I was really nervous waiting to hear about the results of my last PET scan that was done about 6 weeks ago. A couple of weeks before that PET scan I was feeling some discomfort in my groin area where I had hernia surgery and a tumor removed. I just didn’t have the same fire that made me boldly go into my oncologist office with the attitude that everything will be ok. My PET scan did show an uptick in the surgery area. All other indications were good, so it was most likely inflammation of scar tissue. That would also explain the discomfort. But to be safe another PET scan was scheduled to be done 6 weeks later. Then things got worse a couple of weeks ago.
To get through some challenging times at my work I started drinking massive amounts of coffee. Caffeine has been a long time addiction for me. I’ve quit a few times, but always quickly succumb to its momentary euphoria it gives with that first cup in the morning. Caffeine controls me in many ways. Nothing starts in the morning until I get my fix and I’ll do just about anything to make that happen. Before going on a business trip I’ll check with Google Maps to see where the closest Starbucks is to my destination. It became clear a couple of weeks ago that I had to do something about this addiction.
After I got through my challenges at work I cut back to relatively normal levels of coffee drinking. I started to feel strange about the same time. I wasn’t sure if the strange feelings were due to reducing caffeine intake, or it was something else, like the cancer coming back. The feeling is hard to describe. I felt tired and kind of tingly all over my body, kind of like I was lacking oxygen. I started to get real paranoid that maybe the cancer was coming back. Then I started to get depressed. However, I didn’t have any problems when I ran or rode bicycle. In fact, the only time I felt really good was when I exercised hard. Because the exercise went well, I had hope that the problem was related to the caffeine. I finally decided the only thing to do was to go cold turkey and completely quit caffeine. That’s was about a week ago and in a couple of days I was feeling great. The fatigue, most of the funny feelings and the depression went away.
I have PET scan again this Wednesday and will meet with my oncologist on Friday. I feel confident about this one. I haven’t been feeling any discomfort in my groin and I feel strong. I took control over caffeine and I got my fire back.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Excelsior Firecracker Run
Yesterday my wife Renee and I ran in the Excelsior/Lake Minnetonka 2 mile/10k. Excelsior is a historic small town on Lake Minnetonka and is only a couple of miles from our home. Downtown Excelsior has many restaurants, specialty shops, art shops, and a trolley car that takes you to a trolley boat called the Minnehaha, and a beautiful park on the lake. The 4th of July celebration in Excelsior starts off with a 2 mile and 10k runs, then a sand castle building contest, a kid’s parade, and kid’s fishing contest. (When my two boys were little they would decorate their bikes and kick scooters for the kid’s parade.) Later in the evening the world-renowned Minnesota Orchestra plays in the park band shell and then a huge fireworks display is lit off from a barge floating in Lake Minnetonka.
Renee and I started going to the Excelsior 4th of July celebration about 25 years ago, long before we lived in the area. At that time we did not have a boat and would setup a picnic in the Excelsior Commons Park and swim at the beach while passing time before the big show. In those days the fireworks was not shot off from a barge but rather on shore near the outfield of the baseball diamond. The fireworks launch site was so close you felt you were a part of the pyrotechnics team. There would be times sparkles from a low exploding fireworks would continue to burn and sparkle all the way down into the crowd. It was fireworks with a thrill of danger. The move to the barge was a good move.
This was the first year I participated in the Firecracker run and Renee’s first ever participation in a running event. Renee ran the 2 mile and I ran the 10K (6.2 miles). She is not ardent runner, but rather has slowly worked into it during her workouts. Renee and I often go together to the Lake Minnetonka LRT Regional Trail to workout. When we started about 3 years ago she would fast walk while I would run. Running would cause discomfort in her knees so she started fast walking for about 4 miles. After awhile the walking wasn’t enough for a good aerobic workout, so she started to run short sections of her course. As time went on the running part of her workout grew longer until she was pretty much running the entire 4 miles plus. After the 2 mile Firecracker run she is ready to do more, starting with some 5k runs and maybe working up to 10k runs.
Below are some photos of the Excelsior Firecracker run. I brought my little Casio camera on the run. I took many pictures but most of them didn’t turn out because of the lack of light due to the overcast and the bouncing around from my running. But a few turned out and here they are.
Feeling good after the race.
Renee and I started going to the Excelsior 4th of July celebration about 25 years ago, long before we lived in the area. At that time we did not have a boat and would setup a picnic in the Excelsior Commons Park and swim at the beach while passing time before the big show. In those days the fireworks was not shot off from a barge but rather on shore near the outfield of the baseball diamond. The fireworks launch site was so close you felt you were a part of the pyrotechnics team. There would be times sparkles from a low exploding fireworks would continue to burn and sparkle all the way down into the crowd. It was fireworks with a thrill of danger. The move to the barge was a good move.
This was the first year I participated in the Firecracker run and Renee’s first ever participation in a running event. Renee ran the 2 mile and I ran the 10K (6.2 miles). She is not ardent runner, but rather has slowly worked into it during her workouts. Renee and I often go together to the Lake Minnetonka LRT Regional Trail to workout. When we started about 3 years ago she would fast walk while I would run. Running would cause discomfort in her knees so she started fast walking for about 4 miles. After awhile the walking wasn’t enough for a good aerobic workout, so she started to run short sections of her course. As time went on the running part of her workout grew longer until she was pretty much running the entire 4 miles plus. After the 2 mile Firecracker run she is ready to do more, starting with some 5k runs and maybe working up to 10k runs.
