Running Thru Diabetes

2012, Team Type 1, and stuff

2012-02-13T22:21:00.002-05:00

2012 is off to a very "warm" start, and I'm not complaining. I could run all year in these temps of 20-40 degrees. We have really only had a handful of days with temperatures in the teens or lower. It seems every year I forget what colder temperatures do to my blood sugars. During the summer months I will sometimes decrease my basal by 10%, but usually not lower than that. Recently, I have been decreasing my basal by 75%, even with this huge decrease in basal, I've still had to consume monster amounts of carbohydrates. For example, tonight I tested my BG 30 minutes before the run and was at 80. I decreased my basal by 75%, and consumed 65g of carbs. Then 20 minutes into the run I at another 25g. When I finished up this session I was at 115. I'm trying to plan better for my runs and check about an hour before the run, that way I can decrease my basal, and be set when it's time to run. I'm also looking for some more natural means of glucose than sport beans, glucose tabs, and Gu. I'm afraid what my teeth are going to be like in 30 years, but that's a topic for another day.

My training for 2012 is off to a really good start. Last week I logged 50 miles. On Saturday, I logged a 16 mile run with the guys on a very hilly course. It was a relatively cold run, but was a very fun run with the guys through Northern Kentucky overlooking Cincinnati.

I haven't really talked about Team Type 1 much yet, but words can't describe how excited I am to be a part of this group. The mission statement of Team Type 1 is: "Team Type 1 is fueled by a passion to improve the lives of others. Through athletic accomplishment and public presentations, TT1 inspires those with diabetes to become more engaged and effective in their diabetes self-care in order to live a life uncompromised by diabetes." In December I went to Tucson for our "Training Camp", and it was amazing to be around people that are fueled by their Diabetes just as I am. It's one of the driving forces in our athletic achievement. In the coming weeks I'm going to talk a little more about my Team Type 1 "brothers and sisters", each having their a own amazing stories and achievements. I truly believe that this team is going to help lift me, to reach the goals that I have been focused on for years, both athletically and personally.

Keep Running!

Races & Places

2011-12-12T22:23:00.000-05:00

I've been a little lazy with posting with so much going on of late.

First I'm going to give an update for the Philadelphia Marathon. This was a race where I thought everything was in place. It was, until I made a rookie mistake. I know that you're not supposed to change anything on raceday. I did, and I paid for it. The week leading up to the marathon I was going a bit low every day, so on raceday I decided to decrease my basal rate by 20%. The first five miles couldn't have gone better, it was about then when I looked at my pump to see what my CGM was looking like 220 trending UP. Normally I would have looked sooner, but everything was going so smooth that I forgot. I immediately took 2 units, and then continued to look every couple of minutes. It consumed me. The miles were going by pretty easy and I felt good, but I knew that each time I saw a higher number on my CGM the more I was going to pay. Still, the miles were clicking off pretty easy and I felt pretty good. I passed the halfway point in about 1:38:30. This is about where I started to come down. All told, I took about 5 units. As you might guess, I then came crashing down and was officially on the dreaded diabetes roller coaster. It was a battle from about mile 19 to the finish. Around mile 24 I started to feel a bit lightheaded and realized that I needed to walk and take in some additional carbs. I finished in 3:27:45 a new PR!

About a year ago, my (then) "internet" friend Marcus Grimm, told me about how Team Type 1 was forming a Running Team. I was definitely intrigued, and I applied. I ended up not joining them because they wanted a 2 week commitment to Run Across America and I couldn't do that. Fast forward a year and they've now completed the amazing task of Running Across America, and they are looking for additional team members. When they told me it wasn't imperative that I participate in the RAA, I jumped at the chance to join the team. They notified me that they were having their "Training Camp" in Tucson, AZ the weekend of December 10th & 11th and they wanted us to run in the Tucson Marathon or Half Marathon. My next post will be about Team Type 1 and my experience with the guys & girls of Team Type 1. Right now I'm going to give a recap of the Tucson Marathon.

The Tucson Marathon was exactly 3 weeks after Philly. I've never run 2 marathons this close together, so I really didn't know what to expect. Throw in the fact that the Tucson elevation chart was a bit intimidating, (starts at 4,800 feet elevation, and ends at about 2,600 ele.) I didn't know how my body was going to react. The bonus was that I was going to be in Tucson anyways, and I had the offer to run with my internet coach Missy Foy, and my best internet buddy Marucs Grimm, how could I resist? The plan was to run a 3:20:00 or approximately 7:37 pace, Marcus and I were both wearing garmin's and tried to keep our pace in check. Our first 5 miles we averaged around 7:35 pace. From miles 5-10 we closer to 7:30 and I could tell that these miles were a bit labored. It was a major net downhill, but there were some inclines and they seemed most difficult, we think because they weren't used to the higher elevation. It was around the 10 mile mark that Marcus and Missy were pulling ahead of me a bit, I told them I either needed to slow to a 7:40ish pace or they could go ahead. They weren't in any hurry so they said they had no problem slowing down a bit. It was around here that I realized the miles weren't going by as easy as the first half as Philly went. It was time to work!

Miles 10-13 consisted of a little out and back that had some significant roll to it. We had 1 really slow mile, 8:16, but over these 4 miles we averaged about 7:47. The rolling temporarily stopped at the half way point and we started a long downhill. Miles 13-18 were probably the most comfortable miles of the whole race and we averaged about 7:30's. Around mile 18 I noticed Marcus was leaning to his left, I asked him what was up, he had a side stitch, soon after this moment Missy was about 10 or 15 feet in front of us and she called me up beside her. I scampered up ahead and she promptly massaged my shoulders and told me to relax my arms and take a deep breath about every 5 - 10 minutes. She pulled me along from mile 18 - 21, but I was fading. Around mile 22 there was a waterstop and I took in a few glasses of water, and WALKED through. Missy kept going and I wasn't complaining because I was BEAT. Over the course of the final 4.2 miles I averaged around 8:30's, and it wasn't easy. I felt almost every muscle below my waist twitch to the point I thought at any moment my legs could completely seize up. I tried to keep my stride short and kept motoring ahead.

