Guest Post - Fitness and Exercise An Important Part of Cancer Treatment

About a month ago I was contacted by David, who had come across my blog while doing some online research. David was researching the impact and importance of fitness and exercise during cancer treatment. As someone who has been impacted by the devastating affects of cancer in several of my family members, his email tugged at my heart strings. Likewise, as someone who devotes her career to health & fitness for everyone from the young to the old and the healthy athlete to those with various ailments, I wanted his article to reach my readers as well. 

Thanks to David who wrote this informative article......

Fitness and Exercise An Important Part of Cancer Treatment

Dozens of studies worldwide have clearly documented the benefits of physical activity for reducing the risk of certain types of cancer, such as breast or colorectal cancer.  But if you've already received a diagnosis of mesothelioma or any other type of cancer, it's not too late to start incorporating exercise into your treatment plan. Although physical activity was once discouraged it's now known to be an important part of a cancer patient's journey through cancer treatment and toward remission. Being physically active provides a powerful combination of mental and physical benefits that can have a very positive impact on your treatment experience. Aerobic and strength exercise can help you reap some of the following benefits, whether you've just been diagnosed, are going through treatment or have been pronounced in remission.

More Energy

Treatment for cancer, along with the stress of dealing with your diagnosis, is enough to zap the energy out of anyone. Although exercising when you experience a decrease in energy may seem counterintuitive it's actually very effective. Heart-pumping exercises such as walking, bike riding or aerobic exercise DVDs can help increase your energy levels during and for hours after you exercise.

Less Stress

Physical activity is an effective stress-buster because of the hormones that are released by your body as you exercise. Endorphins, known as the feel-good hormone, flood your system causing stress to go down. While most any type of aerobic exercise can help you achieve this, other more calming forms of exercise can help reduce stress, too. Swimming, yoga and Tai Chi are helpful for stress reduction while also strengthening your body.

Greater Range of Movement

Cancer treatment can leave you feeling stiff and sore, which ultimately limits your range of motion. When muscles and joints aren't used regularly they become even stiffer. Regular exercise can keep your body flexible, allowing you to go about your daily activities without increased pain.

Combat Symptoms and Side Effects

The symptoms and side effects you experience as a result of cancer treatment can leave you feeling nauseous, exhausted and depressed. Exercise can help you overcome these symptoms and provide much-needed relief from pain and sickness.


Positive Emotional Benefits

Physical activity provides just as many emotional benefits as it does physical ones. The endorphins that help relieve stress also elevate your mood, allowing you to feel and experience happiness. While many of us take happiness for granted, finding relief from depression through exercise can be a huge gift.

If you were physically active prior to your cancer diagnosis you can usually continue regular activities as long as your doctor agrees it's okay to do so. Otherwise, it's a good idea to introduce fitness slowly so you're not left tired and sore from overdoing it. Enjoy exercising alone for some solitude when you need it, or with family members and friends when you would like a little social time. As you begin to feel and experience the benefits of fitness you'll be encouraged to continue exercising to make them last.

One Mile at a Time

Confession: I didn't like sports of any kind until my early 20s. Sounds a little crazy considering I am a runner, coach, & personal trainer now, right? As a kid I tried to get involved with various sports, but due to exercise induced asthma & no hint of athleticism, I didn't stick with it. My asthma was mostly controlled by an inhaler, but I still had moments where, if running too hard for too long, I'd start to wheeze. To this day, anytime I push the pace for too long, I have vivid flashbacks of how scary it was to have an asthma attack. I basically grew out of the asthma during college, but still have breathing issues when my allergies are bad (mostly during the Spring & Fall). I'm not sure exactly what made me stick to running, but I know that it was a time for me to be entirely alone, be free, think, and only be competitive with myself. Furthermore, running was the only thing that made my hateful food allergies more manageable, or gave me some relief from the constant aches of eating.

