The one thing that has been bugging me these last couple weeks have been my feet. Foot discomfort has always been an issue for me and that didn’t change this week. Yesterday it seemed to be the worst (maybe something to do with it being the longest run?) My discomfort started early in the run so I don’t think the distance was really the cause. I concentrated on ignoring the pain and squeezing feeling and that helped a bit (I was actually more successful at that today). I also started rubbing arnica gel on my feet and that seems to help also.

So last week nearly 30 miles, and this week I have gotten off to a great start. Eight+ miles yesterday and 6+ today, so I am on my way to hitting 30 this week.

Exercise Gives Cancer Patients Better Fitness, Better Recovery and a Better Life

Macmillan Cancer Support (MCS), a cancer research and advocacy group based in the United Kingdom, released a new report linking exercise and cancer. The latest information sheds new light on the benefits of exercise for cancer patients. Traditionally, doctors prescribed rest and inactivity during and after cancer treatment. According to the new MCS report, the days of bed rest following treatment are gone.

A growing body of evidence shows that regular physical activity lowers the risk for certain types of cancer. Studies also show that physical workouts neutralize the negative side effects of aggressive medical treatments. Additionally, regular exercise cuts the cancer mortality rate and improves survivorship.

Better Physical Fitness

Cancer symptoms and treatments cause numerous physical changes that are hard for some people to deal with. Some side effects are temporary and end when the cancer treatments end. Others are permanent. Late effects may even develop years after the last treatment.

Exercise helps patients cope with these side effects and recover from some of the changes. It reduces the tiredness, nausea, stress and anxiety associated with the disease. Exercise strengthens the heart, lungs, bones and muscles. It also reduces the risk of developing blood clots and muscle atrophy.

Better Quality of Life

The emotional benefits of exercise may be more important than the physical ones. Regular workouts help cancer patients manage the common problems of depression and low mood. Physical activities release chemicals called endorphins. These “feel good” substances lift the spirit and encourage a positive outlook.

Exercising with other people also improves life for cancer patients. Joining a fitness class or walking group, or just playing games with family and friends, adds an element of fun. Group activities often provide just the encouragement and motivation needed to stick with an exercise plan.

Better Recovery

Some patients develop other health problems as the result of their cancer or treatment. High blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, stroke and kidney disease are common related problems. Regular exercise may lower the risk of developing these conditions.

Exercise also discourages the development of cancer. Getting adequate exercise and maintaining a healthy weight may lessen the risk of cancer progression or recurrence. Patients may wonder how much exercise is enough to reap the real benefits. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends 150 minutes of moderately intense exercise each week. The best workouts combine flexibility, aerobic and strength-training activities.

Patients with advanced cancers, such as those in mesothelioma treatment, cannot realistically meet this exercise guideline. However, most other cancer patients can and should strive for this goal. According to recent studies, people fighting breast and prostate cancers have lowered their risk for recurrence by exercising to ACSM guidelines.

Thank you David for this informative article. I would add that even people who feel they can’t realistically keep up with an exercise routine can still benefit form physical activities. For instance stretching while lying down or even getting your body moving while in a supine or prone position.

It is odd, one of the things that always bugs me when I stop running for a period of time whether it is a week or longer. I start to feel fat and sluggish. I think this time this has been a stronger feeling because I think I have been eating more. So while I might have gained a pound, it feels like a lot more. Then today after a couple of good runs I feel thinner. I am a lot less likely to over-eat too. And, my main food bug-a-boo – eating at night – isn’t nearly as appealing. The phycological effects of running are really quite remarkable. I wonder how much of that is to blame on the loose fitting shorts I am wearing today!

One bad thing these last couple of days running has been my feet which have been extra achey. I am considering moving onto a different type of shoes, perhaps one that is more comfort oriented. There are soem nike models that are supposed to be really good. I have been opposed to running in nikes partially in reaction to the bad press the company has gotten about its labor practices (but if I am really concerned about that I better take off more than my nike shoes!) but more for their reputation with their running shoes of not holding up. Still, the comfort might be worth it.

Today I started out with plans to just run for three miles to get me out and running. That quickly turned into 5 miles and then I thought what the heck, I’ll do my base 10k. And considering a friend of mine who is training for his first marathon this fall just did his first 10k run, I figured I had better join him. I actually couldn’t do my full 10k, well I suppose I could have gone further, but reed college is doing its annual neighborhood exclusion they call renn festival. I see it as more of a class war against the perceived riff-raff of Portland or the neighbors of Woodstock and East Moreland. Every year they force all the neighbors to stay off the campus while the children run around and get wasted. I am sure they consider it more than that, but I certainly don’t. I just feel excluded. Anyway, enough anti-reed words for now.

I have been feeling really worn out after running lately. Makes me think this is what they are talking about with ms fatigue. Either that or I have let my base lag and I am not in as good a shape as I used to be. Either way I am positive I will be able to beat it back. I’ll either get in better shape or learn to live with the fatigue or better yet, both. The plan this week is to get more running in and since I won’t have as much music performance going on I’ll have less excuse to be lazy. Now I’ll have to blame work. Nah, I’ll just do it.

I felt a bit bad today not doing Portland’s ms walk. I din’t wear orange either, which I guess is now our color? Glad I like it. There were a lot of people out for it today. Kind of funny that for most of the day they were just in my way. But I am really glad all you ms walkers came out today. I have to say it wasn’t advertised very well, at least they didn’t reach me about the event until a couple weeks ago in passing in an article. I actually forgot it was today until a bunch of girls got on my bus with faces painted with ms suxz.

