2010 Running Thread

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lewing
lewing Member Posts: 1,288
edited June 2014 in Working on Your Fitness

I know there are a number of runners on this board, and so I thought I'd try to start a thread where we can update and encourage one another.  That goes for those of us who run for stress relief, for fitness, for competition . . . during treatment, after treatment . . . fast, slow . . . whatever.

So, let's see just how many of us there are!

(My own running bio: I came to it late, in my mid-30s, and ran fairly seriously in my mid-40s.  I credit running with helping me rebound from surgery and maintain my equilibrium during chemo.  Getting back into the competitive groove post-treatment has been challenging, and for the time being, I'm not trying to be fast, just to get out and run easy.  I really do feel that running has been a lifesaver for me, and I'm grateful that I can still do it . . . even if watching my former training partners zoom zooming along makes me feel a little wistful.)

Linda

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  • Blondie1964
    Blondie1964 Member Posts: 116
    edited January 2010

    Linda,

    I too am a runner and am so thankful that you started this thread!!! 

    My running story - I ran in college and after, loved it, stopped for a number of years, had three kids, then started up again at about age 40.  Then I started running races which I totally love - 5k's, 10k's then 15k's.  My husband and I started as a team and we run together today every weekend!  

    I was DX with BC at 44,almost a year ago, had 4 surgeries over the past year and that affected my running big-time this year.  Struggled for a while and then ran a 5k November 2009 - first race post DX - I had no interest in trying to go fast, just finishing without stopping, slow and steady, like the turtle I sometimes am,,,,did it,,,,

    And since - I can now run for training 5 miles with my hubby without stopping - this is 5 months past last surgery and I think that makes a big difference - it took this long to start to really fell ok or back to normal running....

    I did not do chemo, so cannot even imagine what that could add to the mix in terms of continuation or returning to running....

    I am signed up for a 10K at the end of January which I am training for now and have talked my hubby into walking the 3-Day 60 Mile fundraiser in November - I know that the topic is running but this event seems to fit right in so I am mentioning it as well!  I would ove to hear if anyone reading this has done the 3-Day-60-mile and, if they have, what they thought of it..

    Julie

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  • Member_of_the_Club
    Member_of_the_Club Member Posts: 3,646
    edited January 2010

    I'm in!  I was a field hockey and lacrosse goalie in high school and started running on the side because I wasn't getting enough exercise in the goal cage.  I've been running pretty much since, though I would really call it jogging until recently.  I've only started running in races and training since I had bc, five years ago.

     I ran through chemo and rads.It saved me.

    I run Monday through Friday after I drop my kids off at school.  Generally I run 5 miles, and try to do a long run of 7 to 8 miles once a week (haven't been so good about that lately).  The day after a long or difficult run I will either drop down to 3.5 miles, or skip a day.  During the spring I go to a track once a week and run intervals to train for races.  I'm really not a fast runner so no matter how much I train, I haven't gotten times to be real proud of.  But I have improved and I dream of one day maybe placing in my age category, as much as I know that is unlikely.

    I will be running a 5K on May 2nd to raise money to fight brain tumors (my mother recently died of brain cancer).  Then a month later is our Race for the Cure (which is so insane and chaotic, I can't really treat it seriously as a race) and on July 4th a 5K autism run.  In the fall I would like to run some longer races. 

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  • everyminute
    everyminute Member Posts: 1,805
    edited January 2010

    Hi all-

    Ironically I started running a few years ago because I had a bc scare and read that exercise reduces risk of bc.  Well, not in my case.

    Anyway - I have been running for a few years.  Did a mini sprint triathalon last year and a half marathon and numerous 5ks.

    Training for another triathalon now (march in fla) and a crazy 200 mile relay race from upstate to NYC.  (ragnar relay if you want to google it). You run it with 12 people on a team over 30 hours - crazy but sounds like fun.

    Not sure if I am going to try a full marathon or the hersheys tour de pink next October (God willing)

    I have a tattoo on my foot that says "Long May She Run" and my husband has it too!!

