Keep Pushin'

Dave Wolfe wrote:Sounds like Thursday went well. Running is going well so that's a good stree reliever.

Yes, Dave, Thursday did go well...we are both in a much better place since then.
And I talked to my sister last night, after 4 weeks of chemo and radiation, she still sounds strong. Thank God, she hasn't had many side effects that she's had to deal with. She only has another 2 weeks to go. Now she's wondering of the chemo and radiation are doing their job because she hasn't felt like crap. About a month after she's done with chemo and radiation, she'll get a month 'off' then they'll do the surgery to remove the tumor. We hope.

On to running.
Or in my case right now, Not running. My knee is still angry, so I hopped on the elliptical Saturday morning for an hour. My knee doesn't hurt at all on the elliptical. While I was on the elliptical, Jack got on the treadmill and ran for the first time since November. Not sure if I shared this with y'all, but in November he fell off of a ladder and shattered 8 ribs. It's taken a loooong time for him to get over that pain. So, it was good to see him run again! And staying fit is soooo important for him right now...research suggests the cardio work slows down the growth of his cancer.

I got on the elliptical again this morning for 30 minutes. Again, no knee pain on the elliptical, but it still hurts a bit when I walk and hurts when I up and down stairs. Ugh. I'll wait until tomorrow evening to decide if I'm going to run or opt for the elliptical again for tomorrow's workout.

Kathy I'm glad you have the elliptical as an option right now! When my knee was bugging me a couple years ago, the ellipt and stationary bike bothered it too.

Wow--didn't know that Jack shattered ribs--that sounds absolutely awful. And then everything else....

Hang on and hang in!

Hi Peg...yes, I feel lucky that my knee doesn't hurt when I use the elliptical. I was wondering what I'd do for fitness if it did hurt. I think I remember your knee issue, but don't remember what the cause was...

And about Jack's ribs...yeah, he's been through the ringer in the past few years. A couple of years ago, he had disk removed and then spinal fusion. No running for a year. When he was able to run again, we did several half marathons. Then he broke his ribs. (We were registered for another half the week after he broke his ribs.) Now the cancer. He's a strong guy, though, he'll (we'll) get through this, too. Keep pushin'.
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I did my usual strength and toning workout this morning. I added squats back into the mix. I stopped doing them last year when my knee began to get ouchy, thinking that the squats might be aggravating it. But it's clear that's not the problem. So I added them back.

I"m still undecided about if I should run tonight or elliptical. My knee feels much better today, but I'm thinking that it might be best to give it another non-running day and hop on the elliptical for 45 minutes or so.

Shoot, I haven't checked in here for a while, and this certainly wasn't what I wanted to see. I hope everything goes smoothly for Jack, and am glad that you found out early and have time to make the best decisions. And strength to you too - being a caregiver is full of its own stresses and issues. As for the running, its great you're still at it, but don't worry so much about it. We can't go back in time or focus on what we were - just keep going. You're an inspiration. Best to both of you.

Thanks for the support, Ken! Jack and I will push through this like we have the other challenges we've faced in the past few years.
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Jack was on the treadmill last night when I got home from work, so I hopped on the elliptical. It's where I needed to be anyway because I think running would have been a mistake, my knee still wasn't 100%. So I did a 45 minute interval workout on the elliptical. Although it didn't hurt a bit while on the elliptical, it did hurt after I got off. I iced and took some ibuprofen after I showered.

I got back on the elliptical this morning for 30 minutes. I was aware of my knee, but I can't say it really hurt. Not until I tried to go back down the stairs. So I iced again after I showered. Stairs hurt like hell again today. Going up is painful, but going down nearly sends me through the roof.

I think it's time to give my knee a real rest. Even from the elliptical. I'll still do my morning strength and toning stuff, but I'll let me knee recover a bit. So my plan is to not run or elliptical for a week. Phooey.

I talked to my sister last night, she called to thank me for the blanket I sent. She asked how I knew that she'd been freezing cold lately. It's a sister thing, I guess. She sounds tired. And a bit scared, I think. Not the fierce tiger I know her to be when times get tough. I guess the chemo and radiation is starting to get to her.
Keep pushin'

I can tell you that a summer friend of mine had chemo and radiation two summers ago and she kept on running and playing tennis to the best of her ability right on through. Honestly, if you didn't know, you might not have known as she didn't suffer from many of the side effects either. I was pretty amazed by her strength, but her PMA kept her going. She is now "cancer" free and has been for almost 2 yrs.

From what I've seen, the chemo and radiation will take their toll inevitably, from anyone, no matter how tough.

Regarding your knee, would a bike (I mean the kind you pedal, not your hog) be any better?

Hi Michele...my sister is doing her best to live normally through chemo and radiation. Still working everyday and doing family activities. She just sounded down when we talked. I can understand, though.

Michael, not sure a bike would be any better than the elliptical. I think my best bet is to just let it rest for a bit.

Having said that, I DID do my morning strength and toning routine. I added a good deal of stretching, too. I will NOT do my normal Thursday evening run or elliptical and will give my knee a break. It's still ouchy today, but not as bad as yesterday.