Below are some photos of the Excelsior Firecracker run. I brought my little Casio camera on the run. I took many pictures but most of them didn’t turn out because of the lack of light due to the overcast and the bouncing around from my running. But a few turned out and here they are.
Renee at the registration line. We got there early.
Renee at the starting line.
Two mile runners start out at Excelsior Commons.
Renee (#144) just crossing the starting line.
The finish line is back at the park. Most of the run is a loop.
Renee coming up to the finish line.
I'm in the middle of the pack at the starting line of the 10k.
Start of the 10k. It is so packed with runners I can hardly run.
It doesn't take long for the runners to stretch out. St. Alban's bay is on the right and Excelsior bay on the left.
St. Alban's bay as I cross a bridge over a channel between St. Alban's and Excelsior bays.
Running down Minnetonka Blvd.
The race course brings us by some beautiful scenery. Here are some wetlands.
About a mile from the finish line. Excelsior bay in the distance.
Lake St. Excelsior. The finish line is just around the corner.
Feeling good after the race.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Imperfection Leads to a Perfect Day
It has been a long time since my last post. I’ve wanted to share my experience running the Lake Minnetonka Half Marathon for some time, but my life has been so crazy lately. My work has been unusually busy, which is good to have during these hard economic times. My wife was recently in Mesa Arizona for three weeks taking care of her dad after he had a quadruple bypass surgery. I was Mr. Mom for my two teenage boys during those three weeks and did more laundry than I have done in the last 30 years. There was also a funeral for my uncle Butch, birthday parties, my parents deciding to sell their home of about 30 years and buying a downsized home, and a couple of business trips to boot. Last week I had another PET scan and yesterday I meet with my oncologist to find out the results. Most of the results are good news, but there was slight up-tick in metabolic activity in the area where I had hernia surgery and a tumor removed. Most likely it is inflammation of the scar tissue, which is typical and no big deal, but to play it safe I go back for another PET scan in 6 weeks rather than 4 months. Enough of that, this post is about my perfect day running the Lake Minnetonka Half Marathon (LMHM).
The night before the race I was going over strategy in my mind. Should I let it all hang out from the start and go for my goal of placing in the top 10 of my age group, or should I pace myself to ensure a strong finish. I looked back at my past marathons. For most of the races I pushed too hard early in the race later to find myself exhausted at about mile 20. It’s not easy on the ego walking the last few miles and watching hundreds of runners pass by. Grandma’s Marathon in 2008 was the only time that I worked at pacing myself throughout the entire race. My self control over adrenaline paid off with a strong finish and my first marathon with no walking. When I look back, I think my most enjoyable race was Grandma’s.
I know I was not well prepared for getting into the top 10 at the LMHM. In January I posted these big bold plans of introducing speed training into my training regiment, running at least 30 miles a week, and loosing 15 pounds to help improve my speed. It didn’t work out that way, not exactly. I rarely got up to or more than 30 miles a week, I only lost about 5 pounds (I’m being generous to myself) and I didn’t do the speed training I intended. However, not all was lost.
After chemotherapy last year I’ve been having a dickens of a time getting back the physical stamina that I had before chemo. I know this with scientific accuracy because I have been recording my heart rate along with my running speed and distance since 2006. Up to recently I wore a Garmin Forerunner 205 training device that has GPS and a heart rate monitor. During chemotherapy I noticed for my most common training distance of 6 miles that my heart rate was higher than usual.. During chemo I had to slow my pace way down to about 11 minute miles to keep my heart rate in a reasonable range of about 160BPM. After chemo was over things improved a bit over the summer and fall, but it seemed my performance hit a plateau. I could run faster at about 9 minute miles, but my heart rate would quickly go to 160BPM and above. I was a little concerned that maybe the chemo caused some permanent damage. Then in about December my heart rate monitor broke and I stopped looking at my heart rate for about 4 months.
Even though I didn’t rack up all the miles I planned to do before the half marathon, I was very pleased where I was with my conditioning. However, based on my 6 and 8 mile training runs, I was pretty sure that I wasn’t in good enough shape to place in the top 10 of my age group. Based on last year LMHM results, I would have to run the race in about 1:39 to squeeze into the top ten. That is at a pace of 7:33 per mile. On my 50th Birthday a few weeks ago I let it all hang out for a 6 mile run and finished just under 48 minutes for a pace of 7:56. I gave it everything I had and that was just 6 miles. I did run some half marathons during my training, but my best finish time was just barely under 2 hours. It seemed very unlikely that I could finish in the top 10.
The day before the race my brother Cary asked me what I’m shooting for as a finish time. I considered my recent training runs and that I would get a boost from adrenaline on race day, so I blurted out 1:45 as a finish time. Later I thought that was a bit bold, especially considering what happened a few days before the race.
I think it was Wednesday night before the race I woke up in extreme pain with a Charlie Horse in my left calf muscle. I don’t get these too often, maybe two or three times a year. But when they come I often cannot run for a few days. The following day I was able to do an easy 8 mile run without pain, so I got lucky. However, from time to time I could feel a little twinge - a little reminder that not is all well with my left calf.
Saturday I went to Wayzata to pick up my race packet. The race officials told me I wasn’t in their system. I had registered online way back in January, but they couldn’t find me anywhere in their system. They sent me home with no race number; I was devastated. Just when I had given up any hope of running in the race I got an email from the race officials to come back in and they would give me a race number. Since so much had not gone to plan, I actually made up my mind that I wasn’t going to do it. I was on my way to Le Sueur to visit my folks; then suddenly found myself making a U-turn and heading to Wayzata.
