2013 Running Thread

OMG so happy to see this thread.  Running has been my "go to" for years now.  Diagnosed yesterday - consult next week so won't know what treatment recommendations are (am told to expect lumpectomy, possibly node removal & radiation) The thought of not being able to run through all of this is hard.  Crazy, right? 

For people with surgery & radiation - how did you maintain fitness during the process?  Can you walk? Pool run once the incisions from surgery have healed?   What kinds of things did you do beforehand to go into the process strong?  What kinds of exercise helped you keep your sanity?

Was training to do a half mid-March and have kicked that to the curb, but am not ready to give up on a half in the fall (mid-November). 

welcome lovestorun - I "hid" all my surgeries behind run dates, so I was always looking forward to a half, not dreading an operation. I even optimized some surgery dates to do that. I really, really needed it. I am not good at running, but it is good to me. Having a half scheduled and paid for got me up out of bed walking - hobbling - soon after DIEP, which is some pretty major hacking, and I did it mostly walking but some running, and I made it all the way to the finish line, six weeks post op. Someone at runDisney smiled on me and put me in the B corral which gave me a lot of peace of mind because was a bit of insurance against the sweeper bus that sweeps based on the time of the last person starting. not each person's individual pace. I had my slowest net time ever, obviously, and boy do I feel bad for the thousands of people who finished after me. You cannot imagine how proud of myself I was.

So my take is, if you love to run, why cancel? Just discard your time goals and go and enjoy the event for what it is. I did not have rads or chemo. I went scorched-earth surgical while I had DCIS. But what I've read here from the rad and chemo people don't sound like you will have to give up running, just listen to your body in the running you do, and be good to you. Those tricks about "I can keep up the sprint to the next lamp-post"? Put them aside and just let yourself run the pace you can, and walk when you need to. My motto is "there's enough medals for everybody". You can pick up the pace when you're out the other side.

PS Edited to add, I found getting back to running after lumpectomy was harder than mastectomy because of the jiggle. Running with mastectomy was easy. Post reconstruction, the jiggle is back but I am smaller (more athletic shape) and superstrength sportsbra.

I'll have to remember that "I am not good at running but it has been good to me" - love it.  There's nothing like that endorphin rush to get you going.

It's in the 60's here still - after single digits a few days ago - but when I got up for my 8-miler, it was heavy, pelting rains and howling winds.  We took the workout inside for 20 min. HIIT treadmill and legs.

Too bad the temps are going to drop back tomorrow.

Despite waking up with laryngitis (my husband oh so generously shared his cold with me) and 30+mph wind gusts I am proud to say I still made it out there this morning before having to go to radiation.   I thought about skipping it, but my dog who is my running partner (3 year old Lab) would have been devastated, LOL.

Sharon - I had the same experience (pain that subsided after the first mile or two) but have found (rads are making that side a little swollen and tender still/again) that doubling up with two snug sports bras (I have two different models from Champion that I like) keeps the girls strapped in nice and tight.

lovestorun I recommend you check to see if your running store stocks "shock absorber" brand bras. They have nonstretch panels which is the secret to reducing or eliminating jiggle. The model I have is Ultimate Run Bra S5044, and it fit true to size, same as my regular clothing bra, if you want to take a chance and mail-order it. I got mine at a marathon expo in London, where I was visiting and had read that it's the most popular sportsbra brand in UK. If so, it is well deserved. (That link is to their UK site but they do have US and Canadian retailers and websites.)

Thank you lovestorun!

Annette47 I hope the swelling and tenderness goes away for you! I'm doing good so far with 8 treatments behnd me ... the countdown continues

MMTOMH Terrific and great attitude!! You'll get there!!

Beautiful day yesterday for running ... cool and sunny ... 13 mile run (2hrs 20min), I needed to be able to do the distance before the HM to help me mentally get through it. Legs tightened up quite a bit the last 1.5 so I used the foam roller later that day ... I love it ... muscles released the lactic acid build up and I have no muscle soreness whatsoever this morning ...that's a first. Thank you goldlining and others for that suggestion!!

I wish this site had like buttons a la facebook : )  Yalls reports are helping so much with positive thinking - keep them coming!     

Goldlining - thanks for the tip. We have a wonderful running store here in town and I will ask them.  

Thanks all.  Happy running.

Thanks LuvLuLu!! Yes, it's in 2 weeks ... I hope I do break 2:30 ... if the weather stays cool, I think I  should be able to do it.