I recently went back to several doctors to get re-tested for my food allergies. It was discovered that I have allergies to gluten, dairy, & fructose. No wonder I felt miserable for so long! Over the past few months, thanks to the elimination of those ingredients, I've been feeling better. The one area I can't entirely get a handle on is what exactly my body likes to eat as pre-run, training, & racing fuel. A number of gels & supplements have fructose as one of their main ingredients, so I've had to do some very careful label-reading. I've tried everything, but have yet to find a gel that I truly like. Likewise, I haven't found a pre-run breakfast that sits well either. I was a little worried going into my Spring racing season because I didn't have foods that I knew were safe. I decided to go with raspberry Hammer gels as in-run supplements & a gluten-free english muffin with peanut butter & banana as breakfast. I crossed my fingers when I packed for my weekend trip to New Jersey!

Life has been insanely busy lately with the house on the market, my almost 3 year old daughter, a growing business, & my own training schedule. Setting my sights on the Atlantic City April Fools Half-Marathon was a good decision - the house had already been on the market for 3 weeks (so, not much to do at home), & it was after the majority of my clients had run their goal races for the Spring. It also gave me a few more weeks of solid training after recovering from peroneal tendonitis. However, as a typical woman & mother, as I drove out of town, I was mildly worried that I'd be needed at home ;) As my own coach, I also fretted over whether or not I was truly ready to race a half-marathon well. The tendonitis hadn't allowed me to run the mileage I intended. It was also like a speed bump in my training - looking back at my logs, training was going very well beforehand, but I wasn't able to regain some of my speed during quality workouts post-tendonitis. During the winter I had my sights set on a 1:37-1:38 half, but I changed my goal to a sub-1:40 after multiple times of reviewing my training in the past month. In the days preceding race weekend, I made the somewhat difficult decision to run the race by feel & leave the Garmin at home. I packed my trusty Timex instead. Some of my best races have been run without the Garmin, so I hoped it would be a wise move.

I had an uneventful drive to Atlantic City, picked up my race packet in record time,  and checked into my hotel easily on Saturday afternoon. One of my best friends lives about 30 minutes north of AC and she came to visit that evening. What better distraction from race worries than to see one of your favorite people in the entire world. We had a wonderful evening of catching up, shopping, & having a relaxing dinner. When I awoke on Sunday morning, my stomach had that all too familiar feeling of having eaten something that I was allergic to. Uh oh. (A number of prepared foods have traces of allergens in them, so dining out can be problematic for me.) I tried to eat my muffin and peanut butter, but could barely choke it down. I tried to eat a mini Clif bar, but that wasn't doing the trick either. As I walked to the starting area, I drank some Gatorade and water and hoped that fueling (or lack there of) wouldn't be a huge issue. Along the way, my raspberry Hammer gel slipped out of the back pocket of my shorts. Argh! Thankfully I had pinned an espresso Hammer gel to my shorts, so I still had at least one to rely on.

I did my warm-up along the boardwalk and felt nauseated immediately. But, as one who HATES when others make excuses, I was not going to let those factors stop me from running as hard as I possibly could in a few short minutes. My legs felt great - at least they were ready to roll!

I lined up near the starting line and before I knew it, we were off. My mantras for the day were "One Mile at a Time!" and "You are strong & able." Rather than focus on the daunting task of running 7:40 pace or faster for 13.1 miles, I decided to look at it as running mile repeats at that pace. I made a strategic decision to pick one or two people running roughly the same pace and stick by their side until I felt I could go a little faster. The first 3.5 miles of the out & back course were run on the boardwalk. The miles went by really quickly.

Mile 1 = 7:22. A little fast, but my breathing was very comfortable.
Mile 2 = 7:31. Still a little fast, but settling in. I was running next to an older man & a woman about my age. Both of them were breathing like they were running a 5K, not a half. I passed the man early on & the woman somewhere after mile 7 and never saw them again.

Mile 3 = 7:40. Perfect. And feeling good.
Mile 4 = 7:41
Mile 5 = 7:35
Mile 6 = 7:34. Just after mile 6, I took my Hammer gel. It was disgusting and I could barely swallow it. I had to slow to a walk and chase it with a lot of water. I got an instant stomach ache that lasted the rest of the race :(
Mile 7 = 7:52. Slowest mile of the day. I was cursing the gel & my stomach for rebelling on me!
Mile 8 & 9 = 15:20 (7:40 pace). I missed the mile marker at 8, but based on the combined time for the 2 miles, I knew I was still doing OK.
Mile 10 = 7:29. What?! Where did that come from?! I was starting to hurt - not my legs, but my lungs. Those miserable memories of wheezing on the sidelines of the soccer field always haunt me in the late stages of a race. I tell myself to just hold it together, push as hard as I can,  and know that I'm not going to die.
Mile 11 = 7:46. Starting to slow a little. Just push! Since about mile 9 or 10, I'd been running with two guys. I was determined to stay as close as possible to them.