The morning of the race I thought hard about what I really wanted to accomplish with this race. It boiled down to one thing – fun. Of all things I wanted to have fun. But for me fun is not just lying around and enjoying the sun. I like adventure and I enjoy accomplishing physically challenging things. So I decided I would not go for the top 10 but rather set an early pace that was challenging, but would also allow a strong finish.
The weather that Sunday was absolutely fabulous for running. No one could pick a better day. The temperature was about 45 degF at the beginning of the race and the sun was out. That’s a bit cool when standing in running shorts and short sleeve shirt, but it doesn’t take long to warm up after the race starts. I’m guessing that it got up to about 55 degF by the time I completed the race.
The race started in downtown Wayzata at 8AM. There were about 2000 runners. This was the first time my wife wasn’t at the starting line. She was out of town taking care of her dad. I thought I was going to be alone that day, but shortly after the race started one of my former neighbors, Jon, pulled up beside me. Jon also ran Grandma’s last year (I think it was like his 9th year running Grandma’s) and we were going to connect up at the starting line but I was unable to find him. It was a nice surprise to see him at the LMHM. He recently had heart surgery to have a stint installed. We ran together for most of the race. Since I had company I didn’t pay much attention to my GPS unit during most of the race and didn’t know my pace or heart rate. All I did was press my lap button every time I crossed a mile marker. This time I went completely by feel, which was new territory for this techno-geek.
The course mostly went through small roads in neighborhoods around Lake Minnetonka. The scenery was absolutely spellbinding. I’ve lived in this area for almost 14 years and never realized all the beautiful places there were just in my back yard. Besides the lake, there large expanses of wetlands with hundreds of acres of flowing wild grasses. Expect to seem some pictures sometime in the near future.
At about mile 9 Jon was wondering about our pace. I thought it was a strong pace, but I wasn’t expecting anything fantastic. When I checked my GPS unit I was amazed to see we were nearly on track to finish at 1:45, the goal I blurted out early to my brother, then later thought that was a bit bold. To finish in 1:45 would require an increase in pace during the last two miles, and I wasn’t sure I had enough in me to speed up, but it no longer looked impossible.
At about mile 10 I felt a strong twinge in my left calf. “Oh no”, I said to myself, I thought I was going to get a crippling muscle cramp and maybe not even finish the race. I slowed down every so slightly for maybe a minute or two, the twinge went away and I was back to full speed.
At mile 11 I was near my home and on familiar territory. The remaining 2.1 miles is part of my daily training course. Thinking that I may have a chance to finish near 1:45, I started to increase my pace slightly. Just before mile 12 the course leaves the paved road and follows a packed limestone trail into Excelsior. I was now passing up most runners, even the young bucks. All my training and planning, which was wrought with imperfection, was culminating in a perfect finish. I knew I was at the edge of collapse, but that’s the way I wanted to finish. A voice inside said, “slow down”, but I didn’t listen. When the finish line was in sight, I poured it on in a sprint. I finished with a chip time of 1:45:56.
I finished in 297th place, not bad for a 50 year old. I didn’t make the top 10 in my age group of 50 to 59, in fact I was about 28th, but I was in the toughest age group. The top finisher in the 50 something bracket finished 5th overall, and the second place 50 something finished in 13th overall. The top two in the 50 something bracket also beat the top two in the 40 something bracket. At the 2009 Lake Minnetonka Half Marathon, the 50 something year olds rock!
Because things leading up to the race were just not going my way I almost decided to quit. Even on race day my expectations were mediocre. During most of the race I didn’t even consciously try for my goal of 1:45. I just ran and everything fell into place for a perfect day.
Monday, April 6, 2009
My 50th Birthday
Last Friday I had my big Five-0 birthday. For the last few years I was dreading that milestone and didn’t want anything to do with celebrating it. But my perspective on growing old made a 180 degree turn when I was faced with the strong possibility off not making it to my 50th. Now I look forward to celebrating every birthday. Growing old is wonderful – much better than the alternative.
I had a wonderful 50th celebration, it lasted all weekend. The weather was nice on April 3rd in Tonka Bay. It was sunny and in the mid 40s. Yes, that is nice weather in early April for Minnesota standards. I did have to work to about 2PM, but I worked from home. As soon as I was done with work my wife Renee and I went to the bike trail near Excelsior to run. I wanted to make my 50th special, so I decided to go for a record time, and I did it. The trail is finally free of snow and ice so I was able to run with a full stride. I ran 6.0 miles in 47:38. I don’t ever remember completing 6 miles under 48 minutes on an outdoor run. It took all I had to do that; when I finished I had nothing left in me, which feels absolutely wonderful.
Later that day my wife, two boys and I went to Fuddruckers for dinner. I kept it pretty healthy by ordering the Buffalo burger which comes with a whole wheat bun that is not smeared with butter like the regular buns at Fuddruckers. We then went home to watch a couple of James Bond movies. I’ve been a James Bond fan since my Grandma Ruth took me to my first James Bond movie (Goldfinger) when I was five. For my Birthday I got a James Bond set in Blue Ray – the new high definition format. We first watch “Quantum of Solace”, which is the latest Bond flick that was released last year that we hadn’t seen before. Then we watch one of my favorite old Bond movies, “Live and Let Die”.
