Close but no cigar..........

 I ended 13th December with 20 sessions left to complete to reach my 2021 target of 365. Sadly on 14th I tested +ve for Covid and that, as they say, was that. While symptoms were mild I have been left feeling weak and fatigued and so have yet to get back on the treadmill.

I am sure I will in the next few days and I will do so with the added benefit of a keto diet, which I think will help me recover prior performance more quickly and then to go on to challenge my Lifetime best in 2022.

But for Covid I am confident I would have hit my goal. I had though found it more difficult in the last few sessions as I took diet a little for granted. For me it is clear to exercise at my best I need to be fasted from the night before, whether I need to be fully ketogenic or simply no carbs before exercise I will seek to discover in the coming months. For 2021 I was generally low carb and that enabled me to achieve the following:

2021 Summary
Total number of sessions                            345
Total distance covered                                1915.63km
Average distance per 50 minute session            5.55km
Average speed                                                    6.66kmph

Predictably I improved distance as the year went on, 2nd sessions were always better than 1st sessions and the more I did the more I could do. My best was 7.51km or 6th November, my 3rd session that day and only 130m short of a lifetime best. November was also my best month with 49 sessions of average 6.54km.

Overall pleased I set myself the challenge at the beginning of 2021, for 2022 I intend to try and establish a routine of a minimum of 3 double sessions each week, and to do so following a ketogenic diet, for January at least. 

Of course that will be post-Covid malaise dependent, which goes to confirm that not everything is M and M is not everything when it comes to health matters.

All best to all for the New Year and thanks for reading.

Consistency is the key- perhaps even more so than diet

As I approach the end of 2021 I am delighted that I challenged myself at its beginning to complete 365 50 minute treadmill sessions in the year. While I have some catching up to do to reach that target I have learnt a lot and feel as fit, if not fitter than I ever have. 

Yesterday I managed 3 sessions in the day and was able to start the first at 7.2kmph and easily completed 6.3km in 50 minutes. What is becoming clear is that regular exercise makes all the difference. I started 2021 with a session of of 3.46km. My best year to date has been 7.51km in 50 minutes, which is not far short of a lifetime best (7.64km set in 2016),  which is now my next target before I pass 60.....

At the beginning of the year I was very conscious about what I ate and I avoided carbs. More recently I have found that unless I eat lots of carbs I am able to exercise at a pretty consistent high level irrespective of diet. I still exercise mostly in the morning, and often fasted from the night before, but what I eat in the evening seems now to have little impact. November has been my best month so far, 35 sessions average 6.64km) after getting back to regular sessions in October (49 sessions average 6.1km). I am lucky in that I am retired and so have the time to focus on exercise and making it a priority. In truth I wish I had done this years ago! Dr Slonim told me in 2006 that regular exercise, following his "prescription", was needed. I semi complied but have not been as consistent as I need to be until this year.

I will continue until I reach my 2021 target, 53 sessions to go with 38 days left of the year. In 2022 I plan to start the year on a mission to set a new lifetime best. To do that I think I will need to be stricter with diet and get deeper into ketosis, as I was when the previous best was set. With 365 sessions behind me I think I'll have a very good chance to pass that lifetime best before I hit 60 in February. Something that very few people would have the opportunity to achieve. 

YTD Summary data

Session total: 312 Distance covered 1,705km Average speed 6.66kmph Average distance per session 5.46km

7th October 241 sessions done 124 to go

 After a slow summer post marathon walk I have only just got back to regular treadmill sessions with 2 a day so far in October. Having no kids at home and therefore access to the treadmill without concern for those still sleeping has been a help but simply making the decision to recommit to the challenge more so. Today I was rewarded with my best 50 minute session since June 6.4km felt good though I was never able to jog for more than 2 minutes today. 2 hours of dog walking, a sausage roll, coffee and a keto bar seem to have got me in the right place! Currently I am 39 sessions behind a 1 a day schedule,  year to date, so I have some catching up to do but I am pretty confident I can hit the 365 target and giving the rapid improvement so far this month that I can end the year far far fitter than I started it.