Running on the boardwalk was making me dizzy.

Mile 12: 7:45. Please just let this be over!
last 1.1 miles = 8:24 (7:38 pace). With about 1/4 mile to go I tried to kick and yelled out some profanities, hoping that would push me to run faster. One of the guys I was running behind turned and gave me a look of horror. Oh well, I'm sure I'll never see him again!

Final time = 1:40:07. 7:39 average pace. A 2-minute PR. Immediately after finishing, I was just happy to be done, alive, & no longer have burning lungs. While I would have liked to see 1:39:xx, I am happy with my results. I took 2 minutes off of my time since September - all while trying to figure out new fueling and recovering from tendonitis. Furthermore, I've taken 8 full minutes off of my half-marathon time in the time since my daughter was born. I never imagined that I'd be able to run a 7:39 pace for a half.

People often ask me what my running goals are for the future. I don't like to make long-term goals, but rather short-term goals with flexibility for whatever life brings you. Yes, I aim high & train as hard as I can, but looking at training one mile at a time is much easier than trying to look years down the road.

Decisions, Decisions...

A few weeks ago, while finishing my track workout, I felt an unfamiliar tightness in my lower calf (soleus & posterior tibialis). As the day progressed, I could barely walk, let alone walk up and down the stairs without being in pain. I tested it out the next morning, but only made it 1/2 mile before the tightness/soreness came back. I rested it all weekend, called my physical therapist Monday morning, & was able to return to short runs on Tuesday. I proceeded slowly, but with my stubborn determination, I decided to try for a longer run on Saturday morning. It felt fine...until 9 miles in when it felt like a strong hand was squeezing my achilles. I would've stopped right there, but I was at least 4 miles away from home :( It didn't hurt running on flat ground, but I was brought to tears when trying to run uphill. I iced it when I got home, but was freaking out because I could barely point or flex my toes without being in extreme pain. I thought I had torn my achilles. It got better over the course of the day, but I was still worried. I biked for about an hour on Monday, stretched, foam rolled, iced...the works....anything to keep my fitness level while also allowing for recovery. The leg felt better and better each day. I saw my PT on Tuesday and he did a thorough evaluation. His diagnosis - a strain in the posterior tibialis and the peroneal tendon. He gave me the green light to run this week, but only 4 times and no longer than 8 miles today for my "long" run. 21 miles feels pitiful to me....I feel anxious and antsy and just want to RUN MORE! But I know that in the long term, this rest/recovery time is crucial. My 8 miles this morning felt fantastic, so I know I'm on the mend. But there's one problem....

Training was going wonderfully until this happened. I felt really, really fit and everything was progressing nicely. I was happily running 40-50 miles/week and really looking forward to crushing my half-marathon on March 17th. I hit a few roadblocks with these "injuries" and feel like I lost some momentum in my training. In looking at the calendar, I realized that I would only have 2-3 good training weeks left once I was able to get back to normal mileage and intensity. This worried me. I know I can obviously complete the Rock n Roll DC half, but I want to kick butt. SO I consulted with my friend, www.runwashington.com, and discovered the Atlantic City (NJ) half-marathon on April 1st. I went back and forth and weighed all the pros and cons. Using the AC 1/2 has my goal race would give me an additional 2 weeks to train and I could use the DC 1/2 in March as a solid training run. Plus, what mother doesn't enjoy a little solo road trip?! A chance to get away and race without the distraction of family. SOLD!! I signed up the other day and am so pleased with my decision :)

Using the DC half as a training run will also allow me to devote more time and energy to supporting my clients and =PR= trainees throughout the morning. I have quite the crew running this race, so it'll be fun to run around the course looking for them! Their training is going so well and I can't wait to see how everyone does :)

It can be hard to deviate from the original plan, but I feel good about these decisions. Long term successful running requires one to step back, evaluate their training and goals, re-organize the details of training plans, learn what works best, and change course if needed. Training plans are flexible - even though I write out my plans several months in advance (for myself & my clients), anything can be changed at any time based on how one is responding to the training load.

