Incontinence After Prostate Surgery

     It's been awhile since I updated my incontinence issues but things have been getting much better for me lately. Back on April fourth, I wrote about going to physical therapy for the first time, and how much harder the doctor wanted me to contact my pelvic floor muscles to help with my control. I went back for a second physical therapy appointment for my incontinence about three weeks after the first, and things were much better. I was able to hold my pelvic muscle contracted for about twenty seconds. That would be twenty seconds with the lights on the bio feedback in the red. All of this was helping. I was doing the Kegels harder, and I was doing fewer of them than before. My issues of peeing myself were becoming fewer and fewer. I was even able to drink some beers, and not go straight to the bathroom. Caffeine was still giving me problems, I'm not sure why. Since I was having fewer issues with my incontinence, I decided to try a different pad other than the Depends Ultra protection I was wearing. It also coincided with the first heat wave of spring. and the Depends weren't that comfortable in 100-degree weather. I purchased a container of Tena pads. I played it safe and went for the level 3 pad they sell, which is for moderate incontinence issues. The Tena pad is much more comfortable than the Depends pad. If anyone is going through something similar to this, buy different small containers of pads, and see which ones you like best. It was only a matter of about 10 days though, and I began to notice my pads were staying drier and drier as the days went by. A quick side note, make sure the pad is firmly attached to your underwear before you pull up the briefs around your waist. If the pad fall over as the underwear is pulled up, the sticky side of the pad comes into contact with the scrotum, and it hurts when the pad is pulled off. I found this out the hard way. Anyway, about a week and a half ago, I decided to try and work without wearing the pad. I'm only having issues when I sneeze or laugh too hard after drinking some beers. The experiment has worked, as I only need to currently wear a pad if I'm running.
     On May 20th, Robin and I went for a bike ride to celebrate our wedding anniversary, and I wore my custom made Depends pad for the ride. I was nervous, as I hadn't been biking yet. Not only did I survive the ride, but I was able to stop and pee after about an hour of riding. There was some liquid in my Depends, but I had been able to hold some inside me for a change and get rid of it like a normal person. This was a huge milestone for me. This past weekend Robin, Maggie and I went for an eight-mile hike and run that featured over 2000 feet of climbing, and lasted over 3 hours. At the turnaround point, i decided to change my pad since I could feel a little moisture between my legs. I had brought 2 extra pads, just to be safe. When I went into the bushes to change my pad I was surprised to find the pad mostly dry as the moisture I had been feeling was from sweat. Not only that, but I was able to stop and pee twice over the course of the three hours.
      I was ecstatic over the progress I had made suddenly, but it wasn't so sudden when I think about it. I have been consistently doing exercises and following directions of doctors for the past 4 months, and it is paying off. The hard part now will be to continue to do the exercises. My goal has to be running without a pad, and until then, I guess I'm still suffering incontinence after prostate surgery.

Miracle Miles for Kids Rock to Pier 10k; Race Report #5

     On Friday, May 12, 2017, we headed north from Lebec, through Bakersfield to Highway 46, where we headed west towards the coast and the Miracle Miles for Kids 10k run on the sand from Morro Rock to Cayucos Pier. On this trip, we were joined by Trevor, Andrea, Mark and Joan. Since Robin and I got an early start, we decided to stop for lunch at the historic Jack Ranch cafe. This cafe is world renowned because it sits next to the tree that James Dean hit, resulting in his death. The cafe is also a Hearst Winery tasting room. We opted for lunch and skipped the wine tasting this trip.

The tree that James Dean hit that resulted in his death.

     We finished up our lunch and continued our trip to Cayucos. We stay in a little motel near the beach and the finish line. We got ourselves checked into room 5(Robin correctly guessed the room number before we got it) and headed out to take some pictures of the town, flowers, and beach. It wasn't long before our friends arrived, and we all headed to the Cayucos Saloon. 

The Cayucos Saloon and Dining Hall has been around for awhile.

