Update: January 8, 2016

Written on Friday, January 8:

In two weeks from today, I will return from the hospital after my eighth and final chemotherapy course of the main treatment! Woohoo! It has been quite the ride these past couple very months.

It has been very educational, eye-opening, and has further made it evident that my original views on life (living with more love, appreciation, and wonder for this world) have proven to be the only way to live. So all in all, a great and wonderful and rare experience to have!

Until I am admitted to the hospital again in about ten days, I will continue to keep on sleeping my 9-10 hours a night (plus a 30 minute afternoon nap), eating very clean and heathy and big, and getting in my daily workouts. Lately I have been doing a morning workout of a mile on the treadmill and 5 miles on the indoor bike, followed by a 20-30 minute walk prior to dinner. I also have been doing TRX suspension trainer workouts again on the "odd" days (the sixth, the eight, etc). It is great to get back into a regular routine (after a minuscule setback in mid-December), and I am already looking into the future to see what runs and triathlons I will sign up for :)

Today, I had another visit to the Med Center in Omaha (in preparation for a possible bone marrow transplant), and had some pretty fun tests done.

The first was a CT scan of the thorax to see how the lungs are holding up. Nothing wrong there. No fungus growing out of control or anything.

The second was a pulmonary function test, including spirometer (things like max volume and max rate of inspiration and exhalation) and diffusion (basically how much oxygen is absorbed by the lungs). I have always wondered about my pulmonary function since seeing a Runner's World feature about human physiology and aesthetics, which a picture of middle-distance runner and world record holder Hicham El Gourrouj was shown, from the side, as his lungs expanded and it was like "BOOM!" So neat! Considering that a healthy 8 year old (who in theory would have a value healthiest lungs of us all) would be at "85% predicted" for a healthy baseline(see the attachment for those who love stats and nerdy science), my value for FVC was really high, at "122% predicted." In effect, my lungs perform just as good as a child's. This is great news, as we all know that chemotherapy is "theoretically" highly cytotoxic. I say "theoretically" because there are many measures one can take to protect the body from the ill-effects of chemotherapy. Mind-body exercises, along with supplements, have proven useful in lessening the ill-effects of chemotherapy and possibly boosting the efficacy of the chemo (more on this later). Also, my lungs thank 10 years of marathons and ultra marathons, triathlons, living at altitude, and hypoxic swim training! Also, thank my lungs thank playing the clarinet and that I have never smoked!

The third was another heart Doppler echocardiogram. The tech had to plug all my stuff into the computer, so I will hear back about this test soon, but I am expecting it to have favorable results, also.

Well, I hope you all have the greatest of Saturdays! My mom and I are planning to make my grandma's recipe of roti and curried lentils, so it will be an awesome day!

Weekly Update: November 30, 2015:

Hello, everyone! I hope that you are doing great as winter begins on this brisk Monday morning! It is quietly snowing outside right now, which is very nice to see. Having cold and cloudy weather is never any fun; once you add snow, things get more cheerful and one is more apt to slip into a nice, cozy, holiday mood!

I also hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Mine was amazing! My sister and her family graced our Lincoln apartment for a couple days, and the day following Thanksgiving was my oldest niece's (Olivia's) sixth birthday. There were a lot of festivities over the latter part of last week, needless to say.

Olivia also became a doctor on Saturday, when she received a nice doctor's outfit from Saint Elizabeth Medical Center as a birthday gift. She gave my dad and I full checkups, even! Check out the pictures below. Who knows, Olivia might be working as a doctor when she gets older! She also came with me to the hospital to hand out candy to the nurses, which she really enjoyed! smile emoticon

In other news, I ran/walked a 5k on Thanksgiving morning. I had been considering doing it since I was discharged from the hospital the previous Sunday, and I guess 4 days was enough time to get back into the game! The weather was not my favorite, at around 34 degrees with a light rain, but it was good to get out there and have some fun! I ended up finishing the 3.18 mile course (according to my Garmin) in 43:50 (13:48 pace)…not too shabby, considering that I walked most of it, and I had to stop to tie my shoe (which NEVER happens during a race…I don't know why the shoe decided to come undone during the 5k!). I also ran negative splits, and each successive mile was faster than the previous (14:22, 13:52, 13:30).