I finished in 3:24:39 a new PR. So many things were great about this one, most notably running with Marcus and Missy. My blood sugars were a bit of a problem but to my knowledge never really slowed me down. I had to disconnect from my pump from miles 9 - 14 because I was getting a little too close to the low 90's. Overall, I ran with new friends and PR'd! It was a great day!

I'm Ready

2011-11-14T20:24:00.001-05:00

A lot has happened since my last post. First off, I wanted to recognize the amazing accomplishment of Team Type 1 and their Race Across America. If you've been living under a rock, and haven't heard about these 10 men, please click on the aforementioned link and read about them. In a nutshell, they started in Oceanside, CA on October 27th, and finished today in New York City. That is 10 men, 3,000 miles, in about 17 days, oh, and they all have an in curable "condition" Type 1 Diabetes. On this same note, just before they started on this journey, they invited me to join the team, needless to say, I'm very excited.

Right now I'm sitting on my couch instead of running because of thunderstorms, yes thunderstorms in November. Luckily, I'm in the thick of my taper and the miles aren't that important right now, because as they say, "the hay is in the barn" (at least they say that where I'm from).

I'm running the Philadelphia Marathon this Sunday November 20th. My gaol is 3:15:00, here are some reasons I think I'll meet my goal. Recent races: I blogged about my PR in the Columbus Half of 1:31:47, and on Saturday November 5th I finally broke through the 20 minute barrier. I ran a 19:48! Another reason I think I'll get it is because of what I've out into training this season. I've run 4 runs of 20 miles or more, with 1 of those being a 24 miler. An additional4 of 18 to 20, and 3 more 16 to 18.

I'd be remised if I didn't mention my latest appointment with my specialist. I always schedule the first available appointment and I got there last Thursday at 7:50. I was very disappoint when they told me that Doc Parilo was out sick. They gave me the option of rescheduling or seeing another Doc. After mulling this, I decided to stay, get the A1C checked and hit the road. Well, they came back with the A1C at 7.1 and I kind of freaked out. I asked if they were sure, I was pretty sure it was going to be in the high 5's or low 6's. They said they were sure, I asked if we could retes, long story short....it was 6.3.

Keep Running.

Beginning Taper

2011-10-31T20:33:00.000-04:00

The Philadelphia Marathon is 3 weeks from yesterday. I'm ready, bring it!

I have some very exciting news to announce. I am a proud new member of Team Type 1, as I type there are 10 courageous Type 1 Diabetics on there way across the country. They started in Oceanside, CA on Thursday October 27th, and they hope to end on November 14th WORLD DIABETES DAY in New York City. That is 10 men 3,000 miles in less than 3 weeks! What we do is raise awareness for Diabetes, and show that with proper care and treatment, there are No Limitations. I'm very excited about what lies ahead.

I did participate in a 5k on October 22nd, and there is a reason I am just now mentioning it. It was ugly. The race was supposed to start at 8am, I met a friend down by the start at 7am to start our warmup. We did a couple of slow miles, and a couple of striders. Then we went back to the car to drop our warmup clothes. When we got back (at about 7:54) there was no one at the start line. We asked a few people who looked like race officials if we were at the start line, they laughed and said you missed the start. I was not happy, but we went anyways. My performance was terrible, hard to even know an official "chip" time because they only chip timed the finish, not the start. So, my official time was 24:xx. So I ran an almost 1 minute per mile pace SLOWER than my Half Marathon PR the week prior. I will get this 20 minute mark, and I hope to get it before 2012 comes.

On another note, I have my quarterly appointment with my Specialist. As always, I'm very excited to see Doc Parilo and his wonderful staff. I'm expecting a sub 6 A1C because this whole diabetes thing has gotten so much easier with all of the miles I'm logging.

Keep Running!

Race Report

2011-10-18T13:21:00.004-04:00

In preparation for the Philadelphia Marathon I raced in the Columbus Half Marathon this past weekend. Coming into the weekend my Half PR was 1:35:28, my goal was anything better than this, but I kind of had 1:32:30 as a number I'd like to hit.

I got up at 4:30am to get "ready" for the race. I ate my pre-race PB&J, then drove down to the Arena District at around 6am to park the car near the finish. The start is very close to the Columbus Convention Center which is very convenient. I was able to stay warm in the Hyatt until about 7am. I then checked my BG 120 and ate my pre-race protein bar, and promptly started my warmup of approximately 1.5 miles.

I arrived in my corral at about 7:20 for perfect timing. I was able to get a couple of quick strides in, in front of the corral. Soon after the start I was a bit surprised to see a 3:05 pacer, but then quickly realized that is the new BQ time necessary for men younger than 35 years old. Mile 1 was 7:09, Mile 2 was 7:01, and the pace didn't feel comfortable, at this point was staying a little ahead of the pacer but felt too much pressure of the pacer and pack being on my butt. So around mile 3 I decided to fall behind them. Mile 3 was 7:03. It was somewhere around Mile 4 (7:15 ) that I started to settle into the pace. Mile 5 was 6:59, 6 @ 6:49, 7 was 7:14, 8 @ 7:01, 9 @ 6:49, I kept reminding myself to stay in the mile and not think about the end, but I was feeling pretty confident. Mile 10 was a little labored hence the 7:10 time, but I knew it would pass and at mile 11 I decided I'd push the pace. Which I did and clocked a 6:50. I was a little surprised by my mile12 pace 7:03 ( I thought it would be faster), and 13 was 6:53. I saw the clock was counting down to 1:32 and went into an all out sprint. The last tenth was about 31 seconds. I finished in 1:31:47 and I felt great at the finish.

If you would have told me a 2 years ago that I had this time in me, I'd have called you crazy. Now I'm thinking I have a sub 1:30 in me.

My BG when I got back to the car was 120, perfect!

I can't wait to run in the Beat the Pumpkin 5k in Cincinnati this Saturday. This is when I go for my first sub 20 5k. I now have the confidence that I can break through that mark.

Keep Running!

Running...The Perfect Drug!

2011-10-03T22:40:00.001-04:00

It oftentimes annoys me when people find out I have Diabetes, and they say: "My uncle has diabetes". Then I ask a couple of questions, and come to find out that they're Type 2. I then explain the difference, but usually add in: "Type 2's have a choice, if they eat right and exercise, they can almost eliminate the disease, I don't, my pancreas no longer produces insulin". Now I know there are cases where they can exercise till the cows come home and eat right, and they still have the complications.

