Exercise and well being during chemo and radiation

yay Octogirl! Hiking/backpacking trip = fantastic! Never too early to plan for a trip like that!

I'm longing for hiking more in the mountains in Colorado - just haven't had the time this summer because I'm still traveling 5 hours to NM from AZ for medical follow-ups and I schedule them around the weekend so I spend my weekend there too. I can get up to 11.5k in NM, but not much higher there. Usually I get above 14k elevation a few times every summer in Colorado.... next year for sure!!

Also longing for fly fishing - haven't had time for that either this season.

Headed out at 5 am in the dark to watch for meteors. Ran 3/4 mile toward the mesa into a very dark area and relaxed in the dirt with my dogs. Saw 7 meteors in about 20 min. not too shabby! Usually I see more during this annual Perseid meteor shower, but the clouds started rolling in and then it was getting light out. Ran back to my house to drop off one dog who can't run much and went back out for 6 more miles with the other dog. Monday I'm hoping to run 12 miles.

Tomorrow starts 10 days off work - woohoo! I have 4 medical appts next week though and a vet apt for one of my dogs, and a haircut appt (to shape my post chemo short hair), but at least I'm not working aside from a couple of conference calls. Taking a 2-day Breast Cancer Rehabilitation class (for physical therapists) this weekend in Boulder. Will be interesting to advance my skills for treating my own patients, but also be an good example in the class since I just went through it all.

Have a great weekend everyone...hopefully you'll be outdoors doing things you love with people and pets you love!

- xo

That is awesome Andraxo! Good for you!

I'm checking in post surgery. I'm officially cancer free - my surgeon emailed me that the pathology report came back absolutely cancer free, so chemo worked. Nice to be able to say "Cancer free" now. Believe me. I just walked a 1/2 mile around my neighborhood. I did half that yesterday looking for my lost cat (who thankfully came back last night - he's my special cat, so I was pretty heart broken over his missing).

Awesome news CJ! Yay!

Octogirl

CJ, I am so happy for you!!! Hooray! I'm very impressed that you walked a half mile just a few days after double mastectomy! And I'm very happy your cat showed up too. I get very anxious when one of our seven cats does not show up at the appointed time. Last year our newest cat (we took him for our son who got stationed in Korea, but now he is our cat) disappeared for more than 24 hours and I just about lost hope. We found him in the neighbor's tree where the neighbor's dogs had chased him. I don't think he would have ever come down from there on his own! But he learned his lesson and he's never gone over that way again.

Last Friday I hiked to Silliman Lake in Sequoia Park. It's a great leg workout with steep granite slabs to walk up for the last mile and a bit. My quads are still sore today. I'm definitely more fatigued after my 4th round but hoping to be more energetic next week and then gradually get back to normal.

So I need some motivation and advice. I stopped exercising about half way though my chemo because I just couldn't exercise, work full time and take care of three little girls. so now I have lost quite a bit of muscle mass. I finished chemo last Friday and want to start exercising again. Any tips or words of wisdom beside "move your ass"

I set a goal for myself. Last year it was to hit 3,000 miles on my bike even though I did surgery and chemo, and I managed 3,007 miles lol. But it kept me honest and focused. So maybe a goal of steps or miles by the end of the year? This year I am counting riding, walking, hiking, spin class, whatever I do. But mainly I am looking to make sure I do a certain number of hours of physical activity of some sort every week so I don't let too many 0 weeks slip by me. I keep track of my stuff electronically on Strava on my cell phone(call all my walks runs so it will calculate them in the total) and I keep a month at a glance calendar with running totals. So if I see a week with a lot of blank days, it is a message to me to get up and move. Right now I am at 2,500 miles of walking and riding and everything else for the year, which averages between 6-10 hours per week.

And remember, everything counts!

114 pages of posts! I probably should skim through them but... Anywhoo, I start chemo September 7th. I have a 14K race (odd amount, I know but it's named after a local beer) on the 17th. Obviously I registered for that race a long time before my diagnosis and treatment plan. I'm determined to do the race even if I have to walk it. Any tips?

