The power of visualization, a minor setback, and LOTS of happy moments!

Today, as I sprinted my townie bike up the hill to Huntsman for my afternoon acupuncture appointment that I was running late for, I truly felt grateful.  Grateful for how well my body has tolerated this first round of treatment.  Grateful for my amazing husband who dedicates so much time to keeping me happy and healthy.  Grateful for my super fun friends who are great company whether we're doing epic mountain bike rides or rallying the skills park.  Grateful for the friends whose little gestures mean so much.  Grateful for the the team (both medical and complementary) that I have put together to support me through my treatment.  Grateful that I am able to maintain employment as I undergo treatment.  Grateful for my silly puppy, Dizzy, who is a great trail running and sleeping partner. But at that moment, I was soooo grateful that I could sprint that townie bike up that hill.  During that sprint, despite Huntsman being my destination, I didn't feel like a cancer patient.  I felt like myself: healthy, strong, fit, covered in sweat, and happy.  I have learned that when the going gets tough, and it does get tough, to visualize these happy moments.  It really is quite powerful.  

Anyhow, Week Three started with a little setback.  I developed a toothache and some mouth sores. Perhaps it was because I didn't follow my own recommendation and brush my teeth after all meals/snacks (in my defense this is difficult to do when you spend the day riding lifts and demo-ing enduro bikes:), perhaps it was something I ate, or perhaps it was unavoidable.  Regardless, it was bothersome enough to affect my sleep which makes me a wee bit cranky.  I finally resorted to getting a prescription for some magic mouthwash, but fortunately after a few days it resolved on its own.  

Despite this setback, my week was LOADED with happy moments.  

Tons of mountain bike rides with friends:

Trail running with Dizzy:

acupuncture, relaxation, a visit from Mom, baking:

(Gluten free, pumpkin, protein cookies)

and V02 max testing.  Yes, you read that correctly, V02 max testing.  I find that hilarious on so many levels.  First, I am undergoing chemo, am probably somewhat anemic, and definitely somewhat immunosupressed.  Not exactly the ideal time to measure my "true" V02 max.  Second, it was done (running) on a treadmill, and while I have been dabbling in trail running, I am NOT a runner!  However, Huntsman offers free fitness assessments, it will be interesting to track physiologic changes to my body as I undergo treatment, I am always game for some exercise induced suffering, and it is required in order to utilize Huntsman's really nice gym.  Since I seem to be at Huntsman all of the time and that is not going to change anytime soon, I really want to use their gym, especially when I am trying to kill time between appointments.  Anyhow, I don't have the results yet, but I do know that I was pretty efficient at threshold, my heartrate got up into the 180s (which is consistent with my typical max heartrate), and I didn't feel like I was going into cardiac arrest!  Plus, the fitness staff was a hoot and despite having to run as hard as I could up a ~20% grade, I had a really good time!  

In other news of the week, George Washington University's breast center featured me in their August newsletter.  I am flattered, honored and quite honestly speechless that they found my story worthy of their August inspiration.  The author of the story told me that I inspired her to train and compete in CrossFit regionals.  I love that through my blog I am able to inspire people with cancer to be healthy and exercise.  It is just as profound to me to inspire those who don't have cancer.  

Here is the story:

And, my weekly workout log:

Date:	Workout:	Total workout time:	Energy  (1-10):	Notes:
7/30	Easy road spin/leg/core workout	1.75	8	Rode up Emigration.  Mouth sores flare-up
7/31	Super fun MTB	2	8	Great ride with one of my favorite people!  Mouth sores flare-up
8/1	Townie ride for errands/V02 max testing at Huntsman	1	8	V02 max and fitness testing at Huntsman on treadmill!  Mouth sores improving
8/2	Skills ride at Trailside bike park	1.5	9	Fun ride with great company. Felt good.
8/3	Mountain Bike Ride	2.75	9	MTB in Park City.  Note: need to pack more food than normal for longer rides.  Rode w/ Shannon. Mouth good.
8/4	Mountain Bike Ride	2.25	9	MTB in Park City.  Another fun girl ride!
8/5	Trail run/Skills ride on dirt jumper	1.25	9	Felt good today.  Acupuncture in prep for treatment #2 tomorrow.
	Total hours:	12.5

Lesson of the week:  It appears as though my body requires more calories than normal when exercising, especially when exercising at moderate intensity.  Perhaps this is because my body is working extra hard with cellular regeneration after chemo???  Regardless, I got a little bonky on my AWESOME Saturday mountain bike ride and had to borrow some calories from Shannon.

Tomorrow is chemo #2.  When the going gets tough this week, and I know it will, I have lots of happy moments to visualize.  That and NadaMoo dairy free ice cream.  For this I am also grateful.