Type 2's aren't the only ones that can benefit from exercise. RIght now, I'm in the thick of marathon training. On Saturday, I had my best ever long run. 24 miles 3 hrs. 17 minutes, 27 seconds. The structure to this run was 30 minutes easy, 10 x (1 minute (about 7 minute pace) followed by 5 minutes easy), this was immediately followed by 5 x ( 1 mile pickups (about 7:20 pace) followed by 5 minutes easy). The run ended with about 45 minutes easy (around 8:15 pace). After finishing this run and feeling great, I was reflecting about how "easy" my diabetes has been recently. It's almost as if the more miles I run, the easier it is to control my BG's. I see my specialist every 3 months, and right now I'm about midway between appointments. A few weeks ago I purchased one of the At Home A1C kits, I thought it would be a good time to check. The result, 5.8, and this is with VERY FEW highs and lows.

Now I realize, there are certain cases where Type 1's or 2's can eat right, exercise, and it's still almost impossible. In most cases, I think that exercise and eating better can send you on your way to exceptional A1C's!

I'm hopeful that these great workouts of late will translate to some PR's in the coming weeks. The ultimate goal is the Marathon, and I've finally picked one. I'll be running the Philadelphia Marathon on November 20th. Leading up to this I'll also be running a couple of key races. The Columbus Half Marathon on October 16th, and the Beat the Pumpkin 5k in Cincinnati on October 22nd.

I don't want to end this post without giving a shoutout to Marcus Grimm, and the rest of the Team Type 1 athletes that will be running in the Chicago Marathon. I look forward to meeting these fine men and women soon. They are doing some amazing things!

I'm Ba-aaack

2011-09-08T21:18:00.001-04:00

Now it will be interesting if anyone notices!

Since my last post in May of 2009 I've completed 3 marathons. The two immediately after The Flying Pig were Columbus (2009) and New York City (2010). The Flying Pig was a personal best on a difficult course, so I was confident I'd run a great race in Columbus. It wasn't my day. I ran a personal worst 3:48:55, then followed that up in NYC in 2010 with a new personal worst in 3:51:47. So after running my first three marathons and getting a personal best in each, I had these two subpar performances. Back to the drawing board I ran the 2011 Louisville Marathon, and did finish with a new PR, 3:29:38, not quite what I was shooting for, but a PR none-the-less.

I'm now working with the AMAZING Missy Foy, and per her recommendation I've signed up for 2 marathons in the fall, the Marine Corps Marathon and California International Marathon. I will only be running one of these, and that depends on when Missy and I think that I'm peaking. Missy is well known in Diabetic Running circles as she's the only diabetic I'm aware of that has qualified for the Olympic trials. She is amazing to work with and has helped me immensely.

On the diabetes front, thankfully not much has changed. My last A1C was 5.9, I've been recording my numbers on index cards recently, and I've noticed much more consistent numbers. I'm anxiously awaiting Medtronic's update on the sensor that has gained approval in the EU. I think I'm building up some pretty nice scar tissue in my abdomen from the harpoon like insertion for the current sensor. Here's to the FDA wrapping this one up quickly!

That is all for now, I'm going to try my best to update on a regular basis, please check back soon.

Flying Pig Marathon 2009

2009-05-11T16:12:00.007-04:00

Race Day

I slept horrible and woke up at 3:45am, with a blood sugar reading of 67. I ate two English muffins with Peanut Butter & Jelly and took my normal Bolus minus the correction. At about 5:40 I left my house for the 1.5 mile walk to the start line. About half way there I checked my blood sugar 125, and I started eating a protein bar with about 24 carbs, and Bolused for half. I washed this down with a small bottle of water. I arrived at the start line around 6:00am, and I spoke to the 3:20 pacer then left for my visit to the Porta-Pot. Without getting into the specifics, this was my second “failure” of the day, and I would pay for this later. The temperature was in the mid 50’s and there was a very light drizzle. Even though 55 is a decent, I would have much preferred 45, especially after training in temps ranging from 0 – 55 degrees. The rain also added a touch of humidity to the air.

I arrived back to the start line around 6:27 with little time to spare. The first few miles were easy, but not as easy as they should have been. Around mile 5 my stomach started to rumble. Through 6.8 miles I was at an 8:02 pace. I was shooting for a 7:49 pace, which was fine because the hills were almost over. Unfortunately my stomach was still bothering me and I knew a Porta-Pot stop was inevitable. Around Mile 12 I finally gave in and stopped, I was in and out (of the Porta-Pot) in less than a minute, and felt much better.

I crossed the half-way point in 1:44:13, a little disappointing, but considering the circumstances, I was satisfied. I thought if my stomach would cooperate I could finish with a negative split. Unfortunately around the 15 mile mark, I started to feel the rumble again, and again I tried to put it off. Around mile 16 I started to feel nauseous / light headed, wasn't quite sure what was going on, so I decided to check my blood sugar. As I was running I pulled my meter out and continued going. My CGMS had me at 145 and the finger stick showed 180. This gave me peace of mind and the nausea passed. Unfortunately my stomach didn't cooperate and I succumbed to the Porta Pot at mile 18, unfortunately this stop was a little longer. When I came out, I saw that the 3:30:00 pacer had passed me by. The rest of the way I tried to reign him in, but I wasn’t able to close the distance. I finished in 3:30:20.

What I learned.

First off, it wasn’t my day. Next marathon, I’m going to eat the carb (heavy) meal 2 nights before the marathon, and eat something more “simple” the night before. I would like to get up and eat breakfast 4 hours before the marathon, but for a 6:30am start, that is awfully difficult. This was my third marathon. My first was the ‘07 Marine Corps 3:40:06, I didn’t know what to expect, and my biggest goal was to finish. My second was ’08 Chicago 3:35:06, and I think I would have fared much better if it weren’t for the dreaded heat. The Flying Pig Marathon was definitely the toughest course of the 3, and I did manage an almost 5 minute PR.

What’s to come?

I’m still very hungry and think that a BQ is definitely in my future. I have signed up for the Columbus Marathon on October 18^th. This will be a much “friendlier” course, and one that I think I will really enjoy. I don’t think it’s out of the question to shoot for a 3:20:00 or maybe even a 3:15:00, which the ladder would qualify me for the 2011 Boston Marathon. I'll keep trying till I get that "Perfect" day, where I get great weather, a great course, and I feel great.