MMTOMH My thoughts exactly about 6 months ago ... my friend asked me about doing this race with her last September ... I laughed and said I haven't even done a 5K race, are you kidding? Two weeks later,  after I checked out the website, I told her I would do it and we started to train.  It's been a blessing to have the race to focus on I am really loving the long distance running and all the benefits from it!!

Thanks ladies! 

Still hanging in there with my HM training - I have my schedule posted on my wall - it's great fun crossing off every day when I finish doing what's scheduled for today.  Sunday is my "long run" day - I'm up to 5 miles.  Ran it yesterday in light snow - very pretty.

I did my best to exercise during chemo, and was able to manage it for the first few treatments.  But by the end it was all I could do to drag myself to work and back (I worked full time during chemo).  I did as much exercise as I could, but some days I could only manage a slow walk to the corner and back, and there were even some days when I was unable to manage that.  But 2 weeks after my final treatment I started a gentle yoga class and hopped back on the elliptical.  That first class I managed only a handful of poses and had to rest most of the time.  On the elliptical I only lasted 5 minutes and was going so slowly the machine kept blipping off.  But it was a start.  Slowly but surely my conditioning came back.  My recommendation would be to do as much as you are able as it will help you, but if fatigue or other s/e hit you hard, then respect your body's need to conserve energy to deal with being poisoned or burned. 

Anyone listen to audiobooks while running?  I use Nike Running+ to track my runs, and have been listening to music.  But just for fun I treated myself to a book.  I tested out listening for the first time yesterday and I enjoyed it - I was so absorbed in the book that the miles just flew past. 

NatsFan-I thought about doing the audiobook thing, haven't tried it yet.  Read somewhere that you shouldn't listen to music or books because it distracts you!  I was like "uh, yeah, that's the whole point!" Lol.  

I ran for a solid 28 minutes today...2 1/2 miles...yay!

MM - I'm with you - distract me all you can!!! Goodie - that's exactly how I started.  I did a lot of walking through my neighborhood, and just for fun one day decided to jog to the next driveway.  I felt fine, so I walked for a couple of driveways, then jogged to the next one.  Soon I was jogging for two driveways, and walking for one, then jogging for 3 driveways and walking for one. Not exactly a fancy training plan, but it worked for me.   

For all the experienced HM and marathon runners out there - my marathoner and IronMan mentors both recommended gels.  My long runs are starting to get into the hour+ range now, so I think now's the time to start experimenting.  Both mentors stressed finding out one that works for me and getting my system used to it during training.  Both had hideous stories of trying something new on race day and finding out that their systems didn't tolerate it!

Any gel recommendations?  I've been doing a little reading and think a low or no caffeine one would be better for me - I'm hypersensitive to caffeine - I can't even have a caffeinated soda after 12pm or I'm up buzzing all night.  If I dare to have a Starbucks or Caribou coffee - even a half-caff - I get lightheaded and a little dizzy, and actually see little white lights in my field of vision for a few hours.  Something tells me that would not be a good thing to happen during my HM! 

You guys are making me want to try some longer runs!   Of course, I'll have to get over this darn bronchitis that I've come down with which has kept me from running for a week now .    I'm hoping to be recovered enough by this weekend to try to at least run a little bit even if I have to walk some as well.

Thanks everyone!  I have a $25 gift certificate to my local running store - I may use it to buy a few nutrition gels and bars to start trying out.  Gold - LOL on not hearing the airplane full of babies!  Hoping for a speedy recovery for Gold, Annette, and everyone else who is ailing.  Be safe everyone in the northeast!

I hope everyone faired well with the bad weather and are able to get outside and run again soon

Great information/advise on the nutrition/gels/drinks for long runs from everyone. I haven't tried any of it and with my HM race being this weekend, I will wait until afterwards to start experimenting. My first 5k race I accidentally drank Gatorade instead of water and immediately cramped up. Just been drinking plain ole H2O, but am interested in trying some of that out for future long races. 

I've completed 14 radiation treatments ... started to get red/itchy toward the end of last week ... no fatigue but I am more tired at night than I normally am ... none of it has effected running. I ran a 5k this past weekend, husband ran his first 5K with me and daughters ran the 1 mile fun run ...  we had lots of fun and all ran PRs ... the race was Run for the Cookies ... Girl Scout Cookies ... so we have had no problem overly replenishing our calorie loss with yummy cookies.

Firstcall and Lovedogs ... I hope you both run great HM races this weekend!

Happy Running Everyone!