kenj's group closed, training hard and having fun!! (Page 68)

julta - 2011-10-16 9:52 PM Great job Adam! Kathleen, that even kind of scared me when Anthony said just over a month away! It came so fast! I so wish I could go and cheer you on! So now for something totally different I did the Rugged Maniac with my son this weekend....almost killed me..3.1 miles of hell. I have a race report with a ton of pictures if your interested.

Awesome pictures Julie!  I have so much respect for you for finishing this event.  You were even smiling at the end!  I would definitely have been a wreck.

Nice work!

I use it and yes it is usually empty.. I change it up sometimes and do intervals on it also..We also have a versa-climber so I use that also.. Hope everyone is doing well.

I have a 10K I'm going to do this weekend..

Hope everyone has a safe/good week!!

shake-n-bake - 2011-10-22 9:45 PM Did my 10K today with a new PB @49:54..Took first in my AG 40/44 and 7th overall..Finally made the podium..

Congratulations Tim!  Great race!

That's an amazing time!!!

Well done.

shake-n-bake - 2011-10-22 8:45 PM Did my 10K today with a new PB @49:54..Took first in my AG 40/44 and 7th overall..Finally made the podium..

Awesome job!

shake-n-bake - 2011-10-22 8:45 PM Did my 10K today with a new PB @49:54..Took first in my AG 40/44 and 7th overall..Finally made the podium..

Great job, nicely done!

shake-n-bake - 2011-10-22 7:45 PM Did my 10K today with a new PB @49:54..Took first in my AG 40/44 and 7th overall..Finally made the podium..

Congratulations!!

Hello All,

We had a good dumping of snow last night and today yet it was 80 degrees two days ago. Fortunately it is supposed to get back up to the 60s by the weekend.

Training is going pretty well. I had my biggest weekend last week with a 6:15 bike followed by a three mile run and then a three hour run on Sunday. I did a good amount of walking on Sunday but I am ok with that. My toes are taking a beating but beyond that I am holding up pretty well.  Three weeks from today I will be in Arizona. Can hardly believe it.

Hope everyone is doing well!

No one told you about the required loss toe nails that come with ironman training?

A lot of people will say they don't have the time during the week to put in the 14 - 18 hours it takes to train for an ironman during the peak weeks.  For many that is true, but Kathleen your weekend is the epitome of why the hours add up pretty quickly when you put the long ride and runs in on the weekend. 

Great work Kathleen!  I am excited to see you race!  Especially since I hope to sign up for my 3rd IM the a couple of weeks prior!

I posted this on my Face Book page today.  I plan to win this fight.

        I heard the news today...again. That book I am writing about going from fat man to Ironman and beating cancer along the way just added a new chapter.  I had no idea I took cancer along for the 140.6-mile ride at IM Wisconsin on Sept. 11.  I thought the event was a celebration of being 5 years clean as a matter of fact.

        But, the colonoscopy was not routine today as it turned out.  Pronounced free of prostate cancer in June, I was diagnosed Oct. 26 with colon cancer.  The doctor found a tumor the size of a walnut that has been there for some time, he said.  Perhaps as long as 5 years, he said.  The irony is I was supposed to get a colonoscopy in 2006 when the PSA tests revealed my prostate cancer.  Prostate cancer absorbed all my attention.   

        Dr. Mike Young said a biopsy will confirm his diagnosis.  He's seen enough of these to know what it is.  He said, "If it looks like a duck and it walks like a duck..."

        As I came the fog about 11 this morning after the hernia operation and colonoscopy, my wife Kathy said simply, "You've got colon cancer." The doctor had come to the waiting room and told her.  He was gentle with her, but told her what he had seen.  I was very foggy.  I asked, "Am I dreaming?"  She said, "No, this isn't a dream."

        The doctor came to the recovery room and said that he would have taken out 20 percent of my big bowel today but we hadn't been prepared so he waited so we could discuss it.   Appointment is Thursday to set surgery.  He'll take it out along with 20 percent of my colon he says I don't need.  My first thought was, "I'll be lighter on the bike!"

    Four to 7 days in the hospital should do it and he thinks the low end for me because of my fitness.  

        Whether it spread remains to be seen.  We'll judge from lymp nodes taken during surgery.  We'll work from there. 

        Lance said, "You are in for the fight of your life."  He meant people with cancer.  But I say, "Yes, you are in for the fight of your life, cancer, and you are about to get your kicked one more time."  