26 miles is a long way

 8 hours walking alongside the Thames on the hottest day of the year, to that point, without M impacting me was a strong endorsement of the benefits of regular and consistent exercise. At the beginning of the year my purpose in setting a 365 treadmill session goal was somewhat nebulous, trying to use the time provided by Covid to some positive effect. Regular long dog walks with a mate helped prepare for this specific challenge, while having lived, and walked, in Singapore, the heat was less of an issue for me than most. It is now clear to me though that to be able to function at my best, whether walking with friends, or continuing to play cricket the treadmill sessions are a vital part of daily life henceforth. 

I have only done one session since the walk, circumstance and a short holiday the cause, but 198 sessions year to date mean I am currently 10 sessions behind my target. Starting on Saturday I will look to close that gap so I am back on track by the end of August. 

The sessions mean I am able, almost for the 1st time, to play cricket, which has always been a physical challenge, without thinking much at all about M, that for me is a huge benefit and one which I will not let go readily. While the thought of walking 26 miles did not concern me and was a hugely enjoyable experience, chatting and walking with those I met along the way. For someone who used to avoid walking with anyone that's another large tick in the plus column.

Key for me is always to start  each session at a comfortable pace and build slowly. Usually I exercise on an empty stomach after coffee. Second session of the day is usually much better than the first. Pushing just enough leads to progress, gain without pain, which is why I like the controlled environment of the treadmill.

Near the midway point - feeling the benefit - new challenge

Year to date I have managed 184 treadmill sessions so am on the home straight with 181 to go and still 10 days left in June. I had hoped to be a little further ahead but following a brief hiatus more consistent use of the treadmill is helping me off it. This last weekend I played a competitive cricket match, kept wicket for 30 overs( 180 plus squats) and then opened the batting, (lots of running) going on to score my highest score for a good number of years. Two days later and I have no pain other than in the front of my shins - for me that is now common but going back to my twenties and thirties, before keto and before consistent treadmill it would take me a week to be able to walk normally after cricket - just in time for the next match!!!!!

I have also been walking regularly along the Thames with a friend, for the pleasure ( my 11 year old self would not believe that possible) and in preparation for a 26 mile walk from Windsor to Henley on 17th July. The opportunity, courtesy of McMillan, appeared on my FB feed in February and I signed up as a further challenge to myself and to provide added incentive to keep up the treadmill work. As the day approaches I am looking forward to it and feeling ready. I am aiming to complete the walk in under 8 hours but of course completing it is the main challenge....

In the interim its back to building stamina and treadmill speed, while aiming to accumulate plenty more runs over the course of this cricket season.......................

Peaks and troughs...peaks and troughs

 So its been a while since my last blog and after excelling in March and reaching a PB for the last several years of 6.81km in 50 minutes I have let things slip and today was only able to do 5.4km. Disruption to my daily schedule in April meant I only did  13 sessions during the month and have as a result regressed. It has though served to emphasise how easy it is to slip up and how quickly deterioration in capability follows.

In March I did 33 sessions and averaged 6km per session. In April only 13 and my average had slipped to 5.64km. So far this month I am having to build back 14 session at an average of 5.37km. Diet has been broadly the same and I have continued to exercise on minimal food.

On the positive side I am still way ahead of where I started the year and have managed 159 sessions towards by 365 session target.

Work to do! Even more so as I am signed up to a 26mile walk on 17th July. more details in due course on that.

The above pattern is a small picture of life with M - when I have followed the regime set by Dr Slonim and exercised on the treadmill daily I have managed to improve and that helps in daily life and with weight. When I have not deterioration has followed as night follows day.

March - picking up the pace

 After a PB at the end of February March has started really well. 11 sessions so far and on four of the five days I have done two sessions the second 50 minutes has seen me cover 6.3, 6.24,6.38 and 6.35km   . The least distance covered so far has been 5.1km, while most  6.38km. Have decided I will now focus on 2 sessions a day for 3 days and then a rest day. Aim to make as many as possible second sessions above 6km.Average distance is covered this month is a whole 1km better than in January. promising signs.

6.5KM...better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick

 Delighted to have finished the month with a new PB since September 2016 of 6.5km in 50 minutes on the treadmill. 3rd session of the day and was able to push myself without pain - jogging for short bursts and then settling back at around 7.5 kmph was how I managed this. It proved to be my last session of the year as a poke in the eye from our Beech hedge prevented any activity of the last day of February and meant I was two sessions shy of my February target:

Still a new PB and continuing progress. Diet still not where I would like it to be though. Aiming for 46 sessions in March as lockdown eases.

