2014 Running Thread

Hello Ladies,

I've been lying low.  I had my first chemo Thursday and Neulasta shot Friday.  I seem to be doing okay.  Taking Zofran as need and Claritin too.  Waiting I guess.  Mostly I notice zero appetite.  Shrug.  

My sister signed us up for the Bunny Rock 5K in April.  I am going to try to hang for that and she is running a Half at the end of May and I hope to run her in the last couple miles.  We'll see how I do.

Yes, LuLu, a great avatar and run hard for me when in Boston in May.  

In week 4 of c25k. This was a good way for me to get motivated and get myself moving back into the swing of things. I have been doing this on my treadmill. The weather just broke today and I took a nice brisk 3 mile walk. (43min)

I am much slower than I have been in a long time.The sun was a nice change, though it is quite windy outside. Going to wash my car. I do not even know what color it is anymore!

Have a wonderful weekend and happy trails folks

xoxo

Piper

Lovestorun, please put me down for the Mother's Day Classic in Sydney Australia on Sunday 11th May.  It is a fun run to raise money for breast cancer support and research.  I will only be doing the 4K run....sounds pathetic when I read what the rest of you are achieving but I think it is better than just sitting on the couch!

I started running for the first time after my radiation treatment finished last year and last year's Mother's Day Classic was my first ever run event.  Due to a hip injury I had to run / walk last year so I am keen to run the whole course this year.

Thanks for the inspiration wonderful people!

Forgot to report back on the reformer session. 

The massage therapist worked on my upper back and neck because they overruled the abs this time, and the physio did likewise, then put me on the reformer. It is used in a variety of ways, but my problem is ab strength due to the DIEP surgery (still!) and shoulder/upper back strength, so my position was kneeling on the sliding sled-like thing and holding handles on the fixed end of the platform. The sled is attached by an adjustable number of springs, which can make it easier or more difficult to slide. I think I was using it at the lightest setting. My first task was by increasing the arm-body angle at the shoulders only, push the sliding piece away but not change hip angle. Next was sliding away using only the hip angle, not the shoulders. Next was doing with both, towards a plank-like position. Last was push-uppy like things where the sliding platform was not supposed to slide, and would slide and give me away if I was to cheat by using the wrong muscles or slacking off on the abs. The slight stiffness in my rib area shows I was working things that usually slack off! I liked it and found it was easier to isolate muscles compared with doing things on the mat.

Fairydogmother, I do have a LE massage therapist I can see at the LE clinic at the hospital that did my DIEP, but this is a sports medicine clinic and I see both registered massage therapist (RMT) covered by insurance as well as the PT. The RMT does deep massage to break up scar tissue, primarily in the DIEP abdominal incision. Everything was just adhering in there and I could not do proper core muscle exercises. Took a long time to get to the bottom of what was not working. However some of my back issues are related to a rotator cuff tear I sustained before the mastectomy and that was aggravated by the surgeries since it is on the same side as the nodes were removed. I try to alternate if I can get in weekly but when I am away for a week, I do whatever is hurting most when I get in next.

Congratulations to everyone on your latest runs! It is great to read the successes!

FairyGodmother! Tears in my eyes too!!! You are so brave.  Congratulations on just one more courageous accomplishment for you! 

FariyDogMother, LOVE your pic.  What beautiful, great smiles!!!  Your 5K time doesn't matter - you're out there in the fresh air, putting one foot in front of the other.  That's the BEST medicine! xoxo

You ladies are inspirational. I run for my mom who is a stage IV BC patient (and all others like her whatever their disease or affliction might be) and who cannot even get out of her home anymore - she barely gets to the bathroom using a combination of a wheelchair and a walker.  I am so thankful right now that I still have the ability to walk and run.  

Hello Ladies. You all are awesome. I am new to this forum, but am going to mark it as a favorite. I am 58 yrs old, 1 yr out from diagnosis & surgery and 9 months out from my final chemo treatment.

I am a running newbie. I run so slowly that I really should call it jogging, but going super slow is the only way I've been able to work up to one continuous mile. I'm making a goal of running at least twice a week, but preferably three
times. In the past, whenever I've tried to run, I've developed knee
pain pretty quickly. This time I'm working on strengthening my quads at
the gym and stretching my hamstrings and calves to try to prevent it. I also learned that I under pronate, so I got the right kind of running
shoes and I'm making sure that I don't run two days in a row. I'm trying to be smart and work up to this gradually so I don't develop knee pain or any other excuse to quit, as I've done so many times in the past. So far so good. It helps
that DH is a long time runner and gives me good advice and
encouragement. My goals are not lofty, but I want to get to the point
that I know I CAN run, and keep it up, even if just a mile or two at a time. 

