I’ve been relatively quiet about some health issues but I need some counsel. A lot of why I got my Kickr Bike was to come back from surgery about 3 years ago. That event was a pretty harsh physical setback, but what are you going to do? It was what it was.
I am now 1 week into radiation therapy (recurrence) and already my numbers are dropping. Yesterday afternoon I couldn’t finish the Pain Shake workout so deleted and picked an easier one instead (not normal for me). My HRV is way down, and my sleep has been garbage. Garmin VO2max is down already from 53 to 50. Fitness score is also dropping. Am a little afraid to do a 1/2 monty because of what it might show.
Given how I feel right now, I think I need to lower my usual levels of intensity (or am I just over-reacting?). I think a lot of this is psychological stress that I just need to manage better.
SO… has anyone else been through something like this and if so, would you mind sharing if/how you modified your workout plans? I’ve got 7 more weeks of this nonsense left to go.
Thanks in advance,
Sam
EDIT: The rough weekly ride-type plan I’ve been following is:
MAP-NM-Tempo-rest-MAP-AC-rest. I’ve already adjusted by sticking with workouts no longer than about 50 minutes each all with TSS below 50. But trying to preserve some level of intensity.
Honestly this is probably the problem. I’m not trying to be mean - I also refused to retest every time I got injured - but if you don’t set your 4DP correctly you won’t finish the workouts. It sucks that the mental aspects are so big, but they are.
You could also just reduce the intensity of the workout. Could you do the Pain Shakes at 80%? Try that.
But most of all, get better and I hope the treatments go well.
You’re undergoing a treatment that is actively breaking down your body. Plus the mental stresses. Plus the disease itself.
Half Monty isn’t a pass-fail test. It just tries to give you accurate numbers to train to. It’s more important to be accurate than to be concerned about the numbers going up or down. Especially if you’re actively battling a disease.
The mental battle is most of the problem that needs to be overcome. Cut yourself the slack to be able to bring your numbers down to where they need to be and you will be better off in the long run. It’s giving yourself permission to rest and recover. Your body needs to focus more on healing and recovery and letting the treatments do their job.
I’ve been through sthg similar, not a lot of fun really. At that time I didn’t care about any plans or whatever else concerning, the only thing important for me was to keep moving. Anything was better than nothing. I skipped the subway and walked the last bit to the clinic and it took ages, I dialled down everything remotely SUF, I felt crap but probably not as much as I would without, it helped me a lot to get through this. So just do whatever you enjoy and when you feel better, just dial it up a bit
I’m just a guy on the internet, but my 2p’s worth is this:
If radiotherapy affects you in the same way it did my Dad (a not unfit 71 year old) then you maybe just need to forget about training while you’re undergoing treatment. You can maintain a base level of fitness by getting out and walking when you feel up to it, and your body will have a lot less on its plate and recover more quickly.
Your focus has to be on getting better first - one thing at a time.
First the hard part, please give yourself some grace. This is really hard.
Since your numbers will be changing frequently I don’t think testing is useful. I would rely on RPE. you can either do workouts on level mode and use RPE or do a workout you have done many times before and dial down the power based on RPE and then adjust your numbers accordingly. This assumes that you have your RPE dialed in, but if you have been training for years that is probably the case.
There is data that cancer patients who exercise do better than those who don’t so it’s good to move, but again give yourself some grace. Also, if you can try to get outside even if it is for walks.
Message received. I haven’t seen such a consistent set of responses to a thread in a while.
Thanks much to everyone who responded (and for all the good wishes ). See you all when I get back from the land of couches. In the meantime, I’ll just be doing some pushups.
EDIT/ADD: For those of you who might have noticed, I’m one of those who advocate for not paying too much attention to all those numbers. But when the pooh hit the fan, I guess I just fell right back into it. A little hypocritical, I know… call it human weakness. Or just plain hypocrisy. I am taking the Garmin off of my wrist and going watchless for a while.
I am so sad to hear you are going through this and want to echo everything that has been said so far. I hope all these genuine messages of care and support help in some way to get you through. For now please, only focus on what feels good for you in the moment and don’t give yourself any unnecessary stress. I hope you will do what you did here and talk about it. I know it doesn’t change what you are going through but there is a lot of power and strength to be found in sharing thoughts and feelings with people who get it and care. I wish you the absolute best during your treatment and, if you are up to it, let us know how you are getting on please. All the best
All the best to you. I love that you are taking off the watch. Very wise to put the trackers and SUF targets, all of that aside for the future.
Just keep moving when you can, on the day, and as your doctors okay.
You are on a journey and no need to make any of this harder on yourself and your body.
Sending positive thoughts and a few prayers your way ( if you’re good with that).
). See you all when I get back from the land of couches. In the meantime, I’ll just be doing some pushups.