Running the Weekend.

Well, I made it through the 5K and 1/2 marathon last weekend in Las Vegas.

It was a great weekend. Two of my cousins came in from San Francisco came in to hang out with us. One of wife's cousins came in to run the 1/2 Marathon. And I surprised my wife by flying my niece in to hang out with us. Everyone had a great time. Even just missing a parlay, or having Penn & Teller cancel about two hours before their show (had 4th row seats as late birthday present) did not take away from the fun.

I stacked my chemotherapy sessions to a two week interval this time - if it was on the standard schedule I would have been flying out the day after I disconnected which would really have been tough. Probably impossible due to how I usually feel. So I think it affected me a bit.


The 5K was a rather plain out and back course off of the festival grounds. It was also really crowded with many people walking, blocking the path. It was okay and I would do it again because you need to do this race to get the Remix medal. It is all about the bling. Otherwise, I would probably just do the 1/2.




About three hours before the 1/2 marathon I had what I call my chemo blowback hit. Was not feeling well before, then it came on full out. I took some medicine and then slept for a couple of hours. When I woke up, was not sure if I was going to go. But I felt kind of okay, and my usual stubborn kicked in. Figured even if I had to walk, I would make the cut-off. My first four miles went well for me - each mile I was cutting my time. But then things went awry. Walked a mile and was able to do another mile in my target range. Thought I could hit my time goal still, but never pulled it together. I did make the cut-off with room to spare, though I missed my goal time. But, as usual, I was smiling at the end.

It has been tougher the last few months. The chemotherapy build-up makes me more tired and my muscles are usually sore for prolonged periods of time - my legs feel like they have been on long runs without doing anything - I took it easy to rest after NC and it still felt like I was working out :) The two week chemo cycle probably exacerbated it. As I sat on the couch today, there was about 1/2 hour of me thinking I should blow off next month's sprint triathlon and perhaps I may not be able to do this anymore.

But then I think of how much fun I have each time I make the starting line and that my training is keeping me around until they come up with a cure.

So in my normal disregard of reality, I signed up for next year's DelMosports:Triathlon and Endurance Sports Community IRONMAN Atlantic City 70.3 as a relay. My wife's cousin is a good runner, does not care for triathlons, but thought it would be fun to do an Ironman relay. And I will be signing up for North Carolina 70.3 when it opens up. I am going to beat the cut-off there to make up for this year. Will be over 50 chemo sessions by then I think. Will make hitting the cut-off even better. And I have the pre-sale prices for Las Vegas next November, so will be going there again ;)

#TRI4aCure #EmbraceTheSlow

When You See My Medal And Cap, You Will Understand

There are some very funny videos out there poking fun at people training for Triathlons - particularly the full 140.6  One has a person working through some serious injuries, with someone else questioning their sanity.  The reply?  “When you see my medal and cap, you will understand.”  I sort of adopted it as my mantra leading up to last week's Ironman 70.3 in Wilmington, NC. 

I had run into some issues during training, a kidney stone and a couple of upper respiratory infections, including one the week of the race - I took my last antibiotic the morning of the race.  But I was pretty sure I would still make the cut-off time.  I had taken a great swim lesson a few weeks earlier and started working on technique, which seemed to help.  And the swim is known to be fast due to current and I was hoping that would help. Went to bed early, about 9:30PM and woke up promptly at 1:30AM race day.  Not worried or concerned, just woke up.   3 hours earlier than intended.  Oh well.

 Got to T1, did some last minute prep and shuttled over to the start.  Beautiful sunrise.  And we waited until our wave hit the water.  I felt pretty good and my brother was a good guide through the swim, his spotting is great.  By the time we hit the end of the swim, it was 12 minutes faster than my first 70.3 swim and 12 minutes faster than what I had done on the swim leg of an Olympic Relay about a month earlier.  Was pretty happy.

T1 was slow for me, trying to get my wetsuit in the bag they gave took longer than expected and rand into a couple of other issues, so lost about a minute relative to my first 70.3 - but still ahead by 11 minutes. 

