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.

Really Ugly Shoes

I bought 21 pairs of Brooks Burn shoes, over five years or so, before they were discontinued. Brooks waited a year, and then offered up the new Launch as the Burn replacement. Meantime, my son works at Nike, so I would like to find a Nike shoe to replace the Burn. A few days ago I ordered a pair of Nike LunarGlide shoes and also a pair of the new Brooks Launch.

They are both so ugly! I can't believe it. I don't really care - I'm old and can take it if people point to my shoes and laugh, but I'm surprised at the lack of good taste at both shoe companies. Admittedly, there are other color choices for each of these shoes, but those were not available in my size at the time I ordered.

Enough whining about color - I'll try these out and "review" them sometime soon.

Tartan Terrible 5k Race

Tartan Terrible 5k Race. This is a favorite little race for me, not too far from our home, on grass, trails, roads, and even through water on an ancient submerged road some years. In the past it has been four miles, two 2-mile loops, but the route changed this year because of pipeline construction, and this year it was a one-loop 5k. Roughly. Just short of a 5k, says the race director.

The weather was AWFUL leading up to the race, including tornados that struck Minneapolis and an inch of rain in our gauge, but the skies cleared for the race and, except for wet grass, the weather was delightful and the running was fine. Even the abandoned road through the little lake was above water this year. People say it’s been chest-deep under water some years, but I’ve never run in water more than thigh deep there.

I finished in 28:09, according to my watch. Results were not available when I left, and will not be posted on the web. Tsk. That would be a pace of 9:05 IF the distance was 5k. I should still be able to run a flat 5k at an 8-minute pace, and I wish I could have run even this more-difficult 5k a little faster, but I ran 14 miles yesterday and just didn’t have more in me. Besides, it’s supposed to be a fun race and it was actually fun.

I’m at Mayo Clinic as I write this, waiting for the oncologist to interpret the results of today’s blood tests. Hopefully we will be able to cut back on the dexamethasone from here forward - that might help me regain a little of the lost speed.



Recent lunch: Sunshine's veggie dish with cheese & gluten-free pasta, organic nectarine, organic Brazil nuts, parmesan cheese.

Fourteen Beautiful Miles

What a beautiful day and a wonderful run with friend Jim on the hilly grass, dirt, and sand trails in the park. I had thought to do seven miles in the park and another seven or eight on the dirt road along the railroad track adjoining the park, but Jim isn’t fond of that rock-strewn dirt road (who can blame him) so we did the lovely 7.1-mile park loop twice. And the weather was perfect, about 60 degrees with modest humidity and just enough wind to be refreshing. The grass was a little dewy at 7:00 am, but that didn’t bother much.

No pains! Nothing but a slight hint of calf cramps, because I had forgotten to take my salt. That hint disappeared when I took it. I was even able to run down a couple of hills so steep that I had always walked them before, no problem. I wore the Brooks Summon shoes on those trails all summer, but those are now well over 300 miles and mostly retired, so today I wore my last pair of Brooks Burn shoes instead (discontinued, none to be found anywhere). I believe that is the major reason why I felt comfortable charging down hills - the Burns are just the right shoes for me. Darn it.

I’ve ordered two pairs of new shoes, the Brooks Launch, supposedly the Burn replacement, and the Nike LunarGlide, both in transit right now. I don’t know enough about Nike shoes to be sure that these are a "Burn" equivalent, they probably aren’t, but we’ll see. I’ll blog about them both. And I may try them both on the indoor track first, where I can run a few miles without any wear showing on the shoes. Returnable.

First loop 1:12:31, second 1:16:27, total 2:28:46, pace 10:29. It’ll do.


That's a grapefruit next to ordinary-sized things. I ate it.

Two Runs Today

St Croix Valley Runners:

Twelve of us ran this morning. Gauss is back - that’s very nice. Everyone likes Gauss. I ran most of the way with Paul, though he was able to forge ahead in the last half mile.

Warm and a little humid, it was actually not a bad day to run. Time 45:45 for 5 miles, pace 9:09. Good enough. After running 14 miles in my 5-year-old Nike Pegasus shoes on Thursday, it felt SO good to be in my Brooks Burn shoes today. Last pair - when they’re gone I won’t know what to do - no good replacement yet. The Brooks Summon is OK but not as good as the Burn. Is the Brooks Launch available yet? I’ll have to check. I have some Nikes on order; we'll see if those feel right. 5k race in another hour.

North St Paul District 622 Education Foundation 5k Race:

This turned out to be a small, local race with wonderful door prizes! Sunshine didn’t run, because of her knee injury, but Sweet Pea and I both won door prizes (by drawing), a nice cotton shirt and a travel kit.

