Bring it on!

 It's been a week since my last post. It's a rainy day. I'm still on vacation. This seems like an opportune time for a new post. 

I had an excellent week of riding and running. At least that's my opinion. I had a great ride last Saturday at Standing Rocks County Park. A little over 14 miles over flowy, sometimes technical single track. An hour and forty-five minutes on the single speed with friends. It was amazing to see how they made the trail look so easy and the riding effortless. Riding with stronger riders really helps me push harder than I could normally. Thanks to Todd Meerdink for the invite and making me suffer. And for making me think it may be time for some gears and suspension! 

Sunday was a little more relaxed with an ice cream social and beer ride with Todd and his wife Suzanne and my wife Tammy. We wandered over to Weyauwega for ice cream and back to H. H. Hinder in town for a post ride beer. Nice relaxed pace and time with friends was a great end to the week. 

This week has been mostly running workouts. Goal pace. Progression run. Long and easy(ish). Tammy and I managed to get in a ride on the Tomorrow River Trail to break up the week. 21 miles of what I'll call central Wisconsin gravel. And it gave me a chance to dig out an oldie-1981 Centurion Super Elite. Similar to what I rode all over Wisconsin in the late 1970's. We just didn't know they were called gravel bikes back then.  

On the medical front, I'm going to stick with calling it good news. I have an appointment for a Lupron shot on September 4. This will block my production of the testosterone on which prostate cancer feeds. Once that takes effect it's time for radiation therapy. My first appointment for that is September 29. That appointment is to allow Dr. Ray to measure and pinpoint where the radiation needs to be applied. Once that is all set up it will be time to begin the radiation. 7 1/2 weeks. Five days per week. Over to  Appleton and back. 45 minutes each way. Can't say I'm looking forward to that drive every day. Hopefully I won't have to deal with another 45 minutes each way back and forth to work. That hasn't been determined yet. 

So-BRING IT ON! I'm ready for this. I know there will be some side effects. I can deal with that. I hope those close to me will be able to cut me a little slack. This may slow me down but it sure as hell isn't going to stop me. It's another challenge. Another hill to get over. And I will come out on the other side stronger. It wouldn't be wise to bet against me now. It's time to adapt and roll with the punches. 

Thanks for letting me ramble on again. It helps me clear my head and also process all that is happening. As usual, post are more than welcome. Thanks for taking time to check this out.

Oh yeah, and FUCK CANCER!

Ready for another challenge

Time for an update. Not really sure where this one is going. I'm starting on a Friday morning and hoping to be done by Friday evening. In between there will be a run. Maybe a ride. Maybe working on some bikes. Not sure. It's vacation and my plans are very fluid. I'm learning to deal with that, believe me!

I'm back! Did ya miss me?

It's been a good week, more or less. The Reforestation Ramble mountain bike race I participated in last Saturday, August 15, went well. Okay, better than I thought or hoped it would. It was only my third time on the mountain bike since surgery in May. I really wasn't sure what to expect or how I'd feel. I've always done well at this course. It plays to my style. Lots of flowing single track, some two track to break it up and not a lot of climbing. I'd usually say I'm at a bit of a disadvantage with a single speed but not there. The waves were ten riders every five minutes trying to keep age groups together as much as possible. I had a decent start and hit the single track in a group of three. We pushed hard to stay ahead of any chasers. About ten minutes in the lead rider lost a bit of momentum on a rooted climb in the single track. The other rider and I kept going, again pushing hard to keep a gap. The two of us worked together for the rest of the lap and the beginning of lap two. I was biding my time and trying to plan a good place to pass. I knew if we stayed together the entire lap he would easily out sprint me at the line. I stayed on his wheel as we hit a section of ski trail and when I saw more single track coming I pushed hard for a pass. Once in the single track I pushed hard to hold that gap. I kept thinking out of sight, out of mind. I know when I lose sight of a rider in front of me I tend to ease up. And it worked! I rode most of that last half lap assuming somebody was always right on my wheel. I ended up placing third in 50-59. A result I'm pretty proud of. I felt good, raced smart, recovered well, my support team (Tammy) made the race easy and started this week feeling fresh.

