Placebo Effect is Real!

The oncologist has reduced my dosage of dexamethasone (DEX) from 8 mg to 4 mg once per week. As a result, I was able to run faster today. Paul even mentioned, before we were half done, that I was doing better. He was too, actually.

Except, I take DEX on Sundays, and I’ve never even taken the reduced dosage yet. Just the thought of maybe getting a little of the lost muscle back was enough to make a difference. Paul and Wayne dropped me in the last half mile, but I still finished the five miles in 42:12, for an overall pace of 8:26. Last week it was 9:09 - this is SO much better. And that same pace for a 5k would be a time of 26:07, far better than I did last Saturday. Maybe I could run a 25-minute 5k.

Other things were going on too. The weather was perfect, 57 degrees with little wind, and I had not run since Wednesday night’s Tartan Terrible race, so I had three nights to rebuild and refill muscles. It all helped.

No pains, no problems. Coming up: some shoe testing Sunday, then maybe a long run Tuesday.