Race Day Chart of Blood Sugars

Unfortunately I haven't been able to attach the PDF to this post, but during the race my number kept within the 100 - 190 range. Though I'm not happy with my race result, this control is VERY satisfying!

Taper Madness

2009-04-28T08:13:00.006-04:00

I'm tapering...so I have many things to think about, which for me, is not good. On Saturday my "coach" asked me what my race plan was, which really got me thinking. My "goal" time is 3:20:00, my "stretch goal" is 3:18:00, and my "satisfied goal" is 3:25:00. I really feel like I'm trained well enough to run a 3:20:00, though there are SO many variables that can come into this. My plan is to run the first half in 1:42:30 (7:49 / mile). This will help me get through the hills which are for the most part, over at the 8.5 mile mark. Then I can gradually "step on the gas" and finish the second half in 1:37:30 (7:28 / mile). Diabetes "plan" during the Marathon I will carry 4 packs of Clif Shot Blocks with me out on the course, and I will give one pack to my girlfriend for an emergency. Race starts at 6:30, so I will be up at3:30-4 am to start my day. I want to get everything "taken care of" before I walk out my door at 5:30 (I live about 2 miles from the start). I will be carrying a meter and strips along with me, but do not plan on using them during the race, I rely soley on my CGMS . HEAT. I was starting to worry that we were going to skip Spring and go right into Summer. My Saturday morning run was miserable, and I've been watching the forecast rather close. The current forecast is showing a high of 70 and a low of 49, with a chance of showers. Not perfect, but close to ideal. In preparation for Sunday I'm trying to get to bed earlier, and trying to drink 100 oz. of water a day. Fall Marathon Unfortunately I was not chosen as a Global Hero for Medtronic. I really wanted to run the Twin Cities Marathon, but now I feel a bit of bitterness, and I'm looking at other options. If everything goes right this will be a BQ attmept, so I'd like to run a "fast" course. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Another caveat is that I want to run NYC, but just to enjoy the sights, I will not be racing NYC. So, I would like to have atleast a few weeks separation between NYC and my BQ attempt. Happy Running & Blood Sugars!

Catching Up!

2009-04-02T22:38:00.005-04:00

I woke up Sunday morning (3/29) and went to 7am mass. It was bone dry and about 45F, perfect running weather. I come out of church at 8am and it's raining and gusty, Grrrrr! So being the borderline OCD person I am, I debate in my head for the next hour on what I should wear. I had shorts on, then I decided to put pants on (over top of the shorts mind you), with a long sleeve T and a vest. We parked downtown at about 9:30, and for whatever reason I didn't shed the pants and vest?? My plan was to split the race into 3 5k races getting progressively faster. Well, considering I was burning up after 1 mile, I had a disappointing race. It was a 15k, and I PR'd, with a time of 1:10:13 (a 7:32 pace), I was shooting for a 1:05:00 or so. We'll get 'em next year! On Thursday April 2nd, I had my quarterly appointment with Doctor Parilo. My A1C was 6.2, though I'm happy with that number, I know there is room for improvement. This may hurt me more than it helps me because when I'm not "perfect" it bothers me. I like to look at my CGM chart on my pump and see a straight line on about 105, unfortunately this doesn't happen much. I spent the usual 45 minutes with Doc Parilo, and talked about everything in my life, much more than Diabetes. One of the many reasons he is the best Doc out there, see Diabetic Queen, for confirmation on this! On Sunday April 5th I concluded my week with 53.38 miles. I hit a small blip there in early to mid March with a hip issue, but that seems to have subsided. I'm feeling pretty good. Here is a breakdown of my training for the week of 3/30. Monday - 6 miles Easy Tuesday - 3 x 2 mile at 7:20 - 7:25 pace Wednesday - OFF Thursday - 8 mile Tempo at GMP (7:35-7:40) Friday - OFF Saturday - 18 mile run wit miles 14-17 at GMP (7:35-7:40) Sunday - 8 miles Easy The key run of the week was the 8 tempo, and it went great!

In a Groove

2009-03-25T20:27:00.004-04:00

Things are starting to really fall in line for my training. With the help of Dr. Todd Elwert, and my "coach" Luke Humphrey, and last but not least the wonderful Dr. Miguel Parilo, I can see the light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. Dr. Elwert as provided me with many new methods of stretching in order to get these hamstrings of mine "unstrung". 3 weeks ago, my hamstrings were extremely tight. Last night on my 2 x 3 mile, other than being extremely tired, I barely noticed my hamstrings. As for my coach, I've come a long, long way in the last year, and there's no way I could have done it without him. I can't talk about my success running without mentioning Dr. Parilo and his team, it is Paramount to my success to have his involvement. With each new week I'm setting new personal records for distance. With this, I have had to constantly tweak my basal rates, constantly lowering with the increase in miles.

This weekend I will get a chance to see where I stand as I'm running the Heart Mini Marathon, this will mark my 5th Heart Mini. I plan to PR, and I'm hoping to set the tone for a great Flying Pig.

Cautiously Optimistic

2009-03-12T22:21:00.004-04:00

So, I did the exercises with the Pilates bands last night (50), this morning (50), lunch (50), and before my run tonight (50). It was my best (pain free) run in weeks.

A big part of running is staying healthy or avoiding injury. Any runner goes through minor aches and pains, and the serious injuries usually start as minor ones. The last couple of weeks this hipt thing has been nagging me like a streak of "bad" blood sugar readings. I CAN'T STAND EITHER OF THEM! Struggling with an injury gives me anxiety in the same way unexplainable high blood sugar readings do. You will do anything to try and correct it, and try to look back on what you've done different to cause the result. I will continue to do these exercises, as long as it keeps the hip pain away. The Pig is 7 weeks from Sunday!

Hurting

2009-03-11T22:20:00.003-04:00

Sunday marks 7 weeks to the marathon. Unfortunately, I'm hurting. It's my right hip / quad. Some days it's the hip, some days it's the quad? It actually gets better as I run, but never completely goes away. I'm 90% sure it's not a stress fracture.

