2014 Running Thread

Got in a 4.25 mile walk/run at the gym today.  I haven't ever thought much about sports bras.  I've just been buying the $11.00 fruit of the loom 3-packs at Walmart since BMX.  One of these days I'll spend a little extra for a really good one and see what I think.  I don't get much jiggle with silicone hooters but I do need to support the girls so they stay perky as long as possible.

And here I was over on the 2013 thread.  Thanks for posting the link.  I am one of the people who is simply trying to keep moving through chemo even if it means running circles in my house.  Literally.  

I completely second goldlining on the Shock Absorber bras, I have a few as well and love them. Wore them before my lumpectomy and ALND and was back in them 20 days after. They provide good support and I love the fact that I can undo the top hook once I'm done my run and not have as much pressure on my shoulders. They are also cut low under the arms so no rubbing against my incision. 

I'll admit that I have not gotten any runs in this week with the cold that we are having but I did volunteer at a race today. I typically run this half marathon every year but since I wasn't trained for it, I decided to still participate in one way, shape or form. It was a hoot, and lucky for us it wasn't too windy, we stood in the same spot directing people for about 3.5 hours. 

Sandpiper1 - love the humour, that sounds so much like my girlfriend and I great turkey trot picture too!

Denise, thank you for sharing that video! I have little wet spots in the corners of my eyes. It's beautiful and inspiring to see your spirit shining through. I have a blog. It's not a day-to-day chronicle; I write every 1-3 weeks about grief, cancer, running, parenting, trauma and life and death, etc. The small stuff

alaskamamaruns.blogspot.com

P.S. Your hair looks so cute!! Mine is sure to grow out all frizzy but I'd love to coax it into a do like yours.

Wow, just as predicted the Disneyland 10K (and the Dumbo Double Dare) sold out in one hour, and at this point, 6 hours after registration opened, the Half is 90% full (I think capacity is 15,000). Just a heads-up if anyone is on the fence for that event.

hi Goldlining:

I just got in under the gun for the Disneyland half on Aug. 31 and am so excited! When I went on the website it was 99% full! and when my running partner went on 10 min. Later it was full, so maybe I got the last spot? I've wanted to do a Disney race ever since I became aware of them so I'm stoked.

Seems like I've spent so much time "coming back" in the past 10 months from one thing or another, but I'm starting to feel good again about running. Still a lot slower, but the distance is coming back. Did 6 miles on Sunday and it felt good!

Donna

Yay Donna! It sold out even faster this year than last year -- an hour for the 10K and about 10 hours for the half. Not sure how many 10K places, but I think the half is 15,000 people. Some were registered during the passholder pre-sales but that is still a pretty fast sell-out. I did my first one I think it was 3 years ago and I had a couple of weeks to ponder and contemplate before deciding to do it. Your running partner MAY be able to find a space through one of the charity groups or running clubs that buy blocks of registrations. 

Now with the commitment on the calendar, it helps keep the training going. (In my case, back to our regularly scheduled programming as soon as this flu is gone.) The first 10K I did, one of the group I was with said "oh we ran 15K on our long run on the weekend. This 10K is just a celebration of our training." and I thought, holy hell, that was the hardest thing I have ever done, and for you it's just a "celebration of your training"?! How very mockable. But now I do get it. The run event isn't a thing to get done. The training is the thing to get done. The run event is the reward for doing it. I didn't get it when it was a 10K along an urban park path or suburban highway, but move it to Disney and the reward aspect is much easier to relate to. 

Dear Running Sisters:

I think I am officially a wanna-be, and lurker, although I was once a runner: have not run for over a year.  Used to be hard to take a day off.  Just had mx (12.06) and then emergency sx for an infection (New Year's Eve), and I'm now facing revision sx on March 7th (I'll be flat).  Want to get back to running -- even on a treadmill -- but not sure how to start.  I need a plan.

My PT says no yoga right now.  I'm extremely out of shape (not overweight at all, but not in shape).  I've been freaking out about what my 'area' looks like at the moment.  It would be great to do something else, like go for a run.  

You don't know me yet, and you have your own plans -- from here, you guys look amazing to me -- but if someone could give me suggestions about how to start back up, I would be grateful.  Distance?  Run/walk?  Number of times/week?

Many thanks.  xBobogirl

Thank you Young Turk!  Appreciate your advice.  By cross-training do you mean weights?  Yoga?  Do you have a trainer?  Running slow sucks, doesn't it?  Seems harder to do.  Not that I was ever that fast..