Bagsharon, how many miles a day are you walking or running now? I would continue to train for the race up until chemo. The first week after chemo you may not feel like walking as much, but if you can, walk half or 2/3 your normal distance each day. Don't overdo!! Remember that hard training can break down your immune system, and 10 days after chemo it will be very low anyway. Listen to your body on the day of the race. If you are very tired, it is probably not a good idea to push yourself. You don't want to end up in the hospital because of an event. Even though I was used to hiking 15 or 20 miles in a day before chemo, the most I did during chemo was 11 miles and it made me pretty tired.

I did my first overnight backpack of the year Friday and Saturday. It was only 3 or 4 miles in, but on a very steep trail. Really fun!! I can't wait to go again. Today I was very tired. Wednesday it will be four weeks since my final chemo.

This Is a great thread and definitely motivates me to up my exercise game which has strictly been the elliptical and treadmill at the gym. I am about 4 radiation treatments away from active treatment (besides my AI) and although I exercised consistently through treatment and surgery, my appetite has increased and I eat more than pre-diagnosis. My 25 lb weight gain is real not imagined so I need to mix things up and find a good eating plan too. The hiking and backpacking sounds like a grearway to jumpstart it.

Thanks everyone!

Lenny's dog took a few days to recover because she also had nausea and was vomiting a lot.

I ran a 10k this past weekend in Window Rock AZ on the Navajo Resrvation (an hour from where I work/live) - in honor of the Code Talkers from WWII. Won my 40-49 age group, but it was the hardest 10k I've even signed up for in my life! 4 miles of it were on very winding and hilly singletrack with slickrock, sand, and even a ladder to climb! It was awesome! 4 other people that work in my department did it too! Yay team Rehab! I was most impressed though by the local Navajo firefighter who ran it in full firefighter gear including a tank on his back!

So happy to see you all getting out for some great exercise and that we all keep on moving! Hooray Moondust for getting in so many great hikes!

I think I want to get out to backpack more next summer too!

Andra xo

Happy you're getting back to workout CJSharma! Sorry you're having joint pain - it sucks! I think I was still having achy joints for about 4 more months AFTER chemo ended. That achiness is finally gone now and I am 4 months on Tamoxifen. My big tamoxifen side effects are the hot and cold fluctuations and making my usual insomnia even worse. I don't think it is affectring my joints.

This past Sunday I ran 10 miles starting at 10k elevation, going up/down the Aspen Vista trail in Santa Fe. WOW - it was hard! I haven't run up at that altitude much this summer because I was still recovering and not having much push in my legs. Only had to walk a couple of times for about 50 feet on steeper parts. I did better than expected - took 2 hours for the 10 miles. Lenny did 10.75 miles in the same time. We had 4 dogs with us too. My Achilles tendonitis is finally significantly better (yay!), but I have heel pain that feels different than plantar fasciitis I've had before.

I hope everyone keeps rockin on!!

- xo

I finally did a "normal" hike -- normal for me, that is. 17 miles and over 5000 feet of gain. My quads and calves are very sore two days later!! But at least I showed myself I could do it.

At the farmer's market a week ago, they had a fitness booth that was conducting a plank challenge. I was the winner! Sad statement about modern Americans when I can outlast men and women half my age.

After the disappointing road trip with my cousin, I need a real hiking trip. So I'm considering starting to section-hike the Arizona National Trail. I may be able to get another hiker to go with a second vehicle, so that we can park a vehicle at each end of the daily route. Then we can carry only our day hiking gear and have our camping stuff in the vehicles. Almost as good as hut-to-hut hiking!

I hope everyone is feeling okay and moving a lot!!

Hey ya all! Just checking in- started doing p90x in addition to my daily runs, and the core strength one has really made a difference! I feel like I am finally closing in on a normal. Was able to run a chainsaw for 6 hrs the other day and didnt suffer any lasting ill effects such as lymphedema, although I was pretty sore! Suck on that, cancer!