Thanks Gary Smits and XTR Photo for the shot! https://www.xtrphoto.com/

  

I had a pretty decent run this morning. I'm still using the half marathon program on the Garmin Connect app. Today's workout was a fast finish run. Now remember, fast is a relative term. What's fast for one is an easy day for somebody else. After a five minute warm up I was supposed to run one hour between 9:33-10:33. Believe it or not, I struggle to go easy. I tend to wander towards the low end or quicker on days like this. Then when the pace is supposed to pick up, I struggle to go fast. I tend to run in that no man's land that isn't slow, isn't fast and doesn't produce results. My past few runs I've really tried to keep the easy parts easy. It didn't help today when my watch struggled to find GPS. It kept telling me my pace was slow. But I knew from effort that it wasn't. But then my mind spoke up and said "Hey, maybe you really are going that slow." So I was tempted to push but I knew I was somewhere in that goal pace area. It finally locked in and of course, I was heading to the low end of the pace or quicker and tending to push. I reined it in for a couple miles before the hard efforts. The workout called for ten minutes between 8:23-8:43. Of course I planned my route to hit the hills for the harder efforts. Duh! I never claimed to plan training routes very well. I stayed on pace fairly well for those ten minutes. Next up was five minutes between 7:33-7:53. That's pushing for me, especially after one hour plus on a warm day. I stayed right in the middle and cooled down heading home. A good run that for a change I was happy with. 

The ride portion of today didn't happen. Messing around with bikes, one hell of a blood sugar crash, probably due to forgetting to eat after running and a powerful urge for a nap took up most of my afternoon. Again, I'm on vacation. No plan and I followed what my body wanted today. 

Now, maybe I should explain the title of this post and that picture at the beginning. The picture is meant to be humorous. Believe me, I'm taking this all very seriously, but it's not that serious! I mentioned an appointment with a radiation oncologist in my last post. That appointment was on Wednesday, August 19. I met with Dr. Michael Ray at ThedaCare Cancer Center. It was explained that my cancer is fairly aggressive. It has spread to the seminal vesicle on the right side. Good news is that it didn't spread to lymph nodes or bones. Dr. Ray explained things simply enough that even I could understand it. How the surgery went. Why I was referred to him. All my options. Studies that backed up his plan for treatment. I had a good (or bad, not sure how you look at it) feeling going in to the appointment. And I was pretty much correct. 

Here's what I'm looking at for the near future. I'll be getting a shot or shots to shut down my production of testosterone. Since testosterone feeds the growth of prostate cancer, we need to shut it down. Once testosterone is shut down, I'll start radiation treatment. Thirty-eight straight days. Yep-38 days. The treatments themselves aren't long, Approximately ten minutes. An occasional meeting with the doctor to check on my progress. The ten minutes isn't too bad, but the forty-five minute drive to and from isn't going to get old fast. 

Side effects from the treatments don't seem bad-to me. The alternative is worse. Just my opinion.  

After all this is finished, hopefully my PSA will be zero. 0. The last reading was 0.02. Low. Almost undetectable. Almost. Somewhere there is still a trace. Microscopic. Not enough to show on any scan. But still not zero. So that is the goal. 

I'm ready for the challenge. This is certainly not what I was planning for 2020. COVID is making it a bit more interesting. But I am up for this. Bring it on. I'm not planning on slowing down just yet. I may be down a bit but I'm not out! Six weeks of radiation may put a crimp in things, but I'll adapt. That's what endurance athletes do. And I do consider myself an endurance athlete. 

Whew! I've rambled longer than usual. I'll end this with some lyrics from a song on my playlist today. It sums up how I feel and how I'm approaching this next challenge. 

As always, thanks for reading. Any questions or comments are appreciated. Get out and run, ride or hike or ......enjoy the days. 

