half marathon

Half Marathon #15 – Richmond

The race that I have been training for has come and gone. Shortly after my [redacted] diagnosis and the depression that followed, I thought it would be best to drop down from the marathon to the half marathon. I was under a lot of stress, and the last thing I needed was self-inflicted stress while I dealt with medical issues.

Frankly, it was the best decision I have made recently. I felt a weight lifted off me, and I could start training again and focus on having fun.

Beloved boyfriend and I arrived at Richmond on Friday where we picked up my half marathon packet. When I had signed up for the full marathon, I had paid for them to pay for my bib and shirt to be mailed to my house. As such, I had a Richmond marathon shirt, not a half marathon shirt.

I brought it into the expo, and when I went to get my half marathon shirt, I tried explaining to two volunteers why I was giving back a shirt. “You … can keep the shirt,” the man responded after I explained why I was trying to give it back.

“I can’t wear a shirt of a race I didn’t do,” I said aloud, slowly feeling like a crazy person.

Another volunteer laughed and took the shirt. “I get it,” he promised me. I heard him say to the other guy, “Runners, man.”

On race day, I woke up feeling ready and confident. I began putting on the race outfit I laid out the day before… only to realize I had packed yoga pants, not running tights. What the hell, Huffman! I went through a momentary bout of panic because I hadn’t run in yoga pants since I started a couch to 5k.

I also thought I’d look like a total running hobbyist by running a half marathon in frickin’ yoga pants. Why do I own so many black running tights that I confuse them with my black yoga pants? Also, why don’t I separate yoga and running pants? Argh. Given that I had no other choice, I put my big girl pants on figuratively and put my actual pants on literally. I looked and felt like a jagoff, but I had nothing else to wear.

During the run, y’all, I felt mostly great. The weather was perfect running weather, and the course elevation was tame compared to Pittsburgh. During the 5th mile, I had to stop and adjust my right sock twice because it felt off. (Turns out, I was right because I had a giant blister on my big right toe. Guess I didn’t fix the sock problem.)

Throughout the run, I focused on my breathing, not shrugging my shoulders, and lifting my damn legs. I had to fight the urge to shuffle my feet and shrug my shoulders. I stopped at every water stop and drank water, or I stopped to eat the Gu chews. Hell, I walked a couple of spots just to get my heart rate back down.

The best part of the race had to be downhill finish. I know when I came to the end, I probably had a huge grin on my face. I hyped myself up and said, “Let’s do this, Huffman,” and I went flying down that hill. The first part of my final mile, I had to walk for 30 seconds. That makes that 10:17 mile at the end even more fist bump worthy.

I’m happy with my time! I can’t remember the last time I had so many miles in the 10-minute pace. I didn’t have an overall time goal, only just to finish and have fun. Mission freaking accomplished. I finished, and I’m proud of my time.

I went through a lot to get to this mindset and place. It took me awhile but I have stopped comparing myself now to what I used to be able to do. That never helped me and just made me feel angry at myself. I’m looking at each training cycle in the present, and keeping the past (especially results before a 5-inch incision in my abdomen) in the past.

For my 15th half marathon, I listened to my coach and checked my pride at the door. I knew what I had been doing was wrong with a capital W, so I listened to the coaching and advice from Coach Dan. I’m glad I did because this is one of the best results I have had in a while.

Looking forward to half marathon #16 – maybe I”ll see the 2:10-19 range again…. that’s the beauty of running. There’s always the next race. [Redacted] will take a lot from me, but it cannot and will not take my running from me. I may have [redacted] but I am a mother-fucking runner.

Pittsburgh Dick’s Half Marathon 2015: my fourth half marathon

When I began my training season for the Pittsburgh Half 2015, I had lofty goals and ambitions. “I’m going to run the 15 mile race for Spring Thaw.” “I’m going to run the Pittsburgh half under two hours.” Boy, I thought highly of myself and greatly underestimated how much free time I actually had. Neither of my goals happened and yet, I’m okay with it.

Given the sub-zero weather in February and its affect on my training, I only felt prepared to run the 10-mile race for the Spring Thaw. If I had attempted to run 15 when my weekly mileage was as low as it was, then I would have injured myself. When I crossed the finish line for the Spring Thaw and receive my 10-miler finisher’s medal, I vowed, “Next year, I’ll run the 15 mile race.”

For the half marathon for Just a Short Run in March, I treated it like a training run and not something I should attempt to PR (i.e., achieving a personal record). The weather that morning was 15 degrees, and like everyone else, I was shivering and shaking.

If it wasn’t for the fact I was running with a friend, I probably would have bowed out after the 8.1 mile mark. My total time for Just a Short Run was 2:28, a minute longer than my first half marathon time, aka my worst time. Even though I know the freezing weather played a huge part, I still felt disappointed at my time.

In the days leading up to the Pittsburgh Half, I was convinced that I was going to be lucky if I even beat my 2:27 time from last year. I never made it to any speed workouts, and if you want to get faster, then a runner has to make it to the track. I didn’t. Life kept getting in the way. I was beating myself up – figuratively, of course.