Then off to the bike.  Felt good going out and about 40 miles into the bike picked up some time compared to the first 70.3  I was making sure not to overexert myself because I had time in the bank, and if I held that I would have plenty of time for the run.  Then it happened.  The tailwind coming back never happened, it was still a headwind.  I kept my cadence and power and tried to keep my average speed where it was.  But it kept on dropping.  And dropping.  And the bike course was 57.7 miles, not 56 miles.  So by the time I was off the bike I was 20 minutes behind my pace from my first 70.3

There was still a chance to make it and I started running, but about 200 yards in my left quad took issue.  Incredible cramp and lock-up.  It was like a grapefruit had made itself at home.  I continued walking and working the cramp out.  Then I would try to run a bit and when I got close to the speed I needed to maybe make it, lock up/cramp.  About two miles in developed a bit of a headache and also realized it was going to be real close, but looking less than possible.  I thought of stopping for a brief instant, but kept on going.   

I kept on passing mile markers, but by 5 miles in it was pretty clear 8:30 was not going to happen.  We made it to the turnaround and headed back.  We were the last ones.   Cones got picked up behind us and I kept on moving, trying to run and not looking back.  I knew if I looked back, they would say it was time to stop.  I would slow to drink a bit, then tried running some more.  A bit past the 10 mile marker, a van pulled up.  The day was done.  We still had about 10 minutes of time left, and some other people still further up the course were able to finish, but we were done.  They gave us the option to go to T2 to get our things, or be dropped off about 100 yards from the finish line and be allowed to go through and get a medal and a hat.  They basically said we deserved it for the work and effort (there were others picked up in the sweep earlier) so we did that.  Despite falling short, we smiled and laughed as we crossed the finish line. 

We wound up doing 69.20 miles of a 70.3 mile race due to the extra on the bike course.  So we almost kind of finished.  It has been a bit over a year since I did my first 70.3  And had three radiation treatments and 21 rounds of chemo since then.  So while I am disappointed that I fell a bit short.  I have been thinking about that the last three days as I have been sitting on my couch hooked up to chemo round #22  Making plans to do two 70.3s next year.  One early in the season and then back to NC

Happy Anniversary Cancer Recurrence

Two years ago today I opened up the report from CT scan. It was one of those times I expected good news - 80-85% of recurrences of my cancer comes back in two years. This scan was two years, three months. Thought I made it. (The lung met was there from the beginning, just small, so I was counting from the very beginning 😀) But it looked like it was in the lungs and lymph nodes.

A scan two months later showed it was progressing fast. I started Triathlon training.

Today, like last year, I found race to do for the anniversary of the cancer coming back. A 5K. But the course was complicated and somehow I missed a section. So it wound up being 2.71 miles for me. I blame chemo 😜

I went through things and came up with some stats.

Since this all started

33 Chemotherapy Treatments
21 CT Scans
7 MRIS
5 X-Rays
3 Pet Scans
3 Radiation Treatments
3 Sugeries
2 Needle Biopsies

22 of the chemo sessions have been since October, 2018.

From the time I started training up to me having to go back on chemo last October:

3 Sprint Triathlons (solo)
4 5K Races
1 1/2 Marathon
1 Ironman 70.3

Since being back on chemo (all in 2019):

3 Sprint Triathlon Relays
3 Sprint Triathlons Solo
1 Olympic Triathlon Relay
2 5K
1 7.6K

I do not feel like have trained enough, but giving a shot at another 70.3 next weekend. (Looking at the general numbers, I have logged more miles on the bike and runs than last year, the swim about 1/2, but I still not feeling 100% compared to last year. ) Really want to make the cut-off time, will see. Also have another 5K, a 1/2 Marathon and a Sprint Triathlon on schedule through the end of the year.

Next big date will be in February, 2020. Five years from my first surgery. The 5 year survival rate is 10%. II am looking at races for then right now, never been one to rely too much on stats 😉

Chemo #32 On Deck

In the Captain Obvious moment of the day, when the next chemotherapy session is up, spirits go down.  It is becoming more of a grind.  And the thought of dragging myself to MSK to get hooked up, and knowing how it feels, is kind of crazy. 