Listen to your body, rest when needed, and be flexible!

Run on, friends!

A Year in Review....

Wow, it's been a long time since I last posted! I've been meaning to take the time to sit down & write a full synopsis of 2011, but those little things in life kept distracting me. It's a dreary, cold winter day here, so as I drink my tea, I'll share my thoughts on 2011....

It's hard to know where to begin. I'll start with me & what I learned about myself as a runner along the way.

I tore my hamstring on January 21, 2011. As I limped home in the bitter cold, crying the whole way, I thought my entire racing season was over. I was absolutely devastated. Furthermore, I had just begun coaching for Potomac River Running - how the heck was I supposed to inspire, motivate, & teach others about running when I couldn't even do it myself? A few hours after I got home from that fateful run, I emailed a physical therapist who was recommended to me by some people in my running club. Ken emailed me back within a few hours & said he could see me in two days. A small sense of relief washed over me. I nervously went to the PT office on Monday morning - at the time I couldn't bend over to pick my daughter up, bend to get something off the floor, push off of my left foot, & I had a wicked limp. Ken did a thorough assessment on me, said I needed to take 10 full days off of running, & come back to see him every few days. He told me I could ride the stationary bike for cardio. As any runner knows, being forced to not run is the worst! I faithfully did my PT exercises, visited Ken for therapy, & rode the bike for at least an hour every day. 10 days later, I was allowed to run for 5 minutes. It was the happiest 5 minutes I'd felt in a long time - only a running addict will understand that! I slowly progressed back to my 30-45 mile weeks, but I was nervous the entire time. All of the "what-ifs" went through my head constantly.

In mid-late February I was able to return to speed work. It felt good....really, really good. My two key races for the spring were Pike's Peak 10K in April & the Indy Mini half-marathon in May, with a few other things along the way. Going into Pike's Peak, I had absolutely no idea what to expect. I'd been training, but not to the extent that I wanted. I had regularly done my PT exercises, but still at times felt that small niggle in my hamstring.

I went on to PR in every single distance I raced that spring. Pike's Peak was by far the best race I've ever had. I set PRs in the 5K, 8K, 10K, 10-mile, & half-marathon. After I recovered from the Indy mini Half, my focus switched to the marathon distance. I was set on running the Steamtown Marathon on October 9th - the day after my 30th birthday. Like a woman possessed, I ran more miles than I ever thought possible....and continually surprised myself by what I was really capable of. As you know from my Steamtown race report, I PRd there too & closed out the Fall in a great state of mind about my running.

But, running is not all about PRs & running faster every year. Successful running & racing is about learning about yourself along the way. I learned some very important things about myself as a runner & as a coach this year.

~Listen to your body - if it says it needs to rest....take a rest day, run some very easy-paced miles, or do some light cross-training.
~Listen to those niggles that you feel - if something doesn't feel right, it's your body's way of telling you that it needs attention. Get out the foam roller, stretch, ice it, rest it, and call a professional if it needs serious attention. It's much better to take care of a little problem NOW than to wait & have the problem become a really big one!
~What you do when you're not running is even more important than your runs! It sounds crazy, but it's true. Take the time to "baby" your body - take those ice baths, use The Stick, make time for stretching, do your core & balance work, strength train, ask for advice or support from the "experts" you know, get quality sleep, eat nutritious foods, & hydrate well. You cannot expect your body to perform well every single day if you don't treat it right the rest of the time.
~Those slow, easy days are there for a reason!!!!! The easy-paced runs help to build the aerobic base, help you recover from your harder efforts, allow the entire cardiovascular system to bounce back from high intensity or high volume running, are the foundation which supports your overall training, & allow for necessary training adaptations to occur. There is absolutely nothing wrong with running easy and/or "slow - in fact, easy running should be the highest overall percentage of your training volume.
~Don't know what your easy-paced/long runs should be? Go run a short race (5K, 10K) or do a 2-3 mile time trial & plug it into a running calculator. It will determine paces that are based on your CURRENT level of fitness.
~Feel like your running has improved & your paces are getting quicker? Go run another race or do a time trial. Those tune-up races and time trials are the BEST way of assessing improvement and deriving new training paces.
~If you want to improve from season to season, you have to analyze your results & do something different. Don't expect changes or improvement to occur if you do the same thing & follow the same training plan repeatedly.