     The saloon is another place with pool, shuffleboard, jukebox, drinks, and signed dollar bills all over the ceiling. There seems to be a pattern of me frequenting these kinds of establishments. We all had a few beers, listened to Spike and Clint play, bought their shirts and koozies, before heading to dinner. Well, maybe we had more than a few beers, anyway, a good time was had by all. First, we hit the Italian restaurant in town, they were full. Next, we tried Duckies chowder house, they were closing. We ended up at Schooners, where our waiter Isaac took good care of us, especially Mark. Now one of the reasons we drank a little more than we should have was the weather. There was a steady 20 mph headwind blowing along the beach and it was supposed to continue through race day on Saturday. We finished off our dinner and were blown back towards our motel. We all agreed to meet around 7 AM in front of the motels to head to the race no later than 7:10 for the 8:00 AM start. The drive would take no more than 10-15 minutes. 

     Race day morning, the sky was clear and blue, and the wind had completely stopped for the moment. Robin and I ate our Picky Bars, and I laced up mu Nike Zoom Streak Cross Country racing flats. I knew we were going to cross rivers, rocks, and run through some surf so I chose a light shoe that would drain easily.

The Nike Zoom Streak Cross Country shoe that I wore in the Miracle Miles for Kids 10k race.

     Apparently, some of the other 2000 runners had the same idea about arriving at the race at the same time because traffic was horrible. Lucky for us, Joan volunteered to drive us instead of running the race, so we just had to get close to the start line to be dropped off. Unlike most races, we only got our bib numbers prior to the start. The t-shirts and swag would be handed out after going to the finish chute. I like this, the crowds would be much thinner at the finish, than at the start. We all got our bibs, the timing chip for our shoes, and headed to the start area on the beach. Some of the runners participated in the jazzercize warm up, I chose to run to the bathroom, change my custom Depends Pad, and then do a short run on the beach. I opted not to take any chances with the pad, but it was dry when I ripped it out. I did a short run to warm up, still no wind, but the tide was pretty high so we all knew we would get wet.

                                          The five of us that ran before the start of the Miracle Miles for Kids Rock to Pier

                                                      The start line with the runners being dwarfed by Morro Rock.

                                                                     The view heading to get our bib numbers.

     The race started promptly at 8, and I took off trailing Trevor. There was still no wind. I quickly settled into my 7:30 goal pace and tried not to run too quickly at the start. I knew from past experience that if I went out to quickly I would suffer after running through the rocks. My first mile was a little quick at 7:18, but my feet were mostly dry still as someone had fabricated a bridge across the first river, and there was no backup as the runners navigated the homemade bridge. The race mile markers were way off as we continued along the course, One split seemed to be no more than a 1/2 mile, then the next was over a mile. My second mile was 7:07. I felt pretty good, still no wind, but I was a little bloated from the beer the day before. It wasn't long before we came upon the first rock crossing. There were volunteers stationed there to point us in the right directions as we tried not to lose too much time in the soft sand and wet rocks. I made it through without falling or losing too much ground on the people around me. A couple of younger runners passed me in the rocks, but I was able to pass them back after we got back out on the flat sand. 

The view as we headed up the first rock crossing.

The traction wasn't very good through here, but at least it was flat.

Rocks and more rocks.

     After we cleared the first rock crossing, I settled back into my 7:30 pace. By now my feet were very wet, but I was over half way done, and soon the pier would be in sight. There weren't very many runners around me, I could see two women ahead, and they were the first two women in the race. I tried to maintain my rhythm and form as we headed towards the finish at Cayucos Pier. 

The views while running this race were spectacular.