Even more so because I  am in pretty good shape. My basic problems with cancer (though I know it is more going on inside) is feeling like s--t for about a week from the chemotherapy and now the increasing levels of being tired from the chemotherapy.   Obviously I got to ride the the current chemotherapy cocktail for as long as it goes because the next cocktail will be worse and I am not even close to considering stopping treatment, but it is really tough to drag my rear end into infusion. 

When I was through chemo the first time, I do not recall this difficulty.  Perhaps because I knew it was 12 and out.  This time the dread of going to treatment has kept on increasing after about 8 or 9 sessions.  Tomorrow is #20 since October, 2018.  #32 overall.  

And it beats me up a bit more.  I had an off day scheduled for Friday, after four days of training, and looked forward to a long bike ride Saturday followed by a short run. But I had what I call a chemo blowback day.  Nausea, indigestion.  But not standard.  There is the distinct taste/feeling.  So never made it off the couch.  I tried.  Just could not do it.  

Sunday I still felt bad.  But not quite as bad.  And by late afternoon I felt good enough to do a long run.  So I turned off the Giants-Cowboys game (it was early in the 1st quarter, good timing on my part since I am a Giants fan) and headed out.  I used the technique of walking for one minute every mile (towards the end after mile 7 had a couple of more), but wound up with my third fastest 5 Miles and fastest 10K ever.  Granted on the 10K I have only gone that distance 9 times in my life.  And the second fastest 10K was one I did last year.  It was only 5 seconds slower.  After riding a bike for 2;45.  But my pace yesterday was starting to show a tad of hope, though I could not make it to the pool.

Today I was going to try to do an FTP test on my bike trainer.  I could not get the skewer loose on my tire.  My fingers have occasional neuropathy from the FOLFOX, though I am not sure it was that.  All I know was that it was upsetting.  I know tomorrow is chemo day.  I know tomorrow starts couch t-rd portion of the cancer program.  I want to get as much training in as I can, but without overdoing it.  So missing a workout really bums me out.  I feel like I am slacking.  I hate the feeling of frustration and playing beat the clock for #triathlontraining   So when people ask me how I do this all, it is because I am stupid, stubborn and slow.  And every time I can train, it is an awesome feeling, even if it hurts, is boring now and again or even when I am running.

Still aiming for an 8:29:59, or perhaps better, for the Ironman 70.3 in North Carolina in about 6 weeks.

Keep Going On (Chemo Day) & Race Reports

I started chemotherapy (again) in October, 2018. Today was my 19th round of chemotherapy and I am hooked up to my pump right now for another two days.  Not so bad right now, other than the fact that standing up and walking is a bit difficult, I feel kind of wobbly :)

I will get back to wobbly in a second.  Before this week, since I started back on chemotherapy, I had done 3 Sprint Triathlons as relays, which were an absolute blast, and one 5K.  But I had not done any solo Triathlons since I did the Atlantic City 70.3 in September, 2018.  And I have had a couple of non-cancer issues- plantar (may be related to chemotherapy and the cramping it causes affecting my positioning or tightening things up) and a kidney stone.  Interfered with training a bit. My times have been slowing down the last few months.

But I decided to give a couple of sprints a go.  I did a Super Sprint on Weds.  Then a 42 mile bike ride followed by a 1.2 Mile Run on Friday. Then the West Point Triathlon on Sunday. 

 I was not great in my times on the Super Sprint - two times during the race I thought of stopping.  About 100 yards into the swim and about 1 mile into a two mile run.  Was very close.  But I could not bring myself to stop even though I knew I was going extremely slow on my run. Even by mind standards.  About 4 minutes per mile slower than what I had done a couple of months earlier running a 5K at the end of a relay and two minutes a mile slower what I had done at the end of the half marathon closing out the Ironman 70.3.  My swim time was about one minute slower than my pace for the 70.3  (My swim time is about 30-45 seconds slower training now as compared to last year.)  But I finished.  Which was the most important thing.  I did an entire Sprint by myself.  After 18 rounds of chemo and still getting chemo.

My bike ride on Friday helped make me feel even better.  Though my pace was slow, it was over a three hour ride.  The run off the bike was tough (my running is problematic), but made it.