Saturday night my wife and two boys joined my parents and my oldest brother and his wife for a dinner at Famous Dave’s BBQ in Mankato. Then on Sunday we went over to my wife’s parent’s house for fried chicken dinner with mash potatoes and milk gravy – one of my all time favorite meals. My birthday celebrations did involve a lot of eating, which didn’t help with my weight loss plans. I have run into a barrier with my weight loss. I’ve kind of stalled out at about 171 over the last few weeks. When I started my weight loss program I followed my diet very well during the weekdays and would treat myself on the weekends. That was working, but then two things happened. My weekend habits migrated into the weekdays and my running miles dropped. Life has been pretty busy for me the last couple of months.
My job has been real busy, but that’s good considering the economic situation. I’ve had to travel to Phoenix a number of times over the last couple of months. But that is finally tapering off now. There was the big family get together at Lutsen Ski Resort in February. A whole bunch of family Birthday celebrations, my oldest brother’s 25th wedding anniversary celebration, a baby shower for my nephew Jereme and his wife Sara, who recently had their first baby Lilly (yes, us men were invited too). My youngest son went on an 8th grade class trip to Washington D.C. over spring break. It was his first time traveling without his parents. That was a big deal.
Mostly good things are happening now. In most ways life is back to normal for me. I’m healthy, working hard, playing hard, enjoying each day and have many plans for the future. But life always has it challenges. My uncle Butch died a couple of days ago. I had some very special times with him and he was one of my childhood idols. When I was little boy he went off to fight in the Vietnam War as a marine. I remember being really impressed with his uniform and sword. When my uncle was away at war my Grandma would play the US Marine Corps – Halls of Montezuma over and over again for me. After the war my uncle bought a home on Lake Minnetonka and had the coolest, fastest speed boat. When I was a teenager he took me waterskiing out on Diamond Lake when the wind was wild and the waves were huge. I hung onto the towrope for dear life; probably trying to show my uncle I could be tough like him. Butch, my Grandpa and I went duck hunting a couple of times. There was a special place we would go that had more ducks than what we had shells. I will miss him, but I’ll always have the wonderful memories.
I finally been able to get back into a good running routine and increase my weekly running miles. There is only four weeks to go to the Lake Minnetonka Half Marathon. I’m not going to reach my weight loss goal by then, but I’ll just set another weight goal after the race. Based on my last 6 mile run I most likely won’t make my race time goal either, but this is a harder one to call. I just don’t know how much of a factor adrenaline will have on race day. One of the hardest things to do when running a full marathon is to control the adrenaline factor and try to start with a slower, more normal pace so one doesn’t burn out before the finish line. Typically when I have run the first half of a full marathon I have done it at a much faster pace than any training runs, but I always had plenty of gas at the halfway point. I’m thinking that for a half marathon the adrenaline factor does not need to be controlled nearly as much, but rather used in nearly full dose. That’s my plan for race day.
Even though I won’t make my weight goal for race day I’m not giving up on my weight reduction. For 50 years old I’m probably considered pretty slender. But research is showing that a lot of our health issues stems from being overweight. Recent research is showing that even just a little extra weight around the waist can increase one’s risk for diseases and cancer. I believe we have more control over our health than what we think. I also believe that I can control my weight and my health without a big struggle. I love food and I would never eat anything that taste like cardboard just for the health of it. But I believe we can have a nutritious diet that is also very satisfying to the palate. One important thing I want to point out is that I’m not struggling to loose weight. I’m not going hungry and I’m not giving up on delicious foods. Any diet that becomes a struggle will not work in the long run. The biggest challenge is changing habits, but that doesn’t mean one has to make sacrifices. It’s funny how us humans make choices.
When presented with a choice like, watch some TV or go for a walk on a nice summer evening, we often pick TV. But occasionally when we pick the walk and we realize that we enjoyed the walk so much more and should do it more often. Then we go back watching the TV. The path to the best happiness is typically right out there in plain sight, but yet we still pick the other path. Why is that?
I had a wonderful 50th celebration, it lasted all weekend. The weather was nice on April 3rd in Tonka Bay. It was sunny and in the mid 40s. Yes, that is nice weather in early April for Minnesota standards. I did have to work to about 2PM, but I worked from home. As soon as I was done with work my wife Renee and I went to the bike trail near Excelsior to run. I wanted to make my 50th special, so I decided to go for a record time, and I did it. The trail is finally free of snow and ice so I was able to run with a full stride. I ran 6.0 miles in 47:38. I don’t ever remember completing 6 miles under 48 minutes on an outdoor run. It took all I had to do that; when I finished I had nothing left in me, which feels absolutely wonderful.
Later that day my wife, two boys and I went to Fuddruckers for dinner. I kept it pretty healthy by ordering the Buffalo burger which comes with a whole wheat bun that is not smeared with butter like the regular buns at Fuddruckers. We then went home to watch a couple of James Bond movies. I’ve been a James Bond fan since my Grandma Ruth took me to my first James Bond movie (Goldfinger) when I was five. For my Birthday I got a James Bond set in Blue Ray – the new high definition format. We first watch “Quantum of Solace”, which is the latest Bond flick that was released last year that we hadn’t seen before. Then we watch one of my favorite old Bond movies, “Live and Let Die”.