I ended up heading to the half marathon by my lonesome self since I hadn’t been in contact with my fellow West View Fleet Feet’er. By the time I got downtown and my bag checked, I had missed my charity team’s group picture (boo). I also didn’t make it to the Steel City Road Runners’ hospitality tent prior to the race. Nothing really went as planned.

Before the race began, I only ran into one other person I know in my assigned corral. Thanks to her, I had a before picture of me. I was there! (I have looked through many photographers’ marathon pictures and alas, I didn’t find me anywhere.)

Who wears short shorts? I wear short shorts.

It was around mile 9 when I realized, “Holy shit, I’m going to beat my time.” I couldn’t believe it! I was maintaining a pace of around 10:10 comfortably. I made sure I took water at every fluid station and even took two water cups at a later station. I took my Guu (aka Gewwww) every four miles. The hotter temperature wore me down around mile 11, and I had to walk for about 15 seconds to get my hear rate back down.

I crossed the finish line at 2:14:02, beating my previous time by 13 minutes!

Now I’ll definitely be making it to track workouts in the near future. I’m signed up for three more half marathons, and come hell or high water, I will run a half marathon under two hours. Just you wait.

Second Half Marathon

Today I completed my second half marathon, and I’m very happy to report that I beat my previous time by a lot. My goal was to achieve a time of 2 hours and 10 minutes. I crossed the finish line at 2 hours and 13 minutes. Hot dog! I guess not running with extreme IT band and foot pain really makes a difference.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t 100 percent injury free going into this race. For the past two months, I have been working hard on renovations in my house with an emphasis on scraping glue and wallpaper off walls and ceilings. Hours upon hours of moving my arm up and down or above my head, all sorts of repetitive motions. Right now, I am nursing some pain and numbness in my right shoulder, and sometimes during a run, my shoulder will pop. Dr. Google suggests that I might have some tendonitis in my right shoulder, but I will be seeing an actual doctor to try and figure out what exactly is going on.

I arrived at the race early, and I really didn’t need to, unfortunately. Because I got there so early (well, on time), I ended up waiting around two hours before the race began. It was cold and misting, and I shivered quite a bit. I seriously need to remember to do the trash bag before races in the fall and winter. This isn’t the first time I have came to a race under dressed. One of these days, I will learn my lesson. One day.

Around mile 5, my shoulder felt tight and popped – just once, thank goodness. The bigger issue that came up was the giant blister on my left foot. I blocked out the pain by totally people watching the other runners. “What the hell is she wearing?” “The runners who carry the American flag are bad ass.” “That woman has a shirt saying ‘Run like a grandma.’ I can’t let her pass me…. crap, too late. Go grandma.”

Before my half marathon, I contacted Metavivor to see if I can fundraise on the organization’s behalf. They said yes, and I was able to raise around $700 for Metavivor! I wish I could have raised more, but this won’t be the last time I’ll raise additional funds for them. I want to raise more for them than I ever did for the evil Susan G. Komen Foundation. I’ll right my wrong!

As of right now, I’m sore, hurt but feeling very proud. I achieved a goal, and an amazing organization received money that will go to metastatic breast cancer research. I feel actually more pride in that fact than hitting a PR. I didn’t just write a blog saying: “Pinkwashing is bad, and money should go research.” I’ve written many blogs saying just that, but this time I helped to raise money for just that. All the people who donated to Metavivor hopefully learned more about the organization and might feel inclined to donate to them again without any provocation from me.

I run to help reduce my risk of a recurrence. I run to quiet my demons that like to tag-a-long with me. I run to keep myself in the best shape I can. I run to get those endorphins released into my body. I run to be something I never was before the age of 32: an athlete. I run to hang out with all the awesome and wonderful friends I have made.

I run because I’m not out to prove anything to anybody but myself, and it’s freaking fantastic.

Get Up Running – Kerry

I recently just “met” Kerry through another friend of mine, Michele, who has had breast cancer and runs races. I am meeting a lot of women who’ve had breast cancer and who are also runners – awesome! Anyway, here’s Kerry’s story.

Name: Kerry

Type of cancer and treatment:

Dx Oct 2008 @ 42 yrs, IDC, Stage IIIa, Grade 3 [ed note: breast cancer, for those who don’t know what IDC means – invasive ductal carcinoma]
Right Mx, no recon
FEC-T x 6
25 rads
Tamoxifen
Ooph
Arimidex (still taking)
3 years of Zometa, 2 x a year

Were you a runner before cancer?

No. I was always really active; I walked everywhere, hiked, canoed, gardened, etc, but hadn’t run since high school.

While I was in the middle of chemo, I decided I wanted to work hard at getting physically strong after I was done. Running seemed like an obvious choice. Chemo hit me quite hard. FEC made me throw up, and Taxotere gave me terrible bone pain, from which I was basically bedridden for a couple of days each round. I remember lying in bed feeling so terrible, so weak, and just wishing that I could feel strong again. I ended up hospitalized after my 5th round of Chemo (febrile neutropenia) and remember being taken from the ER up to a ward. There I was in a hospital gown, bald, IV pole, in a wheelchair, and I’ll never forget the look of pity and fear on the faces of people we passed. I never wanted people to look at me that way again.