My blood sugars have been pretty good, no major complaints in that department. I've actually been having some serious issues with my Transmitter on the CGMS. The problem is that I can't keep a signal between my pump and transmitter for more than 2 hours. I've been on the phone with the help line, and they tell me that everything checks out ok. But I'm sure something is wrong, I talked to my WONDERFUL Medtronic nurse, and she has loaned me a transmitter. Voila! I haven't lost a signal in over 2 weeks. I'm working on getting a new one from Medtronic. I spoke to them today and it sounds like I've been approved (probably b/c my initial sensor came from the money out of my pocket)! Anywho, I should be getting my new sensor in the next couple of weeks.

I went by the local running store here in Newport, KY this evening, and told them of the issues of my hip. Ann, the guru there gave me some exercises to do in order to strengthen the area. So, immediately after I spoke to her, I was off to Target to buy some Pilates bands. I did 50 exercises with each leg, and I will tomorrow. Hopefully my pain will subside!

I've made a promise to myself, to start posting atleast.......once a week. I'm going to try like hell to get something in. Even though I don't think it's important to anyone else, I know how I feel when I go to the other blogs and nothing is updated.

Happy New Year

2009-01-03T21:56:00.002-05:00

With the help of ESG, I have some "resolutions" for 2009 in the running and diabetes categories.

- 2009 miles in 2009

- Sub 3:20 marathon on my way to qualifying for Boston in 2010

- Sub 20 minute 5k

- keep my A1C close to or under 6.0

- Become more disciplined in my eating

I am now finishing up week 3 of my 20 week training plan for the Flying Pig Marathon. So far, things have been pretty easy, this week will be the first week with any remotely difficult runs. Where I will have a 3 mile temp at 7:35 pace. These are the runs that challenge me most. If this were a 5k race, the 7:35 pace would be a piece of cake, but because it's just a training run, it's a b!tch! This is what I need to improve to reach Boston, I'll do it!

Crawling out of my Cave

2008-12-18T13:30:00.004-05:00

Not sure if anyone will even notice, but this is my first post since my Chicago Marathon report. I've been running, but I feel like I don't have anything blog worthy. Then I started thinking, my blog is my thoughts, it doesn't really matter if anyone is out there reading it. If you are....Bonus! This week I started my 20 week training program for the Flying Pig Marathon. I've run the 1/2 Pig twice, and I'm very excited to tackle the Full. I've decided to use the Hanson's for my training guidance. I'm very excited to work with the Program that Luke Humphrey has set forward. I'm shooting for a 3:20:00 at this year's Pig, with the ultimate goal of running Boston in either 2010 or 2011. This WILL happen! I'm going to try to update more often. On the Diabetes side, not much has changed. I'm really looking forward to something new from Medtronic, as they haven't really had much new in the last year.

Bank of America Chicago Marathon

2008-10-16T16:35:00.011-04:00

Thursday - Travel

We left Thursday night, and got to Hotel 71 on E. Wacker and Michigan at about 10:30 local time. Not much going on, so we hit the sack almost immediately.

Friday

Got up around 8 am, and went out for a short little jaunt, we ended up doing 3.75 miles. After the run Amanda went up to the room and showered, while I got us coffee at Starbucks, and a pastry. After I showered quickly we headed out to meet my sister Betsy for lunch at COSI. We were then off to the Expo, I was actually a bit disappointed, my favorite shoe maker (Adidas) was inexplicably not in attendance. Asics and Nike had quite the setup, and I did purchase a few things, but not near as much as last year at the Marine Corps Marathon. The highlight of the expo had to be seeing that Bart Yasso was set up at the Runners World booth, and I stopped in to talk to him. I met him at the Flying Pig expo and bought his book My Life on the Run. This book is about, well, just what is says, his life on the run. He has run many, many marathons, ultra's, and other kind of races. I told him that I met him in Cincinnati earlier in the year when I bought his book, and that I absolutely LOVED it. I started to walk away, but then I asked him if he had any recommendations for Sunday (because of the heat). He said, indeed I do, then went on to tell me to buy a sponge, soak it with water at all of the water stops, and use it to keep me cool. He also said to get a bandana and keep it nice and wet throughout the marathon. I did both of these things, and I must say, Thank God for Bart! We then left the expo and headed for Michigan Avenue and did some shopping. We had an early dinner reservation at LaScrolla where I loaded up on the carbs. I wanted to load up on the carbs on Friday night because it's difficult to control my blood sugar after eating spaghetti. After this we went to Bin 36 where we met up with Erika, Kyle, Britt, and Marc. Meeting them is by far the best thing to come out of my short "blogging life". We had a great time over a few glasses of wine, and I hope to be able to do it again some time. As we were finishing up with them my Sister and her new boyfriend walked in with my Parents and we had a drink with them. Total for the night I think I had 3 glasses of wine and 1/2 a beer, which was a little more than what I was planning on. Saturday

We slept in, when I first got up, I inserted my new sensor so that it could be calibrated and working great on Sunday. I'll get back to this one later, as I was doing this, Amanda went for a run, and I waited, and waited, and waited on her. She got back and I asked her how it was, she said it was F*$#@*^ HOT. This was when I started to tinker with the idea of not running and waiting till Columbus next weekend. We ate lunch at the Corner Bakery (LOVE IT). Then, you guessed it, more shopping. This was cut short for Amanda though as I told her I had to get off of my feet and I wanted to watch the Buckeyes. We met up with my sisters, and Mom at ESPNZone and watched the 2nd and 3rd quarters. The game was pretty uneventful, but a Buckeye win nonetheless. We left hear and attended mass at Holy Name Cathedral, beautiful church, wonderful priest, GREAT Mass. We then met my family and had a wonderful dinner before calling it a night.

I didn't mention this earlier but on 3 occasions during the day, I lost the signal on my Glucose Sensor. This is not a good thing, and if it happened during the day doing nothing, it would probably happen during the marathon. Unfortunately, it was in my buttocks, this is the easiest, least painful site, but it seems to be the site where I always get a "weak" signal. After dinner, I inserted a new sensor, this was at about 10pm. I knew that I'd have to get up in the middle of the night to Calibrate, but no biggie. In the meantime, I put my number on my shirt, and set out all of my stuff. At about 11pm, I received a lovely "Sensor Error", and I started to freak out. I cleared the error, and hoped that it would not cause a problem. Luckily, an hour later, it asked for a BG reading. In the clear!

