Let’s run a 10k: Take 3

So I’ve done it now. I’ve signed up for a fall 10k to put a race on my calendar — the Marathon Beneva de Montréal has a 10k route with a generous two-hour cutoff. Far enough out to rebuild my base, early enough in October that the weather should still be good racing conditions. And it will be after my September scans and follow-ups, so I’ll know where I am heading into race day.

Rebuilding starts now

This week, I met with my surgeon for a post-hemicolectomy follow-up. Both she and the medical student who did my workup were pleased that my incisions were healed and my diet was tracking towards normal. We talked about how I was ‘still fresh’ in the healing process, and I should use my incisions and lower right quadrant (LRQ) tenderness as guides in my return-to-running plan.

The test will be whether running resolves the tenderness—likely if what I am feeling is adhesions from surgery—or irritates it—possible if it is the site of the anastomosis still healing. Adhesions are the likely first-line culprit, since my Brave Like Gabe 5k didn’t aggravate anything, and seems to have settled it somewhat. Better still, my legs felt OK the next day.

What is obvious, though, is that I have a lot of work to do to rebuild my reserves before I think about anything approaching a race pace. My Garmin body battery (BB) is climbing back into the 80-90 range after a good night’s sleep, but an active day with friends — like Wednesday evening’s gathering for St.-Jean celebrations — can crater it back to 5 before bed and only recover to the 20s by the morning. In training terms, I’ve recovered my ceiling, but the floor still needs work.

Running intervals will be a good step in addressing this — I did ‘1 min run/4 min walk’ intervals for the Brave Like Gabe effort, and it was easier than I expected, keeping my run efforts to a very slow 15 min/mi pace. The goal is to get my floor back to the 20+ range before recovery overnight, a pre-surgery baseline.

Feeding a new training plan

What I have discovered is that even with bowel adaptation moving in the right direction, and ahead of schedule, I do need to pay attention to hydration and electrolyte levels. It shows up as muscle cramps when I’m not paying attention, even on a day without a workout.

The solution right now is to put a Nuun tablet in my morning water bottle. Along with my supplement stack — calcium, magnesium, Omega-3, D3, and B-12 – the additional support is working, and we’ll see if that holds up once I start adding mileage and additional strength training into the mix.

Welcome to the matrix

It feels like forever since I’ve created a real training plan for a fall race. But my last 10k was more than 3 years ago, and a lot has happened since then, so I’m starting from where I am right now — capable of 5k using 4 min walk/1 min run intervals at a very easy pace. I used Claude to map out my intent instead of relying on an off-the-internet, one-size-fits-all 10k plan.

There are elements to this plan that are unique to my current fitness:

• No back-to-back run days until Week 6
• Absolutely nothing is based on pace. It’s all progressive, longer running intervals, and uses listening to my body — my lower right quadrant in particular — as the signal for moving to the next step.
• It includes cross-training (swimming) and strength training as anchors each week.

Cross-training and strength work in context

My approach to strength training concentrates on core, glutes, and hip flexors, all elements to recondition my running form, while protecting my surgically rearranged abdomen.

• Swimming: My primary aerobic cross-training because I have both an indoor and outdoor pool in my building. Swimming is low-impact, with zero ground reaction force on my anastomosis and abdominal wall. The focus will be on easy laps for aerobic maintenance and active recovery, rather than a workout. My default is freestyle or backstroke at a conversational effort (though who really chats in a pool?).
• Strength: This looks like 2-3 sets of 10-12 reps. 25-30 minutes, including warm-up:
  • Dead bugs — not my favorite, but they will build core stability without spinal flexion, so they are safe for post-surgical abs
  • Glute bridges and single-leg glute bridges — glute activation, protect the knee and hip chain
  • Clamshells — hip abductor strength, which will hopefully offset a wonky IT band/adductor pull that appears sporadically
  • Standing hip flexor stretches — to counteract my Pfannenstiel incision tightening
  • Calf raises — ankle stability for return to impact
• Things I’ll avoid: crunches, sit-ups, heavy planks – basically anything that creates significant intra-abdominal pressure for at least the first 3-4 weeks. I’ll start with bodyweight only for the first few weeks, and add resistance in weeks 4-5 if everything feels OK.

Active recovery: Not sure if my body will remember what this is? Between strength training and a Sunday long run, there’s a walk at a comfortable pace, or maybe a second swim if the pool isn’t busy. Not a workout, and I’ll use my body battery to gauge where I’m at. If it’s below 40 when I wake up, I’ll make it 20 minutes instead of 30, or skip it entirely.

Measuring progress

I’m admittedly a little nervous to tackle this plan. Committing to a 10k feels as serious as longer distances these days, which tells me a little about my mental health — can I do this? We won’t know until I try, and the worst thing will be if I discover my body doesn’t have this kind of training in its wheelhouse anymore. I’d be disappointed.

But I’m hoping for better. I’m hoping that with careful calibration and intentional work, I’ll rediscover my 10k rhythm — a distance long enough that it requires training, but short enough to give myself grace when it gets hard.

These ‘gates’ will be my guide:

• Gate 1 — LRQ response: It’s the primary signal Dr. Pang means when she says ‘listen to your body.’
  • If it improves with running → I’m ready to progress
  • If it’s neutral — i.e., not getting worse → then I’m probably ready, but will cycle one more week to confirm
  • If irritated or flaring after a run → I won’t advance until I figure out the trigger for the flare
• This gate overrides everything else. My RHR, body battery level, and fitness mean nothing if my surgical geography is telling me to pause.
  
• Gate 2 — Body battery floor: I’m used to looking at my battery peak – that satisfying 85-95 that says ‘you’re ready to tackle the day,’ and tend to ignore the floor. This time we’re going to flip it.
  • If my BB recovers to 60+ after a run day → ready to progress
  • But if my BB is recovering to 45-60 → then it’s borderline, and I’ll look at the trend across two weeks.
  • If my BB is still cratering to 20-30 after run days → then I’m definitely not ready, and my aerobic system is still absorbing the current load. Time to repeat a cycle.
• The trend matters more than any single reading. Two weeks of recovering overnight means my current ratio has become maintenance rather than stimulus, and that’s the time to step up to the next level.
  
• Gate 3 — Perceived effort: What I’m aiming for is for running intervals to feel comfortable, with no gasping — that conversational pace where even if I’m only talking to myself, short sentences are possible. So finishing each interval feeling like I have a little more in the tank is the goal. If the run intervals feel hard at the end of two weeks, the ratio isn’t ready to increase, regardless of what my body battery says.

The practical check-in process

At the end of week 2 of any ratio block, I’ll ask myself three questions on Sunday after my long run:

1. Has my LRQ been quiet this week?
2. Was my BB recovering well after run days?
3. Did today’s long run feel controlled rather than hard?

Three yeses → advance next Tuesday.
Two yeses → one more week at current ratio, then reassess.
One or zero yeses → hold, figure out where I’m failing and why.

A ratio that deserves respect: There is a 2.5/2.5 crossover at weeks 7-8. It’s a pivotal transition to me running more than walking, and the demand on my body will shift. It will take work to not rush it, because I’m sure I’ll want to push past this milestone. I’m hoping documenting this training cycle here will keep me accountable.

Third time’s the charm

This is the third time I’ve started out on a plan to run a 10k since I was first diagnosed in 2023. Maybe the third time’s the charm? Maybe I’ve developed enough patience to not over-reach my fitness? Time will tell.

For now, I’m going for a short run on a sunny Saturday evening, and thinking about stretching my legs on the mountain tomorrow if the weather holds. Three years, two cancers, one hemicolectomy, and a plan.

Lfg …