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  • rosered
    rosered Member Posts: 23
    edited January 2010

    Oh I am so happy to see this thread!!  Thanks for starting Linda!

    I am a long time runner - I've done a bunch of marathons but  over the past few years I've been doing those crazy relay races that Everyminute referred to!  Not in NY - but Reach the Beach in NH - same idea 200 miles in 24 hours give or take a few hours or miles!  This summer, I was planning to do a different relay called the 100 on 100 in VT but found I had BC instead.  Ugh!  Not in the plan!  Instead of the relay, I had a unilateral MX in Aug but didn't have immediate reconstruction as planned becuase of node involvement and my PS didn't want to put in tissue expander in the event I needed radiation.  Fortuntately, no radiation and OncoType of 9 - no chemo either so I just had a permanent implant surgery on Dec 3 - I'm pretty small breasted so PS was able to put in a permanent implant without TE to "match" my right side.  So, I'm just getting back into running - in between surgeries I got up to about 7 miles for a long run and completed a 10K in Nov. 

    Overall, I've been pretty lucky - and I would echo your thoughts, Linda - about running being a huge help throughout this entire experience.  Now, I'm dealing with lymphedema in my hand. Boo!  Its freaking me out a little - I know in the scheme of things, its not the end of the world but I'm just really bummed about it.  My hand isn't gigantic but it swells here and there throughout the day- I wear a glove but I need to get a better fitting one soon - I'm worried about what hot weather running will bring. 

    I'm looking forward to just getting back in running shape - for the first time in my life, I'm also committed to taking yoga (a combination clasee of strenghtening and core) so I hope to come out of this in better shape than before.  Maybe not as fast but strong!  

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  • lewing
    lewing Member Posts: 1,288
    edited January 2010

    I'm thrilled to see others joining this thread!  Rosered, I've heard of Reach the Beach . . . I get hit up every year to join a team for the Great Lakes Relay here in Michigan, but I've yet to do it.  it really sucks that BC screwed up your relay plans this summer.  And I'm sorry about the LE in your hand.  Has anyone given you any words of wisdom about running in hot weather (other than staying hydrated)?  I've never fared well in the heat (I once collapsed in truly spectacular fashion at the end of a 10K), and being at risk of LE, I'm now doubly concerned. 

    Julie, I've never done the 3-Day, but I know people who do it year after year.  I guess that says something about what they think of it.

    This was a light week for me on account of travel and the need to shovel snow when I would rather have been running.  I managed 30 miles in 5 runs, including some short 4-5 milers and a long run of 10 miles.  This was the first time I've done a double-digit run in almost a month, and it showed: by the end, my breathing was raggedy and my legs were leaden. 

    Linda

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  • rosered
    rosered Member Posts: 23
    edited January 2010

    Linda, if you can ever do one of those relays - do it!  It was really an amazing experience - especially the first oneI ran.  One of my legs was at 3AM and it was just crazy.  I definitely conquered my fear of the dark that year! The other very cool thing was that my team was all women and we had a super organized pair of team "captains" and they kept things in order! 

    As for warm weather running tips for lymphedema - I don't have any quite yet. I'm not sure waht to expect since my hands do swell after long, summer run so I'm a little nervous.  Right now, its my hand thats slightly swollen - which would be OK with me if I knew if thats all its going to be.  I'm just not sure what the new "normal" is these days!  

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  • Harley44
    Harley44 Member Posts: 5,446
    edited January 2010

    I'm going to log in here...  I never consider myself a runner, but here is my story...  before bc, I walked and started running because my dh runs.  I can never run fast, or even as fast as he runs....  I'm trying to remember when we did it... I think it was 2005, I entered a 5K race and it was really kind of fun. 

    After I moved to NC, in Oct. 2006, I try to keep exercising, and even though I tried walking, I felt like it was taking forever to finish my walks, especially after I started walking further distances...

    Anyway, in 2007, I was dx'd with bc, and I continued to walk or run... even during my tx, I would go out and either walk or run.

