Outrunning Breast Cancer – Gail Konop Baker

October 07, 2008 | in Fitness | 1 Comments

In February 2006, Gail Konop Baker was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent surgery. Six months later, she was crossing the finish line at the NYC Half-Marathon.

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October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The American Cancer Society estimates nearly 180,000 women in the United States will have been diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in 2007.

In an instant, life is turned upside down; those diagnosed now wrestle with feelings of powerlessness, and the realization that their own body is somehow trying to kill them. Gail Konop Baker knows this tumultuous experience first-hand. Shortly after diagnosis, with the encouragement of a friend, she signed up and began training for her first race—the NYC Half-Marathon. In the process she was able to reclaim herself and achieve more athletically than she ever thought possible. Her recently published memoir, Cancer is a Bitch, recounts the experience.

Interview

Hella Sound: How long have you been a runner?
Gail Konop Baker: I started running at 36 after the birth of my third child. I’d had an emergency c-section and had lost a lot of blood and was so weak all I could do was nurse my son and stare out the window at people biking and running up the hill that ran along the side of our house. And I just kept thinking I want to run. I want to be a runner. So as soon as I had just the tiniest bit of strength I started jogging up that hill and little by little started adding on to that, a mile, two miles, three miles.

I kind of plateaued at about three miles until I moved to Madison, Wisconsin and befriended a woman who had a reputation as the neighborhood athlete. She was always running races and trying new sports. I asked her if she wanted to run together one day (for some crazy reason) and she said yes and for about the first six months I followed behind her, barely keeping up. It was hard and painful and I’d come home from those runs exhausted. And then one day (or it seemed that way) I realized I could keep up and after that I took the lead and sometimes exhausted her.

Now we’re pretty evenly matched and while often we’re just socializing when we run together sometimes there’s a little (unspoken) race going on...

So to answer your question how long… that would be 11 years that I’ve been a runner.

HS: Have you always been an athlete? What sports?
GKB: No, I wasn’t an athlete when I was younger. I did some gymnastics (I was always naturally flexible) and dance. It was pretty sexist in my family. The boys were athletes. The girls dancers. As an adult, I learned to downhill ski (because my husband was a skier and all-around athletic guy and my kids all learned to ski and I didn’t want to be that mom who sat in the lodge). But I really didn’t start taking athletics seriously until 36.

Now I run and do hot power Vinyasa flow yoga (am halfway certified to teach), pilates, and kayak and bike. And now my kids think of me as the athlete in the family! But my proudest accomplishment athletically is that I started both of my daughters running in their early teens and they both ended up running cross-country in high school. My oldest ran on the cross-country team in college and was even named freshman athlete of the year.

HS: Who inspires you as a athlete?
GKB: My friend I mentioned above inspired me to runner faster and further and harder and more regularly than I thought I was capable of. My husband introduced me to skiing and kayaking and just the idea that the body was made to try and do all sorts of physical things I thought were beyond my ability. My daughters and my son inspire me to keep running so I will role model treating your body with the honor and respect it deserves. And to stay healthy!

HS: Do you have a favorite running route?
GKB: I have two. The one in Madison is a trail that runs from my neighborhood down to a wooded path along Lake Mendota and all the way out to Picnic Point (it’s about 6 miles long). The one on Madeline Island (where we have a place on the water) is a five mile trail that runs through the state park along Lake Superior. I also love to run in Central Park when I’m in NYC and along the lake shore path in Chicago.

HS: What do you do when you're strapped for time, or are stuck traveling?
GKB: I always always make time for a run. And if I don’t, I feel like shit. And I try to remember that!

HS: What's the single best piece of advice you can give to beginners?
GKB: Put your shoes on and put one foot in front of the other. And build slowly and be proud of what you’ve accomplished. You will get stronger and faster. And before you know it, you will become addicted!

HS: Do you have any special projects you're working on?
GKB: I’m always working on encouraging people to run. It’s cheap and easy, doesn’t require special equipment, can be done anywhere, is a natural high and you can eat more without gaining weight. I also encourage people to get their kids (if they have any) to start running. I think it keeps them more grounded in their bodies and less apt to abuse themselves with risky behaviors (or so I like to tell myself!).