     There were one more set of rocks to cross, and they were with just under a mile to go, and not as bad as the first set. As soon as I came out of the second rock crossing, the winds hit. I guess I was lucky they held off as long as they did, but it was the dreaded headwind all the way to the finish.  I finished in a time of 45:24. It was good enough for 21st overall, and 2nd in the 50-59 age group. I collected my t-shirt and swag and set about waiting for everyone else.  A quick shout out to Cody Draa from Pine Mountain who came out and ran the race for the first time and finished 3rd overall. Way to go Cody. It wasn't long before Trevor finished in 59:14. and Robin, Andrea, and Mark somehow found each other on the course and finished together in 1:21.

                                            Mark and Robin running together as Andrea snapped the quick photo.

     The race had breakfast burritos for everyone that ran, along with fresh strawberries and bananas. We had our choice of veggie burritos, or sausage and egg. It was really well organized, as the lines for food moved quickly, and we hastily consumed our free breakfast before heading back for showers.

 Trevor, myself, and Mark showing off our Happy Hour shorts and Running with Prostate Cancer shirts after the race.

     For lunch after the showers, we all headed back to Duckies and got our fix of seafood that we were too late for the night before. the food was quick and delicious. Trevor and opted to spend a couple of more hours at the saloon as the others hit the local antique stores that are everywhere in Cayucos. Our dinner reservations were at 7, so after a few beers, we all headed back to our rooms for naps. For dinner, we were at Schooners again, and Isaac was our waiter again. We ate more than we should have, headed back to the saloon, but it wasn't near as much fun as the night before, there was no band, so we had a night cap, and headed off to our rooms again. We all said goodbye, as some were leaving early the next morning, and I wanted to sleep in. 

     Robin and I chose the free breakfast the motel provided in the morning, checked out, and headed home. We stopped in Bakersfield, had some Sushi, shopped at Winco, picked up a very excited Maggie, and headed home. The weekend was great. I'm lucky to have friends that are willing to travel and run with me as I recover from my prostate cancer. 

Robin and I sitting on a rock off of Highway 46 with the beach that we ran on in the background.

     I'm not sure what my next race will be, but I'm looking for a 5k to do to help me build some more speed. I plan on putting up results and schedule links soon. Hopefully, in 2 weeks my daughter Torri will give birth and I will be a grandpa for the first time. Also, I have my second post surgery blood test coming up to check my PSA levels. Anxiety time again.

     

Wild Wild West Marathon and Ultra; Race Report #4

   Yesterday found seven of us at 5200 feet elevation, at six in the morning awaiting the starting gun for a ten-mile trail race. The race was the Wild Wild West Marathon and Ultras Trail Races. There was a 10 mile, a 26.2-mile marathon, and a 50k and 50-mile ultra marathon. The races take place west of Lone Pine, CA at the base of Mt. Whitney, and travel up from Tuttle Creek campground, and through the local mountains and hills, including the famed Alabama Hills made famous from decades of filming. We all arrived Friday afternoon, and we all stayed at the Dow Villa Motel in downtown Lone Pine, an easy walk to everything in town.

The Dow Villa was filled with runners from all over, including us

     Ray, Melissa, Andrea, Trevor, Stan, Robin, and myself got checked in, then Stan, Robin and I drove the 15 minutes up to Tuttle Creek campground to reserve a campsite for the night so we would have a place to park and gather at the race the following morning. We secured campsite 31, paid our five dollars, and headed back to town, leaving our Subaru at the campsite to secure our spot. Once back in town, we all headed to the Lo-Inyo Elemntary school for race packet pick up and pre race meeting. Getting our bib numbers, t-shirts and goodies went smoothly and quick. The meeting was short and sweet, we learned a few things, but our ten mile race would be the same as the one Robin and I first did 29 years ago, and have done many times since.