It took a torn hamstring to make me truly appreciate & fully understand that information above. When I applied all of those things, my running & overall fitness improved. I wish I could tell that to every single runner I see.

I may not be the fastest person out there...or ever run much faster than I am now...but I am confident in the knowledge I have about effective training. I love coaching & feel blessed to have the opportunity to do so. I am as excited, if not more so, to see a client improve than to see my own improvements.

I'm can't wait to see what 2012 (and beyond) brings for Kinetic Fitness & my coaching with =PR=!

It's OK to Have a Bad Day :-)

I've been taking Wednesday as my running rest day for well over a year & usually feel GREAT during my Thursday runs. Speedy, in control, rested, etc. Today, on the other hand, was not one of those days. My calves felt like they'd been injected with concrete. My lungs were burning even during my warm-up miles. I couldn't lace my shoes comfortably and it was irritating. But I had an 8 mile progression run on my schedule, so I just said to myself, "Suck it up, buttercup" and kept trucking. Somewhere around mile 3.5 I stopped for a second to regroup. "Should I cut it short by a mile or so?" Maybe, we'll see in another mile. "Did I eat enough yesterday?" Yup, I think so. And I didn't have any Christmas cookies either! "Did I get enough sleep?" 7 hours seems to be the norm these days & I'm good with that.

Somehow I managed to push all of those questions, concerns, & negative thoughts out of my head and just RUN. Did it feel good? Hardly, but I still managed to run the paces I was shooting for & got in all of my scheduled miles. I'm happy that I gutted it out & pushed myself. I might have a race like this one day (I sure hope not, but it could happen). I know now after running & racing for 9+ years that not every day is going to be a good one....and that's ok. Some runs just don't live up to your expectations.

I read something recently indicating that if you have more than 4 "bad" days during a training cycle, it's time to evaluate the causes for those off days. Here are the questions to ask yourself:
~Are you running your easy/long runs too fast?
~Are you getting enough sleep?
~How is your hydration/nutrition?
~Do you have any nagging injuries or ailments?
~Is there balance in your training plan (i.e, an appropriate mix of hard/easy days)? 

When I ask myself those questions, I can't come up with a reason for today's so-so run. I'll just chalk it up to a bad day and move on....and of course reevaluate if need be :)

Fall Recap

As promised, here it is! First, let me say that it has been a really terrific summer/fall. I've had the privilege of coaching a number of runners and they continually do amazing things & inspire me to be a better runner and coach.

The participants in the =PR= Distance Training Program completed their goal races. They are a motivated group who meet every Sunday for long runs & Wednesday evenings for track workouts. This was my second season coaching this group, so we had many returning runners, as well as some new faces. They gutted out the blistering heat and humidity and went on to have great Fall races. It's such a pleasure to see their happy faces or hear their race reports after a good race. A number of them ran the Marine Corps Marathon & I had an absolute blast cheering them on. I ran down to Haines Point from Bethesda (a little less than 10 miles), cheered near mile 15, then ran through the city and over the Memorial Bridge. I then made my way down to ~mile 25.5 and anxiously waited for them to come through. One of my all-time favorite moments was spotting Tracy in the crowd. Tracy is 47 years old and running her first marathon was DETERMINED to qualify for Boston this year (her BQ time is 3:55). Her training went really well, so I knew she had a good shot at it. Anyway, I screamed out her name and jumped into the crowd of runners. She latched onto my hand and I ran with her to mile 26. I looked at my watch and it was clear that she had this race in the bag. I started to get really choked up with pride, told her to tackle that hill up to the Iwo Jima memorial and darted back to the sidelines to go find more of my "people." I cheered like an absolute maniac and LOVED getting text messages from those I hadn't seen. Such an amazing day!!! A new session of the =PR= DTP just started and I'm just as excited to see what they accomplish over the next few months....