    Seems strange, but I exercised more when I was in active tx...  don't get me wrong.  I did exercise, and I walked or ran maybe a couple of times a week... but I would sometimes let a couple of weeks go in between... 

    so, for 2010, I want to get motivated to go out most every day and get some kind of exercise... Well, it's been very cold lately, so I even have been using the dreaded elliptical torture machine, just something so I can get some exercise... 

    So here I am...  I even went for a light jog earlier today. 

    Great to meet you all...  I am feeling very inferior, though because I don't do MARATHONS!!


    Harley

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  • rosered
    rosered Member Posts: 23
    edited January 2010

    Oh, i was just ready to shut down my computer but read your post - please don't feel inferior about not doing marathons.  They're awful and great at the same time!  Just getting out there is whats important!

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  • Blondie1964
    Blondie1964 Member Posts: 116
    edited January 2010

    Harley,

    Welcome!  And please do not feel inferior at all!!!  I don't do marathons either - have aspired to maybe a half at some point but NOWHERE close to that now.  I worried about being able to finish a 5k three months ago...

    I am hoping that this thread can be inspirational and supportive for all of us runners whether we are very long distance runners or shorter....as rosered said, just getting out there and trying is what matters!!!!  If you are challenging yourself to exercise every day that is wonderful!!!!

    BTW - my hubby is also my running partner and I have a cat named Harley... :)

    Julie

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  • lewing
    lewing Member Posts: 1,288
    edited January 2010

    Harley - marathons are overrated!  Wink  Seriously, a lot of people jump into them because they want to be able to say they've done one . . . and then turn back into couch potatos because the experience is so awful.  Your approach to fitness makes a lot more sense.

    Rosered, I will definitely try to do the Great Lakes Relay.  Hmmm . . . maybe this will be the year.  Everyone I know who's done it raves about the experience . . . mud and lack of sleep and bad personal hygiene and getting lost (someone ALWAYS gets lost) notwithstanding.  Teams are scored according to a complicated handicap system, which means that old ladies are highly sought after.

    Five miles slow in the snow for me last night.  This morning: a snow shoveling workout. (I'm going to pretend that counts as cross-training.)

    Linda

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  • momand2kids
    momand2kids Member Posts: 1,508
    edited January 2010

    A great thread!!!

    I took up running in my late 20's-- ran lots of 5ks, 10ks then ran 3 marathons.  My second child was born and I tried to keep it up, but with working full time, 2 small kids-well, it didn't happen.  I did continue to exercise-yoga, swimming, walking-I tried everything, but nothing kept me in shape the way running did.

    When I was at my regular dr. appt in Oct 08 we talked about running and I told her I was interested in starting again-and then she found the lump.  I did run through the whole diagnostic phase and a bit before chemo, but then I decided that I would wait--- during radiation I did most days on the elliptical trainer-- then this fall, my plantar fascitis came back in my foot--delayed again--took me almost all fall to heal it (still did the elliptical and started swimming lessons)

    Anyway, my foot is almost healed and I am now thinking I might do a small triathlon--it has always been on my to do list.  I am doing the swimming and start the biking today-- but I will eventually have to run again--- so I am delighted with this thread- since I think I will have to start running around March--- if not sooner if this thread motivates me!!!!

    thanks for starting it....

    carole 

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  • Harley44
    Harley44 Member Posts: 5,446
    edited January 2010

    Thanks everyone for the warm welcome!  I really was proud of myself for doing the 5K.  I hope to stay motivated to keep exercising, and maybe running, too...

    Blondie, My husband isn't a running partner, mainly because I can't keep up with him, so I would hold him back.  But he DID the 5K with  me, and ran slower so I didn't feel left out.  Oh, and I think it is great that you have a cat named HARLEY!!  :D  We have two cats, one is a black and white tuxedo named Spike and then there is a Norwegian mix named Thor.  I love cats!!  >^..^<

    Welcome Carole,

    Sorry you had to join this club, but so glad to meet you!!  I mostly walked while I was going thru treatment...   but just now, I'm getting back into running.  I am geting excited about reading everyone's posts about their running routines, and hope it will keep me motivated!!

    Harley

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  • Blondie1964
    Blondie1964 Member Posts: 116
    edited January 2010

    Hey, ladies,

    Welcome new runners!  

