2014 Running Thread

hello runners, I am just starting to get back to the gym and running after taking about 9 months off. Before my dx I was running a 1/2 marathon a month, now walking a mile seems daunting. Reading all the post have certainly helped and I know getting back in the swing of things is the hardest part. However one of my problems is that I am still uncomfortable with my running bras. In Jan I had a rt mx with an expander for reconstruction however because I had to receive radiation soon after surgery my expander was not able to match my natural left breast. I am now uneven and have to live with the expander until October when I can have reconstruction. My natural breast is a D so it needs support but without the full size right breast, I feel like my sports bras are too lose (on the left) and too tight (under the right side) at the same time. If there are any sugestions I would appreciate it. I have signed up for the Disneyland 1/2 in August so I have to get myself going again. 

Welcome J-Rob -- yay, another one for the DL Half! I had the asymmetry for a year between mx and reconstruction and the memory of lugging DD+0+prosthetic was the worst running for me. BAD for my shoulders and neck. If my first BS wasn't such a hack, I would say I wished I'd had bilateral mx at the time, but given that he was, I guess what I really wish is that I'd gone to the recon PS in the first place and had his BS do the mx. I imagine in your situation, you can't just mash a regular prosthetic on top of the expander, but you might give a beanbag prosthetic a shot to fill the D-fitting bra. I've sung the praises of the Shock Absorber bra a lot - the two cups are independent and the anti-bounce functionality is based on the non-stretch construction rather than compression-mashed boobage. I would think that type of bra design could better support a D without being affected by the other side not being D, although a beanie foob space-filler could help avoid the bra possibly pulling to one side. I'm not familiar with other brands using the non stretch/ structure design but I'd think the solution is in that style of bra rather than compression-style.

StillrunningNLM, 30 minutes is a great time for me, and not a time I could make, at this point. Impressed with you!

Tammy_M43, we have "I'm running for" on our Run for the Cure bibs here. I wrote "as long as I can", not to be maudlin because my situation is pretty good considering I got off the bus at the DCIS station, but the experience made me think about making the most of every day, every opportunity, and I literally am running as long as I can, and I know there are some people who cannot run, and it's sad they cannot. (Or as the One More Mile slogan goes, there will be a day I cannot do this. Today is not that day.) 

Donnabelle - what a beautiful picture!  Congrats on the race, good luck on your upcoming surgery and subsequent Disney half training - you can do it!

Goldlining, thank you for the advice. I am going to look into the bean bag prosthetic and the shock absorber bra. It is really great to know others have come and conquered simmilar problems. Now I do not have an excuse to put off running any more. 

Donabelle, you can definitely walk the DL half if necessary, I walked the food and wine DW half last November and everyone was supper supportive (I was 3 months into my chemo so I was pretty slow). For me having a goal is more important then the end results. 

Good luck and Happy mother's

Good job Jeepster1 and Donnabelle out there with your race bibs today!

I agree with J-Rob, Donnabelle - You'll be able to do the DLHM - I did the Tink Half 6 weeks post DIEP running maybe 5km total, walking most. I was barely able to straighten up by that point. I kept telling myself I have as much as 3:30 from the time the last person starts, so even more than that if you're not in the last corral. A friend of mine walked the WDW Wine & Dine last November too. One friend did 1:58, I did 2:45 or something, and another friend had to walk for feet issues, and still did 3:15 I think. I am not a fast runner, but I cannot even imagine walking slow enough to take 3:30. Maybe if you stopped twice for the bathroom and posed for a bunch of character photos. You just know you have to check in here mid July and tell us you've started training again! There's a medal with your name on it!

Had a beautiful morning for my first ever 5K. I did it in 37 min and DD in 32.

AnnieLane, I've been waiting for your post.....congrats!!

AWESOME!!!!!!!

Oh Annie - YAY!!!  Congratulations on your first race!  And what a great photo of you and DD - frame that thing and get it on a wall somewhere !

Good work so far AnnieLane! 

Because at my age, I will never have the cardiovascular ability to be really fast, my speed isn't going to impress anyone in a 5k or 10k, but people are impressed with a half at any speed. That suits my needs perfectly My confidence-building rule of thumb was that if I could run 5K, I could finish 10K by running half and walking the second half. If I could run most of 10K, I could finish a half by running to midway and walking the rest. I found I just love the long distance, especially in an event, being up in my head and away from all the noise. I like watching the flow of people, the slogans, the costumes, the cheering, even the exhaustion, the cold soak, the compression socks, the foam roller - just love the whole ritual.

I don't keep track of specific minutes of running and of walking while I am doing it. I sort of do it by feel while I am out, and then check the data when I upload from the watch. In a run event, you can often tag along with a "pace bunny" or whatever they call them at the specific event and they often offer continuous run and 10:1 run:walk. You can then just follow the appropriate pacer and don't have to manage it yourself.