Sandpiper, my mom died of ALS, Lou Gehrig's disease. "Because I CAN" is becoming my motto.

Thank you all.  I had my worst time and Holly told me it didn't matter I was out there, moving, one step at a time.  I feel weaker after chemo then during chemo and I even had anaphylactic allergic reactions with each chemo. I think the steroids helped  

Next surgery got moved to March 3rd, they don't know if they can do internal rads, because my tumor is so freaking close to the chest wall (or lack of skin).  I don't know if I will do rads or just take my chances with the 40% recurrence. I'm nervous about the heart/lung issues and the 20% chance of cancer from rads.  I run to clear my head, now I walk/run to clear my head or run for others. 

AnnieLane remember a mile is a mile

Oncearunner… sorry to hear about your skin, that is another worry I have with rads.  If you walk you are still going the miles.  Did they give you something to put on your skin?

sandpiper1 Everyone that post their runs on here gives me a smile, because they are moving forward. 

kayb-great story of running.

YoungTurkNY…your mother is a warrior and you are her solider in arms. Thank you for running.

Donnabelle- your miles are inspiring. I was up to 8 miles before BC, now I'm going to start over with the 10K app instead of the half marathon. I still want to run a half, but might have to wait until 2015.

RunFree16-how long did you wait after treatments to start the half training?

FairyDog, I didn't have chemo so it'll be different from your story.  I ran off and on all through 2013, pretty steadily in the summer after finishing rads in early May, then more sporadically in the fall.  Since about Thanksgiving I've been pretty good, trying to get in three days/week.  I definitely feel ready to train for a half now, and I probably would have been a few months ago.  I do want some guidance about weight-lifting with my treatment arm, and I'm going to see an LE PT next week to get a program going.  I've had PT before on the arm, more massage and loosening tight muscles, which I also still need help with, but previously we didn't talk in any detail about how to do strength training.

Good luck with your surgery--that's coming right up!  About rads, are you a candidate for deep inspiration breath hold?  That is where you hold your breath to get the tumor away from your lungs, in the context of external beam radiation.  I held my breath for generally about 25 seconds. I met with a radiation oncologist who suggested it, then a different one (at a nearer cancer center) who didn't, but I brought it up.  The closer clinic had to research how to do it as I was the first one they'd used it on.  Given where your tumor is, that might not help, but it could be something to ask about when you revisit the rads question.  Where did you hear 20% chance of cancer from rads?  Also is Felix a second tumor or did not all of him leave with your first surgery? 

Oncearunner, until your skin heals, you could do what I've been doing for a very different reason:  put on your running bra OVER a shirt.  Yes, it looks ridiculous.  I do that because when I get up at 5 am, I really dread taking my shirt off to put on my running bra, and I don't need any other excuses to wiggle out of running.  I now keep my shirt on and put a bra on over it, then a jacket.  I'm running on my treadmill but I think it could also work if you are running outdoors, as long as you have something else over that to keep the neighbors from talking.

RunFree16 - that's exactly what I did on Sunday and it helped. Lucky for me it's cold enough outside for multiple layers. As for the neighbours talking, sports bra over a top or not, they will find a way to talk. oh well, not that I'm particularly concerned about what they think 

Sign me up! I was selected in the lottery to run Grandma's Half Marathon on June 21.

My training has not gone well due to the freezing cold weather and cording in my arm.  But I start physical therapy on Friday.. and will just do the best I can to get running again.

It will feel so good to be back out on the course - - one year after my June diagnosis! 

Just signed up for the first run of the spring for me - St. Patrick's Day Run for Your Luck 5K, Hagerstown, MD March 15th.  Woohoo - great to have the racing season starting up again!!  Treated myself to a new pair of running shoes, so I'm ready to go.  Last year at this time I was deep in training for a half - it was fun to do and I'm so glad I did it, but I found that that training for the half pretty much took over my life.  I've decided that my level is more 5K and 10K races. 

Now if we could just get rid of all this nasty snow and ice all over my favorite running trails  . . .