Le Sueur Giant's Valley 5K Run

My wife and I recently ran in the Le Sueur Giant’s Valley 5K run. I mostly grew up in Le Sueur, which is a little town on the Minnesota River. Remember those TV commercials with the jingle, "From the valley of the Jolly (ho, ho, ho) Green Giant!". Well, there really is a valley where the company was founded and as you enter the valley going south on highway 169 you’ll see an enormous billboard of the Green Giant. The company no longer has operations there but the spirit of the Green Giant still lives on. The 5K run is part of the annual Giant Celebration. I had a very good race with a time of 23:59 and finished 3rd in my age group (50 -54). OK, maybe there were only six males in my age group and half of them were using walkers, but I still feel pretty good with my results.

Thinker and Ticker Doing Just Fine

Last week I went to see my regular doctor about the strange sensations and headaches I have been having. It has seemed too long to blame it on caffeine withdrawals and my doctor agreed. So he ordered a MRI brain scan and a stress test for my heart. Based on how good I feel on my runs I thought the stress test was a real long shot, but couldn’t hurt to know how well the ticker is working.


The MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) is really cool. Many years ago in one of my physics classes we studied the physics behind the MRI so I was excited about experiencing it. The MRI turned out to be everything I expected. It felt like I was in a machine someone dreamed up for a science fiction movie. The noises the machine produce, oscillating buzzing noises, sounded like the best sound effects in a sci fi movie. It sounded like they were shooting me with various types of invisible ray guns.

The stress test was interesting too. I lay in a bed with exercise bicycle pedals. They hooked my up to an EKG and also took some ultra sound pictures of my heart before, during and after I exercised. I had to get my heart rate up to 145, which wasn’t easy. The machine starts out with little resistance and increases the resistance slowly every 2 minutes. I was pedaling for 15 minutes before my heart rate reached 145. My legs were about to give out and I was sweating like a pig. (Does a pig really sweat?)

Today I got the results and my thinker and ticker are doing just fine. My symptoms have been improving, so my doctor says to just see if they go away. I’m fine with that. I’m done having my body poked and scanned for awhile.

$$$ I’ve won the Lottery $$$

I feel like I have won lottery. My PET scan came back squeaky clean and my blood counts are normal. I’m back on my normal schedule of four months between PET scans. The next PET scan will be just two months shy of my second anniversary of starting chemo. After two years my odds of making it five years and beyond are pretty good and the PET scans will be done less frequently. As more time goes on with good PET scans, the more likely it looks like I am cured of cancer.

After my last post I did start to have weird feelings again. The strange feeling is hard to describe, but I feel kind of a tingling in my skin and at the tip of my tongue. I’ll get slight headaches and will feel some nervousness or a little jittery. Sometimes the strange feeling keeps my up at night. I was pretty confident that it wasn’t the cancer coming back, but I was still very anxious to see my doctor. I told him all about it including going cold turkey with caffeine. He said the strange feelings are most likely caffeine withdrawals. Furthermore, since I have undergone one of the strongest chemotherapy treatments that are administered, my body may have more difficulty handling things like caffeine withdrawals. My doctor also said that it can actually take four to six weeks to be completely free of caffeine. He ordered some additional blood tests just to be sure something else isn’t causing the strange feelings. Most of those tests have come back negative and next week I get the remaining results.

I also have a constant tingling in my toes and sometimes my fingers. The tingling in the toes started when I was taking chemo and has never stop since then. Sometimes it gets pretty intense and can be annoying. The tingling, called peripheral neuropathy, is from nerve damage cause by one the chemo drugs called Vincristine or Oncovin (the O in RCHOP). The nerve damage can take up to three years to repair, and in some cases is permanent. I can live with this; it is better than the alternative. One thing is for sure, the tingling does not get in the way of my happiness.

Some things are beyond our control and we have to live with it. But so much in our lives are within our control, like caffeine, eating well, exercising and taking the time for those things that truly give us happiness. Life is the most precious thing we have, nothing else compares to it, yet it is amazing how we so easily waste it and throw it away.

Lost My Fire, Now I Have It Back

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.

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.

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.

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.

For my 50th birthday in April I got a new Garmin Forerunner 305. (My wife got me my first Forerunner in 2006 when I was training for my first marathon and my hopes for completing training were waning. Knowing the techie that I am, she thought that a high tech training device might rekindle my determination, and it did.) This April I was blown away when I downloaded the Forerunner data onto my computer and checked my heart rate on an 8 mile run. With a pace of about 9 minutes per mile and my heart rate averaged about 145BPM. I knew then something major had recently changed with my body and I was completely back to normal, maybe even in better physical shape than I was before chemo. I suspect two things are responsible. I think it has taken a full year to completely recover from chemotherapy and the mountain trail running I have been doing during business trips to Phoenix has help increase my Anaerobic threshold ( http://www.rice.edu/~jenky/sports/anaerobic.threshold.html ). Some marathon coach’s believe that hill training is just another form of speed training ( http://www.runwashington.com/news/1133/310/Hill-Training-There-s-Speed-in-Them-Thar-Hills.htm ).


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.

A few days before the race I also decided to have a new Chemo-Man shirt made. I wanted to add the 2008 TC marathon and make it more readable. The sports shop, Hanus Sports, that did the lettering on my first Chemo-Man shirt, didn’t think they could do it in time because they were very busy with some more important things and the job I was asking for was difficult. But the Friday before the race I got a call and my shirt was done.

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.