Busy, Busy, Busy

It’s been nearly two months since my last post. Yes, I’m still alive and doing fine. I’ve just been so busy living regular life. I’ve been busy at work developing a new technology, busy at home fixing up the house, busy with snowboarding and following my youngest son’s high school wrestling. I’ve been busy with family, birthday parties and helping my parents move to a new home. My sons often invite their friends to stay over night, sometimes for the entire weekend. Having a house full of teenage boys can really make life busy. I’ve also been busy with my running. My training for the half marathon is going well. I’ve run a couple of 12 mile long runs and plan to make my next long run a half marathon.

Next week I have a PET scan, blood tests and an exam by my oncologist. If everything goes well, and I have no reason to believe they won’t, my PET scans will be moved from a 4-month to a 6-month schedule. That’ll be nice.

Back to the Races

I have signed up for the Lake Minnetonka Half Marathon, which runs on Sunday, May 2nd. I miss having a race on the horizon. It feels good to be back into a training routine. I’ve put together a training schedule in an Excel spreadsheet. Each week involves building more weekly miles and a longer long run. I plan to get up to a 16 to 18 mile long run before the half marathon. That’s more than what I need to do, but I want to get close to full marathon shape. I will probably sign up for the New York City marathon, which runs in early November. I may also sign up for the Twin City 10 mile, which runs the same day as the TC marathon. I found that I need to have some race, at least a 10 mile or half marathon in the plans to keep me motivated for running.

The last few weeks over the holidays I didn’t run much at all. It wasn’t just the holidays but the cold weather and crunch time at my work that made it difficult to get out and run. I’ve been training solid now for a couple of weeks and have notice rapid progress. Yesterday I was able to run 9 miles without feeling stiff the next day. However, there is a potential issue that I’m dealing with.

I’ve been having problems with my left foot ever since trail running while on a business trip to Phoenix. The trail I was running on is very rugged with lots of rocks. I think what happen is that I stepped on a rock with the ball of my foot, causing my foot to flex more than it should. Now when I get up in the morning it is painful to walk. Fortunately the pain goes away after I walk on it for 15 minutes or so. So far it doesn’t seem to be getting any worse with my running, but it is not getting any better either. Even when I practically took off a couple of weeks from running it didn’t get any better. Hopefully I can figure out a way to get my foot to heal without having to stop running. I may have to call in a pro.

Two Years is Worth Everything

Two years ago when my oncologist was giving my wife and me the possibilities for my future, I was shocked when he expressed contentment that chemotherapy could extend my life a couple of years. That was really disturbing to me. I wanted much more than two more years, especially if I was going to go through the agony, suffering and potential lethal risks that chemotherapy can dish out. Thinking that my oncologist was being conservative with his bedside manner, I searched the internet for more optimistic news, but everywhere I looked the message was the same, two years, even several months of extended life was considered worth doing the most dangerous medical procedures. Now it’s been about two years after my diagnosis of cancer and I now know the truth – life is worth every bit of struggle.

These last two years I have lived a lifetime. I’ve ran two marathons, a half marathon, and my wife has joined me on shorter races. We’ve been on many trips these last two years. My wife and I had a romantic wedding anniversary in Las Vegas. My wife and two boys have gone to the Minnesota Boundary Waters for a canoe adventure, a trip to Arizona and Las Vegas, and a road trip to Arkansas to my in-law’s cabin in the Ouachita Mountains. My two boys and I went with other family members on our first Huck Finn trip, canoeing down the Mississippi River along with the barges, and camping on sandbars. My wife traveled with me on a week long business trip to Phoenix while Grandma and Grandpa watched our boys. There were snowboard outings and countless family gatherings for birthdays and holidays and special family annual get-togethers like the Strandjord Winter Lutsen gathering on north shore of Lake Superior and the Strandjord Fall Wiener Roast at my parents place in the country.

During these last two years I’ve seen my granddaughter catch her first fish, my grandson shoot his first real gun. I saw my daughter move to Manhattan all on her own and land a job as an assistant to a COO of a hedge fund during one of the most difficult times in the job market and economy. I saw my oldest son, who’s a senior this year, make the All Conference Team in high school bowling by ranking 7^th in the conference. At the conclusion of the season he was ranked 81^st in the state. I saw my youngest son blossom in wrestling to become a captain of his middle school team and go undefeated during regular season. This year he is wrestling on the high school team and has wrestled both JV and varsity. Two years ago I was hoping to live just long enough to see another bowling and wrestling season.