Saturday night my wife and two boys joined my parents and my oldest brother and his wife for a dinner at Famous Dave’s BBQ in Mankato. Then on Sunday we went over to my wife’s parent’s house for fried chicken dinner with mash potatoes and milk gravy – one of my all time favorite meals. My birthday celebrations did involve a lot of eating, which didn’t help with my weight loss plans. I have run into a barrier with my weight loss. I’ve kind of stalled out at about 171 over the last few weeks. When I started my weight loss program I followed my diet very well during the weekdays and would treat myself on the weekends. That was working, but then two things happened. My weekend habits migrated into the weekdays and my running miles dropped. Life has been pretty busy for me the last couple of months.
My job has been real busy, but that’s good considering the economic situation. I’ve had to travel to Phoenix a number of times over the last couple of months. But that is finally tapering off now. There was the big family get together at Lutsen Ski Resort in February. A whole bunch of family Birthday celebrations, my oldest brother’s 25th wedding anniversary celebration, a baby shower for my nephew Jereme and his wife Sara, who recently had their first baby Lilly (yes, us men were invited too). My youngest son went on an 8th grade class trip to Washington D.C. over spring break. It was his first time traveling without his parents. That was a big deal.
Mostly good things are happening now. In most ways life is back to normal for me. I’m healthy, working hard, playing hard, enjoying each day and have many plans for the future. But life always has it challenges. My uncle Butch died a couple of days ago. I had some very special times with him and he was one of my childhood idols. When I was little boy he went off to fight in the Vietnam War as a marine. I remember being really impressed with his uniform and sword. When my uncle was away at war my Grandma would play the US Marine Corps – Halls of Montezuma over and over again for me. After the war my uncle bought a home on Lake Minnetonka and had the coolest, fastest speed boat. When I was a teenager he took me waterskiing out on Diamond Lake when the wind was wild and the waves were huge. I hung onto the towrope for dear life; probably trying to show my uncle I could be tough like him. Butch, my Grandpa and I went duck hunting a couple of times. There was a special place we would go that had more ducks than what we had shells. I will miss him, but I’ll always have the wonderful memories.
I finally been able to get back into a good running routine and increase my weekly running miles. There is only four weeks to go to the Lake Minnetonka Half Marathon. I’m not going to reach my weight loss goal by then, but I’ll just set another weight goal after the race. Based on my last 6 mile run I most likely won’t make my race time goal either, but this is a harder one to call. I just don’t know how much of a factor adrenaline will have on race day. One of the hardest things to do when running a full marathon is to control the adrenaline factor and try to start with a slower, more normal pace so one doesn’t burn out before the finish line. Typically when I have run the first half of a full marathon I have done it at a much faster pace than any training runs, but I always had plenty of gas at the halfway point. I’m thinking that for a half marathon the adrenaline factor does not need to be controlled nearly as much, but rather used in nearly full dose. That’s my plan for race day.
Even though I won’t make my weight goal for race day I’m not giving up on my weight reduction. For 50 years old I’m probably considered pretty slender. But research is showing that a lot of our health issues stems from being overweight. Recent research is showing that even just a little extra weight around the waist can increase one’s risk for diseases and cancer. I believe we have more control over our health than what we think. I also believe that I can control my weight and my health without a big struggle. I love food and I would never eat anything that taste like cardboard just for the health of it. But I believe we can have a nutritious diet that is also very satisfying to the palate. One important thing I want to point out is that I’m not struggling to loose weight. I’m not going hungry and I’m not giving up on delicious foods. Any diet that becomes a struggle will not work in the long run. The biggest challenge is changing habits, but that doesn’t mean one has to make sacrifices. It’s funny how us humans make choices.
When presented with a choice like, watch some TV or go for a walk on a nice summer evening, we often pick TV. But occasionally when we pick the walk and we realize that we enjoyed the walk so much more and should do it more often. Then we go back watching the TV. The path to the best happiness is typically right out there in plain sight, but yet we still pick the other path. Why is that?
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Marathon Training During Chemotherapy – Uncharted Territory
After Tasgirl’s latest comment/question (see comments for PET/CT Scan) I find it necessary to write this post. One of my motivations for this blog is to let other chemo patients know about the benefits of exercising and endurance training during chemotherapy. There are a lot of research studies that show exercise is one of the best things one can do during chemotherapy, unless they have cardiac disease or some other serious health issue. The old adage that one should rest and conserve energy during chemo therapy is a bunch of hooey. I’ve recently came across an article about a study that looked at two groups of elderly (70+ years) persons. One group was actively in running clubs (some probably running marathons) and the other group was not. They found that the group in the running clubs were far healthier and had much fewer problems with joint pain and the alike. As long as running is done right, it only makes you better. However, there are no studies, no manuals, no books, no papers, very little about marathon training during chemo. This is uncharted territory.
I have run into a couple of websites about people who have trained for a marathon during chemo. But I haven’t seen any scientific study that shows marathon training is good or bad during chemotherapy. All I know is pretty much my own experience.
I didn’t tell my oncologist right away that I was training for a marathon. During each of our visits when he asked how I was doing, I always told him how far I ran that particular week and my long runs. So he heard I was running 30 to 40 miles a week and 12 to 16 miles for a long run. But I was afraid to tell him I was training for a marathon. If he said he didn’t want me to do it I probably would have stopped. I did tell my oncologist’s nurse practitioner, who happened to be a marathoner. She said, “That’s great, go for it!” or something like that. Then about a couple of months before the marathon and I think when they decided I didn’t need anymore chemo treatments, I was telling my oncologist that I ran something like 18 miles on Sunday and he looked at me with eyes of disapproval and asked, “are you training for a marathon?” I said yes and he was ok with it, but I think he didn’t like the fact that I withheld that information from him. I don’t blame him. But he couldn’t deny the fact that I was probably healthier than most normal people and the running had a lot to do with it.