    Linda, Michigan snow shoveling should definately count as cross training!!!  Think of all the arm, back, leg muscles you have to use to do it!!!  We do not have that here in TX, the most I can hope for at this point is a little one-arm back and forther while I clear the ice off the windshield!

    Harley,my hubby runs with me but I totally hold him back too!  He is an ex-Marine - he runs with me because it is my passion but not necessarily his.  He likes running but really gets out there because I want to and push for it.  In races, 5k's we run our own pace and he smokes me of course, in 10k's or longer he runs by my side at my pace, he just always has and I am so grateful for that.  It works for us anyway!  I also have two cats and am a cat lover - we have Harley, a small calico, and a big, sweet, orange tabby lovable girl named Tiger.   They are wonderful companions!!!

    Another event for 2010 - we are also interested in running the Marine Corp Mud Run (10k) this year - it is in April in Fort Worth - we are looking at doing it as a family team.  I have two teenage boys and a slightly younger daughter.  I have heard that this is amazingly fun but a very messy challenge as well...."mud run" says it all...we planned to do it last year than the BC DX...so looking forward to 2010 in so many ways....

    Best wishes to all!

    Julie

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  • Harley44
    Harley44 Member Posts: 5,446
    edited January 2010

    Julie,

    I think it's great that your husband runs with you.  I have not gotten myself conditioned well enough to do more than a 5K...  in the neighborhood, I've been running about 2 miles... not much I know... but still, better than nothing.

    I love cats, too...  they really are good companions, especially since I was doing the long distance relationship thing with my husband while going through tx, my cats were really good emotional therapy for me.

    Oh that Mud Run sounds so....  MESSY!!    :D  but it sounds like fun!  good luck!

    Harley

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  • Blondie1964
    Blondie1964 Member Posts: 116
    edited January 2010

    Harley,

    Hang in there, girl!  

    2 miles works, it is a great start!  We've all started at less and it only gets better with time!!!!

    Your fitness goals are awesome and you can do it!

    Kickin' cancer to the curb in 2010,

    Julie

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  • Harley44
    Harley44 Member Posts: 5,446
    edited January 2010

    Julie,

    Thanks! 


    Carole,

    It's finally started to warm up here in NC, so I have been going outside to run a bit.  I was using our elliptical torture machine during the cold days...   It gives a good workout, but man, did it ever give me a beating!  We know some people who have been dx'd with plantars fascitis, and it really sounds painful.  Glad to hear you are feeling better.

    Hugs to all,

    Harley

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  • LoriL
    LoriL Member Posts: 185
    edited January 2010

    I'm more of a cyclist, but am a runner, too! My story....I was a cyclist and runner in high school and college, and then really let myself go physically after that. Through the years my weight yo-yo'd wildly before I finally got ahold of it and lost 165 lbs 2 years ago. I started cycling again, and then running when my weight was low enough so that I wouldn't damage my joints. 

    I was training for my first marathon when I was diagnosed with cancer last April at the age of 43. Running the marathon 2 weeks after diagnosis was such an emotional accomplishment! Lord-willing I had conquered Obesity, and now I was prepared physically and mentally to conquer the cancer as well. A few weeks later I had a bilateral mast. I walked everyday postop, and then when I got my drains removed a week later I asked my surgeon if I could start working out again. I didn't tell him that I had already tucked my drains into my cycling shorts and gone for a ride the evening before. :-) He said I could return to my "usual activities."  As my husband and I walked out of the office, my husband whispered to me, "yeah, but does he know what YOUR 'usual activities' are?!"  Well, it didn't really matter because I went home and celebrated by going for a glorious drain-free 5 mile run. :-)

    I was spared having to go through chemo, but running and cycling kept me strong during radiation. Right now I'm dealing with some hip pain from the tamoxifen, so I'm not sure that I'll be able to get enough mileage in before our local marathon again this Spring. For now, I'm planning on doing the 1/2 instead. And, I've got my eye on a cycling Double Century (200 miles in one day) the end of June. My body seems to be built for endurance events, which I would have never dreamed a few years ago! I'm just soooo incredibly grateful that God has enabled such physical and mental changes in me. And, I cherish the pure joy that I get when I run and ride- it makes me feel so ALIVE!

