Exercise - Working Back to it After or During Treatment

curveball

LOL! I wasn't mall-walking, I was looking for the restrooms, and (of course) they were at the far end of the mall from the store I was at to pick up a replacement power brick for my computer. I put the original one in the wrong box when I moved out of my old place, and after a year and a half I have no idea whatever which box it may be in, and I'm not willing to wait for it until I unpack them all!

Then, I walked out to the transit center to wait for my bus. Fortunately I got there well ahead of the time, because when I looked in the package I had come to pick up, only one of the two pieces I needed was in it. So, I walked back to the store, asked them where was the other piece, they said it wasn't included in what I had ordered, walked back to the transit center, caught the bus and walked back from the stop to my house. I figure all told it was maybe two and a half miles, but I only walked fast the first few hundred yards because I thought I might be late for the bus. I consulted the timetable while waiting for a traffic light, discovered I was actually 15 minutes early, and did the rest of my walking at an easy stroll.

gonegirl

Rhody, glad to hear the chemo is going ok.

TwoHobbies, give your son everyone's email address and have him prod all of us to move.

Curveball, who cares why you walked, you walked. :-)

Tarheel, how did the run go?

I'll probably get more walking in today.  I'll be going to a piercing studio to have my nose stud changed out. Had it pierced 3 weeks ago. I'm calling it my midlife crisis (I'm hoping) and saying it's cheaper than a car and less complicated than an affair.  I seem to be reacting to the stud in my nose, so going to pay a highly pierced young man to change my stud to a higher quality stud.  Piercing studios really are the best places. Much more sterile and they tend to know their stuff. Just a unique setting.

fredntan

Did it hurt?



We got a puppy on sat. My 17 yr old has been begging, we were going to wait for xmas. But we were at chicken swap and there were these two lab / border collie black puppies. We got one. She was free. Was full of worms and fleas. Did vet on sunday. She is a handfull. Very whiney. Three months old. Are doing the crate training.



So i have 1 puppy, six cats(only two are indoors) 7 chickens. My other dd added two baby silkies to the poultry herd. She is keeping them inbox in her room. They are so cute. Fluffy little things. They like to cuddle.



Lord help me

gonegirl

Piercing didn't hurt too bad. Certainly better than what I've been through in the last year.

Congrats on the puppy. he's lucky he found you all. 

SpecialK

fredntan - chicken swap?  Please explain...

Claire_in_Seattle

Fran.....no worries about "working back to exercise" with a border collie/lab mix!!  Both breeds are fun and loving, but beyond energetic.  She will be quite the love.  Just watch her around chickens.

She should have YOU trained in no time.

Congrats on your new family member. - Claire

TarheelMichelle

gritgirl, aren't all "starter" studs surgical steel? Was wondering why it gave you a reaction. Did you feel better after the stud change? Do you have to put neosp. or hydrocortisone on it?  Those things always help my sensitive ears.

Fran, what a lucky puppy. I hope he likes scrambled eggs. : )

I finally got a 3 miler in this afternoon. A mile of jogging, 2 miles of walking, so I'll call it jalking. Something is definitely wrong with my lungs and/or the air quality here, because I could barely run a mile, instead of my usual 1.5, and my walking was slooooow. Later this evening I saw a lady with an oxygen tank taking a nap in a car, which reminded me to be happy I had the energy to get out today. Has anyone seen the Fiat commercial with the tag line "The Italians are coming!" It was filmed in my town, in a historic village called Old Salem. I run through the village every Monday. It's a funny commercial you can probably find on YouTube. not that it has much to do with this exercise topic. My building is starting twilight yoga by the pool tomorrow. It's free so I will definitely be there, even if my downward dog is a little  ... ruff.

gonegirl

Tarheel, I love that commercial and congrats on the run. We've had a spate of hot, humid weather here, so I'm sure that has affected air quality.

The piercer actually recommended not changing the stud yet. He says with the change of seasons, the dry air must be affecting it. Plus, he said I've been fussing with it too much.  He recommended creating a mix of distilled water and sea salt in a bowl, and putting my in that for 5 to 10 minutes. Yeah. That didn't happen. I did a warm compress of the stuff instead.  Here's hoping it works out.

I did get lots of walking in as a result.  The place was in Georgetown and that's one of the places without subway access here (they apparently rejected the subway because then the bad element would come to town).  As it is, Georgetown is often filled with drunk college students. I'd call that a worse element myself.  But I did get good walking in.