During chemotherapy I did not feel any adverse affects from running. I did not get more injuries than I would normally get when pushing hard. I was mostly careful with my training. Because of anemia I had to slow my running way down, otherwise my heart rate would go too high. I was careful to keep my heart rate in a good range for long distance running. I did have a problem with a foot injury, but I don’t think that had anything to do with chemo. I just fell behind in my training and I tried too hard to catch up. After seeing a podiatrist and using some shoe inserts the injury went away and I was running Grandma’s marathon very healthy. I ran about 425 miles during chemo and finished Grandma’s in the top 42% of all runners, including the young bucks. Later last year I ran the TC marathon and finished as healthy as a horse. My doctors are amazed at how well I have handled (both emotionally and physically) chemotherapy and how quickly my tumors have disappeared. Marathon training during chemotherapy didn’t cause extra damage to my body, but just the opposite, it reversed the damaging effects of chemo.
At this time there is no scientific evidence that shows marathon training is good or bad during chemotherapy. Many doctors may frown on the idea. But I truly believe that if one does marathon training the way it should be done, by slowly increasing distance without pushing the body too hard, and listens to their body for signs of stress, that any endurance training like marathon training is one of the best things you can do during chemotherapy. Everyone is different and this does not apply well to everyone. But I don’t believe you have to be a super athlete to do this. I’m far from a super athlete; I’m just a Regular Joe who likes to run. It’s really more about attitude.
Click on the following link to read a wonderful true story of a group of ordinary men and women who train and run a marathon. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/marathon/team.html
NOVA takes 13 individuals who are non-runners, some with serious health issues, trains them for the Boston marathon. Only one of them doesn’t start or complete the race because of bone stress fractures which were a result of type-I diabetes. There are some very inspirational stories in this NOVA story.
If you are planning on marathon training during chemotherapy, don’t expect doctors to agree with you. You’ll probably be discouraged to do it. Then you’ll have to decide if you’ll go against your doctor’s wishes or not. I truly believe that I was doing the right thing. What do you believe?
I have run into a couple of websites about people who have trained for a marathon during chemo. But I haven’t seen any scientific study that shows marathon training is good or bad during chemotherapy. All I know is pretty much my own experience.
I didn’t tell my oncologist right away that I was training for a marathon. During each of our visits when he asked how I was doing, I always told him how far I ran that particular week and my long runs. So he heard I was running 30 to 40 miles a week and 12 to 16 miles for a long run. But I was afraid to tell him I was training for a marathon. If he said he didn’t want me to do it I probably would have stopped. I did tell my oncologist’s nurse practitioner, who happened to be a marathoner. She said, “That’s great, go for it!” or something like that. Then about a couple of months before the marathon and I think when they decided I didn’t need anymore chemo treatments, I was telling my oncologist that I ran something like 18 miles on Sunday and he looked at me with eyes of disapproval and asked, “are you training for a marathon?” I said yes and he was ok with it, but I think he didn’t like the fact that I withheld that information from him. I don’t blame him. But he couldn’t deny the fact that I was probably healthier than most normal people and the running had a lot to do with it.
During chemotherapy I did not feel any adverse affects from running. I did not get more injuries than I would normally get when pushing hard. I was mostly careful with my training. Because of anemia I had to slow my running way down, otherwise my heart rate would go too high. I was careful to keep my heart rate in a good range for long distance running. I did have a problem with a foot injury, but I don’t think that had anything to do with chemo. I just fell behind in my training and I tried too hard to catch up. After seeing a podiatrist and using some shoe inserts the injury went away and I was running Grandma’s marathon very healthy. I ran about 425 miles during chemo and finished Grandma’s in the top 42% of all runners, including the young bucks. Later last year I ran the TC marathon and finished as healthy as a horse. My doctors are amazed at how well I have handled (both emotionally and physically) chemotherapy and how quickly my tumors have disappeared. Marathon training during chemotherapy didn’t cause extra damage to my body, but just the opposite, it reversed the damaging effects of chemo.
At this time there is no scientific evidence that shows marathon training is good or bad during chemotherapy. Many doctors may frown on the idea. But I truly believe that if one does marathon training the way it should be done, by slowly increasing distance without pushing the body too hard, and listens to their body for signs of stress, that any endurance training like marathon training is one of the best things you can do during chemotherapy. Everyone is different and this does not apply well to everyone. But I don’t believe you have to be a super athlete to do this. I’m far from a super athlete; I’m just a Regular Joe who likes to run. It’s really more about attitude.
Click on the following link to read a wonderful true story of a group of ordinary men and women who train and run a marathon. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/marathon/team.html
NOVA takes 13 individuals who are non-runners, some with serious health issues, trains them for the Boston marathon. Only one of them doesn’t start or complete the race because of bone stress fractures which were a result of type-I diabetes. There are some very inspirational stories in this NOVA story.
If you are planning on marathon training during chemotherapy, don’t expect doctors to agree with you. You’ll probably be discouraged to do it. Then you’ll have to decide if you’ll go against your doctor’s wishes or not. I truly believe that I was doing the right thing. What do you believe?