Sunday

I woke up at about 4:50am, 5 minutes before my alarm. To say I was excited would be an understatement. I really wanted to run this race! I ate a blueberry bagel (that I got at Corner Bakery the day before), I drank 2 cups of coffee (to aid my GI issues), and ate a Southbeach diet bar that was absolutely phenomenal (I picked this one up at a Seven Eleven store, I think, but I need to get more of these).

The Race

My goal was anything under 3:30:00. When I walked out of the hotel room on Sunday morning to meet Craig (my brother-in-law), I knew this probably wasn't possible. It was about 64F and I didn't feel the least bit of chill in the air. The thought of scrapping the marathon snuck into my head again, and I quickly dispelled it because I was SOOO excited to run through this beautiful city. When I ran the Marine Corps Marathon last year, I pretty much enjoyed every minute of the race. During this race, I never really felt that comfortable out on the course. The crowd support was amazing. In the first 5 miles I saw my Mom, Dad, Amanda, Darrin, Kim, Stacey and the kids on 2 different occasions. I did catch myself smiling on a number of occasions early on because the crowd support, not to mention the chills that all of the people caused.

At about mile 18, we lost the "shade" that came from the buildings and trees early on in the course. As the sun beat down on me, I could feel my energy drying up. I was able to keep running, and I gutted out the last 8 miles. I feel very strong that the reason I was able to finish was due to my new friend Bart Yasso. Yes, I hydrated very well in the week leading up to the marathon, but in order to get through those conditions, I needed to keep as cool as possible during the race. At mile 25 I saw Amanda, Darrin, & Kim, who by the way were amazing! They also helped me get through these extremely difficult conditions.

My splits were M1 = 6:36, M2 = 8:03, M3 = 8:08, M4 = 7:37, M5 = 7:39, M6 = 8:07, M7 = 7:56, M8 = 7:31, M9 = 8:00, M10 = 7:59, M11 = 8:00, M12 = 7:50, M13 = 7:43, Half = 1:44:011, M14 = 8:00, M15 = 8:04, M16 = 7:58, M17 = 8:03, M18 = 7:55, M19 = 8:22, M20 = 8:30, M21 = 8:21, M22 = 8:20, M23 = 8:47, M24 = 8:56, M25 = 8:48, M26 = 9:06, M26.56 = 4:39. My garmin showed 26.56 which is probably closer to what I ran, b/c I obviously didn't run the "marathon line".

To those who didn't "finish"

I realize that there are only a few people who actually read this blog, and I think those 2 people ran in the marathon. We are all living a marathon and we are not "finished" yet, THANK GOD for that! There will be many, many more races, I think it's safe to say, we're all disappointed in the conditions we were dealt on Sunday. We have to remember, at least we're still able to be in the Race!

Less Than 1 week

2008-10-06T20:19:00.002-04:00

The second I finished the Marine Corps Marathon (my first marathon), I stated that I couldn't wait to run another. I am SO extremely excited to start this race, I can barely contain myself.

This Marathon is also going to be a very much needed vacation. Amanda and I are leaving after work on Thursday and not coming back till Monday.

I have followed this McMillan Training plan exactly to the T. On Saturday I ran 12 miles, with the last 6 at 7:20 pace. This left me feeling really, really good, hence really, really excited.

See you in Chicago!

5 weeks out

2008-09-08T20:53:00.004-04:00

I completed my second 20 miler this past weekend. I ran it by myself, because the group I typically run with was only doing 13. It went ok. I wasn't thinking and didn't eat anything before the run, I think this is what caused my stomach problems around mile 13. These persisted for the next 7 miles.

I'm feeling pretty good about my training, I did have some stiffness in my quad's and hamstrings during my run on Saturday. I'm hoping that my new purchase will help alleviate this tightness. Steve over at Phedippidations turned me onto this, and after using it one time, I really think I'm going to like it. There are 3 different tools that you use to "manipulate" the muscles in your leg, this "manipulation" helps keep the elasticity in the muscles. This benefits every muscle in the body, and I'm looking for it to pay huge dividends in my training.

This past week I logged my biggest week ever, a grand total of 45.76 miles. All systems are GO!

I think I'll have a really good idea of where I stand after Thursday's 10 x 800m Yasso workout.

Did I mention, I think I'm getting a puppy? I put a deposit down on a Chocolate Goldendoodle. I'll post pics as soon as I have them.

JDRF a VERY Special Cause

2008-08-11T22:50:00.005-04:00

For the 5 or so people that read my blog, if you haven't yet, PLEASE consider donating to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. It means SO much to me, with your help, maybe some day my blog will be called "Ran Thru Diabetes". I've been involved in the JDRF for the last 4 years, last year my team raised a little over $9,800.00, I really want to reach that $10,000.00 mark.

Please, Please, Please, if you haven't yet donated to the JDRF, visit my JDRF Site and Donate. To see how close I am to my goal click here.

Any amount is GREATLY appreciated, if we all give a little we can make a huge difference.

Near Tragedy...Not Really "Tragedy"..but I was pretty bummed.

2008-08-11T22:11:00.003-04:00

Saturday, the stars seemed to be aligned. I was doing my longest run (16 miles) since training for the Marine Corps Marathon last year, and the temp was about58 F when I was to start my run at 6:30. Well, because my blood sugar was too high, I delayed my start till 8, which turned into 8:30, because I couldn't get my sh!t together.

Still, at 8:30 it was EXTREMELY comfortable for any time of the year, let alone the "Dog Days" of August. So, it started out well, felt great. At about the the 3 mile mark I felt "something" in the top of my right foot, it was a dull pain, but it caught my attention. It came and went, lasted about 30 seconds. At about the 7 mile mark it reared it's head again, then at the 11 mile mark was the last time. I have 4 close friends who have had stress fractures in the last 4 months. I convinced myself that I had one. I called Amanda, and she came to pick me up. So, being me, I went to the 2 running stores in Cincinnati and talked to about 4 or 5 different experienced runners. The prevailing theme was that I should take off the rest of Saturday, and Sunday. Most were pretty noncommittal but a few thought that it was just a sock or lacing issue.