Then the West Point Race.  West Point is an awesome event.  But it is also extremely hilly.  I remember it was hilly from last year.  But until I got back on the course, I kind of forgot exactly how hilly it was.  😀 I seeded myself way in the back for the last wave of the swim.  My goggles broke fairly early into the swim so I would stop, take them off, try to tighten them and then continued.  It really did not upset me much.   My goal was to finish.  I knew I was not going to make the podium and I was not going to let things get me down during the race.  Not finishing would have.

Then the bike.  13. something miles of uphill.  Still trying to figure out how the course is basically all uphill with no downhills.  Total mobius strip 😂  Well not exactly.  Though I would slow to a crawl (4-6 MPH on some of the real tough parts), going down hill I almost hit 36 MPH at some points.  Last year I rode the brakes more going downhill.  This year let it go more.  Figured I could use all the help I could get in terms of keeping some sort of acceptable time. 💪😂And then it was time to dismount.  This is coming around to the wobbly.  I unclipped, stopped my bike at the line and then tried to get off.  Wobbly legs big time.  It was probably a combination of funny and sad as I tried to move my legs over the bike which I had tilted.  I was kind of laughing inside, though there was a part of me thinking I would not ever be able to move my legs again.  A couple of people asked if I needed help, if I was okay etc.  (One of the reason I love triathlons.  The participants, volunteers, organizers have almost a 100% really nice people rate and very supportive).

I said "Nah, I got this, this is easy.  I have chemotherapy tomorrow.  That is tough." with a big smile.  I was having a good time even with being kind of stuck.  Finally got unstuck.  Made it to transition and then the run.  Also hilly.  Was really tough and I was slow again.  It starts with a hill.  But there were a couple of brief instances where I thought I was hitting my stride for the first time in awhile.  I had to slow down often in order not to overexert myself - it was hot and humid and I did not want to cramp up or have my breathing go south (was one of the days where a little bit of difficulty breathing without doing anything).  There were brief sections where I was going closer to what I did in my last relay.  When I passed people who were walking their bikes back to their car (yes, I am that slow), the words of encouragement really helped.

Then about 1/2 mile from finish I saw some friends waiting for me.  Cheering me on.  And my buddy jumped in telling me he had permission to run the last bit with me.  Totally awesome.  Laughing, joking having a good time.  And when we came close to the finishing chute, I went as fast as I could.  Which was actually a respectable pace.  Last year I had someone pass me in the last 100 yards or so.  I was not letting that happen again. 😌

The best part was that I finished the race less than 9 minutes slower than last year.  Between the plantar issues and the recent kidney stone, I was really pleased.  My swim time dropped back down by about 45 seconds per 100 yards.  I chalk that up to a bit of a warm-up plus the first race in the week.  I had not worn my wetsuit in awhile and that got me back to the feel. I think my bike was about where I was last year (timing issue where I do not have the split).  My run pace was even slower than the Weds race pace, but I had portions where I thought I may be getting things back a bit.  

Then afterwards had a get together with a bunch of friends.  

People ask me how I get through this.  I tell them I focus on the good moments as much as I can.  Today, at the infusion center as I was getting kind of #%#^& feeling as the drugs were pumped into me, I started smiling as a bit as I thought of the joking on the run, seeing my friends, finishing a couple of triathlons and doing a long bike ride the last 5 days or so.

I am on the bottle now, so training shut down for a few days. But the thought of getting back to #triathlontraining is making me smile.  And looking to sign up for a couple of more races.  

Long Overdue Update

Okay, it has been too long since the last blog entry.   I thought that switching chemo to every three weeks would be good.  It has been, kind of, but not what I was hoping.  After switching to the three-week schedule, the first cycle I came down with an upper resistor infection, which slowed me down and messed with training.  The second cycle I started throwing more cramps in my legs and eventually developed plantar issues, though I have been in PT and it seems to be resolving.  But in the time leading up to this current cycle (plugged in last Monday) I started feeling slower, more nauseous, more tired and a bit bummed in the way I was trending.

