning dose was taken after running. I continued to feel well while running.
By October, I had completed all of my long training runs for the Marine Corps Marathon and completed my best 10km in a couple of years. Later that night, I went back into AFIB. This time, I did not come out.
Still in AFIB, I met with my cardiologist on Wednesday. That night, we tried using a drug to get me back to normal. That did not work, so the next day he cardioverted (shocking, I say) me. I went back on Flecainide, blood thinners, and a once-a-day dosage of a beta blocker, taken after running. In the hospital, I asked him, “Is it OK for me to run a 42km in 10 days?” He told me it would not hurt anything to try.
Since then, I have stayed on the same drug regimen and remained in normal sinus rhythm.