When I first started running, my legs wanted to go a certain pace, but my heart and lungs were done in very short order. I got a Nike+ sport band as a cheap real-time feedback tool. I discovered by trial and error I could do 11:30 mins/mi for 5km continuously, but I could not do 12:00 for long at all. I used the sport band as a "speed limit". I was reminded of that today out for a run with my daughter whose legs are like Ironman from years of synchro swimming, but after a couple of years of "retirement", her lungs are not there any more. She ripped out the gate at 8 mins/mi and it was just killing me to keep up but about 3/4 mile or so (I'm converting in my head from km) she was having pain in the airways and the muscles in the shoulders were seizing up. I talked her through walking to keep the heart rate up, breathing smoothly to calm the airways, and getting the oxygen to the muscles, and got her back on to the run-walk until we got back to the starting point, total about 4.5km. Next time out, she will understand what I was warning her!

After using the band, I switched to the Nike+ app when it came out. Then I got a heart rate monitor and switched to the Wahoo app (which will upload to Nike+). I found the heart rate data reassuring. Then I read about a quicker, shorter stride being the key to speed, so I added the foot pod back to see if I could get some feedback there. I also love the GPS maps. I run more when I am travelling on business than I do at home. It's a quick way to see new places and the maps are great mementos. But the receiver dongles for the iPhone 5 were more flaky than the old iPhone 4, so I started looking at GPS watches and got a Garmin Forerunner 620, the new pricey one that has heart rate, stride rate, and a whole bunch of other things, as well as GPS. 

So, I do primarily listen to my body. I don't follow the watch, but I use it to get feedback from my body. I know my body has more endurance than speed in it, and I use the tools to try to find the optimum, and as a side benefit, also to relive the enjoyment of good runs.

Annie - congrats on the 5K!  And 37 minutes is speedy to me - I did my 5K this weekend in 37:18 for a 12:03 pace - my goal is to some day break the 12 minute barrier!

As to run-walk, I did a half last year.   I had a, 18-week training plan, but when my long runs hit the 9+ mile mark, I found I was unable to run more than 9 miles without stopping.  Thanks to the advice of the people here, at that point I transitioned to the run-walk.  That's the only way I was able to do the half.  I had a small clip-on tabata timer that I used to track my timing.  There are also tabata apps you can download where you can set on-off intervals.  

I did find that once the half was done, I found it difficult to run longer distances without stopping - my body had gotten used to the run/walk pattern.  It took me a few months to where I could get back to running a half an hour straight again.  Now I can run an hour and twenty minutes without stopping, which is just enough for me to do a 10K.   I enjoyed the half thoroughly and am quite proud of myself for doing it, but the training did take over my life for a few months.  I found that 5Ks and 10Ks are more to my liking. 

Tammy & Goldlining - Thank you!

Donnabelle - Just finishing a race 4 weeks after surgery is amazing!  Don't give yourself grief if you need to walk a little

Jeepster1 - You are amazing!

Annielane - Congratulations on your first race!!!!  All of the programs I have used have kept the increase for the total amount of mile at 10% or less per week.  More than that can be very unhealthy and cause over-use injuries.  Also, every 3 or 4 week would back of the mileage slightly to allow my body to recover from the increases.  I have always found the site coolrunning.com helpful.  It has plans for different distances and abilities and some great articles.  Enjoy your next race!

Annie congrats on the 5K! Aren't races fun? Just getting caught up in the excitement and the crowd always makes me feel happy.

I don't know if any of you have done the Bay to Breakers race in San Francisco, but I ran it on 5/18. I have to say it was the craziest, weirdest, wildest experience I have had running! At the start, the crowd hurls tortillas at the runners, why? Don't know, but it's a tradition. There were so many costumes, some fun, some political, etc. and then there were the naked runners, only in SF! But apart from the frivolity, the course, except for one knarly hill, was great, the last half in Golden Gate Park. It is a 12K and I was happy with my 1:23 time.

Happy running everyone!

Stillrunning, thanks for your input. I really appreciate getting the benefit of the experience of those of you who've been running for a long time.

You can sign me up for another event: The Wounded Warrior Project 8K on Sept. 20. I don't think there will be any flying tortillas or nudity involved, but it is a fundraiser for a very worthy cause. 

RunFree, I am such a newbie and not in a position to give anyone advice, but I wondered if you've checked out Jeff Galloway's website and / or books on his walk/run method. I started out thinking of walk breaks as something to avoid and the need for them as some kind of failure. But his perspective is all about seeing them as a proactively planned strategy - one that he claims can keep long time and older runners running and even improving their speed and motivation while avoiding injury. I'm giving it a try.