A Health Detour
I’ve known for a few months that I’d have to take a break from running at some point this year but wasn’t sure when it would happen. I knew it was coming based on a medical diagnosis in April. The break started mid-July when I had brachytherapy to treat prostate cancer, which involves having radiation seeds implanted in the prostate. The procedure itself was not too bad. I was under anesthesia so I didn’t feel anything and the procedure was less than an hour.
The recovery instructions was a week or so of rest and then resume “normal activities” based on how I felt. After a couple of weeks I tried running but quickly realized that radiation was draining my energy more than I expected. Even walking more than a mile or so left me exhausted. So, my running log for July finished with 8 runs totaling 27 miles. I switched to frequent walks instead and finished July with 18 walks totaling 31 miles.
The doctors tell me that the radiation will be essentially gone from the seeds after two months so I’m hopeful that’s when I’ll be able to resume my running. By then I will have lost a lot of my conditioning and will likely have to start building a base from scratch. I’ve been reading a little about the Galloway run/walk method and may consider that as a training strategy. Or after this time off, I may just want to get back to top condition running as soon as possible and forget the walking. I guess I’ll see how I feel at the time but either way I hope to keep moving!