15 years since diagnosis - a short video on exercising with M

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfRNISq6wU8&list=PLCXW01PHd4dFa750czRaBwiZOaHOeCo8q&index=15&t=21s

5.9km but more significantly a 35 minute jog forward...

 2nd session today after a day off yesterday, following four sessions on Wednesday. Not my furthest distance but what feels like a significant step forward with, probably, my first 30 minute non-stop jog since 2016. I was not expecting it today but kept setting myself small goals. When I started jogging at 7.3kmph after 17 1/2 minutes the aim was to jog until 20 minutes. With highlights of the NZ V Lions 3rd Test of 2017 to keep my mind occupied I just kept going and was able to keep on going. After 35 minutes I decided that was enough for the session. No pain but progress.

No pain, will gain!!!!! 50 mins 6.21km

 Very hot and sweaty just off the treadmill and no pain will gain is certainly working, alongside regular exercise. I am probably toward the extreme of exercise at present. It's become my key focus in lockdown, and, with plenty of sport to watch I am making good gains with no pain. I am pushing myself but just enough and easing off when needed. The last few days I have been trying to establish a solid jog but without success. Increasing speed from a fast walking base, once comfortable, but I have not managed more than 3-4 minutes. Today and early 5.02km session set me up for my best session since August last year, with that session a best for several years. Again starting off this session I got up to a fast walk at 6.5kmph before trying to jog, managed two minutes early ion then slowed. I kept this up until either 22 or 24 minutes, not sure which as what came next was a complete surprise - a jog until then end of the 50 minutes. I felt good so simply kept going setting a series of mini goals along the way - jog to 26, jog to 30 etc. I did slow down once from 7.8kmph to 7.5 for 2 minutes but then back to 7,8. Have  not tested but  have not eaten since last evening so in keto without a shadow of a doubt.

Really great to work up a very healthy sweat!! More to come

Summary data for January

 45 50 minute treadmill sessions

Average speed: 5.52kmph

Distance covered: 207km

Shortest distance: January 2nd 3.46km

Average per session: 4.6km

Longest distance: January 31st 6.06km

On to February!

31 days 45 treadmill sessions and a PB year to date, breaking 6km in 50 minutes

 Really pleased with the rapid progress I seem to have made in the last month. I have established a treadmill habit, which feels good, while consistency of exercising is delivering results. Yesterday following a 4km family walk I had two treadmill sessions both of 50 minutes. In the first I established a good walking pace of 7km per hour and in the second, about 10 minutes after the 1st, I was immediately able to jog 2km in 16 minutes. My longest jog for quite some time. The second session yielded a new PB this year of just over 6km.

2.8 kilos lighter since the New Year is an added benefit. With the exercise habit set I am now planning a very low carb diet and to continue to build session by session. Target is for 56 sessions in February, allied with plenty of walking outdoors - with no current job essential to make the most of lockdown.

Ketosis and how it works for me

Just off the treadmill, a lunchtime session after a long walk with the dogs, the luxury of lockdown means little else that has to be done. Today's session was my 41st this year and accompanied by Stiff Little Fingers in my ears and Tottenham vs Liverpool from last night on TV. I started looking for a modest session but ended up unexpectedly jogging for 10 minutes at 7.5kmph at the end of the session. Ketone levels checked and blood level of 0.6mmol/L post session. Bit of a breakthrough and achieved through:

Daily treadmill sessions

Seeking gradual improvement 

Low carb diet

Exercising pre food and fasted since the evening before

This is what works for me and why I feel a low carb diet is helpful for those of us with McArdle.

How did I get here? 

Back in 2005 I was lucky enough to visit Dr Slonim in New York and to get from him an exercise prescription and a recommendation to reduce carbs to a low level in my diet. The intention of his exercise prescription, he explained, was to train my body to operate in ketosis as he felt that to be optimal for M. I followed the low carb diet and exercised regularly, at times I experienced an odd taste in my mouth, which I could not explain and once or twice I found myself able to jog at the end of sessions, much like today. I had not  paid that much attention to his explanation and had not looked into ketosis - I should have.