        I had a friend who died of cancer.  He said, "Never ask, Why me?  Ask, Why not me?"  I am good with that.  He also said that if it had to happen to someone, he was glad it was happening to him because he knew a God who would see him through it and so many people do not.  I am also good with that. 

    It is never the problems we face.  It is how we face our problems.

    There is no way God would cause bad things to happen to any of his children.  He is absolute love.  He cannot do bad things.  They are not in his nature.  People who think otherwise, who wonder why god would "make someone sick" don't know him like I do.  I never made it to medical school.  But I know enough biology to know that this kind of thing just happens.  Bad DNA, that's all.  

        We had a visit from a chaplain in training before the surgery.  She asked if she could pray for me.  I said yes.  She asked for what should she pray.  I said, I never pray for outcomes.  It is about praying for strength.  And that's what I received, power to meet life on life's terms no matter what those terms are.  That is the key to happiness for me.  No fear because I know the truth of what my friend Frank said before his death recently, "It's all right in the end and if it's not all right, it's not the end."

         I know that truth as taught to me by people like young Blake Hall, who died of bone cancer and Rich Manzella, who died of cancer of his pancreas. It is the truth found in the words to the LiveSTRONG anthem, Maybe Tonight, Maybe Tomorrow.  "It may break my body, but it can never break my soul."  Cancer can never have the ultimate victory.  That belongs to people who cling to God.    
      

       Lance said, You are in for the fight of your life - again.  And I say, Yes, cancer you are.   Knowledge is Power.  Unity is strength. Attitude is everything. Thanks to Kathy and my friends and a God who loves me no matter what, prepare to get your kicked - again.      


                
        
       

First Scott, my thought and prayers are with you for a complete recovery from this.  If anyone can win round 2 with cancer, you can!

I am glad that you chose to post this here so that so that you can have as many people in your corner as possible.

Kind of anticlimatic, but I hope the hernia surgery was a success.

God bless!

Scott, you are an amazing person with just the right attitude to beat the heck out of this cancer.

I am sending all the positive thoughts your way.

You are an inspiration.. really.

Kathleen

Yes, the hernia is fixed.  Pain today.  Home for the week.  Doctor again next Thursday to talk strategy.  I suspect surgery the week after that.   

Scott,

I am inspired by your post and believe that you have won already by your attitude and your focus.  Thank you for sharing this here.

We are all with you and rooting for you. 

God bless,

Vivian

Scott

I'm sorry to hear the news. I will lift you and your family in my prayers.. Your story is awesome and I know you are ready to kick its butt..Again my thoughts and prayers are with you..Keep us inform..

Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. James 1:12

I just popped in real quick to see who everyone was doing.

Scott - You are in my thoughts. 

Here is the update I just posted on Face Book.  Good positive things in it. 

The meeting with Dr. Michael Young went well.  Several interesting points:

     1. The biopsies taken last week failed to confirm cancer. That doesn't mean it isn't cancer. In fact, Young still thinks it is and will proceed as if it is.  It just means the pieces taken for the tests were cancer-free.  That MIGHT mean a benign growth.   Either way, it has to come out.  It will not heal itself. The surgery is the same in either case.

        Surgery entails a 4- to 6 inch incision, resection of a large portion of the right side of the colon and removal of lymph nodes to check for spread.  

        A good sign - the tumor is growing inward and blocking the colon rather than outward. That means it may not be growing through the colon wall and spreading.    

        2.  Operation is Wednesday morning, Bro-Menn.

        3.  I'll be in the hospital 4 to 7 days.  Four would put it on Saturday, an unlikely day for release, but we shall see. All depends on me, when I get up to walk (try to stop me) and when my body's machinery kicks back in if you know what I mean.  I will need some time at home but that could be as short as another week. I could be back at work in as little as two calendar weeks.   

        4. I will have a pain catheter that will drip pain killer right to the affected spot. Therefore, I will not need other pain meds in the hospital.  

        5.  No special diet will be needed afterward.  Big surprise there.

        6. Tests on tissue will reveal if it's spread and whether chemo is needed.  More good news - the chemo they use for colon cancer is extremely effective on cancer and mild for the patient with flu-like symptoms rather than extreme illness.  Hair doesn't fall out.

        7. I could be riding the bike again within 4 weeks, which would put me on track to be ready for TriSharks June 2. If chemo is needed it could slow me down another 8 to 12 weeks, but I could still salvage the race year.

        All in all a pretty darn good report given the situation.  

        Kathy and I thank you all for your support.