Thursday, February 12, 2009
PET Scans, Diets, and Mountain Training
Well I have some fabulous, fantastic, super, wonderful, amazing, awesome, tremendous, astounding, splendid, breathtaking, great, extraordinary, remarkable, magnificent, huge, enormous, very big, terrific, superb, marvelous, brilliant, spectacular, astonishing, good news. My PET scan came back squeaky clean again. My Oncologist is very impressed. In the past when asked about how he felt about his pathologist’s diagnosis (a curable type of lymphoma,) and Mayo’s diagnosis (an incurable type), he refused to give any speculation and just concluded it was a difference in opinion and there’s not much we can do about it. But now he is thinking a little differently. He still talks with great care. He is a well seasoned oncologist and knows how to talk to the patients without scientific backgrounds. I’m working on him to communicate in my language - science, math and probabilities. These are not the exact words he said, but rather my interpretation.
Being a seasoned oncologist, he has seen many cases of both types of lymphoma: diffused large B-cell (DLBC) and follicular. He has seen how patients of each type respond to chemo and that, on the average, there is big difference in response characteristics. I speculate that many more DLBC patients have rapid and complete responses than follicular patients. It may be rare that follicular patients have a complete remission that lasts any period of time. Therefore, since my response has gone so well and so complete, the probability that I have follicular lymphoma (incurable type) is low and it is much more probable that I have DLBC. We will never know for sure, but the more time I stay in complete remission, the more probable I have been cured.
Getting through the first year in complete remission is a huge milestone. At the one year milestone my odds of surviving and being cured are much greater than 50/50 odds I got just before starting chemo. (I intend to calculate those odds based scientific papers I found on the internet, but I’ve been too busy enjoying life). The first year milestone is the biggest for burning down risk, but the second year is a big one too. However, it doesn’t matter what happens here on out. I’m very gratified with the extension of life I’ve received thus far. From here on out, it’s icing on the cake.
Even though my diet and my training have not gone exactly to plan, my weight loss has. During the work week I do a pretty good job of staying under 2000 calories a day. But I haven’t been able to count my calories close enough to record them. It’s easy to measure food when I’m home, but whenever we dine out or eat at someone else’s house or when I’m on a business trip, I just have to estimate how many calories I eat. And I don’t always count them either. I have been traveling to Phoenix on business trips for the last couple of weeks, but that is a good thing when it comes to my diet. For business travel I don’t dine out but rather get a hotel suite that has a kitchen and cook my own food. Since I buy all my groceries, I don’t get the tempting treats that my wife gets for our sons. So I actually eat much healthier when I travel on business. I haven’t given up on calorie counting; it is still the basis for my weight loss plan. I’ll still do it when I can and when trying new meals. Many of my meals I already know how much to take to stay within my calorie limits.
Keeping track of my weight every day has also been a learning experience. I’ve noticed that my weight has a big cycle that repeats itself over a one week period. Every weekend my weight goes up 2 or 3 pounds, and then drops during the week.
I think the weekend weight gain is mostly water weight. I speculate that on the weekends I tend to eat foods that are much higher in sodium, which can make the body retain water. So monitoring your weight on a daily basis can drive you crazy if you’re not careful with interpreting the data. The first plot of my weight shows my daily weight over four weeks. The first week I was not on my diet. During the fourth week I was in Phoenix so there is some missing data. You can see my weight being all over the map, but there does appear to be a downward trend too.
Being a seasoned oncologist, he has seen many cases of both types of lymphoma: diffused large B-cell (DLBC) and follicular. He has seen how patients of each type respond to chemo and that, on the average, there is big difference in response characteristics. I speculate that many more DLBC patients have rapid and complete responses than follicular patients. It may be rare that follicular patients have a complete remission that lasts any period of time. Therefore, since my response has gone so well and so complete, the probability that I have follicular lymphoma (incurable type) is low and it is much more probable that I have DLBC. We will never know for sure, but the more time I stay in complete remission, the more probable I have been cured.
Getting through the first year in complete remission is a huge milestone. At the one year milestone my odds of surviving and being cured are much greater than 50/50 odds I got just before starting chemo. (I intend to calculate those odds based scientific papers I found on the internet, but I’ve been too busy enjoying life). The first year milestone is the biggest for burning down risk, but the second year is a big one too. However, it doesn’t matter what happens here on out. I’m very gratified with the extension of life I’ve received thus far. From here on out, it’s icing on the cake.
Even though my diet and my training have not gone exactly to plan, my weight loss has. During the work week I do a pretty good job of staying under 2000 calories a day. But I haven’t been able to count my calories close enough to record them. It’s easy to measure food when I’m home, but whenever we dine out or eat at someone else’s house or when I’m on a business trip, I just have to estimate how many calories I eat. And I don’t always count them either. I have been traveling to Phoenix on business trips for the last couple of weeks, but that is a good thing when it comes to my diet. For business travel I don’t dine out but rather get a hotel suite that has a kitchen and cook my own food. Since I buy all my groceries, I don’t get the tempting treats that my wife gets for our sons. So I actually eat much healthier when I travel on business. I haven’t given up on calorie counting; it is still the basis for my weight loss plan. I’ll still do it when I can and when trying new meals. Many of my meals I already know how much to take to stay within my calorie limits.
Keeping track of my weight every day has also been a learning experience. I’ve noticed that my weight has a big cycle that repeats itself over a one week period. Every weekend my weight goes up 2 or 3 pounds, and then drops during the week.