Concurrently I was trying to keep my weight in check and so had undertaken an annual fast in Koh Samui. For several years these were monitored and I took supplements and a drank juice daily on the fast at regular intervals. In July 2014 I found the juice was making me nauseous so on Day one of my fast decided to just take water, toward the end I supplemented that with a very small amount of cheese and some natural yoghurt. With little else to do I walked a lot and started to swim. Toward the 6th day of the fast I noticed I was able to get up and go for a long walk, even up some steep hills without pause. I was able to swim 50 lengths of a 25m pool, without pause. I had never been able to do either before in 52 years. Excitedly I called Andrew Wakelin to discuss with him and he mentioned ketosis. This time I determined to take a closer look at how I might stay in ketosis for longer, since permanently fasting was clearly not a sustainable solution. I continued to fats for a further 3 days and on my return to Singapore I was able to jog for first 20 and then 40 minutes without issue, and, also for the first time in my life to play cricket unconcerned about M. 

Having chanced upon this I was keen to share with the M community - a few others had been experimenting with a Ketogenic diet and as this was an obvious way of staying in ketosis so did I. At the time this was controversial and there was considerable debate about whether the diet was safe and whether it should be shared in the main McArdle's Facebook Group. Fast forward to today and there's a dedicated group for ketosis discussion with 900 members so I am pleased we persisted. For some it does not work and is not possible. For me it is once again allowing me to achieve things I thought impossible - I am probably now less high fat and more low carb. I continue to fast if I want to get into ketosis to enable exercise and ketosis works for me and given this energy pathway works as well in M patients as in the wider community makes sense, where people are able to try and use it. 

For those that want to follow how I get on this year. Target if 365 treadmill sessions of 50 minutes please look out for the blogs and I hope they will offer hope and encouragement to the M community.

No longer a case of if, more of when? how many? and how far?

 Having committed to treadmill sessions it has now become my daily priority and rather than find excuses as I have in the past I am now finding reasons to get on the machine. Sport on TV is certainly helping, whether its cricket or football there is plenty going on. Gradual improvement in my capacity is also encouraging me to do more, that and I am finding little residual pain post exercise. 4 sessions on Saturday (lots of sport) meant I was able to manage 5.75km in the last of those sessions, well in keto and without discomfort. I followed that up with two sessions on Sunday (more sport) and produced a year to date best of 5.92km. I am trying to push myself just enough to manage to improve but not too much to cause damage. So far, eating sensibly and with the help of a recovery hot tub I am managing to do that. 25 days into 2021 and I have completed 36 50 minute sessions - a long way to go but I am pretty pleased with the start!

Lockdown- using it not losing it- upping the ante

Decided in the last few days to up the pace and make best use of being in lockdown so it's now two daily 50 minute sessions for the foreseeable. Already yielding dividends with two sessions yesterday and a diet containing few carbs meant at 11am this morning, having not eaten since last night, I was able to settle into a good pace and achieve a year to date best of 5. 09km. The tell tale taste of keto, a little like the morning after lots of garlic, made my mind up for me to immediately take on a second session. Clearly in ketosis I was able to start at 6.5kmph and to continue without any issue. Stiff Little Fingers music helped and 5km was passed in 43 minutes, a new target for future sessions, and I ended up at 5. 83km for the session, already a huge improvement on where I started this year. 19 sessions done and importantly keto achieved - I checked levels post session and I am at 1.2mmol/L. Happy days !!

 

Starting Again.........................

Does everyone lose fitness so quickly? I know for me if I don't keep regularly exercising my capability plummets. Hence the spreadsheet I use to track my treadmill sessions is saved as Starting Again - 2021 sees me starting again for the 6th time since 2015 and my 1st session of this new campaign was suitably poor. In August last year I managed 6.3km in 50 minutes, when I started up again on 2nd Jan this year only 3.46km was possible. I hope to better my 2020 best this year and am setting myself a new target of 365 50 minute treadmill sessions during 2021. 13 down, a heck of a way to go but  I hope that through creating a good habit better performance will follow. 

Last Saturday I needed to catch up on a few missed sessions (New Year's Day being one - no surprise had you seen me at 1am...) with sport to watch, from the treadmill, and completed 3 sessions. No surprise to me that the 3rd (having only consumed a modest amount of cheese ) was my best so far by a good margin. In fact by a full 1/2 mile. 

 

 

Have completed one session today planning a second to coincide with cricket highlights in 30 minutes.  After that I'll have some breakfast.....

 

Planning to go fully keto once I have the exercise regime established rather than to try both at once.