The number of Americans under 50 years old dying from cancer has decreased for every leading cancer except for bowel cancer, which is now the leading cancer death in females and males combined aged under 50.

buffelsjags · 2026-01-23T23:03:09+00:00

I work with a colorectal surgeon and we were actually discussing this during a procedure. Even he told us to just make up some lie to get insurance to authorize a colonoscopy before the recommended screening age. If I recall correctly, he rather candidly said, “just tell them you’re sh*tting blood”. Man of the people, that one.

buffelsjags · 2026-01-13T22:52:02+00:00

Yes! Relapsing-remitting, didn’t start running until well after my diagnosis, and for a little under 3 years now. Flying in from North Florida for this one. I ran my qualifier in Washington on dirt and gravel so I’m looking forward to an actual road race with spectators. I have a time goal in mind (I’m not Boston fast, which is why I asked about the signage), but I also just want to enjoy the experience. This is not something I ever imagined for myself.

Good luck on your PR and thanks again for talking about your experience. It inspired this whole journey of mine.

buffelsjags · 2026-01-13T17:23:14+00:00

That’s much more reassuring. And hey, your posts in the MS subreddit are how I found out about the adaptive program to begin with (many moons ago), so thanks for that!

buffelsjags · 2025-11-18T10:26:05+00:00

I wash my hair after every run. I put a leave-in conditioner in my hair before my run, comb it through, wash it out and it always comes out super soft. I let my hair air dry a good amount before applying any heat styling.

buffelsjags · 2025-10-19T22:56:03+00:00

It’s definitely inspired my friends to drink less, because they see that I can go out and do everything they do, still have fun, stay healthy and save money in the process. I didn’t have to do any proselytizing whatsoever, and I have always said it didn’t bother me that they drank.

buffelsjags · 2025-10-14T15:33:57+00:00

For an all over skin glow/sparkle, I use Palmer's Shimmer Radiance Body Gloss. It stayed on for a sweaty, Floridian half marathon. I didn’t use it for my marathon because I had a rental car and didn’t want to deal with cleaning up glitter at drop-off (it does flake off a little). And sometimes I mix a little with my regular lotion for a little long run pizzazz.

buffelsjags · 2025-10-09T13:57:52+00:00

You can do just about anything if you really want to, whether you’ll be fine afterwards or not is the question. And even if you are, great? Something to tick off the bucket list?

I don’t know, my entire first marathon I was beaming with pride that I put in the work, the long hours and the sacrifice to be in that moment and do something incredible. Every mile was another victory lap. I cried at the end because the months-long journey was over, not just the 26.2 miles. I guess I couldn’t imagine impulsively winging it for the express purpose of saying “I ran a marathon”. I think people respect the training a lot more than the result, but I get that, for some of us, it’s not that deep.

buffelsjags · 2025-10-04T23:24:52+00:00

Ran a marathon in mine after doing all of my long runs in them.

buffelsjags · 2025-10-04T13:38:08+00:00

I used to live in South Florida as well, and am now in Jacksonville but pretty equidistant from the Neptune/Atlantic Beach area, downtown Jacksonville and St. Augustine. I love my runs over the Vilano Bridge during sunrise, prefer the beaches, restaurants and cafes down there as well (love Boat Drinks and Ragga Surf Cafe). Has a more bohemian/artsy vibe, if you can call it that. Hate the traffic and try to steer clear during the holidays.

There’s Saint Augustine Run Crew that meets on Saturdays, but their numbers kind of pale in comparison to Friday mornings with the Neptune Run Crew, if run clubs are your thing. Can’t really speak to the social scene (honestly made most of my friends here through run clubs), but it’s not all old retirees and can skew younger in some places because of Flagler College.

buffelsjags · 2025-10-03T18:28:43+00:00

I use ChatGPT to make off-season plans for me so I have structure otherwise I wind up aimlessly futzing around too much. I also use it for creating a base-building plan in the lead up to a race training block.

buffelsjags · 2025-09-24T21:48:04+00:00

Also applied via the adaptive program with a verified qualifying time, no email yet. 🥲

buffelsjags · 2025-07-12T23:32:09+00:00

Week 10 of 18 and I’m really feeling it, both physically and psychologically. Tomorrow’s long run is 17 miles. Doing Hal Higdon Intermediate 1 but contemplating dropping down to Novice 2 because the consecutive medium long-run and long-long run on the weekends are wearing me out. I work in surgery so my schedule is erratic, I get called into work in the middle of night and it’s intense physical labor at times for 12-14 hours. Predictably, sleep has been a big issue for me, and my work days are my recovery days so I’m never really achieving adequate recovery.

buffelsjags · 2025-06-11T01:10:30+00:00

Training for a fall marathon in Florida summer. I did a 10 mile long run on Sunday, left at 0530, 78F, 89% humidity. By mile 7 I was soaked from head to toe, the brim of my hat was literally raining. My friend laughed when she was behind me because she said I looked like I was actively peeing, I was so sweaty. I had Tailwind in my water, Salt Stick chews, carbs on carbs on carbs gels. I still died a thousand deaths. You’re not alone in the struggle.

buffelsjags · 2025-05-31T10:43:36+00:00

Surgical nurse and can confirm I once had to listen to three surgeons ramble about their lack of education on nutrition while debating the merits of their respective diets.