    Long live all of us!

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  • ktym
    ktym Member Posts: 2,637
    edited January 2010

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEZHISEL4lk

    Didn't know if any of you had seen this, seemed perfect for this thread.  

    My running story:

    I've always been more of a recreational runner.  Usually a slow few miles at a time.  When DS was little he would ride his bike while I ran.  He got a little older and would run with me and I'd go slow enough for him to keep up.  By the time he hit high school he'd leave me in the dust.  Luckily DH had the patience to still run with me. Smile

    Chemo left me with some pretty bad neuropathy and myopathy so I'm struggling to come back.  I can run a little now and it feels good.  It's how I'm marking my progress.  My goal is to do a 5 K a year from now.  I wanted to do it sooner but have been warned pushing it will make muscle recovery worse, so I'm settling on a year from now and just doing what I can. 

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  • Harley44
    Harley44 Member Posts: 5,446
    edited January 2010

    kmmd

    Welcome to the running thread...

    Good luck to us...

    Live Strong... Live Long!!

    Harley

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  • ktym
    ktym Member Posts: 2,637
    edited January 2010

    Thanks Harley.  BTW: DS did become quite a runner.  His middle school track coach wasn't happy when he signed up for lacrosse instead of track in High School, but he ended up playing lacrosse in High School and College.  His lacrosse coaches loved how he could run and opposing teams learned to never let him get the ball and leave him open because he'd be down the field before they knew it.  I liked to think that it was the good training all those years when he was little and running with dear old Mom.

    Live Strong and Live Long indeed.  I may not run well, but what I do does give me an endorphin rush that keeps me calm and I can't get by without.  Maybe in my case it is Live Strong and Live Calm. 

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  • Harley44
    Harley44 Member Posts: 5,446
    edited January 2010

    kmmd

    That is great about your ds!  I bet the other teams were surprised at first, when he took off down the field, and left them in the dust!  :D

    Other women here on bc.org have little sayings in their bio...  I don't have one, but I thought that was a good one for us...

    Live Strong, Live Long, Live Calm...  

    Harley

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  • lewing
    lewing Member Posts: 1,288
    edited January 2010

    Hi, all.  LoriL and Kmmd . . . thanks for sharing your stories.  I find it really interesting, how people come to running (or come back to it).  And Lori, I'm floored by your weight loss.  That's such an incredibly difficult thing to do.  Kmmmd, it sucks that you're still dealing with chemo after-effects.

    I spent the weekend in NYC (my boyfriend lives in Brooklyn), which means I had a whole world of running routes to choose from.  I've always thought that one of the best things about running is the way it lets you explore places on foot.  For my Sunday long run - an old routine that I'm getting back into as my various achilles/foot injuries allow - I opted for post-industrial grit, and ran to Williamsburg and over the bridge into Manhattan, through Chinatown, then back into Brooklyn over the Manhattan Bridge.  About 10-11 miles in all, and the first time I've done a double bridge run.*  (My boyfriend's bike club sometimes does a ride where they try to do as many bridges as they can, which gave me the idea.  Maybe next time I'll fit the Brooklyn Bridge in there, too)

    Run well, everyone!

    *Not counting the NYC marathon, which features - counting on fingers here - FIVE of 'em.

    Linda

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  • Blondie1964
    Blondie1964 Member Posts: 116
    edited January 2010

    Linda,

    Wow!

    Though my distance, etc will likely not ever be as long as your's...well, who knows, a runner can dream right?...  :)...still, I am so impressed...and still so happy I can run period!

    LoriL - amazing, your story!!!!!!  You go, girl!!!

    Everyone else, I am running 5 miles tomorrow and my 10K on 1/30.  Yah!  

    Julie

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  • LoriL
    LoriL Member Posts: 185
    edited January 2010

    Hi all!