Hi runningfromcancer - I can't say enough about my physiotherapy/massage therapy team. They can help identify if the pain is coming from pinched nerves or scar tissue etc. and they can stretch in ways you can't do on your own body. They're breaking up adhesions and stuff in there, and it is the highlight of my week, most weeks. I had a lot of pain in the node shoulder / underarm and they have helped a lot. Some of it is the fault of my hack surgeon (the first guy) and some of it is rotator cuff tear I had under-treated prior to all this nonsense, that was aggravated by the surgical positioning, I think. My suggestion is give them a try to see if they can help.

Welcome bobogirl. Can't go wrong with starting with walking, then listen to how it feels. You may be surprised that your old form is not so long lost. I don't train as often as I should - I am an event person, but it gives me comfort that even the ardent endurance trainers don't need to do more than 3x / week to prepare (e.g., 30 minutes Tues/Thurs and a longer outing on the weekend) -- Galloway gets a lot of love here, and his method can get you from standing still to finishing a half marathon upright and smiling in 12 weeks on that schedule. As you know from your past experience, just don't increase weekly mileage more than 10% per week, to avoid overuse injuries. I've done a lot of runs that I would have skipped out on if I hadn't posted here I was going to do it, so if you need a conscience, try us! Why not aim for half an hour, indoors or outdoors depending on the weather where you are, and see how you feel. 

Oncearunner and Goldie, you two are making me feel so excited!  I do want to train for something.  But I have been so beat up (by hacks also), I feel like... Dare I try it?  Will look at Galloway.  My subscription to Runner's World elapsed some time ago.

Have PT right now, but do not have physio/massage therapy.  Did you get a prescription for that?  Is it out of your PT office?  Would like to set something like that up if I can fit it in.  I am a mess of adhesions at the moment.

I'm going to go to the special PT gym tomorrow and check it out!  They say you can work out there by the month, with a trainer nearby, so you know exactly what's possible.  Was going to put it off, since I have another sx in March, but you make me want to sign up now!  March sx will be minor, I hear -- I will be like Young Turk and hit the streets right after.

Runningfrom: I was shocked and horrified at the state of feeling/mobility in my arm and shoulder after my surgery (which I now understand was a "modified radical mastectomy"-- it was so much more debilitating than I thought it would be...). My breast surgeon was good at removing cancer but was off base about recovering function. Fortunately I decided to ignore him and find a good physical therapist. BEST decision I ever made. I found a fantastic woman who specializes in lymphedema/cancer. I hope you can find a competent PT who can identify and help you understand and address the pain and discomfort you're experiencing. GOOD LUCK!

Runningfromcancer, I had pinching and burning on the back of my arm after surgery.  It settled after a number of months.  I then had tightness on the front and a stiff shoulder but exercise and massage sorted that out.

I did have to resolve it through my own resources though as when I mentioned it to my surgeon he just ignored it!!  A great surgeon apparently but no bedside manner!!

Sandpiper, love the t shirt...

Kayb, you are DEFINITELY a real runner!  And lulu, you are a true bad-a$s.  

Hey kayb, I'm an inhaler user too. (And similar age. I'm at the point where I can't remember how old I am, so when I finish a race, I am looking up both my official time and my official age!)

I felt I was breathing just fine so I've skipped on the inhaler lately, and then at the recent Disney weekend, irritated my lungs and have ended up with both bacterial and viral opportunistic infections taking up residence in my irritated lungs. Not a mistake I will make again! I am still on Advair to get over it, then will be strict about the Ventolin prior to running!

I have five years of data in Nike + which I was capturing using Wahoo shoe chip and heart rate strap. I would use the Wahoo app while exercising and the Nike + website to review the data. In December I bought myself a Garmin 620, and that has its own app that is pretty interesting. The watch itself has customizable displays and I am still fine tuning which statistics I want on each screen. The app (phone and website) are amazing, with calculation of vertical oscillation, stride rate, duration of how long the foot was on the ground, and all that. It even calculates calories burned, VO2max, and recovery time based on the heart rate data it collects. I love data! I am much better at that than the actual running! I also have My Fitness Pal app that tracks calories but I am not caring enough to be too consistent with that at this point. I'm interested in what other people post in response to your q.

Welcome to the thread!