Runner's high: Beating the Ironman and cancer
People often misunderstand Kim Truesdell. They think that somehow she likes pain, that she seeks it out.
While pain is part of her journey, in more ways than one, it's not the physical trauma that drives her forward. It's knowing what's coming on the other side.
Truesdell survived a bout with breast cancer in 2003 and in celebration completed Ironman Wisconsin in 2005 — a race that involves a 2.4-mile swim, then a 112-mile bicycling leg and then a 26.2-mile run.
In February, she detected a lump in her other breast and battled a second round of breast cancer.
Now, she's preparing to run the Rock and Roll Marathon in San Diego in June — not just as a celebration of life but also to help raise money and awareness of breast cancer, early detection and the importance of exercise.
Through her journey, she has inspired other breast cancer patients to remain active while being open about how physical activity has helped her endure, recover and thrive through her cancer stories.
That makes her The Buffalo News Healthy Hero for this month.
"People's misperception is that I like to be in pain," the 51-year-old Truesdell said. "People think I can handle pain better. It's not that I like pain or can handle it better, it's just that you have to. I think people are afraid that I'm this weird person who puts myself in pain. Running isn't painful. But people think it is."
Her athletic career began in the water. A Williamsville native, she swam competitively for a number of teams — from the Town of Amherst swim team to the Water Buffalo Swim Club. She gave up year-round club swimming in high school, choosing to just swim for Williamsville South.
In her undergraduate days at Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania, she played on the school's club water polo team.
Truesdell didn't pick up sports again until 15 years ago, when her husband, Bob, said they should run the 100th Turkey Trot.
Her love affair with running then began.
"We ran for a month before the Turkey Trot and did it just for fun," she said. "For the first two years I quit for the winter and then I just liked it and kept running. It's odd how you start, because you never think about it. My daughter started running in school, so to help her get better we started doing local races in the summer."
After the shorter races, Truesdell decided to go for distance and did her first marathon in 1998. She eventually qualified to run the Boston Marathon in 2000 — where she finished in 3:59:11.
"People think I'm odd because I'm always looking for my next challenge," Truesdell said. "I had been running and I think I ran a half marathon just to see if I could do it. I decided I had to try a marathon."
Triathlon on hold
She was preparing for her next challenge, a triathlon. She did her first triathlon, a sprint, in 2002 and was gearing up to get into the sport when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Her triathlon experience would have to wait.
But Truesdell's athletic experience continued while her marathon background helped her through those painful days of chemotherapy treatment.
"It's quite well-documented that exercise helps with fatigue during treatment for cancer," said Dr. Tracey O'Connor, assistant professor of oncology at Roswell Park Cancer Institute. "Kim came to the cancer treatment table, so to speak, already fit and she worked to maintain her fitness during her treatment. There is no question that the athletes I treat seem to have much lower stress levels. Their body is fit so it handles the rigors of treatment very well. She flew through her treatment, and other athletes I've worked with have done well, too."
In 2004, Truesdell decided to pick up where she left off and entered a series of local triathlon races of various distances. Tackling the sprint distance, she was having fun and enjoying it and wondering if maybe, perhaps, she could tackle an Ironman.
That's when she approached Mary Eggers, a native of Orchard Park, triathlete and coach. Eggers believed without a doubt that Truesdell could accomplish the Ironman and guided her through the months of training before the 2005 Wisconsin race.
"Of all the athletes I have ever coached, I think Kim has been the most grateful to have the opportunity to be able to swim, bike and run," Eggers said. "I think sometimes as healthy people we do forget that this is an opportunity. She was incredible to work with. She'd get it done. She'd enjoy the process. So simple it seems.
"She approached the event as: What are the steps I need to get to this finish line? We outlined the steps and she nailed them down, one by one by one. Never intimidated by the big picture, the vastness of the event, she really took it one step, one light pole and one mile at a time."
Truesdell completed Ironman Wisconsin in 15 hours, 53 minutes and one second.
"Everybody says, 'Why do you this?' Because I can," Truesdell said. "I'm so happy that I can do it and I know that's why I did it. The Ironman was for me, to say I could do this. Next time, I thought there's got to be a bigger purpose for it now. That's the only thing that would get me to do another marathon now."
A new goal
Her next challenge, her next purpose, comes after her second diagnosis with breast cancer. In January she had a mammogram which came back clear, but in February she felt a lump above her left breast.
It was cancer again. She had another mastectomy and another round of chemotherapy. This time, she continued to run through her treatment. On the days when she felt good, she could run as much as five miles. On days when she wasn't as strong, she would walk.
Completed with her treatment, her goal now is that June marathon in San Diego. She hopes to raise $5,000 for Roswell Park Cancer Institute in that time.
And while she keeps looking for other challenges, she also keeps inspiring other women.
While she was an active athlete before her diagnosis, O'Connor still uses Truesdell as an example of how physical activity can help with treatment and life after cancer.
"It's not a good time to take on a massive new challenge in your fitness program, but patients can continue to exercise during treatment as tolerated," O'Connor said. "I encourage my breast cancer patients to maintain activity levels whenever they can. In general, exercise helps reduce cancer and treatment-related fatigue. If a patient has no exercise experience, I encourage them to get moving. Even modest activity, like daily walking, can help them cope more successfully with treatment."
Truesdell is also inspiration to other runners who have battled breast cancer. Sue Devlin remembers lining up for the Susan G. Koman Race for the Cure 5K in 2004 — right after her own diagnosis of breast cancer. She saw Truesdell at the start line, unaware that she had just gone through her struggles with the disease.
"I saw Kim at the start and mentioned I hadn't seen her in quite a while and asked how she was doing, because for some reason that I didn't know at the time," Devlin said. "I looked at her daughter and saw her eyes all swollen and teary. Then Kim told me she had gone through breast cancer and was on the mend and feeling good. That's when I told her I was just diagnosed.
"And right there she said if I needed anything to let her know," Devlin said. "Right from the get-go she was there for support. What are the chances of lining up at a race and having that happen? She is really, really tough and now she has gone through it twice, and I think about that when I start to whine to myself about how tired I am, or I get a little down. She may not know it, but she inspires me daily."
Learning process
Truesdell continues to inspire those who have not had to deal with breast cancer but have learned a new appreciation of sport, athletics and health.
"From Kim I learned that there is beauty in the process and in the finish, and that when we look at athletes out there, not one story makes someone more special or deserving," Eggers said. "This is our choice, this is what we have the privilege to do, and we are all on the same playing field, working towards our own internal goals."
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