SpecialK

tarheel - I love that commercial!  Especially the blond girl who cuts her hair into an impossibly chic bob without a mirror. 

gritgirl - I never knew that was why there was no metro in Georgetown!  Last time I was there I was on the Metro and a father and two sons were looking at colleges and trying to figure out how to get over there.  I whipped out my phone and went on the wmata site and planned them a route.  Made me feel like I knew what I was doing for a millisecond!

I walked last evening - a route my DH calls the "great circle" for reasons unknown.  It is pretty long, 6 1/2 miles, I usually do the out and back approach, but I went for it. I had a friend come over briefly, so left after that, not really paying attention to what time it was.  So after awhile it was getting pretty dark - I live in a very suburban area, but I was thinking, crap!  I am walking the great circle at NIGHT, by myself!  I did it anyway and I was pretty happy by the time I got home.  I have a playlist on my ipod shuffle with all up tempo music, over 100 songs, so I was walking fast - particularly once it got really dark!  I have been eating well the last couple of days, and need to get back into the exercise groove.  I have found that if I eat well and don't exercise I will gain, so to lose, or even maintain, the exercise piece is key.

I was just reading about this - create playlists that match your exercise pace, or the one you want to achieve.  Here are a few:

http://www.pacedj.com/

http://www.cruisecontrolrun.com/

http://temporunapp.com/

MaraUK

Wow special and tarheel

Makes my kitchen floor cleaning seem rather sad mind you I did Hoover as well seriously I do think you ladies are wonderful so much determination I think I need to find a bit more. No excuse now it is getting cooler here.

Gritgirl good luck with nursing your piercing.

Fran I really envy you your new puppy.

Mara

TarheelMichelle

Mara, we all deserve pats on the back for doing the best we can. I'm still in bed today at 1:30 and couldn't even begin to think of mopping or vacuuming. I think YOU are wonderful. We should not only encourage each other, we should encourage ourselves.

All of you inspire me, not just Mara, of course!



SpecialK, that was a superb effort on your walk! Way to go!

Gritgirl, I'm mystified about why you didn't want to submerge your nose in brine. ;-) I hope everything continues healing. Your walk in Georgetown no doubt added some class to that slummy college hangout.

gonegirl

SpecialK, very cool apps.

I also just found RecordBeater Pro for the Android as well. Might download that.

Congrats to everyone for keeping it going.  I just found a new motivation for moving.  Went to lunch as a group for work, and we had to walk to subway and then to restaurant, so almost have all my steps in for today.  I will walk for food apparently. Doesn't do anything for weight, but it sure got me moving. :-)

SpecialK

gritgirl - will walk for food - lol!

I think we all have to do what we can - I have been laying around doing nothing so I guilted myself into the great circle walk.  I am not going that far today, I felt ok last night, but not so good this morning!  I think I under-hydrated after I got home!  I went with DD last night right after the walk to take care of some pets for a friend on vacation.  We went in her truck, this was out in the country a bit, and she kept going over bumps and my cup of water went all over my face two or three times when I tried to drink.  After that I had cooled down and basically forgot to drink.  The good news - I slept really well!  So today, not as far, drink a bunch when I get back because we have to go see the pets again tonight!

MaraUK

Thanks Tarheel.

Just what I needed after a hospital day. It's great the way we all encourage each other. Little steps are so important.

I am off to a Pub quiz tonight so lots of Brain squeezing. seriously though we do have fun just like on here we encorage each other we never win but we just keep going.

Gritgirl I hope the piercing is ok.

Mara

curveball

No walking today--it was really hot (for here). Supposed to cool off nearly 30 degrees by a week from now. Hurray!

fredntan

Am loving my little puppy. She makes such cute noises. She isnt fond of walking on leash yet. Likes to explore around yard, playing with chickens and cats. She went for pickup ride. Cried all the way to dump but then settleddown

gonegirl

Fran. For a minute there I thought you meant that you cried all the way to the dump. Then I realized you meant the puppy. :-)



Hotter than hell in DC. Walked to get hair cut. Like I said, I'll walk to what is important to me. :-)

SpecialK

Lol on the crying mistaken identity!

Walked 5 miles last night and tonight - I'm getting into this walking after the sun goes down.  Much easier in the heat.

TwoHobbies

Grit girl you just have to find things important to you! And walking to eat is better than driving to eat.



Five miles is pretty much a dream to me. Monday we went to the forest preserve and I walked a short trail of twenty minutes. I want to work up to the one that goes around the lake. A goal. After Monday I took two days off. It has been 92 here-too damn hot.