Then there was last Saturday.  I was going to see a friend I had not seen in quite awhile, then a ballgame.  But about an hour before leaving I started developing pain that was getting pretty bad.  Then it escalated from there.  I popped a painkiller and muscle relaxer, but it did not stay down.  Was not please - I had taken these pills before over the last five years without issue.  I rarely use them, but they work when needed.  I tried again, and same result.  With the pain escalating.  I was taking my shirt off and on as I swung between chills and feeling like I had a fever.  The same applied to my shorts, kept on taking them off and putting them on as I paced, crawled on the floor, anything to find a position of comfort.  Was not pretty at the time, though I am guessing it had to be a sight to see. 

We debated about calling 911 or going to urgent care at Memorial Sloan Kettering.  My thoughts were that I had internal bleeding from the chemotherapy.  A blockage.  That the tumors in my spine were causing issues.  That the tumor in my psoas was causing issues.  Basically, cancer or chemo was spinning around.  We got in the car and tried going. Three times within no more than 10 blocks I called out for the car to be stopped.  The last time another car stopped and asked if we needed help.  I could barely speak, and looking at my reflection in the windshield, was kind of scary looking.  Wild eye pain.

I popped another pill and crawled onto the couch resting.  The pill stayed down.  20 minutes later I popped another one.  It stayed down.  Crawled into the back of the car and sprawled out, occasionally sitting up, as we made our way to MSK.  Finally made it and I paced in the room.  Up and down trying to find relief.  Eventually got a shot of morphine.  And a scan. 

When it was all said and done, turns out a kidney stone and related infection.  In the world of a cancer patient, there were high fives and relief finding out that it was the issue.  As of today, there is still some pain, and not sure if the stone is still in me.  But at least this helped explain the symptoms I have had the last couple of weeks a bit more. 

Another slight glitch was with my scan this week before chemo – though the spine and lymph nodes look stable, and the majority of the lung tumors are stable (including the largest one) or showing signs of dying, some of the ones that exhibited cavitation have started filling in.  Which means the cancer may have stopped responding there and is active.  Not much I can do, except keep on going on with chemo and #triathlontraining.

Finally got back on the treadmill today.  It was tough. Very tough.  I had to hold onto the bars for the vast majority of the workout in order to not fall.  But I kept on moving.  It is active recovery week and I have done nothing. I was not stopping.  Made it.  And some of the intervals were not too bad, though overall pace was very slow.  Right now resting up from it and hoping I can get back on track.  I have my first solo triathlon of the year, super sprint, coming up, and hoping that I can do it.  

Then may do another sprint relay shortly thereafter with some family members. 

\

It is getting a bit tougher lately, and the chemo is building up so my downtime seems to be more pronounced, but plan on biking or swimming tomorrow.  I figure a few better workouts, meaning any movement to improving, over the next couple of weeks will make me feel better.  #itri4acure

Sorry Cancer, Not Today

I know I have mentioned this before, and I am sure I will mention it again, having cancer for the last 4-1/2 years is not what I would want in the grand scheme of things, but during this time it has led me to things that really have been great and have had a ton of great moments and memories.

Anyway, I have been fortunate to meet some incredible people and new friends through #triathlon and #triathlontraining. Today I was in a Sprint Relay with two such people.  (Plus had a chance to see others that I have become friends with.)

Fortunately, it also turns out these people are really good at this.  So the swim and bike legs were done so well, that even my running could not deter a podium finish.  A wonderful day with perfect weather. 

Added bonus - I was about 12-14 seconds faster per mile (approaching sloth speed now :) ) this week compared to a 5K race I did last week.  And this week was chemo week with me laid out on the couch most of the time.  When the pre-meds wore off late Weds, I basically was asleep until Saturday morning, except for an hour or two here and there, and venturing out for an hour Friday to do a couple of errands.  

I then got home in time to catch the Old Timers day at Yankee Stadium on TV, and now relaxing watching the game.

I feel fine and just enjoying this day.  Sorry cancer, today when thinking about you means nothing to me.  No sudden brief "bad" feeling that passes.  No concern of what is going on.  Today you are once again relegated to nothing more than a piece of information about me that I do not even believe is real.  I am just smiling and enjoying this day way too much for your existence to dampen things.