Just after finishing chemotherapy I joined my wife in riding Harley’s. My wife has been a Harley biker for many years and has her own Super Glide. I bought my Fat Boy while still going through chemotherapy. When I was going through chemo and fighting cancer I didn’t put my dreams and aspirations on hold. That really helped me stay positive during those difficult times. Since then my wife and I have gone on many rides. We like head out with little planning and see were some country roads take us. As we explore the countryside we look for that special biker bar in some little town to have a hamburger and ice tea. Over these last two years biking has become a very important part of my life, and what makes it extra special is I get to enjoy it with my wife.

Those were the major highlights of the last two years and this article only takes a slight glance at them. To really convey the wonderfulness of each would require a novel to describe the sights, the sounds, the feelings, the smiles and laughter that make up each one. When you break down a life highlight into the constituents that really make it wonderful you find those elements that also make up any ordinary day. When I look back at these last two years I see a lifetime of those elements: smiles and laughter with my family, my wife snuggling to me while I hold her in my arms, my youngest son snuggling to me while we watch TV, my granddaughter giving me a leg hug while she says, “I love you grandpa”, and it goes on and on and on.

Now I get it. Now I understand why physicians show high spirits when there is a chance of extending someone’s life a few months or a couple of years even if it means undergoing a dangerous procedure; because every minute of life is worth every bit of struggle. All it takes is one minute to feel joy from a smile, a hug, a laugh, a sound, a sight, a smell or a few simple spoken words. There’s about 43,000 minutes in a month, and over a half of a million minutes in a year. That can add up to a wealth of hugs, laughs and smiles.

Friday the 13th, In Your Face!

Friday the 13th my wife and I were escorted by a nurse to exam room #13. “Is the universe trying to tell me something”, I thought. It’s Friday the 13th and I am in room #13 about to here from my oncologist about my recent PET scan results. The nurse did ask if I wanted to change rooms, but I figured if there was such a thing as fate, it was already sealed for that day and changing rooms wouldn’t suddenly change the outcome of my visit. Honestly, I don’t believe in superstition and fate. Well, in your face Friday the 13th, my PET scan came back perfect – absolutely no cancer. Of course, my great results were not just random luck, I had a little influence.

So far two of my PET scans came back positive for cancer activity, but later proved out to be just inflammation of scar tissue where I had surgery. It’s not a good day when your oncologist says, “Your scan has shown in uptake, it is probably nothing, but it does indicate that the cancer is coming back and we need to watch it very closely and have you come back in a few weeks for another scan”. I reason, for good reasons, my active lifestyle with long distance running is causing my hernia surgery site to be inflamed and not to worry about it, but it still can rest heavy on the mind. So I found a way to combat it, with ice!

I figure if ice is good for reducing swelling and inflammation of sports injuries, then why not old hernia surgery sites. So about 3 days before my PET scan I start applying an ice pack to my groin each night, and oh that’s cold. That doesn’t sound like much fun does it? It beats the alternative, going through weeks of anxiety until another PET scan shows that the cancer is not coming back. Every time I have used ice packs before a scan my scan results have come back negative. Earlier this year I got lazy one time and didn’t use ice packs and sure enough, the PET scan came back positive. Now I’ll do anything to make sure I use the ice treatment.

This last week I got lazy again, waiting to the last night before my scan before using ice packs. That night I went to my parents, which is about an hour drive from my home, to visit and help out with a few things. I didn’t want to stay up late at night, so I employed my technique on my drive back home. It was good I wasn’t pulled over by the police. It would have been uneasy trying to explain why a bag of ice was stuff down my pants.

It’s amazing that we spend a lot of effort dodging superstitions, yet many times we’ll do little or nothing of the things that really have control in the outcome of our lives.

Good Luck Tasgirl

Tasgirl,

Good luck completing your second marathon after completing chemotherapy. I hope it goes well at the New York City Marathon this weekend.

Chemo-Man

Ride Chemo-Man Ride

I have found a new adventure – commuting to work by bicycle. I started riding my bike to work in July of this year. The idea came to me when I saw a TV news story on people who commute to work by bicycle and do it every day, no matter what the weather is outside. I got on Google Earth to check what possible routes I could take and was amazed to find that I could take mostly bike trails the entire way. So I tried it and now my commute to work has changed from a dull routine to a wonderful and enjoyable adventure.
This is not the first time I commuted to work by bicycle. In 2005 my family and I lived in Irvine California for six months while I was working on a temporary assignment at a Boeing facility in Anaheim. My commute started out with my wife driving me and my bike to a train station in Irvine. I would take the train to a station at the Angles baseball stadium. There I would get on my bike and ride about 7 miles to my work. About 4.2 miles of that was on a bike trail along the Santa Ana River. In the mornings when the sky was clear I had views of snow capped mountains.
My commute by bike now is just over 14 miles each way and it usually takes me about 1 hour to make the ride at a vigorous pace. This is not a leisure ride; I turn it into a good aerobic workout. Driving to work takes about 30 minutes each way. So the way I see it, I get a 2 hour workout with only 1 additional hour invested. Commuting by bicycle is more than just a workout for me. It sets up my day and evening. The ride in makes me feel better when I am at work, then the ride home helps flush out work stuff and gives me additional energy in the evening. Even though I push it, the ride is very enjoyable with beautiful scenery along most the way.