It takes longer to heal us seasoned veterans.

Kathy, I noticed while doing the elliptical for the week I couldn't run due to my toe was that it really helped maintain my fitness. However, I did also notice more tired quads after. So I think if you're having knee issues the added strain on the quads could put more pressure on the knee. I'm just speculating. I hope it gets better.

ounce wrote:It takes longer to heal us seasoned veterans.

"Seasoned veterans"...I sure do like that better than us "old people"

Alex Kubacki wrote:Kathy, I noticed while doing the elliptical for the week I couldn't run due to my toe was that it really helped maintain my fitness. However, I did also notice more tired quads after. So I think if you're having knee issues the added strain on the quads could put more pressure on the knee. I'm just speculating. I hope it gets better.

Thanks for that feedback, Alex. You could be right. I've been ellipticalling 2-3 times a week for nearly 2 years now, so it's not a new thing for me, but even the elliptical might be more than my knee can handle right now.
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As planned, I did NOT elliptical or run when I got home from work yesterday evening. But I did do some 'cross-training'. There were a few tall trees that had fallen in our yard due to some high winds, so Jack cut one of them up with the chainsaw and I hauled the branches and trunk sections across the highway deep into the woods across the street. So, I did get a workout, just not a workout that over-stressed my knee.

I did my morning sit-ups, push-ups, butt/hip/thigh work, arm work, stretching this morning. I'll admit it was tough to refrain from heading upstairs to the elliptical or treadmill as my knee is feeling a bunch better. But it's still not perfect, so I didn't go upstairs no matter how badly I wanted to. I know that when I wake up tomorrow morning, I'm going to want to run or at the very least, elliptical, because I expect my knee to feel even better. But I told Jack that under no circumstance should he let me do that. (I do expect an argument in the morning as I try to sneak upstairs for 'just a quick workout' ) I want to be strict about resting my knee for a week. I think that no matter how impatient I am, I need to be patient and allow my knee the recovery time it needs.

I won't be a couch potato, though. There is still another downed tree to deal with and lot's of spring time yard chores to keep me moving.

Hope y'all have a great weekend!

Have a great weekend Kathy! Rest the knee and clean up the tree! (hey, it rhymes!)

Good news about your sister.

As for the knee, do you have the ability to do leg raises? when my knees bother me, it is often due to me having slacked off on working my Quads. And then I usually switch to a new pair of shoes, and I'm done.

Sorry about the trees - I worried about that last weekend but we were spared. I don't need a tree taking out my fence until after March 30th, when I go from owner to renter.

Peg Coover wrote:Have a great weekend Kathy! Rest the knee and clean up the tree! (hey, it rhymes!)

Thanks Peg! Hope you have a great weekend, too!

Michele "1L" Keane wrote:Good news about your sister.

As for the knee, do you have the ability to do leg raises? when my knees bother me, it is often due to me having slacked off on working my Quads. And then I usually switch to a new pair of shoes, and I'm done.

Sorry about the trees - I worried about that last weekend but we were spared. I don't need a tree taking out my fence until after March 30th, when I go from owner to renter.

Yeah, I've wondered if my quads are getting weak. These days, I don't know what my body is going to do as I age. So, I've added some additional quad work to my morning strength and toning workouts.

Thankfully, the trees didn't take out any structures. They are just a pain in the butt to clean up.

As expected, my knee felt good on Saturday morning. And as expected, I wanted to do a run before we started our chores for the day. But I resisted. I wanted to give my knee a fighting chance at feeling better.

We started painting the tin roof on our outbuilding...it's quite a job. Lot's of up and down on ladders, crawling around at odd angles, etc. So I got a good workout even though I didn't run. On Sunday, we did the same thing. and we are not quite half way done. It's more like a small barn than an outbuilding. We want to get this done before the pollen really starts to fly. So my post-work runs may be suspended until we finish later this week.

I did get up an hop on the elliptical for 20 minutes this morning. I just wanted to ease into working out after my week off to see what my knee would do. So far, so good. No knee pain. After a week of no running/ellipticalling, it was nice to work up a sweat again that wasn't induced by my hormonal hot flashes.

KathyK wrote:As expected, my knee felt good on Saturday morning. And as expected, I wanted to do a run before we started our chores for the day. But I resisted. I wanted to give my knee a fighting chance at feeling better.

We started painting the tin roof on our outbuilding...it's quite a job. Lot's of up and down on ladders, crawling around at odd angles, etc. So I got a good workout even though I didn't run. On Sunday, we did the same thing. and we are not quite half way done. It's more like a small barn than an outbuilding. We want to get this done before the pollen really starts to fly. So my post-work runs may be suspended until we finish later this week.

I did get up an hop on the elliptical for 20 minutes this morning. I just wanted to ease into working out after my week off to see what my knee would do. So far, so good. No knee pain. After a week of no running/ellipticalling, it was nice to work up a sweat again that wasn't induced by my hormonal hot flashes.