I've been coaching Amy R. since last winter and she has made great strides (pun intended) with her training and racing. I've known since the beginning that she is capable of big things, so I've always challenged her with workouts and overall training load. She responded beautifully. She PR'd in her half-marathon and from there on out I *knew* she was capable of a big marathon PR as well. She decided to run not one, but TWO marathons this Fall. In October she ran the St. George Marathon and PR'd with a 4:36 on a really hot day. She recovered well, but due to some life conflicts, she wasn't able to get in as much mileage and long runs as possible. I still had a hunch that she could pull out a PR at the St. Jude Memphis marathon, but my race plan for her was slightly conservative. It's hard to develop a solid race strategy without any shorter race results & only 8 weeks between races! I had her start on pace for ~4:40 and slowly build into 4:25-4:30. She was doing great, and right on pace, until ~mile 21-22 and ended up finishing with a 4:39. Incredibly impressive considering her training in between races! I look forward to more training with Amy!

Stephanie has also been a very loyal, consistent client who has made marked improvement in the past year. Stephanie was my road-trip partner up to Steamtown in October, too :-) Like I mentioned in my Steamtown race report, it was a very proud moment as a coach to actually witness Stephanie PR by 30 minutes. THIRTY MINUTES!!! That's unbelievable. Just goes to show you what can happen with solid training! About a month later, with my other client & Stephanie's friend, Greta, they both ran the NYC Marathon. Greta's mother passed away about a year ago from MS and they raised A LOT of money for the MS Society. They had a wonderful weekend in NYC and did so well considering all of the circumstances!

Ali is a local client who I actually get to see in person every once in a while! Ali contacted me sometime over the summer looking for some running guidance. She has been following my training plans since then & set PRs in every race distance from the 5K-15K. In fact, her pace for the 15K last week was FASTER than an 8K she ran in September. What wonderful progress!!

I also have a few other clients who have met their goals for the Fall, as well. Leigh PRd by 7 minutes in the Baltimore half and Rose (a busy mom who recently moved overseas) is doing a great job with building back her mileage & becoming a more confident runner.

As of Sunday, I have 4 new running clients. They are training for the Rock n' Roll DC half or full marathon. I am up to my eyeballs in writing training plans, but loving every second of it. Writing plans is one thing that I love about coaching - it's like putting together an intricate puzzle without knowing what the final result looks like. In my nerdy coach way, I take all of the various components that a new client has given me (age, years running, goals, past race results, injury history, time constraints, etc), and put together the most comprehensive plan for that individual. No two plans are the same :-)

My plan for the winter is to train for the Rock n Roll DC 1/2. After the higher mileage during the summer/early Fall, I enjoy focusing on shorter race distances during the winter & spring. I recently did a rough draft plan for myself and hope it pays off in a big way. I put my name in for the Cherry Blossom 10-miler, which is in early April, & also plan on running Pike's Peek (10K) at the end of April. I might also race a 5K - my least favorite distance! I haven't truly raced a 5K in years, so I'm due....and if I challenge my clients with tough workouts & encourage them do do things out of their comfort zone, I should do the same for myself.

Looking forward to what the next few months bring!

Happy Holidays & Happy Running!!

Updates!

Clearly I'm not very good at this whole blog thing seeing as how I haven't posted in over a month! In my defense, I've been waiting until all of my clients are done with their Fall racing season. I fully intend on providing a detailed recap of their adventures over the past few months. The Hot Chocolate race is this Sunday and my client, Ali, is running it as her final Fall race. She has been rocking the training and I can't wait to see how she does! I'm so proud of her progress over the past few months.

As for me, just truckin' along. I'm looking forward to starting a new training cycle for the Rock n Roll DC half in March. I had a good race at the Turkey Chase on Thanksgiving and used it primarily as a workout (i.e, didn't fully push myself). I averaged a 7:36 pace, which is basically what I expected based on effort level. I've been running about 40-45 miles/week for a month or so, and while I'm feeling good mentally and physically, not training for anything in particular is terribly boring to me. I'm ready to get back to a more structured training plan.

Look for more Fall updates early next week!