More photos of the week here.

More favorite things.......

Last year I wrote about a few of my favorite things.  Well, I have a few more things to add to the list.  Many are things that I use to support my medical treatment.  Some are things that I just love.  and there are a few that are just a bit wacky:)  So, here goes:

 Lemons and lemon zest are full of anti-cancer nutrients. 

 I add lemon juice/zest to everything from my morning green tea to my post-workout recovery drink.  Tastes good too!

 Tumeric is a powerful anti-inflammatory known as the anti-cancer spice.  Some folks even take it in high dose supplement form, however this is not recommended while undergoing chemo as at high doses it may reduce the efficacy of chemo drugs.  I sprinkle it on just about everything from veggies, to yams, to popcorn snacks.  In fact, I eat it so much that my fingers are perma-orange!  

 Nutritional Solutions recommends a high-ORAC (oxygen radical absorbance capacity) seasoning combo.  Basically all of these spices/herbs are combined into one super-shaker for the ultimate natural anti-oxidant imaginable!  It includes: garlic powder, marjoram leaf, parsley leaf, sage, basil leaf, thyme leaf, onion powder, and celery seed.  I also sprinkle this on EVERYTHING.  It is super yummy too!

 Ok.  I admit that I haven't tried this yet, but I am armed and ready to use it after my next treatment.  Ginger is known as a powerful natural anti-nausea.  I will let you know if it works!

I am a firm believer in acupuncture and there is solid research that shows that it helps reduce chemo-induced nausea.  Well, sea band makes these little cotton bracelets that provide pressure to the anti-nausea acupressure points on the wrist.  Most pharmacies sell them for sea sickness, but perhaps they will help with chemo induced nausea?  I haven't used them yet as they arrived after my nausea subsided, but I will let you know! Note: I got the child size and they fit my small wrists perfect.  

 I am in love with these lunchskins.  These reusable lunch bags come in an assortment of sizes and are perfect for packing ride snacks.  They are dishwasher safe, BPA, phthalate, and lead free.  I use them for everything from apples, carrots, nuts, and homemade energy bars.  Plus they are a lot less wasteful than plastic baggies.  

Although since I started treatment again, my traveling schedule has come to a screeching halt, normally Shannon and I do have a tendency to travel a lot.  This spring, I fell in love with the GoToob.  The GoToob comes in different sizes (all carry-on approved).  It has a large opening for easy filling/cleaning, is BPA free, dishwasher safe, has a no drip valve that really doesn't drip, really! and it has a super cool lift and rotate collar that allows you to identify the contents of the toob (soap, shampoo, lotion).  I like it so much that I even use it as a refillable container for hand lotion.  

Ok.  No list of "some of my favorite things" would be complete without bikes!  Last week I had the opportunity to demo a bunch of bikes at Dealer Camp in Park City.  An Enduro-type bike has definitely been on my radar as I already have the ultimate cross-country hard-tail and dualie.  I am pretty convinced that the brand new 2014 Pivot Mach 6 is the perfect bike.  It kind of makes you feel like a super-hero on the knarly downhills....even when you're not:)  I'm all for feeling like a super-hero!  I'm also pretty convinced that the 27.5 wheel size is the perfect wheel size for me.  See below for further explanation. 

Unlike an Enduro bike, another hardtail race bike was NOT on my radar.  I absolutely love my Les 29er.  It is a rocket.  After sitting on the brand new Les 27.5, I am reassessing.  Like I mentioned above, I think the 27.5 wheel size may be the perfect wheel size for me.  I really noticed the difference on steep climbs where I have to power the bike over a root or rock.  It is just easier to keep the slightly smaller wheels rolling uphill.  Interestingly, stability on high-speed descents did not seem to be sacrificed and this bike can RAIL corners.  I had a hard time keeping up! I think I even have Shannon convinced to change our kit color to lime green next year to match the frame.  Matchy, matchy:)   

And, as promised, here is my weekly workout log.  A big chunk of the week was spent demo-ing bikes at Dealer Camp.  The way my body has bounced back after this first treatment has truly exceeded my expectations and I am grateful that I felt good enough to spend consecutive days outdoors in the mountains, hangin' with friends, and riding the latest and greatest 2014 models!  