This morning I called my Podiatrist first thing, and they got me in at 8:45. First thing he said was that it doesn't sound like a Stress Fracture, I breathed a sigh of relief, but still wasn't convinced. The X-Rays confirmed what the Doc had told me, it was a small bone spur that he said could eventually become an issue, but I should be fine for a good while.

So tonight, with a little trepidation, I went out for a 5 mile run. I felt AWESOME. Great feeling, I'm very relieved.

Charlie, Erika, I'm happy to say I'll still be seeing you in the Windy City!

Diabetes.......

2008-07-19T23:28:00.007-04:00

Well, I had my quarterly appointment with my Endo ( er Internal Medicine Doc.). By the way, I LOVE Doc. Parilo, he is THE man, and I hope I never see another Doc. for my diabetes.

I have some "weird" stuff going on with my body / diabetes right now. I'm closing in on 10 years with diabetes, the first 9 have been pretty predictable. Meaning, I count my carbs, take my insulin and have a blood sugar that is fairly predictable. I have recently been experiencing MANY unpredictables (if that's a word). Especially in the evening, if I eat late, let's say, 75g carbs, fairly fattening, at about 8pm (normal BS, let's say 105). I'll bolus my normal 8.5 units. I'll go to bed at 65 (11pm) and eat some carbs (Red Vine licorice is my carb of choice right now). Set my alarm for 2am, and check at 145, do not bolus. Alarm on CGMS goes off at 3am over 200 bolus 2 units, alarm goes off at 4am 255. Bolus 3 units. This is becoming WAY to common.

My A1C at my appointment last Thursday was 6.4, one might say: this is good. Well, I'm riding the rollercoaster, and I'm not liking it. I have been consistently under 6.0, with very steady blood sugars. On this rollercoaster I'm riding I'l go from 41 to 260 in 1 hour. My Doc has set me up with an appt. with the Medtronic Nurse to go over my Basal and Bolus testing, I pray that this is the problem. I feel like I'm doing everything right, I could probably be a little more disciplined in what I eat, but right now, I don't want to. If this "testing" doesn't work, I will do what I have to. I am determined to live my life with diabetes, as I don't have diabetes, BUT, I don't want to deal with any of the complications, and I know this takes discipline.

I'll get to my running tomorrow, things are going well, except for this DAMNED humidity.

Hot, Hot, Hot & NYC here I come

2008-07-08T22:01:00.003-04:00

I guess I've been so spoiled by the mild weather this summer I forgot what heat and humidity can do to you. It was about 84 F and Humid! The plan was to warmup and do 8 x 2.5 minute Fartlek's with a 1.5 minute rest interval, then a 20 minute cool down. I completed the workout, but I struggled. I have yet to look at my times, no need to, they weren't good. The important thing is that I got the workout in! 7.5 miles to be exact.

Amanda (my lady) and I, found out over a month ago that we were both "accepted" into the NYC 1/2 marathon on July 27th. We've been debating on wether or not we were going to run in it. Well, this past weekend we booked the flights to NYC! We cannot wait! I booked the hotel rooms today, so we're all set. It will be a fine tune up for Chicago. If anyone out there has run the Nike NYC 1/2 please let me know your thoughts, I hope it's not too warm.

Garmin 405 Technology Review 2

2008-06-23T21:16:00.005-04:00

Now that I have almost 2 months under my belt with the new Garmin 405, I can give a more thorough review.

This thing ROCKS! It's smaller, lighter, more accurate, and last but not least, it's A LOT easier to use. On the 305, I had issues with the charge contacts on back corroding. They have eliminated this possibility by sinking these holes into the watch and having a clip like charger. It's really cool, but hard to explain. This is a definite improvement.

Before I get into this, if you are new to the Garmin 405 check out the training videos on the Garmin Website. These are very helpful. Most definitely the coolest thing about it is the training setups you can do. This will teach you many of the nuances of the 405, and they're adding things weekly to help us learn how to use this wonderful tool. If you're in to this like I am, it's also very easy to just play around and figure it out. , I use the interval mode a lot. Here's one example. When I go out for Yasso 800's, I click on the Menu, Click Training, Workouts, Interval, then you choose if you want this workout to be gauged by time or distance (for Yasso's I click distance), then choose the distance (.50 miles), then rest type, I choose distance (.25), then choose how many reps (8), then it asks about a warmup and a cooldown (I choose yes). This takes all of about 1 minute to set up.

I have used the Virtual training partner, but I haven't fallen in love with this yet. It's kind of hard for me to tell if I'm ahead or behind, I have to look really close to be able to tell. I can see this being a nice feature, especially in a 5k or 10k race. I have gotten over the sensitivity of the bezel, it takes a little getting used to, but once you do, it's really not an issue.

Now, the complaints, my biggest complaint is that the ANT agent is still not compatible with Mac's. They say this is coming in the Fall, so I'm going to hold them to it. Luckily, I have access to a PC where I can download my information. I do have issue with the watch not giving detailed Heart Rate information. I can only get my Average Heart Rate by downloading my information to the PC, then I have to look at the Heart Rate statistics. I've notice when I'm sweating a lot, if sweat drips on the bezel it gets a little crazy beepy. Hopefully this doesn't cause problems when I really start dripping this summer.

Overall, to me, this watch is a major upgrade. In defense of the 305, I never really used the training features, but I think that's because it was too complicated. This is a very nice tool to help in training no matter what the distance.

Is it really June?

2008-06-17T21:10:00.003-04:00

WOW! I went for a track workout tonight at 6pm, and boy did I enjoy it. The temp was about 70 F and there was a nice cool breeze blowing. It is almost July, right?

I'm into my 4th week of a 20 week training program for the Chicago Marathon. I have to say it's going pretty well. Last year I ran the Marine Corps Marathon and started my training in early July. My knee started bothering me that first week, and stayed with me up until about February of this year.

Back to my training. Last week in the heat, I did Yasso 800's, and my goal time was 3:20. My best time was a 3:26, and I only managed to do 6 of them. Tonight, I did 8 of them, with my fastest being at 3:18, slowest at 3:28, but most of them right at 3:20. I felt really good, and it gave me the confidence that I need to reach my Marathon Goal of 3:20 -3:25.

I also want to throw a shout out to my friend Charlie for all of his encouragement. Look for my more in depth review of the Garmin 405, I'll give you a hint: I LOVE IT!