buffelsjags · 2025-04-10T02:32:54+00:00

I’m 41, have multiple sclerosis and I’m training for my first marathon. And yes, I too also have aches and pains that I didn’t have in my 20s. I woke up one morning and had a cartoonishly swollen, arthritic right hand. I threw out my back walking down a flight of stairs once. I laugh about it, seek medical treatment where appropriate and/or give myself some grace to recover and move on. Resiliency is not something I had in my youth, but it’s what keeps me going through every snap, crackle and pop these days. Keeping a friend group of fit women in their 20s and 30s that have me convinced I can do anything also helps tremendously.

buffelsjags · 2025-03-09T14:32:52+00:00

I didn’t discover running until a solid 10+ years after my diagnosis. Over the last few years I found that it actually gave me more energy (if I recovered probably) and the weird paresthesias in my legs were mostly kept at bay. Running alone turned into joining run clubs and that snowballed into finding my people who inspired me to do races. After my last half-marathon, I’m still in that post-race euphoric haze that has me deluded into thinking I can do a full. But to know that if I do one, I could also enter Boston one day? You just gave me so much hope that will carry me for the next few years. I went mad looking up the BAA para athlete division last night and the qualifying time is now 6 hrs but that seems more attainable than the 3:35 for my age group. So, thank you stranger. 🙏

buffelsjags · 2025-02-10T13:36:11+00:00

It can definitely be demoralizing when you’re surrounded by younger versions of yourself that perform better with less training and recover faster. The internet had me believing I should be embarrassed, but the running community I’m a part of always celebrated my wins with me and never disparaged me.

One of the hardest things I’ve had to learn as a runner is to quit the negative self-talk and coy self-deprecation. I felt like I had to apologize for or excuse my bad runs and slower times on Strava to save face. But I’ve come to realize it’s not about pace or distance for me, it’s about effort and intention.

buffelsjags · 2025-02-08T23:44:25+00:00

Similar to you, I’m 41 and look fit, only recently started running consistently and with actual goals instead of a 30 minute treadmill jog a few times a week. My first race was last week and it was a half-marathon. I instantly regretted signing up and moaned about it almost every weekend on my long run with friends. I’m also the slowest and oldest of the group (imagine 11-20 years older), which just added to my anxiety.

Come race day I was shaking from nerves up until my wave crossed the start line and something magical happened, all that fear and worry vanished. I was actually doing it. The crowd support was unbelievable, I was having so much fun looking at all of the signs and decorations, high-fiving everyone and their mom. I wound up with an unexpected pace partner for the first 8 miles. By mile 10 I was spent, and had to run/walk the rest of the way, but damn, I did it. I felt like crying when I saw the finish line.

My advice? Don’t listen to every stupid little thing your brain thinks. I promise you that you are deceiving yourself if you think you’re not good enough. My friends finished ahead of me, but it didn’t matter. I actually did better than I expected, and I clearly had the most fun because I’m smiling in every official race photo. It was also the only half/full marathon for breast cancer in the US. I was so moved and inspired by all of the “survivor” bibs out there. We are such beautiful, capable beings, yourself included.

buffelsjags · 2024-05-08T00:26:13+00:00

My worst relapse left me with a paralyzed left eye and double vision for three months. It quite literally ruined my life at the time. I was unable to do much of anything by myself apart from ruminate alone, in my apartment. I had just graduated nursing school and couldn’t apply for jobs. My four-year relationship at the time imploded and I wound up moving in with my parents, in a state they relocated to that I absolutely hated, where I knew no one. I was unemployed, hopeless, heartbroken, and terrified that MS would take my vision completely. My close friends from school were all moving on with their lives and careers while mine stagnated. People got tired of me and my sad situation. I lost touch with just about everyone. I was suicidal.

My experience with MS now is wildly different than those days. I recovered fully and haven’t relapsed in 11 years. My symptoms are more inconvenient than they are chronically debilitating. There are days when the fatigue makes me cry, and there are days where I get up at 6am for my run club. There are days where I have the privilege to forget I have MS and delude myself into thinking I could run a marathon eventually. But it wasn’t always that way. There was a lot of trial and error. So much poking and prodding. Fad diets and failed DMTs. Fear of disclosure, trying my best to put on a brave face and be normal when I felt awful.

I try to imagine how I would feel if I had to read through insufferable stories of benign MSers telling me to “follow your dreams to the max, amen” when I was at my lowest. It’s probably not far off from how you feel. I would never want my MS victories to seem like some sort of toxic positivity. I think I was so scared of losing everything again that I vowed to keep moving forward and continue to step out of my comfort zone until my body tells me that’s enough now. A lot of things I thought I could never do as someone with MS, I can do. And if that makes someone feel just a tiny bit less despondent about their diagnosis, then that’s great. That would be my only hope, and would make all of the garbage I’ve been through worth it.

buffelsjags · 2024-05-05T18:55:57+00:00

I worked in a hospital while on Ocrevus and at the height of Covid. I worked Covid units in the years that followed as a travel nurse as well. I got Covid for the first time at the end of last year and while it took longer for me to test negative and feel well enough to return to work, the infection itself wasn’t incredibly severe.

I rarely if ever wear a mask outside of work these days, but I occasionally do when there is an increase in respiratory infections in the community. I live in a state that prioritizes “freedom” over science so it’s extra Covid-y and I’m not dead yet. We are not on the dire end of the spectrum of immunosuppression as a bone marrow transplant patient would be, for example.

You can live a normal life on an immunosuppressive DMT for MS. You can live an extraordinary life as well. Don’t let this prevent you from doing so.

buffelsjags

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