The frequency of my runs has been really high. Today marked three running days in a row, seven of the last eight. Most of them have been shorter runs of 3-5 miles. I probably won’t run tomorrow (but I might) since I have a long rehearsal tomorrow night.

Yesterday after I blogged the last post, I went out on one of my base 10k runs. I started out pretty fast and decided heck I may as well keep my pace going. I ended up running sub nine min miles for the first three miles. Then, pooped, I stopped the tempo portion and just coasted out the final 3+. The fast portions went really well, but I was exhausted for sure. It did feel prety good to get some speedwork in. This was another run after an injections where I felt extra energy. I wish I knew if that is really a side effect to the rebif or if it is a mental increase to my energy levels.

Today I just did a 5 mile recovery run. I tried really hard to keep my pace under 144 (my 70% recovery ceiling HR) and I more or less failed miserably. I was able to bring my HR down to that level several times but my avg was 150 and I really felt that is where I hovered for most of the run. Running four days in a row could have a little bit to do with that, but I think I have just lost a significant amount of my base fitness. The good thing is that it gives me something to improve upon that I can see immediate results for. I still plan on doing more quality runs and staggering them with recovery. Maybe I’ll read my HR training book again to get some inspiration.

Yesterday was the second day in a row I have run. The first day back I ran with my running partner and she worked me pretty hard. Our runs together have been really fast (for me). Prior to her injury to her leg we used to do more distance focused runs. Now with her slowly adding miles to build back endurance with her leg we have been running shorter runs once a week. To offset this we seem to really be pushing the speed. This is a good thing for me since I am really trying to increase my speed. Not sure how good an idea it is for her and her poor leg! I think we will be slowing down on the runs soon. I’m gonna have to work up my own speed workouts soon.

Saturday I bussed down to the waterfront to meet up and then I ran home. I think this works better with the speed portions than running down to the waterfront (5 miles) then doing a shorter fast portion (2-3 miles). I at least don’t poop out in fron of my partner! I had to stop and walk a number of times on the way back. I hate doing that but it is really important to listen to your body and not let the running ego get in the way.

Yesterday I went out with the intention of doing a shorter run, but I felt pretty good so I upped it to 10k. I went pretty slow on the run but it felt pretty good though I was pretty exhausted for the rest of the day (the gin fizzes I had didn’t help that aspect!) Today I am going to go out and enjoy the nice weather we are finally having. I need to get moving on that so I don’t wimp out!

It feels like some sort of muscular strain, really more of a cramping. Then the residual effect is a stiffness in the back and a continuation of the cramping pain. I don’t know if it is ms related or not. I suppose I should talk to the nuero about it, maybe get some muscle relaxers. I still have some old ones from when I got hit by a car years ago, so maybe I’ll take one of those today and see what happens. Also I have some vicoden laying around as well that helped last night. I have rehearsal tonight that I really need to go to so I don’t want to take anything more than advil which seems to work pretty well. Not gonna be fun lugging around that big bari sax!

So I am taking a week or so off (yes another week) to try to recover from this. I am sure I’ll be fine and hopefully back on the roads sooner rather than later.

My speed has really been suffering. Yesterday I did my 10k at 10:10. It felt even slower. I know this is something that will pick up to more regular I get about running. My running partner who is just getting back into running after an injury has been doing a lot of cross-training work and it really shows. While she can’t run for long distances yet, she has really picked up her pace. We have been meeting once a week for 2.5 mile runs and she kicks my butt! In my defense I have been running 5 miles before our short fast runs. Still the parts with her have been great workouts. I suppose I would really benefit from some track work, but I don’t think I am ready for it yet. Soon, but not yet.

I was also thinking the other day how long it has been since I have done a good solid hill workout. Not that I feel an overwhelming desire to do one, but it has been a long time (18 months?) Going to have to work them in eventually too.

My diet has gotten a lot better in the past month or so. I have returned to drinking my green drinks which consist of a spinach, banana and yoghurt base with other fruits added in: strawberries, apples, pears, mangos and blueberries. They are actually really tasty and I feel like I have a lot more energy as well. I have been adding soy protein powder to them after runs to give myself a little bit of a recovery bounce. Good stuff!

The choice to switch to the oral meds – fingolimod – has been an interesting one. I’d love to ditch the shots and the excess shipping (almost 50 giant styrofoam coolers) but I think (and so does the nuero) that if treatment is showing success why change? I suppose someday I’ll be on it so why not get started now? I am pretty sure it would be effective for me, but would the change of medication, the actual transition have any worsening effect? Would the pills only come in non-vegetarian gelatin based capsules? Would some aspect of the pills require some gigantic shipping method that dwarfs the rebif styrofoam?

I have had some skin reactions recently, more than just the bruising. Itchy area, general soreness in the shot places and what looked like a small needle infection on my back right side. I moved the spots I normally inject in the area and skipped a cycle. Seemed to clear up. Today I did it in the back of my left arm, a painful one but quick. The backs of my arms seem to be the most painful of all the recommended spots. I have thought about skipping the arms but I want to make sure the other areas don’t get over used.

I didn’t run again today. I’m having some issues with consistency lately. I’ll get better I know it. I am really tired of running in the cold I am ready for some warmer weather.