Made For This

Carrollton

I was made for this
Mind over matter
Silence the doubters
I have the power
Oh, I was made for this
I don't give up I won't back down
Goodbye worries no time to doubt
I feel the power, I won't be afraid
Fear won't stop me, I don't break
I was made for this

VACATION!

Good morning everybody! It's a warm sunny Friday and I'm in an unusually chipper mood. Not just because it's Friday. That means nothing to me with my work schedule. The way my days off rotate Friday is usually just another day. But today, or actually yesterday, I started vacation. 25, yes twenty-five, you read that right, days away from work!

Well now, what am I going to do with all that time off? I actually have no big plans. Due to COVID-19 most of the plans I did have are altered or cancelled. No problem. Adapt and change. One day at a time. I am getting pretty good at that. 

It looks like it's going to be day trips. Visit some state parks. Do some hiking on different sections of the Ice Age Trail. Try out some different bike trails. Hopefully a day or two to just relax, unwind and de-stress. A cup of coffee, a good book, Pandora on shuffle and maybe a nap. 

Of course in that mix somewhere is at least one more medical appointment. On Wednesday, August 19 I'll be seeing a radiation oncologist for a consultation to see if treatment is warranted. I'll be honest in that I don't know what to expect. I'm not even sure what I'm hoping to happen. I certainly want some definitive answers, or at the very least some kind of "here's our best guesstimate". I would like to know the plan of attack. I know this is always a case by case situation and nothing is written in stone, but some type of answers would go a long way to ease my overactive mind. I'm definitely not a hypochondriac but some days I can't help going to those dark recesses in my brain and imagining things I'd rather not imagine. 

All this being said, I'm remaining positive. Most days. Give me a break, a day here or there of "this really sucks" attitude is not the end of the world. And it kind of keeps me being realistic. I can't bury my head in the sand and pretend everything is fine. I joke a little and try to keep smiling and I do pretty well. That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it! But, as Oscar Wilde said, "I suppose one must be serious sometimes."

I still have those days when I have a good workout and say I can't be sick. I had one of those days on my last run. I'm still sticking to my half marathon training plan from Garmin. My last run was supposed to be a long easy run. 2 hours between 9:42 to 10:42 pace. I didn't exactly stick to the plan. It was my first day of vacation so I figured I'd see what I could squeeze in those two hours. I went out harder than was called for or smart. I knew that. I wanted to see what was in the tank and how long I could hold on. I was hoping for a half marathon in that two hour time span. Fingers crossed hard. Both hands. I had one bottle of energy drink and a few energy chews. It was warm, humid and sunny by the time I started. This is starting to sound like a line from "The Blues Brothers." "I ran outta gas. I had a flat tire....." And I knew it would get ugly, probably sooner than later. Call it a learn how to suffer and finish workout. The first eight miles were under the low end goal of 9:42. Miles nine and ten were in between the goal paces. Then the wheels came off. And I mean hit a wall and rolling in to the ditch! I did the death shuffle/walk/how far to the f@¢king end. But I did get in just over two hours and hit the half marathon mark. I was pleased with the effort. My time goal for this plan is 1:54:00 which works out to about 8:45 pace. I'm not far off and I'm just over half way through my plan. If I was truly attempting a goal pace run I would be better rested, fuel and hydrated and definitely run smarter. Maybe a negative split effort. I'll pick a day when I feel unstoppable and can give it all I've got. 

I guess what I was trying to say there was how can I have cancer and still put out an effort  like that. I know it certainly isn't world class, but for an old fart like me that's a decent time. And I know there are people out there dealing with more serious types of cancer and making me look like a slacker. I guess some days it's too much for my mind to comprehend. 

Now I need a day of rest and then it's time for my first race  since March. August 15 I'm doing the Reforestation Ramble mountain bike race. It looks like two laps of ten plus miles. Rigid single speed. I'm going to have fun and maybe push a little. It looks like it could be a rainy day. That's okay. I shouldn't have any shifting or gear problems! I'm looking forward to pinning on a bib and racing. It appears the organizers are taking all the necessary precautions and working with the local authorities to make the event as safe as possible. Can't Wait!