I have also started busting out workouts on the Total Gym. My parents have one, and it is also the thing that Chuck Norris endorses, so you know I'm going to get really fit here soon! smile emoticon I am also increasing my daily walk/runs to 3-4 miles total, as well as incorporating stationary cycling. However, I am really missing my bikes back in Colorado frown emoticon The stationary cycle has this seat that really jams up into your nether regions, if you know what I mean. Not a fun place to be. I am also getting back into doing more yoga poses before my morning meditation…today, I did 40 minutes of yoga, and then 40 minutes of meditation. Not a bad way to begin the day!

Well, that is all for now. I have three more days of neupogen shots this week, then, on Wednesday, a consultation at the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha regarding a possible bone marrow transplant after my main course of treatment is done. I actually feel like my bone marrow is doing really good! Other than a usually low hemoglobin level (hovering in the 8-9 level; 13.5-17 is the "norm"), my platelets are recovering perfectly after each chemo course, as well as my white blood cell counts and absolute neutrophil counts. So…a strong mind equals a strong body equals a strong person. This is why it is so important for all of us in life to forge mental toughness and a positive outlook!

Until next time, keep getting 'er done...whatever this means for you smile emoticon

Update: October 18, 2015

Hello!

I have not posted for some time on this blog. After the Race Across New Mexico, I took some downtime, and really didn't do too much physical activity during the month of March. I did a couple good bike rides of 20-30 miles, just easy ones to get the legs going, and got back to doing more sit-ups, pull-ups, and other body weight exercises.

I did develop a bit of tendonitis in the distal quad tendons after a serious SEALFIT workout that included a bunch of kettle bell swings and box jumps. After years of just doing long runs and no real "power" workouts, it was a poor decision to do the SEALFIT workout. Even though I cut the number of reps down considerably, the 100 kettle bell swings and the 100 box jumps of the workout I did in mid-April really took it out of me. The tendonitis of the quad tendons wouldn't leave me alone, and thus I didn't really do any physical activity after mid-April.

I had my last good workout was on April 30. It consisted of the good ol' bodyweight pyramid of 1x pull, 2x push, and 3x ab. I didn't do any dips on this day because I was feeling sort of lethargic (although a week earlier I finished the entire pyramid workout, with dips, in 38:05). On April 30, something felt a bit weird, with the lethargy causing me to slug out the workout in 37:55, with a lot of just sitting around between sets.

Anyway, I lost about 12 pounds in May for no apparent reason, and kept having flare ups in the ol' quads. Fast forward to the first week of August…by this time my resting heart rate was in the 120s and I had to take frequent breaks during my summer job at the Marlboro Music Festival (Vermont) to catch my breath.

Basically, when I went into the urgent care on August 6, I was urged to go to the emergency room…and from there, I learned that I most likely had leukemia. I was airlifted to the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, NH (from Brattleboro, VT), and on August 7 was diagnosed with Adult Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

It was such a surreal experience, and everything happened so quickly that I forced to process the gravity of the situation and basically accept that there was only one course of action available: immediate treatment.

*****

Fast forward to today: I am currently finishing out my 3rd course of chemo treatment, of which there will be 4 or 6 total courses. But the best thing is:

After my initial course of treatment, the amount of leukemia cells dropped from 88% (on August 7) to LESS THAN 1% on September 15. I will have another bone biopsy in about a month to confirm the "blast" cells are still less than 1%…and, one has to have a "blast" cell count higher that 20% for the condition to be even considered leukemia! So, I have basically been in remission for over a month now, and am feeling great! I am taking care of my body and mind in only the best ways, and am dominating any of the bad cells that might be lurking around.

Today, I also jogged a bit during my morning walk! After 5 minutes of walking, I did 6 x 30 seconds of jogging (with 2 minutes of walking between sets), and then used the remaining time to have a cool-down walk. This was the BEST way to begin the day, and my Altras are still as awesome as I remember :) I basically have not ran in 5 months…and it felt INCREDIBLE to be back out there!

My plans for 2016 include:

Platte River Half Marathon, Littleton, CO (April)
Greenland Trail Races 25k, Greenland, CO (May)
Ordinary Mortals Spring Triathlon, Pueblo, CO (May)

And after that…who knows!

I really want to get in some nice epic bike rides, like multi-day trips around Colorado, or aid/crew someone with one of their endeavors, so please let me know if you need someone to help you out! :)

Until next time…

Run on! :)

Oh yeah, on that app "Timehop," I evidently did my first one-armed pull-up on this date in 2008. Hooyay!

