10k In A Blizzard

Well, not quite, but close enough for bragging rights. The Get In Gear 10k is an annual Minnesota event with 4000 or so runners - a very big, well-organized race, one of the kickoff events of the year, held in late April. Last year it was 68 and lovely, this year 34 degrees with pellet-style snow driven by 26 mph winds, gusting to the speed of sound. At least. Three layers above, tights, gloves, and a hat, and yet when I finished my face was so cold that my lips would barely move. Nevertheless it was an interesting and enjoyable race which gave the 3400 of us who finished something to talk about.

Unfortunately my time was abysmal: 49:49, not even quite 8:00 minute miles, 8:01 in fact. This is three minutes slower than last year’s 46:53, and I don’t think motivation was the problem; I tried pretty hard. Three major excuses for the difference: (1) Less training due to fairly recent injuries, now (I hope) healed; (2) More clothing (especially the tights) and high winds, and (3) Recent cancer treatment. I’m sure that all of these contributed to the loss of speed. In any case, the training issue will be resolved as my training goes back up again (but REMEMBER the 10% rule!), and I don’t know how to figure the extra clothing.

So what about the cancer treatment? In early March I started taking two drugs, dex and CC-4047:

• Dexamethasone (Dex) is a potent corticosteroid which I take once a week, 40 mg per dose. Among other effects it makes me a diabetic for a day after taking it, and it can have the effect of reducing muscle mass and adding fat around the stomach (indeed!). Probably not good for a runner, though I’m not sure it’s happening yet.


• CC-4047 is a cancer drug so new that it doesn’t have a real name yet. It works by messing with the immune system. One side effect is a lowering of the heart rate, called "bradycardia," as in "He’s bradying down!!" I know that my usual resting HR has dropped from an average of 48 before CC-4047 to about 40 now, but I don’t know how to determine whether the drug is reducing my HR at running speeds, when HR is in the 140's and up. I don’t have recent non-drug HR’s with which to compare it. I suspect that it is making a difference, though, because today it seemed like my speed was limited by breathing rather than muscle fatigue. I had to slow to a walk several times just to catch my breath, which suggests that the limiting factor was cardiopulmonary function rather than muscle readiness or glucose transport.

I’ll have a chance to discuss all of this with Dr. Lacy at Mayo soon. She’s a runner too :-) Perhaps I'm overcritical of the drugs when the alternative may be a long dirt nap. I'd rather run at any speed.

Splits: 7:10, 7:39, 7:56, 8:34 (hill), 8:08, 10:17, 5k split 23:39. Average pace was 8:01, compared with 7:33 last year. Looks like the pace dropped to 8:22 for the last 2.2 miles, which included a half mile or so directly into that screeching wind. I tried to draft behind another runner but with only modest success; it was hard to find one going exactly my speed. Nevertheless, despite all my whining, I did finish fourth of 24 in my age group, same as last year. Some of the other runners slowed down this year too.

Last year I also over-analyzed, just like this year, and looked at ten other regular runners about my age, not including me. I found that they lost (gained) an average of 84 seconds between 2006 and 2007. This year the 2007-2008 average was 81 seconds, about the same. So maybe that much is just due to age.

No pains. It’s a masterpiece!



Today's post-run breakfast: Irish oatmeal with organic flame raisins and dried cranberries, cantaloupe, Don's nut/berry/fruit mix, enormous blueberries, organic pecans, banana, organic nonfat milk, organic pomegranate juice. If I eat before I race, I pay for it all the rest of the day with an upset stomach. Fine if I eat afterward instead.


Yesterday's lunch: Organic chard, pistachios, cantaloupe, mango. Good fer what ails ya, and tasty besides.