Bradford Lombardi giving everyone last minute Wild Wild West Marathon instructions the night before the race

   As soon as the meeting was over, we all walked back to the local Merry Go Round restaurant in downtown Lone Pine. We had heard excellent things about the place, and Ray had been so kind as to secure us a table for seven. Our table placement should have been the giant red flag on the evening. We were put five at one table, and Robin and I at a separate table on the other side of a very distracting mirrored pillar. Needless to say, the food and service weren't that great. For some reason, we have always seen the place crowded, but I don't understand why. It serves mainly Chinese food, but I opted for the only pasta dish with chicken. we ate, paid our bills, and headed back to the Dow Villa for a good nights sleep, and early wake-up call. We all were meeting at Stan's Honda at 5:10 for the ride up to the starting line. Robin and I got our clothes for the next morning ready and laid out. I set our alarm for four AM, and off to bed, we went.

My Wild Wild West Marathon and 10 miler race gear laid out, including my Nike Wildhorse Two trail shoes

    I never did hear my alarm and that's because Robin and I were both awake at 3:30. I got up, turned off the alarm, and checked the news on my phone to see if the Nike sub 2 attempt had been successful or not. It's still hard to believe that the 2-hour mark for the marathon distance was only missed by 25 seconds. The sub 2 idea hit me, that would be a good goal for me in my 10-mile trail race later that morning. Since I haven't been able to train as much as I should, I knew this would be a tough race for me, and breaking two hours seemed a reasonable goal. We ate our Picky Bars, got dressed, drank some water, watched Sportscenter, and were ready to go. It was 4:30. I guess I was both nervous and excited. Soon enough it was 5, and we gathered our race bags, ice chest, and headed out the door for the 30-foot walk to Stan's Honda. The weather was a balmy 60 degrees, with only a slight breeze. The seven of us crammed into the Honda, and off we went in the dark to Tuttle Creek. As we got onto the road to the campground Stan announce he could see a headlamp on the trail heading up into the mountains. The fifty-mile runners had started at 5 o'clock, so we could see a few light beams bobbing off in the distance as we unloaded at our campsite.

     We all did our due diligence with the toilet and walked up to the starting line. Ray didn't run. He volunteered to guard the ice chests, and take pictures. I found Shane from Bakersfield, and we all shook hands. Shane and some other Bakersfield runners were doing the marathon. I also found John Swallow, a Santa Clarita distance running legend. John was also doing the ten-mile race like us. Soon enough the horn for the start of the three races sounded and we were off. The race started at exactly six. 

The view shortly after the start of the Wild Wild West Marathon as the sun hit the tops of the Sierra Nevada mountains

    The first 2.5 miles are uphill, and very sandy. Stan came along on this trip with the sole purpose of running the ten miles with me. We hit the first mile in a 13:52. The incline, elevation, and sand were taking their toll on my breathing, and I kept having to take walk breaks as we ran. I knew from experience, these walk breaks would pay off later, as the finish is also uphill, and I would need something in the tank at the end. I tried to keep the pace slow enough that I could still talk. Stan is in excellent shape and had no trouble pacing me up the hill, walking when I needed to.

Stan heading up the hill after the start of the Wild Wild West Marathon

      Eventually, we reached the steep downhill to the creek crossing that symbolized the end of the long uphill start. The downhill is very technical and steep, and the runners took extreme care going down. The creek crossing itself was the only point in the ten-mile race where we had a chance to get wet, Due to the massive amount of snow from this past winter combined with a small heatwave the previous week, the creek was running high, and had just begun to cross the top of the bridge. We timed the water just right, hopped across the bridge and headed up a short, steep uphill before a welcome four miles of descent down a dirt road.

