This week I focused on increasing my short runs from 5 miles to 6 miles. I had to keep my long run at 10 miles in order to adhere to the 10% rule by not increasing my weekly total by more than 10% (of the week prior to my rest week). This next week I’ll keep my short runs the same and increase my long run to 14 miles.

In my running I still haven’t felt the side effects of chemo. I’m starting to believe that my running (and nutritional diet) is counteracting the damaging effects of chemo that lead to fatigue. The one side effect I am having a problem with is low white blood count (WBC). I don’t feel anything from this, but a low WBC puts me at risk of infection. After my second chemo treatment I had a shot of Neulasta to help with my WBC. However my blood test a week after my chemo treatment showed a low WBC. For now I keep my self somewhat isolated in my home. Hopefully my WBC will rise enough so I can have my third chemo treatment without delay.

The other side effect I have is an upset stomach. Not nausea, but heartburn and gas. I think I found the culprit to that – apples. I had been eating two or three apples a day. I finally noticed that I would get the worse stomach pains after eating an apple. Since I’ve stop eating apples, no stomach problems. Unfortunately, apples are very good for you and have been found to be good cancer fighters. Does anyone out there know of a good fruit substitute for apples that don’t upset the stomach? Please - no exotic fruits that taste like something my dog barfed up.

Chemo-Man

Still running after second chemo treatment

I received my second chemo treatment on Wednesday, which was an all day affair of blood tests and about 5 hours of intravenous injections. I had a rough night with stomach pain and some nausea, and the next day I was feeling pretty blah. I also received a shot of Neulasta on Thursday to help keep my white blood count up. I didn’t feel any side effects from that. By the Friday I was feeling pretty good and was able to run 5 miles. I wasn’t able to run a very long run or put in a lot of miles this week, but that is ok. Most marathon training programs have a 3 week cycle, 2 weeks of building miles and then a rest week involving reduced miles. That works well with my 3-week chemo cycle. Next week I look at increasing the miles again.

The big news this week - I am officially registered for Grandma’s this June. Even more good news - my big brother Cary has also registered. This will be his first marathon and I look forward to running the race with him.

I would like to thank everyone who has shown support. This is truly a team effort and every little bit of your support strengthens my spirit to go the distance. I must give a special thanks to my wife Renee, who has been by my side through the toughest times. Running is an important part of my overall wellbeing; but my wife’s love is an essential part of my existence.

Lee Strandjord

Chemotherapy Takes Toll on Hair, Not on Spirit

Thursday morning my hair started falling out making a big mess everywhere. So it was time to buzz it off. We had a little fun in the process with a Mohawk. My wife Renee dared me to keep it, but I chickened out. Loosing my hair is no big deal. I always try to look on the bright side of things. Hey, I get to try out a new hairstyle, and its maintenance free.

I was supposed to have chemo on Thursday, but my white blood cell count (WBC) was too low. Chemo at that time would have completely out knocked my immune system, leaving me defenseless against infection. However, my WBC has been increasing over the previous week, so I should be ok for chemo on Wednesday next week. At that time I’ll receive a new medication to help my WBC recover faster after chemo and keep me on track with my 3 week chemo cycle. Even though my chemotherapy cycle has slipped a week, I still have at least 4.5 weeks between my last treatment and Grandma’s marathon.

Training went very well this week with a weekly total of 36 miles and a long run of 13.1 miles (a half marathon). Over the last three weeks I have been building up my miles very quickly. If you are starting on a running program DO NOT build up miles this quickly or injury may occur. Most marathon training programs follow the 10% rule; only increase your long run and your weekly total by 10% each week. My marathon training prior to my surgery has allowed me to increase miles with a fast pace. However, I feel in my legs that I’ve reached the point where I need to back off on my distance increases and will start following the 10% rule hereafter.

I’ve noticed a great improvement in my cardiovascular system. When I started running three weeks ago, my heart rate would stabilize at about 163 BPM when running at about 6.3 MPH. Now when I run 6.3 MPH my heart rate stays around 145 or less. That’s a big improvement in 3 weeks. It doesn’t take long to make a significant impact to your health with exercise. The best thing you can do for your body and your mind is to get active in some manner. Get on a routine of running, walking, swimming or whatever - you’ll be much happier.