Okay, that's enough for now. That's more blathering than usual. And my coffee is getting cold. I'll update next week with a race recap and how the appointment went. 

I appreciate all the folks following along with my disjointed rambling. It helps clear my head when I put thoughts in to words. Thanks to all of you that are keeping me in your thoughts. I appreciate it more that you know. 

As always, thoughts and comments are appreciated. Until next week....get out and run/ride/hike/just do something!

Svenofthenorth 

Cautiously Optimistic

It's been a bit, so that must mean it's time for an update. 

Are you tired of these yet? I know I am, but not for the reason you might think. Today, August 5, is my three month Cancerversary. A day I would rather not "celebrate". I wish I didn't have this reason to be writing a blog. I'd rather it was just another weekend athlete blathering on about training, why he's getting slower or faster, this new training plan or the latest equipment. Not that I don't toss that in these posts. I realize I don't have to include my medical updates and history either. I'm just hoping somebody, someday, will read this and it may make then head to the doctor a day early. Hopefully catch something early. Or before it becomes a bigger issue. Maybe some person will read this and realize that the Big C isn't the end of the world. Yep, it certainly isn't ideal. My personal circumstance pales in comparison to what many are dealing with. And that good news does come along. 

I had a blood draw about a week ago to check my PSA. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/prostate-cancer/detection-diagnosis-staging/tests.html#:~:text=Prostate%2Dspecific%20antigen%20(PSA),milliliter%20(ng%2FmL). Every man of a certain age should have this done. Check with your friendly doctor. I had the test on Monday and didn't get my result until Friday. If you read my last post you know what I was going through. Some really ugly thoughts. Trust me, don't start being a Google M.D. My doctor warned me of that long ago. Blood test Monday. At work Tuesday I get a call to schedule a CT scan for my lungs. They found "multiple small pulmonary nodules....nonspecific and MAY be incidental" during my initial tests. I assumed I'd be scheduled in September when I have my physical. I certainly wasn't expecting this call a day after my blood test. And of course my mind went in to overdrive. I scheduled the test for the next day. No sense waiting. 

I got the results from the CT scan the next day. No change. Another CT scan in a year. I take that as good news. At least they're not spreading or growing. And I was still waiting on the blood test results. Damn, how long can this take? Bad news? Are they planning a new treatment plan? WTF! Finally, on Friday I got the result back. 0.02. That's good! Depending on the info, below 0.1 shows no sign of prostate cancer. At least that indicates that there is no sign of prostate cancer. Realistically there is always the chance of returning years from now. But as of now there is no sign. 

So why the title of this post? There is still a chance the cancer may have spread. That's what the follow up visit August 10 will address. And I'll deal with that then. Until then, it's good news. And I'm continuing to try and be optimistic.

On another note, training, if you can call it that these days, is going well. My half marathon plan is going good. Some days too good. My last goal pace workout was around 30 seconds below goal pace and it felt comfortable. Comfortably hard. Maybe I didn't set a tough enough goal time? I've been trying to get in a ride now and then too. I even signed up for a mountain bike race on August 15. https://wors.org/alternate-2020-events My goal is to pin on a bib and have fun. No performance or competitive goals. Really! Honest! I finally got back on the mountain bike on August 1 after three months so I think I'm being realistic with a lack of goals. Of course I want to do well but in the big picture it really isn't important. I just want to have a good time and enjoy the trails. 

That's all I have for now. Trust me, there will be an update after my follow appointment. Good or bad. 

I also want to put in another plug for my fund raising page. Every little bit helps and it goes to a great foundation. If you're so inclined, check it out. Thanks. Sven Strong!  https://fxckcancer.crowdchange.co/11645/page/210593

Finally, I put this here a bit tongue in cheek, but seriously, if you're having any medical issues, Please See A Doctor. I can't stress that enough! 

The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

As always, thanks for reading. Questions and comments are always welcome. Ride and run safe everyone!