Race Across New Mexico, Stage 15

Monday, March 2, 2015

I awoke on the morning of Stage 15 ready to get out there and run the last 30 miles to Texas! My legs felt really good, despite the "quick" 30 miles the day before. Max and I had to drive an hour to the start, as Roswell was where we decided to stay. The hotel in Tatum (near the start of Stage 15) was not exactly the most inviting place to stay, and we made the decision to stay in Roswell because of the hospitality and comfort offered there :)

The last stage went really good. My legs felt like they had an extra spring in them, propelling me towards Texas. I was also glad that this would be my last day running on pavement for a very, very long time! As I said in an earlier post, pavement is unnatural, and the slope of the shoulder (even if it is barely visible) will cause injury and muscle imbalances to the leg taking more of the impact.

Anyway, I finished out the 30.4 miles in just under five hours, at a 9:46 min/mile pace. I always made sure to take a bit of a walking break at each mile throughout each stage of the run, and this method worked great!

Some pictures from the last day:

 There were a lot of these metal signs for all the ranches dotting the area. This one must be a big ranch, since it is already 9 miles off the highway!

 Getting ready to run to Texas!

 And, we're off! After today I won't run for a week :)

 Passing mile 14, on the west side of the small town of Tatum, NM

 Somewhere near the end...it is hard to tell exactly where this is, because the scenery was basically the same.

 Getting the last stage done!

A bit of celebrating with Barefoot Alex and Robert Young. Both of these runners are very inspirational and are amazing people!

Riding this Texas sign like it is a bronco.

Stage 15

Distance - 30.41
Time - 4:57:06
Pace - 9:46
Calories - 2253
Elevation Gain - 3
Elevation Loss - 431
Elevation Change - 434
HR Avg - 142
HR Max - 175
Minimum Elevation - 3789
Maximum Elevation - 4217

Totals (12 stages)

Distance - 319.42
Time - 58:49:06
Pace - 11:04
Calories - 23981
Elevation Gain - 10284
Elevation Loss - 12427
Elevation Change - 22711
HR Avg - 139
HR Max - 180
Minimum Elevation - 5286
Maximum Elevation - 6202

***

In the next post, I will give a general race recap. Things I will discuss include general remarks, training for this event, gear, nutrition, injuries, baths, relaxation, sleep, the digestive system, and my next big plans!

:)

Race Across New Mexico, Stage 14

March 1, 2015

The month of March began with Stage 14 of the Race Across New Mexico. Due to inclement weather the day before, I decided not to venture out onto New Mexico Highway 380 for Stage 13. The road was closed, and I did not want to risk going out in the car, or having a vehicle slam into me on the highway. When the race director had not made a decision by 11:30 AM, and because the road was still closed, I made the decision to not risk anything.

Due to the fact that Stage 12 was cut down to 19 miles because of the road closure, the race director decided to tack on the remaining miles onto the last two stages of the Race Across New Mexico. Therefore, Stages 14 and 15 would both be 30 miles in length. 

I actually felt really good during Stage 14. I listened to some Indian music for the first half, and the sound of the nagaswaram kept me going. The entire 30 miles were on the desolate stretch of road between Roswell and Tatum, and because it was foggy, I couldn't tell what the landscape looked like. Overall, it was a great day, and my average pace for the 30 miles (9:43 min/mile) was the quickest pace I had maintained during any stage! My legs felt like they were actually running, rather than slogging along in a shuffle.

 Excited to run!

 Getting ready to start. Lots of fog.

 And, we're off for the first of two 30 mile runs...

 A sweet action shot.

 Running so fast everything is a blur?

Stage 14

Distance - 30.29
Time - 4:54:13
Pace - 9:43
Calories - 2167
Elevation Gain - 568
Elevation Loss - 197
Elevation Change - 765
HR Avg - 147
HR Max - 185
Minimum Elevation - 3848
Maximum Elevation - 4403

Totals (11 stages)
Distance - 289.01
Time - 53:52:00
Pace - 11:11
Calories - 21728
Elevation Gain - 10281
Elevation Loss - 11996
Elevation Change - 22277
HR Avg - 139
HR Max - 181
Minimum Elevation - 5422
Maximum Elevation - 6283

Race Across New Mexico, Stage 12

Stage 12 brought with it a lot of snow and ice on the road. Because it wasn't sleeting and raining and snowing like yesterday, I actually preferred the conditions today over yesterday. I was just chillin at a pretty good clip, and would have finished today's marathon in around 4:40...but then, the road was closed after mile 19. Actually, the next 60 miles of the road were closed (between Roswell and Tatum, NM). This was sort of a bummer, because I was feeling good and in a nice groove.