Marathon Training During Chemotherapy for Follicular Lymphoma

Hi, my name is Lee Strandjord. I’m a husband, father of 3, grandfather of 2, a physicist and a marathon runner. I’ve ran the Twin City marathon twice, once in 2006 and again last year in 2007. Last year I underwent a monumental change. Struggling with poor eating habits and sporadic physical conditioning, I reach a turning point in March of 07 when I stepped on the bathroom scale and had 199 lbs staring into my face. There was no way I was going to let scale reach 200. At that point I decided to start serious marathon training and change my diet.

By marathon time in early October, I lost over 30 lbs and was poised to beat my previous TC marathon time (4:58) by about 1 hour. It was the hottest TC marathon day on record. Compared to the previous year, a thousand more runners dropped out of the race, but I still completed the race in 4:09. After the race I set my sights on other races, such as Grandma’s marathon in Duluth MN. I was on the top of my world. I was in fantastic shape, I discovered I loved running marathons, I lost 6 inches off my waist, and I had a whole new wardrobe. My work was going well with a recent promotion to a prestigious position and best of all; I have a wonderful family life. The only cloud in the sky was a scheduled hernia surgery that would interrupt my running for about 3 to 4 weeks. My biggest concern was gaining weight during my recovery time. Little did I know what I was about to face.

During my hernia surgery I had a lymph node biopsy that was first tested positive for Diffused Large B-Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL), which is an aggressive cancer of the lymphatic system. My oncologist gave me about 3 to 6 months to live without successful treatment. Up to about 50% of patients with DLBCL are curable. At first, I was devastated. I was looking at a six shooter revolver with half of its barrels loaded. But then I decided the only way I was going to be was positive. I was going to be in the 50% group that would be cured. However, a second opinion from the Mayo Clinic showed that I really have grade-3 follicular lymphoma (FL), a much less aggressive, slower growing lymphoma. It sounds a lot less scary than DLBCL, but in reality, chemo is less effective on slower growing cancer cells and therefore FL is not curable. The change in diagnosis however didn’t change my treatment plans. Chemo was still recommended since I have a large tumor around my small bowl and I have a more advanced stage of FL. The goal is to put my cancer into remission, for possibility years. Based on how I rank with the Follicular Lymphoma International Prognostic Indicators (FLIPI), I have a pretty good chance of living 20 years or more. So there is a lot to be positive about. I have a fighting chance to live a fulfilling life.

To fight cancer I’m taking a holistic approach, integrating both conventional and alternative methods. I’m augmenting chemo therapy with physical conditioning and healthy eating. I’ll have a total of 6 or 8 chemo treatments of R-CHOP on a 3 week cycle. I had my first Chemo treatment just before Christmas. Besides a little fatigue during the first couple of days afterwards and some heartburn, I’ve been feeling great! I attribute much of that to my excellent physical condition going into chemo. Three days after my chemo treatment my surgery was healed enough so I started running again. For me running isn’t just about the body, but also the mind. My runs started at 2 to 3 miles each day and quickly increased to 5 miles on most days. This last week I ran a total of 33 miles with a long run of 11 miles on Saturday.

My running has gone unexpectedly well after my first chemo treatment, so I have decided to do an experiment – run in Grandma’s marathon on June 21st, 2008, which means completing most of my marathon training while undergoing relatively aggressive chemo therapy. Sounds crazy? I believe it’s a long shot, but not impossible, not yet. My goal is to finish Grandma’s in just under 6 hours, the regulation time allowed before the course is closed. With that in mind, my training will be focused mostly on distance and not speed. At this time I’m running my long runs at a pace that would complete a marathon in 4:22 or less. I’ll keep that pace as long as I can. But most likely the Chemo will lower my red blood cell count, which will make it more difficult to run at a fast pace. When that happens, I’ll slow my pace to try to keep long runs long. Near the end of my chemo treatments, my weekly long runs will need to be about 20 miles.

So follow me on my journey to Grandma’s marathon. I’ll be updating my blog site on a weekly basis with my progress. My hope is to inspire other’s to use physical conditioning to make a positive difference in their lives.