Back in the Saddle

During chemo, I vowed to maintain some semblance of a workout routine. I didn’t have as much energy as normal and I was trying to compensate for the days I missed at work by working extra-hard when I was there, so it wasn’t easy. Add self-consciousness about my bald head to the mix, and I think I managed to get to the gym about six times between Christmas and my last session in mid-March.

But at that point, I started worrying. I knew I faced at least a few weeks of inactivity once I had surgery in April. I had made it this far without the dreaded “chemo bloat” that many women experience as a result of taking the steroids that help you tolerate the other drugs. As you can tell from my obsessive posting about my eyebrows and hair, I am more than a little concerned with the physical effects of all this, and weight was the one thing over which I felt I had a smidgen of control.

So I went back to spinning classes. My first time back at the gym, I wore my “Warrior” pink ribbon t-shirt to help me appear braver than I felt. Aware that I looked a bit like a sixth grader trying to hide her new bra, I got undressed while starting intently into my locker, leaving wig removal to the last possible moment. Wanda looked a bit forlorn on the hook as I tied on my bandanna and closed the door.

As I entered the spinning room the routine came back naturally. Water bottle in the cage, towel across the handlebars. Lower the seat and adjust it forward slightly. Step onto the bike, tighten the pedals, and start circling my legs. Pick up my pace as I start to feel my muscles warm up. Find the rhythm of the music and time my pedal strokes and breathing to the beat.

Given that my surgery was only a few weeks after this, I didn’t have time to get into fabulous shape or to see major results, but it did remind me that exercise is something I enjoy when I make time for it, and it gave me the confidence to get back to the gym several weeks ago once I got the all-clear from my plastic surgeon.

Which was good timing, because I need every workout session I can squeeze in between now and September 27, when I will be riding the “Tour de Pink” to benefit the Young Survival Coalition. This four-day, 200-mile bicycle ride goes from Hershey, Pennsylvania to the Hershey store in Manhattan (any guesses who is sponsoring?) The ride raises money for the Young Survival Coalition, an organization that advocates on and raises awareness of issues surrounding breast cancer in women age 40 and under.

It is impossible for me to put a value on the support network and information this organization has provided throughout my diagnosis, treatment and ongoing life as a young breast cancer survivor. In addition to knowing that a defined fitness goal is the best motivation to get to the gym, I want to support this organization and the women who benefit from its work by raising at least $4000. One hundred percent of the money I raise as a rider will go to the YSC.

To donate, please visit my newly-created fundraising page; for more information on the ride, check here. Thanks for your support, and be sure to wave when you see me doing laps around Central Park!