I also did a lot of research about what I could do to increase my odds of survival, and time and time again I read that exercise would lower my risk of recurrence. It seemed like a no – brainer to prioritize exercise after active treatment ended.

I am also on an AI, one of the most common side effects is joint pain. I read one of the best ways to prevent this is, again, exercise. I do feel a difference in my body if I go a couple of days without running. I went through early menopause right after radiation, when I had my ovaries removed. I hope that running helps counter some of the negative long term cardiac effects of that, and some of the long term effects of chemo.

Did you run during treatment? How long after did you take it up?

I didn’t start running until after treatment ended. I walked during chemo, as much as I could, which towards the end was often just walking my kids to school and back. After chemo I started walking longer distances, and about 6 months after I finished up everything I started running a bit. (I live in Canada and had to wait for the snow to melt) I started off running small distances during my walks, and slowly increased how much I ran, until I was comfortably running 3 miles at a time. On a whim I decided to try and run 6 miles, which I did! Not long after that I decided to train for a half marathon, and about 7 months after starting running, (about 2 years after diagnosis) I ran my first half marathon. I have since run 2 more half marathons, and next month will run my 4th full marathon.

How has running helped you during and/or after treatment, both physically and mentally.

Physically and mentally it has made me so much stronger. I truly think running is saving my life, and my sanity. I came out of treatment with some extra steroid weight, feeling pretty weak and hammered by everything. Emotionally I felt quite vulnerable, it is such a shocking thing to happen, and I was not particularly hopeful about my long term survival. I think that when you are in the midst of active treatment you are in fight mode, but afterwards I think running gave me something positive to focus on, like I was still doing something to fight the cancer.

I also think that having gone through some pretty aggressive treatment, that cancer has helped me as a runner. I have often thought during a hard run, if I can get through chemo, I can get through this. I think it has given me the strength to not quit when the going gets tough.

What did your doctor say about your running?

My onc says it’s the reason I am doing so well. He is totally supportive.

What is your biggest challenge running after cancer?

Ha, well, I didn’t have recon, and sweat and a silicone prosthesis don’t mix! I had a couple of near embarrassing situations before switching to a foam prosthesis. It makes me look a bit lopsided if you looked closely, but I really don’t care.

I have had bursitis twice in my heels which I blame (possibly unfairly) on Arimidex.

I also have had occasional hand lymphedema after very long runs.

What would you say to someone just out of treatment who may be intimidated to take up running?

Well, I would say to start slow. You don’t have to be out running marathons. There is a huge benefit of just exercising for 30 minutes a day. Consistency is the most important thing. Start out with an easy, non-threatening plan, something like couch to 5k. Don’t worry about speed, don’t be afraid to walk. Just get out there and do something. Think of exercise as a key part of your treatment plan, the survival benefit is similar to chemo. And it’s far more fun 😉

Another 11 miles

I did. I ran another 11 miles. Double-freaking-digits. While this is my second double-digit run, this run was even more significant due to the fact that I have been a sickie again, living in Purgatory health. For the last four to five weeks, I have been fighting off one illness after another. It started off as a cold, then I had a stomach virus that completely wiped me out, then a sinus infection. The Boyfriend has been sick, and then it seems I get it, and then so on. Unfortunately, he has seemingly been hit harder than me with all these illnesses, and I’ve been bouncing back, while he has been splat on the ground.

Training during a period of time where you just want to lay down, curl up with a pair of crazy mutts, and watch bad reality television is challenging. I want to run. I want to go to yoga and get my stretch on, gurrrl. The idea of resting when I’m so close to the half marathon? No, I can’t! I rested for two years, and I’m tired of resting.

I ended up listening to my training group’s advice to give it a rest. Illness and training do not go hand in hand. More like hand-to-hand combat. The couple of times I tried to run when under the weather yielded terrible results. When I went to yoga even though I couldn’t breathe out of my nose, horrible idea. Finally, I threw my hands up, went to the doctor to get some much-needed antibiotics, and didn’t run for more than a week.

Today was my first long run in two weeks, and I felt pretty great until mile 9 when the IT band pain hit again. Since I had two miles to go, I wasn’t going to quit. Those two miles were tougher than the first 9 (I can’t believe I actually wrote that sentence). When my watch beeped at the 11 mile mark, I resisted the urge to yell, “YES!” I was also secretly overjoyed that one of my mentors said I was a “strong” runner. SOMEONE CALLED ME STRONG AND IT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH HAVING HAD CANCER.

I wish I could spread the message to other people who just finished cancer treatment that they, too, can run. (Of course, always get a “go-ahead” from their oncologist.) I haven’t even been running for a year, like 9 months, and I’m weeks away from running 13.1 miles. I’m not an athlete and well, have never been athletic. It’s like all my surgeries and treatment have flipped a switch in me. I know what it’s like to feel like you’re choking to death, or so sick and in pain that you have to have help walking up stairs, or so zapped of energy that you can barely get out of bed. I have been pushed to my limits during cancer treatment.

Now I am being pushed to my limits but in a so much better way.

Get Up Swinging

The boobs are fake. The snark is real.