    I had a nice 8 mile run in on Saturday- the farthest I've been able to run since this darn hip issue (which began 2 weeks after I started tamoxifen in August). It was 25 degrees (which is unseasonably warm here!), sunny, and GLORIOUS. :-)  My hip was sore on Sunday, but that's OK since it was my rest day anyway. Took a spin class at the gym yesterday and then hit the treadmill today for a hill workout. I'm just not a "treadmill kind of person," but it seems to be easier on my hip. My feet hurt today, for some reason. Ugh! I probably pushed the mileage a little fast. I long for the day when I can just run without any pain!  

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  • marie111
    marie111 Member Posts: 119
    edited January 2010

    Hi all !

    I too am a runner however I have never got aroud to running a marathon. I just love to run and find that is the only exercise I enjoy doing consistently. I am very concerned because I have just had a BMX on Jan 7th with TE and wonder if I will ever be able to run again. I ran right thrumy chemo treatments and I believe it truly made it easier for me, but now feeling the way I am after this surgery I can't imagine ever running again. I don't feel bad physically - not much pain - but a lot of discomfort and the TE feel like I have cement instead of breast !! Has anyone on this thread had a BMX with implants and are you now able to run like before ?

    Thanks and keep up the good work !

    Marie

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  • winter1NY
    winter1NY Member Posts: 46
    edited January 2010

    Hi all

    Was happy to find this thread. I am 50 and was recreational runner 3-4 miles a day but not really fast; used treadmill on icy days. I'm  getting very bummed out as have not jogged outside since surgery in Aug. I had skin-sparing MX as well but no chemo/rads.  I have TE with alloderm and everytime I attempt to even fast walk feels like TE's are going to come out of my skin, especially the metal port seems to shift and protude. The last 2x I attempted treadmill only fast walk 3.5 mph  for 1 hour (slow by my old standards of 5.6) boobs got all red and what looked like red veins came out all over both so I have given up and gained 5 lbs to boot! Has anyone else had this happen?  What about after you get the silicone implants-does it get any better??   thanks

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  • lewing
    lewing Member Posts: 1,288
    edited January 2010

    Well, I just took the plunge and signed up for the "Around the Bay" 30K in Hamilton, ON at the end of March.  It's the oldest road race in North America, and one I've always wanted to do, but something always seemed to come up.  Once upon a time I would have been gunning to place in my age group . . . now, I'll be happy to finish.  Not just happy: thrilled.  This will give me something to train towards. 

    To that end, I managed 12 soggy miles today.  (That's what I mean about having something to train towards.  If I didn't have this race in mind, I would have been sorely tempted to bag this morning's long run, but I didn't, and it ended up being a good one.  Once I got going, I hardly noticed the rain.)

    I'll cut my long run back to 10 next week, and then try to get in a 15 miler the week after.  I'd like to have three of those under by belt before the 30K.  What I'm hoping is that the miles I run slowly in the winter/early spring will help me get back a little bit of speed by summer.  One can always dream, right?

    winter1NY, I can't help you out on your TE question (other than to commiserate).  Hopefully others have, or will, weigh in.  Have you tried searching the board?  I'm thinking there may have been another thread or threads specifically on running during/after reconstruction.

    Wishing everyone a good week!

    Linda

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  • Harley44
    Harley44 Member Posts: 5,446
    edited January 2010

    Good luck to all the marathon runners and the 10 or 15 mile runners... I can only do 2 miles... 

    .....sigh...

    Harley

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  • Blondie1964
    Blondie1964 Member Posts: 116
    edited January 2010

    Harley,

    A couple of months ago I could only run a couple of miles, today 5 miles comfortably, that's 4 months after my last surgery and I was comfortably running 5+ miles before all of this nasty stuff.  Keep up trying, girl, it totally gets better over time...I promise!!!!!!!

    lewing - congrats on signing up for that 30k!  You sound amazing in terms of your distance running!

    Julie

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  • Harley44
    Harley44 Member Posts: 5,446
    edited January 2010

    Julie

    The most I ran was that 5K with my dh...   that was 5 years ago, I think... 

    I guess I'm destined for only short runs... 

    Harley

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