Sounds like you've got some great cross-training going right now, Kathy! Glad the knee isn't complaining to much.

Good luck on the flashes...

flashes - oh joy!!!! Have fun with those!

So I *thought* I'd be talking about running in this blog. That's because I thought I'd be running. I'm still not.
I did a very easy test run last Tuesday morning. I ran very slowly for about 2 minutes. I could still feel a fair amount of pain in my knee. So, I shut it down and got on the elliptical. Did that for only 20 minutes.

Turns out, that was enough to bring back much of the pain from the previous week. Extreme pain going up/down stairs, slight limp when walking. Double damn.

So, I've been doing exercises that are supposed to help deal with runners knee along with my normal strength and toning routine. I'm also only wearing flat shoes rather than my pumps/heels to work. My hypothesis is that wearing heals places more strain on my knee so flat shoes will facilitate faster healing. I haven't read that anywhere, but I notice I'm in less pain going up and down stairs in flats. Not sure if my hypothesis holds water, but it was an excuse to go out and get new shoes.

I also scrapped the shoes I've been running in. Brooks Pure flow. I noticed that the outside of my right foot kept feeling tingly after about 2 miles. I'm thinking they were too narrow for me. My right knee REALLY became painful when I started wearing those. My second hypothesis is that the two are related (bad right knee, tingly right foot) So, when I can run again, it will not be in those.

I'm itching to get out and run. Or heck, even elliptical. But I'm settling for my strength and toning, and hopefully, my patience will pay off. Now, though, everywhere I look I see someone running. Even out in the country where I live....and I'm usually the only one running out there.

Kathy, I hope things heel for you so you can get back out there.

Kathy - for whatever it's worth, I'm not real happy with my Brooks Pure Flow shoes either. Not sure what it really is, maybe they are too cushioned? But it is back to my Brooks Launch and Adidas Bostons. Hope the knee cooperates soon. And I hope your hubby and sister are doing well.

Alex Kubacki wrote:Kathy, I hope things heel for you so you can get back out there.

Thanks Alex. Me, too! I glaze longingly at my running shoes.....but I think I'm doing the right thing by resisting the urge to run this week.

Michele "1L" Keane wrote:Kathy - for whatever it's worth, I'm not real happy with my Brooks Pure Flow shoes either. Not sure what it really is, maybe they are too cushioned? But it is back to my Brooks Launch and Adidas Bostons. Hope the knee cooperates soon. And I hope your hubby and sister are doing well.

Thanks for the good thoughts for hubby and my sister! Hubby is doing well, and I was not able to talk to my sister over the weekend, so I'm not sure....but I think chemo and radiation are over until after surgery.

Interesting Michele...yeah, maybe they are too cushioned for me? Who knows? I just know that I won't be running in them. They might be wonderful for some folks, but perhaps not for me.

I bought a pair of Nike Lunarfly 3s over the weekend. I've never run in them before. But when I put them on and ran a few steps in the store, my feet and legs felt like they were 'home'. So, we'll see what happens when I finally get to run.

I'm on day 5 of my 'no pumps/heels' plan. Like I said, not sure if that's doing any good, but it's certainly not hurting anything.

I did my regular strength/toning stuff this morning. I'll do that every morning now rather than 2-3 days a week now that I can't run. That's not hurting anything, either.

Jack and I are still working on painting the metal roof of our little barn. We had hoped to wrap it up on Sunday, but the weather worked against us. So now, every night after work, we come home and climb up the ladder and start painting. We hope to have it finished tomorrow evening or the day after, if the weather cooperates. It might be a good thing that I can't run now as we are painting...if I could run, I'd want to run instead of paint when I get home from work, and that might result in a bit of marital conflict

More strength/toning/knee rehap work this morning. Still no running or elliptical.

But the good news is that my knee is feeling a BUNCH better. I can now go up and down stairs like a normal person rather than a 105 year old woman. This is progress. I'm still going to hold off doing any running or elliiptical until next week, though. Since I'm not training for anything right this minute, I don't feel pressed to start running before I think I'm ready.

I got a note from my sister. She's still staying strong, but I can tell it's all beginning to wear on her. She's done with radiation and chemo for now, but is still feeling the effects and will likely feel it for 2 more weeks. Oh how I wish there was something I could do. Ya know, I whine about my inability to run at the moment. But, really, that's NOTHING in the grand scheme.

keep pushin', y'all!

Just checking in Kathy - I hear you about your sister and I'm sorry she is going through that. It stinks. Hope the knee continues to feel a little better and you can get back to "normal" soon. If you like cycling at all that might break up the monotony of the elliptical (I have a love/hate relationship with those damn machines), but sounds like a wise decision to not push anything TOO hard. Good luck.

Kathy, smart holding off. Better to be safe than sorry. You'll get there.

You're making wise choices, Kathy, and it's paying off for you. Better to fully recover than rush into anything that'll slow the healing process, or even make it worse.

I'm glad your sister is staying strong. It's no wonder she's feeling it, though. Tell her to hang in there for us, okay?