I think the weekend weight gain is mostly water weight. I speculate that on the weekends I tend to eat foods that are much higher in sodium, which can make the body retain water. So monitoring your weight on a daily basis can drive you crazy if you’re not careful with interpreting the data. The first plot of my weight shows my daily weight over four weeks. The first week I was not on my diet. During the fourth week I was in Phoenix so there is some missing data. You can see my weight being all over the map, but there does appear to be a downward trend too. A better way to look at weight is by averaging the daily weight over a one week period. This takes out the weekly cycle and reduces random variations. As you can see in the second plot the data points fall much closer to the fit line, which shows that I’m losing on the average 1.2 pounds a week (rounded up), slightly better than my goal. 
The fit equation shows a good R^2 factor of 0.98 (rounded up) which means the data follows the fit line to a very high degree. Isn’t science amazing?
My running training has gone very well too, but not always as planned. Over the prior two weeks I have run two half-marathon (13.1 miles) runs. The first one I didn’t have a great finish time of 2:02, a long ways from my goal of 1:39. However, I was running mostly on my local trail which had fresh loose snow on top of ice. The slipperiness robbed energy from every step I took. I was exhausted and beat up near the end of the run and hoping it was due to the slippery conditions. The following week the loose snow had melted and I was mostly running on hard pack snow, in which my trail running shoes get pretty good traction. My finish time was 1:54 and I felt great at the end of the run. My guess is that my time will improve even more just from better traction after the snow and ice disappears this spring.
My weight loss plan included running at least 30 miles a week to burn roughly 3500 calories or more per week. Well that hasn’t worked out to plan either. The biggest deviation comes with business travel to Phoenix. Not because I don’t run, but because I do a different type of run while in the desert. My favorite kind of running is trail running, and my favorite trail running is in the desert, and my favorite desert trail running is up and down a mountain trail. I have read that some marathon coaches feel that hill training can also improve speed or finish times. Well, mountain training must be the best then, right? One of my favorite mountains to run up and down is Shaw Butte in the North Mountain Park of Phoenix. Going up the mountain I try to run as much as I can, but need to take walking breaks at the steepest part. There’s something about running up a mountain that is motivating and makes it easy to push harder than usual.
My favorite part though is running down the backside of Shaw Butte, which is very steep and rocky in places. It’s a type of meditation for me. Any mistake could lead to a serious injury, so one must keep constant and absolute focus on each step. This kind of focus really clears the mind of the daily garbage.
When I mountain trail run my running distances (about 4 miles) are less than the typical 6 miles I run on flat land. So it may seem that I’m burning fewer calories if going just by distance. However, based on time and heart rate, I think I’m burning more calories. There are websites that calculate how much calories you burn for just about any activity, including mountain climbing and mountain biking, but I haven’t seen anything on mountain running.
The fit equation shows a good R^2 factor of 0.98 (rounded up) which means the data follows the fit line to a very high degree. Isn’t science amazing?My running training has gone very well too, but not always as planned. Over the prior two weeks I have run two half-marathon (13.1 miles) runs. The first one I didn’t have a great finish time of 2:02, a long ways from my goal of 1:39. However, I was running mostly on my local trail which had fresh loose snow on top of ice. The slipperiness robbed energy from every step I took. I was exhausted and beat up near the end of the run and hoping it was due to the slippery conditions. The following week the loose snow had melted and I was mostly running on hard pack snow, in which my trail running shoes get pretty good traction. My finish time was 1:54 and I felt great at the end of the run. My guess is that my time will improve even more just from better traction after the snow and ice disappears this spring.
My weight loss plan included running at least 30 miles a week to burn roughly 3500 calories or more per week. Well that hasn’t worked out to plan either. The biggest deviation comes with business travel to Phoenix. Not because I don’t run, but because I do a different type of run while in the desert. My favorite kind of running is trail running, and my favorite trail running is in the desert, and my favorite desert trail running is up and down a mountain trail. I have read that some marathon coaches feel that hill training can also improve speed or finish times. Well, mountain training must be the best then, right? One of my favorite mountains to run up and down is Shaw Butte in the North Mountain Park of Phoenix. Going up the mountain I try to run as much as I can, but need to take walking breaks at the steepest part. There’s something about running up a mountain that is motivating and makes it easy to push harder than usual.
My favorite part though is running down the backside of Shaw Butte, which is very steep and rocky in places. It’s a type of meditation for me. Any mistake could lead to a serious injury, so one must keep constant and absolute focus on each step. This kind of focus really clears the mind of the daily garbage.
When I mountain trail run my running distances (about 4 miles) are less than the typical 6 miles I run on flat land. So it may seem that I’m burning fewer calories if going just by distance. However, based on time and heart rate, I think I’m burning more calories. There are websites that calculate how much calories you burn for just about any activity, including mountain climbing and mountain biking, but I haven’t seen anything on mountain running.
So my diet and running training have not gone exactly how I planned. I actually thought of giving up on my diet method. I’m kind of a perfectionist and have trouble finishing things that don’t go to plan. But this time I listened to the words of Winston Churchill, “never, never, never give up”, and decided to stick to my plan but adapt. I can’t stick to 2000 calories every day because many days I just don’t know how much I’ve eaten. But I keep working on learning how many calories on in each meal. I think it’s important to know what you eat. But that just doesn’t happen overnight. It’s like training for a marathon. You certainly don’t start out perfect; it takes a long time to get into a good routine. You’ll always have some bad days, some that you have control over and some that were self inflected. I think one of the key things to succeeding in anything is to realize that nothing including you is perfect and that perfection is not required to move forward. As long as you never, never, never give up, one step back and two steps forward will get you to your destination every time.
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