Date:	Workout:	Total workout time:	Energy  (1-10):	Notes:
7/23 (Tue)	Mellow mountain hike/lower body/core workout	2.25 hours	7	Hiked w/ Dizzy & Shannon.
7/24 (Wed)	Mountain Bike Ride	2 hours	7	Rode Park City trails
7/25 (Thur)	Recovery ride	.5 hours	7	Took it easy today.  Rode bike to run some errands.
7/26 (Fri)	Mountain Bike Ride	1.5 hours	9	Demo’d some bikes at Dealer Camp
7/27 (Sat)	Mountain Bike Ride/Weight workout	1.5 hours	9	Demo’d some bikes at Dealer Camp.  Solid weight/core workout
7/28 (Sun)	Mountain Bike Ride	2.25 hours	8	Rode Mountain Bike.  Felt good, tired by end of ride.
7/29 (Mon)	Run/Skills ride/Yoga	1.5 hours	9	Mountain run w/ Dizzy.  Short skills ride on dirt jumper.  Yoga/core workout.
	Total hours:	11.5 hours

This week, I also learned the importance of rest days even when you are not "training" "tapering" and "peaking" for races.  I felt amazing on Friday and Saturday after taking it easy on Thursday.  I truly believe that exercise helps reduce fatigue and boost health while undergoing cancer treatment, but just like when I'm training to compete, a healthy balance between exercise and recovery needs to be found.  

One more week and then back to the infusion room.......As usual, I will try to jam pack it full of fun!  

Photos from the week can be found on Instagram!  

Living in Limbo

I have survived what is arguably the hardest week post infusion:  Week One.  It wasn't always pretty, I'm no superhero, but I persevered, kept moving forward (literally) and am feeling better every single day.

My infusion was Tuesday.  Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday I was whipped.  No appetite, lost a little too much weight, and had to force myself to get out and move.  Moving helped.  There is something about sweating out those toxins that makes you feel just a little bit better.  But, I was also really tired so I figured I would listen to my body and sleep.  And sleep I did; probably on average 14 hours each of those days.  By Saturday, things were starting to turn around and Shannon and I did a very slooooow ride up Emigration Canyon.  The morning air was cool and it felt amazing to be on the bike.

Sunday I decided to incorporate a little bit of weightbearing into my workout so we took Dizzy for a mountain hike.

Chemo, in addition to my other cancer treatments, wreaks havoc on bone health and I will be subsequently incorporating more weightbearing into my health routine.  By Monday, I had enough energy to go for a mellow mountain bike ride and get through the day without a nap.  It actually felt like quite the accomplishment!

The other thing that happened this week, I discovered NadaMoo.

Like I mentioned, the first few days I was having a really hard time eating.  Everything tasted horrible, but for some reason, maybe because it is so darn hot out, ice cream sounded appealing.  Searching for a dairy alternative ice cream at Whole Foods I came across NadaMoo.  While not nutritionally dense, the ingredient list is short and acceptable, and I needed some calories.  Holy cow, this stuff is gooooooood!

I digress.  Back to chemo....

Having been through chemo before, I know what I am in for.  As I watch the world move forward around me, I will be living in limbo.  It looks something like this:  Have an infusion. Get kicked down.  Hard. Start to feel better.  Do it all over once again.  Despite the ugly cycle of cancer treatment, I have high hopes to stay fit and healthy throughout!  I am resilient!  Exercise helps me stay resilient! I can get through this!

As an athlete, I document my daily workouts.  Not only does this help me stay on track to meet my fitness goals, but it is useful when reflecting back and figuring out what worked and didn't work.  As I go through treatment, I will continue to document all of my workouts and share it right here on my blog.  Not only will this add some normalcy to my life-I've been documenting workouts since 2004!- I hope that it will help me stay on track and perhaps help others going through treatment as well.

So, here it is:  Infusion One (of 4).  Week One.

Date:	Workout:	Total workout time:	Energy  (1-10):	Notes:
7/16 (infusion)	Morning run: 30 minutes Core: 30 minutes MTB ride: 30 minutes	1.5 hours	10	Early morning run w/ Dizzy.  Core workout prior to riding to Huntsman for infusion
7/17	Ride bike to run errands: 30 mins	30 mins	4	Poor appetite.  Tired.
7/18	Walk: 30 minutes Stretch: 15 minutes	45 minutes	3	Poor appetite.  Tired.
7/19	Easy spin: 30 minutes Walk: 30 minutes	1 hour	4	Poor appetite.  Tired.
7/20	Road ride: 1.5 hours	1.5 hours	5	A little more energy today.  Mellow ride up Emigration Canyon.
7/21	Hike: 1.25 hours Yoga: 30 minutes	1.75 hours	5	Appetite improving.
7/22	MTB ride: 1.75 hours	1.75 hours	6	More energy.  No nap needed today.  Had acupuncture at Huntsman.
	Total hours:	8.25 hours

On a lighter note, I bought this amazing lounge chair with hopes of relaxing on our back porch and watching the sun set.  My little Dizzy seems to think it is pretty amazing too.  Little stinker can be found lounging EVERY SINGLE DAY!  The tough life of a lazy hound puppy!