The Covid Rollercoaster

‘If there is something wrong with my heart, surely, I couldn’t have just swum 36km across False Bay, ridden 360km and climbed Seweeksport, all in 48 hours?’ This is the first question I asked when the cardiologist told me that I had a something called Myocarditis. I was sure he must have been mistaken, but unfortunately a scan of the heart and lungs confirmed his suspicion.

‘How on earth could I have this when I am so fit?’

It has taken me quite a while to sit down and write this blog, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to and to be honest I’m still not entirely sure I do.

Why? Because I am embarrassed. I’m embarrassed that I have failed to recognise (once again) signs of something wrong with me; I’m embarrassed that I continued to push my body; I’m embarrassed that I have yet another condition and I am embarrassed that I will have to postpone my UK challenge to 2022.

But I have been encouraged by family and friends and my amazing sponsors @wiggle to share my story as there will be people out there feeling the same.

Reality is, long covid is real, very real. It is affecting many people, especially young people, women, and elite athletes who were previously fit and healthy.

Rewind to October 2020 when covid finally caught me. It hit me hard. Karl and I were in our camper van. It was Karl’s turn for a staycation of his choice, he’d been working long hours and providing unrelenting support to me during my S2S 2020 challenge. I was determined that he was going to have a nice a break and we would do all the things he wanted to do, mountain biking, canyoning and golf! But for days I couldn’t move out of the van. I am sure Karl must have thought I was doing it on purpose, but I was honestly shattered.

My resting heart rate was extremely high and I had muscle aches from head to toe. We were far away from any people, but we decided to head home, get tested and isolate in the comfort of the house rather than the van! I didn’t have any breathing difficulties or cough and I hadn’t lost my sense of taste or smell, but it was confirmed I had covid.

The next few weeks were like a rollercoaster, one minute I’d feel fine and the next I’d be flat out on the couch again. I decided I wasn’t going to stress about it. It was what it was, and many people were suffering far worse than me.

Eventually about 3-4 weeks later I started feeling like I could go for short walks. Fortunately, for me, we had just gone into lockdown again. We could only go out for 1 hour and within 1km of the house. So, my FOMO levels were under control! My energy levels started to pick up, but I was having problems controlling my heart rate (HR). My resting HR had dropped back to normal, but every time I went out for a gentle walk it would rocket. I figured it would just take some time and when it went too high, I would just stop and rest until it came back down. After all these years I was finally learning to be patient.

After about 6 weeks I started to gradually increase the duration and intensity of my exercise. I certainly wasn’t feeling 100% but I was improving. In mid-December the French borders re-opened briefly and we were able to travel to South Africa. It was a tough decision at the time; were we doing the right thing? should we really travel? In the end we decided we weren’t doing anything wrong; we were legally allowed to travel, and the warmth of the SA summer might help with recovery.

During the next couple of months, I went to the Dr’s a few times as I didn’t feel quite right – I wasn’t particularly sick, but I wasn’t firing on all cylinders either. My HR would still fluctuate intermittently, but nothing that caused great concern. The Dr prescribed me a couple of courses of tablets that opened my lungs. Each time I took them I felt much better. In hindsight this was obviously just masking the problem – there are some things you never learn!

In March I decided that I was feeling well enough to undertake the SA S2S challenge. Was I the fittest I’d ever been? No, but I was confident I was fit enough to complete the challenge. Cue my first real mistake on the covid rollercoaster. If I had known that I had a heart problem I DEFINITELY wouldn’t have started. Contrary to how it may appear, I can be stupid, but not that stupid.

The challenge was tough, tougher than it should have been, but I was very quick to put it down to reasons other than health – ‘I’m not as fit as I should be, the headwind was pumping, the current was pushing hard.’ All were true, but that’s just part and parcel of a challenge like this. I failed to realise that my heart was on over drive, working far harder than it should be and my immune system was being pushed to its extremes. Knowing what I know now, I genuinely don’t know how I finished the challenge – I am just too darn stubborn for my own good.

Recovery from the challenge was taking a lot longer than it should be and once again I was quick to blame my fitness level. Cue mistake 2; I decided the only way to rectify it was to jump straight back into training, after all, it was only a 48hour challenge. Luckily, at this point my body overruled my brain before it was too late. It decided it was time for a break. I started to get stabbing pains in my chest that prevented me from doing any exercise. At this point I realised there was something more significant going on in my body. I was immediately referred to the cardiologist.

The prognosis is good, I don’t have any scarring or long-term damage, but for the next few months I must take things easy. I’m allowed to exercise, but only at low intensity. Karl is doing a great job of wearing his police hat, but everyone has my full permission to reprimand and shame me in public if you see me training harder than I should!

So, what does this mean for the rest of 2021?

I have obviously had to change some of my plans. It has been a tough decision, but I have decided to postpone my UK lakes challenge until 2022. Whilst I have no doubts whatsoever that my stubbornness would carry me through, my health is far more important.

I have set myself some goals for the next few months

Improve my strength and conditioning. Who knows I may even have a six pack by the end of the summer.
Have all those overdue medical check-ups.
Do at least 30 mins of French a day
With the continued support of @wiggle, launch our best S2S global challenge yet! Details coming soon.

Most importantly, I have to remember my own mantra.

I can change my plans but not my goals!