Fran that dog will keep you busy. Border collies are the smartest dog and need a lot of stimulation. And labs require a high amount of daily exercise. So you will have a good opportunity to exercise with it.

SpecialK

twohobbies - take a look at my chemo dates and then look at yours - you will get there, don't worry!  I feel you on the heat - I have mid-90's with a ton of humidity, although right now the humidity is only about 65% - so it is just after 11 a.m., it is 86 degrees, but feels like 93!  Does this sound like good exercise weather - no!  That is why the walking right as the sun goes down - seems to be working out well.  I spent about three weeks doing nothing because it was just too hot and it makes my lymphedema flare.

fredntan

Am trying out new gyms. Can i do saunas if i am at risk for LE?

SpecialK

fredntan - anything that increases your body temp increases risk, but if you limit time in the sauna you can balance it with your risk tolerance.  I have LE and I have sauna-ed briefly.

RhodyMMM

I haven't been posting, but I have been reading. The knee is still bothering me, although it finally seems better today. Finally exiting the fog from the first round of chemo. I hope the knee will get better so I can walk...the folks at work have organized a team for the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk in my honor.Haha....they are calling it "Martha's Militia!" LOL. But that means I need to be able to walk 5K by 10/12. Hope that by the weekend I can walk a little....it is supposed to get much cooler tomorrow....high's in the low 60's!

Best to all of you...keep up the good work!

Martha

SpecialK

No walking tonight - it is pouring outside! 

Flopsie2

Hi All,

It's been a long time since I've been on any forum, so please forgive me if I repeat what has already been discussed.  I'm currently involved with the aquatics classes at my YMCA to improve flexibility and to get rid of the weight gain from being so sedentary during the healing process.  I'm interested in finding out about swimming suits that are supportive enough for my implants so I can confidently take water aerobics classes without injuring or having my implants shift position.  I don't want my scars to be visible (biopsies before mastectomy) so I'm interested in any suggestions, including brands, styles, etc.  I'm told that all polyester suits are best for longevity in pools.  (None of the women in my classes has had mastectomy - thank God!) 

Also, this is what started me on the road to recovery.  Anyone been involved with the Physical Activity and Lymphedema (PAL) Program?  My local YMCA offered a 6-weeks free membership called the "Pink Confetti Program" for women that were recovering from breast cancer to encourage exercise and well-being.  They also included an Individualized PALS for Life Program, which provided a specialized personal trainer with the expertise to include an exercise program that emphasized the prevention of lymphedema.  This program and my personal trainer were responsible for getting me back to an exercise program and emotional recovery. 

Wishing you all good health!

Flopsie2

SpecialK

flopsie - welcome!  Here are some links to mastectomy suits, which I know you don't require, but they tend to be higher cut in the underarm and will have cups.

http://cancerfairygodmother.com/mastectomy-swim-wear/

I did the Livestrong program at my local YMCA with a free 12-week program, twice weekly cancer survivor specific class and free access to everything the Y offers, but they do not have the programs you mentioned in your post.

gonegirl

Flopsie. Many suits have support bras built in. I'm curious about your implants needing support. Not to get too personal, but when I went for my first bra fitting, the young lady kept adjusting the straps and saying it was important for support. I told her I didn't need to worry about support. These sucks are like Mt. Rushmore. They are never leaving the side of the mountain.

fredntan

Gritgirl-cant sleep. Went to your site. So true Tried to comment, but cant remember my google password

Lord forbid my tablet should remember it. Seems my devices have worse chemo brain thanme.



Took puppy outside yest, thunder scared her so she came back in and peed by door.



Am knocking on wood that today will be better day at work. So manycrazy people lately

jjames76

Hi! I finished up herceptin 4 MONTHS AGO! and have been off chemo for almost a year now....before treatment i could run for miles, NOW - I can't run beyond 3 or 4 miles MAX and then I am crippled the REST of the day and into the NEXT before I can walk again without being completely sore and stiff....is this the new normal? Should I give up running and just walk instead? I kept thinking, this last 4 months, that it would get better, but it is only getting worse it seems. Thanks for any advice!

gonegirl

fran, the challenge is not focus on what could be but just dealing with what is. :-)

jjames, have you talked to your doctor?  do you have side effects from the chemo? i still have neuropathy in my feet, but i have built up slowly to old levels. it's been a slow process, but i'm doing ok. but then again, i was never a runner, so have no expectations of myself. :-)

welcome to the group.