Introduction
In January 2008 I was diagnosed with an incurable form of lung cancer. I was 41 years old, had never smoked, and was a regular runner, hiker and backpacker. Within a few days following my diagnosis I sat in a chair at St Patrick’s Hospital as a toxic cocktail of chemotherapy drugs was injected into my body. The chemotherapy was certainly effective, reducing the size of the tumor in my lung by 90 percent in the first few months, but it had a brutal impact on my body. I lost all my body hair, I couldn’t taste anything, my fingernails turned brittle, and my stomach was always upset. However I was determined to hold onto one thing: the ability to exercise. So, a few weeks after my diagnosis, I put on my running shoes and went out the door to see what I could do. At first I felt really weak and all I could manage was a mile or so around the neighborhood. My pace was much slower than it had been before (I took to telling my wife, Sarah, that I was heading out for a “shuffle” rather than a run) but it felt really, really good to have at least some control over my own body!
With time and a switch to a slightly less debilitating chemo treatment, I was able to go back to my old running route, up and down Waterworks Hill. Then, in April 2009 Sarah told me about Fit to Fight, an 8 week program of supervised exercise, strength and flexibility training run by Peak Fitness and Alpine Physical Therapy. I was reluctant at first -- I’m not really a “health club” kind of guy – but Sarah persuaded me to go along and after the first session I was converted. The people running the program were so supportive and so positive. They showed me what I needed to do to improve my all-around core strength and flexibility. Even as I continued with my chemo treatment I could feel my body getting stronger and more flexible. In June I went rock climbing for the first time in 20 years and really enjoyed it with my new found upper body strength! Since then I’ve worked hard to maintain my strength and fitness, and so when Fit to Fight asked if I was interested in doing a triathlon I jumped at the opportunity. I’ve always wanted to do a triathlon, but when I was diagnosed I thought that I’d never have the chance. But Fit to Fight had already shown me that I could do more than I thought possible. Why not give it a shot? So here I am, about a month out from the big day. I feel quite confident about the ride and the run, but the swim is a concern; I haven’t swum laps since I was in school. However, I’ve been getting some great coaching from Maer, our ‘tri-trainer’, so hopefully it’ll all work out! As my wife often reminds me, just finishing will be a huge accomplishment, even if it takes me all day!
Training Log and Notes for April 26 – May 2
This was a tough week for training, as I had chemo treatment on Monday. I’ve found that if I push too hard in the first few days after treatment I pay for it later on, with more severe side effects and a longer post-chemo recovery period. So although I got out for a trail run right after my treatment on Monday, I forced myself to rest for the next couple of days. It seemed to do the trick as on Thursday I got out for another trail run and felt pretty good. On Friday I rode my bike along the race route at Blue Mountain. It’s a really great route, along the river and gently rolling for most of the way. However there’s a short, steep climb at 7 miles that definitely hurts! I felt a bit shaky and weak on the bike (due to chemo side effects) but I reminded myself that on race day I’ll be nearly a month out from treatment so will hopefully feel more solid. On Saturday I worked on my running pace, doing 1 mile and ¼ mile intervals on the river trail. Since I was diagnosed I’ve developed a real fear of getting breathless, so the interval training is good for me because it reminds me that getting really out of breath is perfectly normal, and can even be a good thing! Finally on Sunday I hit the pool for some laps and drills under the watchful eye of Maer. I’m trying to learn the crawl stroke, but it’s been tough and I’m still floundering. If need be I’ll just swim the whole thing using breast stroke, even if it is slower.
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