I started with Sweet Pea, discovered that she would be OK running alone, and moved off ahead. Finish time 30:33, pace 9:51, not good for a 5k but I have plenty of excuses today, not the least being the 5 miles I ran an hour before.

Happily, the knee problem that appeared after Thursday’s run (ITB maybe?) was no problem today. Better shoes? Perhaps, and also today I was mostly able to avoid running on a slope. I think I'll just toss those old Pegasus shoes.

Splits: 10:38, 19:00 (2 mi), 0:56 (0.1 mi), total 30:33. Humpf.



Today's post-run breakfast. Until recently I have eaten my oatmeal with fruit and milk. Lately I've put organic yogurt on top instead of the milk underneath, for the flavor and especially for the live cultures that are thought to be good for us.

Gateway Trail 14 Miles

Thursday, Aug 13:

Gateway trail, 14 miles, the "long" run of the week. Yesterday was a warm, humid one, threatening high 80's, so I started the run before 7 am, and ran the Gateway Trail because it is dry and shaded.

Also, I don’t seem to be able to run continuously for very many miles anymore, so I deliberately ran two minutes and walked one, keeping to that sequence rather carefully. It worked better than I expected, producing a very nice average pace that would result in a marathon time of about 4:26 if it could be continued that far.

Some minor pain in the right knee, at the bottom of the kneecap - nothing that bothered much, in fact I felt great after the run. Today, however, the day afterward, the right knee has pain on the very outside of the knee joint. I suspect an irritation of the illiotibial band (ITB). Two possible causes: (1) I ran all 14 miles on the right side of the crown of the trail, because the trail was fairly busy with skaters and bikers, and (2) I used a pair of Nike Pegasus shoes that I have had for several years but have probably never used for a run this long. The treatment for minor ITB problems like this is stretching. I do the ITB stretch every time I do my stretches, but perhaps I don’t do my stretches often enough. Time to get serious about them.

Splits: 10:00, 9:39, 10:29, 9:34, 9:35, 10:26, 9:55, 11:01, 10:14, 20:48 (2 mi), 20:19 (2 mi), 9:52, total 2:21:52, overall pace 10:08. Huh - I’m really quite happy about that pace, considering.

Tuesday, Aug 11, 2009:

4.2 miles on local streets, watching road construction and dodging Bobcats. This was a humid morning, so grass was wet and streets were actually a pretty good idea. I didn’t write down the time, but I was pleased when I finished so the pace must have been in the 9's. I felt good afterward.



Yesterday's breakfast: Gluten-free oatmeal with organic raisins and cranberries, blueberries, organic strawberries, organic plum, organic walnuts, organic yogurt. CUB's "Wild Harvest" organic yogurt contains corn starch and carob bean gum, but nevertheless is thin and a bit runny. Trader Joe's organic yogurt has neither of those, but does have vitamin D3 plus four specific active cultures, and is quite a bit thicker. Which would you choose? In the photo is the CUB brand - I'm using it up.

MDRA 15k Race

I’ve never run the MDRA 15k before. It’s a long way from our home, and if I recall right, until lately it hasn’t been a certified race. I like races that are the right distance. MDRA means Minnesota Distance Running Association, which is the largest running organization in Minnesota. I support MDRA, so perhaps it’s time to pay the fee and do this run, which is one of several races sponsored by MDRA throughout the running season. Besides, I needed a semi-long run of some sort today.

The course is entirely on public streets, but most of them are closed to traffic and we encountered very few cars. It’s a bit hilly, but somehow the runners in this race broke or set nine (9) new Minnesota age records anyway. Nice! What that tells you is that some of the very best runners in the state showed up, and that applies to all age groups. In fact, one of the new records was for a 67-year-old male. Weather was OK - 72 degrees with a light wind, and the sun didn’t show until the last 5k. There is also a 5k race, in which Sweet Pea ran and did well.

Splits: 8:38, 8:46, 9:20, 9:21, 9:44, 9:40, 12:34 (potty stop), 20:06 (2 mi), 2:30. Total 1:30:38, pace 9:45. I slowed a bit toward the end - walking some of the time - my face was getting flushed and I didn’t want to overheat. I finished 5th of 7 in age group 60-69 (I'm 68). I did run about as fast as I could today, given the conditions, so it looks like my 15k pace is about 9:45 these days. No pains! That’s 27.4 miles in the last 4 days. I’ll take tomorrow off, and probably not do another longish run until Thursday - no sense pressing my luck.


Yes, there is oatmeal under there somewhere.