The steep downhill to the creek crossing at the Wild Wild West Marathon

Water just cresting the bridge at the Wild Wild West Marathon

The steep uphill after the creek crossing at the Wild Wild West Marathon

    When I was younger, and in better shape, I used to hammer this downhill, attacking it like I was running a 5k cross country race. I didn't do that this time. Often times in running, discretion is the better part of valor, so I took it easy as we began the descent. Our pace on the downhill portion gradually increased from a 8:20 per mile, to 7:52 per mile before we hit some flat terrain, rounding a big mountain near the intersection of Horseshoe Meadow Road and Whitney Portal Road. This was the only area we had trouble finding some course markings to guide us along. We had to stop and search the area for pink ribbons, then run towards it, stop, look again, run towards the next ribbon. We couldn't run and look, as the terrain in that particular area was very rocky, and I was already almost falling on a regular basis. Eventually, we made it through the area and were headed back uphill on a single track to the finish line. Stan stayed with me for awhile as I started to take walk breaks on the uphill. With about a mile to go, Stan asked if it was alright if he went after the guy we could see in front of us, as he was in our age group. I said go, and it was like he hit the nitrous button running up the hill after the guy. It wasn't long before I hit the paved road leading up to the campground and the finish line. I managed to run slowly up this last part, past our cheering guardian of the ice chests to the finish line. Stan came back to finish with me. I crossed the finish line in a 1:52:35, successful in my sub 2 attempt. Stan had managed to run the last mile or so of the uphill portion at a sub 10 per mile pace to catch the guy, and win our age group. I ended up 8th overall, third in my age group. We gathered our finisher medals, age group awards, and walked back down the hill to our campsite and ice chests filled with liquids waiting to be consumed.

     I took a chair, grabbed a cold beer, and joined Ray, while Stan ran back on the course to help our fellow runners finish. It wasn't long before Trevor came along, followed soon by Robin, Melissa, and Andrea. Trevor took 1st in his age group and Melissa 2nd in her's. 

Robin running towards the finish of the Wild Wild West Marathon as a giant mosquito hovers over her

Ray took this group photo of us after the Wild Wild West Marathon Ten Miler. Left to right is Stan, myself, Trevor behind Andrea, Robin, and Melissa

My age group award and our finisher's medals from the Wild Wild West Marathon

    We soon gathered our gear and headed back to the Dow Villa for a quick shower and a walk over to the Alabama Hills cafe. The food at this place is some of the best I have ever had. The portions are huge, everything is made fresh, and the prices very reasonable. After eating, some of us headed down to Lone Pine park to watch some of the marathon and 50k runners finish. By this time the wind had really begun to blow. It was easily topping 20 mph by now. We stopped in a store, and Stan bought a cool hat to run in. When we got to the park, we found Shane. He had beat his goal of 5 hours by running 4:52, and placing 6th overall. We talked running for awhile, then headed back to the hotel. Along the way, we walked past Jake's Saloon, so naturally, we stopped for a cold beer, and to ask the whereabouts of Gary the bartender from years past. there was no Gary, we were just told he didn't work there anymore, so we signed a dollar bill, attached it to the ceiling with all the others, and continued our trek into the wind back to the Dow Villa.

Our signed one dollar bill attached at Jake's Saloon in Lone Pine, CA

      We all decided to take a quick jump into the jacuzzi, but it wasn't the best idea. The water was hot, but it was also dirty, and the jets had now power. This was the only fault we had with the hotel the whole weekend. We stayed in for a few minutes, then headed to showers and naps before dinner at Seasons. 

     We decided to meet at the bar at Season's at 6 o'clock before our 7 PM reservations. For some reason, all of us were hungry and outside by 5:15. Also, all of us had lost cell service, we assume it had something to do with the high winds. We all walked to the bar, and surprise, there was Gary, formerly of Jake's Saloon tending bar. It was great catching up with him. I think he told us he had left Jake's a few weeks earlier. We all had some drinks and were seated at our table early for a fantastic dinner. Seasons is one of the best places I have ever eaten anywhere, and probably the best steak I have ever had.

Me with Gary at Season's in Lone Pine, CA

     All in all, it was a great weekend. I am lucky to have a great wife and friends who traveled a long way, spent a lot of money, to run up some steep sandy hills with me as I continue to recover. My incontinence continues to improve, as I was able to run the whole race without changing my pad. 

     The Wild Wild West Marathon is a fantastic event, with views that are hard to match when running a race. I think next years race will be a lot of fun, as we all will have another year to train, and just about everybody I know that was there this year will be returning for the 40th annual event.