It would make sense to just consider today's run as the 19 mile section that we would have run on Monday, but the race director was thinking that we would tack on 4 miles or so over the next two marathons. So, yes, that would mean that we would have to run 30 miles tomorrow, and then 30 miles on Sunday! (And then, only 19 miles on Monday to reach the border of Texas). I am hoping that we just do marathons for the next 3 days...

Below are some photos of today's run. It looks pretty bad, and it was, but I was actually enjoying myself quite a bit, and was bummed that we had to call it quits. Us runners, we could have dominated that hill like it was nothing :)

Right before we started the run

 Look out for trucks!

 Getting er done!

 Icy roads

 An awesome action shot

 Running through Roswell. I haven't run in an urban environment since 2012! And, I didn't like it.

 East of Roswell

Groovin

 "Befriend someone"

 Mile 19, where we had to stop. 

 This weird icicle formed on my facemask.

Stage 12
Distance - 19.11
Time - 3:21:55
Pace - 10:34
Calories - 1443
Elevation Gain - 121
Elevation Loss - 598
Elevation Change - 719
HR Avg - 139
HR Max - 168
Minimum Elevation - 3448
Maximum Elevation - 3948

Totals (10 stages)
Distance - 258.72
Time - 48:57:47
Pace - 11:19
Calories - 19561
Elevation Gain - 9713
Elevation Loss - 11799
Elevation Change - 21512
HR Avg - 138
HR Max - 181
Minimum Elevation - 5579
Maximum Elevation - 6581

Race Across New Mexico, Stage 11

Stage 11 was definitely a day to remember! With the temperatures hovering around freezing when we began, a light rain/snow started falling upon us. I am never worried about snow, because you can just bundle up, but when it is rain and makes you wet, then the precipitation becomes a problem. Over the next miles, the temperature continued to drop, and the wind seemed to pick up even more. At mile 19, I asked one of the volunteers what the temperature was like, and he said that the windchill was somewhere in the mid-teens. Fun!

The first 6 miles were really good, and I was just chilling out listening to some Handel and Scarlatti piano music. Then, between the first and second aid station, the rain seemed to pick up, and my clothes quickly became wet. We climbed this long hill that seemed to take 5 miles to ascend, and then Max (my crew member) was waiting right before 13 miles...I changed all my shirts and jacket, and put another pair of pants on...my Gore Tex jacket had developed a thin layer of ice all over it, which I guess could have been good in a way to further block the wind, but I left it to dry out.

I asked Max to just go 3 miles up the road (as he did until the end), and this seemed to keep my spirits high. All I had to do was run about 30 minutes, and then I could change out my clothes if I wanted to. My hands got really cold between miles 6 and 13 due to the freezing rain, so I had to put on these dang work gloves that were in the back of the car. They didn't offer too much insulation, but at least they were dry. When I tucked them into my jacket, it provided just enough of a barrier to keep my hands warm for the remainder of the run.

Have you ever looked outside and wondered if it is too cold to run? That was basically what today was like, except we had to run. When there is a threat of frostbite, that's when you know the real fun starts! :)

Despite these fun conditions (which some may call miserable), I maintained a low heart rate average of 136 and a max of 165. I just took it easy and didn't stress the system too much.

 The weather at the start reminded me of the weather prior to the Boston Marathon in 2007...cold, windy, and gross. Perfect for a real good 26 miles!

 The last half reminded me of Highway 50 between Pueblo West and Florence. Perfect!

 "Ice Man" style. A thin layer of ice covered my legs and my jacket. 

 And...a thin layer of ice covered my sunglasses, making them un-wearable.

 Barefoot Alex, displaying his "ice beard"

Finishing the day's run in high spirits! It's always a great day to run! :)

Stage 11
Distance - 26.49
Time - 4:51:59
Pace - 11:01
Calories - 2026
Elevation Gain - 850
Elevation Loss - 1864
Elevation Change - 2714
HR Avg - 136
HR Max - 165
Minimum Elevation - 3934
Maximum Elevation - 5138

Totals (9 stages)
Distance - 239.61
Time - 45:35:52
Pace - 11:25
Calories - 18118
Elevation Gain - 9592
Elevation Loss - 11201
Elevation Change - 20793
HR Avg - 138
HR Max - 182
Minimum Elevation - 5816
Maximum Elevation - 6873