Ask the Coach
Ask the Coach: Running with Cancer
Ask the Coach
By Kirt WestMay/June 2010
For the Washington Running Report
Dear Coach: I am a middle-aged woman and I've been running most of my adult life. My typical run was three miles about three or four times per week. This past year, I was diagnosed with the early stages of breast cancer. I am in the process of finishing up my last round of chemotherapy and want to start running again. I really miss it, but right now my energy level is very low and about all I can do is walk a few blocks. How do I get back on the road? -Sally
Dear Sally: The first thing that you need to do is make sure that your oncologist clears you to start exercising. Once cleared, I would suggest that you pick out a goal to be achieved in six months. One possibility would be to run a 5K race such as the Race for the Cure or a local race focusing on breast cancer awareness.Once you have a goal picked out, you need to start a walking program in which you slowly will increase your distance until you are walking two-three miles. Once you can comfortably walk two-three miles, I recommend you start a walk-jog program during which you jog a minute, walk a minute for two-three miles or however far you can go. Over time, you want to increase the amount of time you are running while slowly reducing the amount of time walking. For instance, after a week of the one-minute jog-one-minute walk, increase the jog portion to two minutes with one minute of walking. Once you feel comfortable jogging for two minutes, increase the jogging portion to three minutes. Within a few weeks, you hopefully will be up to running a mile without stopping. Before you know it, you will be back to two-three miles and ready to achieve the goal that seemed so far away when you set it.
Here are a couple of tips that might work for you:
1) My wife has a good friend who went through the same thing you are now going through. Both of them are part of a long-standing early morning running group. When her friend started back, the group would meet and take turns walking with her friend and then they would run/walk with her as she was able to add more speed. The group still meets and her friend is back to full-time running.
2) If you belong to a gym, you may want to start the first phase of your training on a treadmill. This will ensure that you do not go out too far and find it difficult to make it back to the starting point. The treadmill may also help get you moving on days with bad weather.
Good luck and let me know when you have completed your first 5K.
Coach Kirt West has been running for more than 30 years and coaching adults for the past 15 years. He is the online coach for the Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Virtual Training Program. He is a former member of the RRCA Coaching Committee and past Vice President and member of the Montgomery County Road Runners Club Board of Directors.