When I ride my bike I wear the same Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS unit and heart rate monitor that I wear when I run. So far this year since July I have logged about 579 miles on my bike, most are commuting miles. I try to ride to work about 3 days a week. Originally I was going to try for all 5 work days each week, but because of weather and family things I can only muster about 2 to 3 rides per week. That works out for the best anyways because I need time to continue my long distance running, which I would never give up. Last week I went for 8 mile run and my legs got pretty stiff afterwards. I would like to always be in good enough running shape to run a half marathon if one comes up, so I need to find a way to continue my running training along with riding bicycle to work.

If one wants to loose weight, riding bicycle is the way to go. When I ride 28 miles to work and back home, I burn over 1500 calories. I would have to run about 12 miles to burn the same amount of calories. I could ride to work five days a week and my legs wouldn’t get very sore or stiff, but even when I am in marathon shape I couldn’t run 12 miles a day for 5 days straight. Some runners can do it, but they are not average runners. The low impact of bicycle riding is a lot easier on the body. However, I have heard that some impact exercise is actually good for you because it helps maintain strong bones. A mix of various types of exercise is the best because it avoids injurys due to overuse. I will always be a long distance runner, but I have been looking for a way to get a more complete workout. Biking to work has added a new dimension to my physical and mental training.

Below are a few photos of my ride to work. More photos can be viewed at http://picasaweb.google.com/LKStrandjord/MyCommute#.

I have two waterproof saddle bags for my belongings. I carry my laptop and office things in the left one and cloths and my lunch in the right one. The saddle bags have a quick release so I can carry into my office.

The bike I use is a mountain bike, which is not optimum for this type of travel, but comes in handing sometimes when the trail gets rough. I had a new type of handle bar installed. Rather than the old style round handle bars, it flares out providing more flat surface for the palm thus reduces tingling in the hands on long rides.

After a short ride through my neighborhood, I take county road 19 to the bike trail. The speed limit for cars is slow at 35 to 40 MPH and I have a wide shoulder to ride on, so riding on this road is comfortable.

The wonderful views start out right away along county road 19.

I pick up the Dakota bike trail in Navarre. The Dakota trail, which runs 13.5 miles from Wayzata to St. Bonifacius, was recently constructed and opened this year. If it wasn’t for this trail I would have to take a busy road with narrow or sometimes no shoulder. I won’t ride on busy roads with narrow shoulders. I take the trail only 5.5 miles from Navarre to Wayzata.

The Dakota trail works its way through Lake Minnetonka. Some parts of the trail go through neighborhoods of beautiful homes, other stretches through dense woods and open wetlands and through the middle of the exclusive Lafayette Club golf course, while other parts past wonderful vistas of the lake. Here the trail crosses over a channel between Crystal Bay and Lower Lake of Lake Minnetonka. Early in the morning a fishing boat probably on its way to a favorite fishing hole carves its way through Crystal Bay.

This is one of my favorite vistas near Tanager Lake.

When I reach Wayzata I leave the Dakota bike trail and take Ferndale Rd 0.7 miles through a neighborhood to the Luce Line bike trail.

The Luce Line Trail is a state trail that runs 63 miles from Minneapolis out to Cosmos Minnesota and takes me very close to my work. I take the Luce Line trail about 4.1 miles. The first 2.3 miles is limestone and remainder closer to my work is paved.

I go through three tunnels on the Luce Line trail. This one goes under Broadway Ave near Wayzata.

A morning fisherman is trying his luck at Gleason Lake near Wayzata. If you look carefully you can see many fishing lures hanging from the power lines above. Fortunate for the fisherman fishing line is not an electrical conductor.

Just on the east side of freeway 494 the Luce Line Trail passes through a small industrial area.

After about 4.1 miles on the Luce Line trail I leave the trail and ride through a neighborhood near my work in Plymouth MN. This last part of my commute is only 1.2 miles long.

After 14 miles door to door I arrive at my work in Plymouth MN. It typically takes me a little less than an hour to complete my ride. I have a locker in the men’s shower room. My office is on the right. Sometimes I see deer in the woods from my office.

On my way home I take a different way through my neighborhood. This is a neighborhood beach on Lake Minnetonka and about 2 blocks from my house. My best time so far to complete a one way commute is 55 minutes and 3 seconds.

See more pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/LKStrandjord/MyCommute#