On the Diabetes front: As I increase my mileage, I've noticed that my blood sugars have been much better. I noticed that Jamie over at DR has stated the same thing. This just proves what we've always known, EXERCISE IS GOOD! I also wanted to mention a new "Diabetic Runner Friend" Erika, check out her amazing blog.

We can all learn a little from each other. Keep exercising, and keep them sugars steady!

Training Programs

2008-05-20T22:47:00.004-04:00

I bit the bullet and decided to buy one of Greg McMillan's personal training program. I bought the 20 week program, and I will start my training for the Chicago Marathon on this coming monday, Memorial Day. My overall health is pretty good, definitely better than I felt going in to training last year for the Marine Corps Marathon. I'm changing my training up a bit this year. Last year I used a modified version of the FIRST method, where I only ran 3 times a week and complemented that with 2 days of cross training. I expect to be running 5 days a week and logging approximately 15 - 20 miles more a week. It's exciting to get started towards a new goal!

2008-05-06T22:29:00.005-04:00

I ran in the Flying Pig Half Marathon on Sunday. I PR'd by almost 7 minutes, but I really didn't have that good of a race. My stomach bothered me almost the whole race, and at the six mile mark I had to take a "pit stop" at the Porta-pot. I'm guessing this took about 2 minutes, and it just wasn't my day. As the day went on it got worse. After the race I ate half a banana, a small bag of potato chips, half a blueberry bagel, and just about anything I could get my hands on. I bolused for everything, and when I got home we had brunch. My blood sugar steadily rose, once it got to 300, I checked my infusion site. Somehow my infusion set had twisted off, but was still "attached". The reason I know this is I pulled it right off (without twisting) and there was insulin on my fingers. Not knowing how long it had been disconnected I bolused 11 units to try and cover me. It was a little too late, my blood sugar kept going up, topping out at 489. I did not throw up, but I felt HORRIBLE. This has only happened to me one other time, which resulted in me vomiting. Definitely NOT a pleasant experience.

I would love to hear any recommendations anyone has on how to "unload" before a race. This is something I've struggled with and it was bound to bite me sooner or later.

Technology Review

2008-04-28T21:05:00.003-04:00

I received my new Garmin 405 via UPS Next Day Air on Thursday. I have used the Garmin 305 for over a year now, and other than the bulkiness, I really like it. The 405 is going to take a little time to get used to, and I think I'm really going to like it. First, I'll give you the positives: The most obvious improvement is the size of the watch, you no longer look like you have a microwave oven strapped to your wrist. Second, the touch bezel makes it much easier to navigate through the menus, which is VERY nice. Because of the touch bezel, it makes it much easier to go from screen to screen, all you have to do is touch the bezel and it will jump to the next screen. On each screen you can view up to 3 different "statistics", and you can set up 4 of these screens. Another major improvement is the start /stop and lap / reset functions are now like a stop watch. On the previous model I often hit the wrong button and didn't record all of m run.

The only real negative I have with the watch will probably come with using it. It's the sensitivity of the bezel. As much as I stated that I like the bezel, it can also cause some problems. You may be deep into one menu, then you accidentally touch the bezel and it takes you out of that menu and into another. The only other complaint I have is the software is not Mac compatible yet, though Garmin is working on it. I have trouble settling on specific screens, so if anyone has any recommendations for good things to watch while you're running, I'd love to hear.

On the Diabetes front, I just received the good news that my sensors for my CGMS will now be covered by my insurance. If you haven't pushed you Doctor to write you a letter of medical necessity, I would recommend it. I have been paying for these out of pocket for a year and half, it's not till I called Medtronic to see what they could do, they called my Doc, and within a few weeks they gave me the good news.

Busy, Busy, Busy

2008-04-22T22:13:00.004-04:00

I have been neglecting my blog, mostly because I've been pretty busy with work and travels, but also because I don't feel like I have anything interesting to say. Then I thought, that's crazy, and I looked up the definition of a blog which states: A website in which an individual or group of individuals produces an ongoing narrative. So I think, I don't have a blog if it's not ongoing, here I go!

CONGRATULATIONS to Steve Runner at Phidippidations on completing the Boston Marathon, I know that someday soon Steve will break the 4 hour mark. I myself am striving to Qualify for the Boston Marathon. If you haven't listened to his podcast, do yourself a favor and download an episode, he is EXCELLENT, and it's really like running with someone else.

Now, on to me, If anyone out there has any recommendations how I can improve my tempo runs, I'm begging you, PLEASE HELP. I ran my first marathon, the Marine Corps Marathon in 3:40:07, and I have to get to a 3:10:59, in order to qualify. I feel pretty confident I can get to a 3:30, possibly even a 3:25 this year in Chicago. Mostly because I now have a Marathon under my belt, but also because the course is a little easier, and I feel I'm in better shape. I do have a little over 5 months till the marathon, and I feel like there is plenty of time to improve.

I also would be remiss if I didn't throw a big shout out to Jamie over at Diabetic Runner, I absolutely love his blog. His creativity is awesome, and his content is second to none. A fellow Diabetic Runner who truly embraces his Diabetes and doesn't let it stop him from doing ANYTHING! If you haven't joined his Diabetic Runner 1000 or 500, do so NOW.

While I'm rambling, I want to see if anyone can tell me the etiquette when it comes to putting a link to someone else's blog on your "blog roll"? Steve Runner mentioned a blog called Got Lactate and I found it very interesting. I just thought I'd pass this on, but I wanted to know from fellow bloggers if I should ask the Lactate Man if it's ok to link to his Blog?

Balancing Carbs and Boluses(pre, during, and post), with Running

2008-04-08T21:09:00.004-04:00

Jamie over at Diabetic Runner touched recently on bolusing post run. Tonight, I ran 9 miles. Before my run I tested my BS and it read 105, so as I always do before a run, I ate a Protein Bar with 31g Carbs. At about mile mile 5, my CGMS read 94 so I ate 3 Cliff Shot Bloks. From this point on my CGMS showed readings between 94 and 130, and when I got home I checked my BS and it read 127. At this point I bolused 2 Units, and then ate dinner which was about 40g Carbs. This is a tricky scenario, that can sometimes be a tough juggling act. I do think it's important to eat something that is low in fat as high fat foods can cause more problems (for me).

P.R. (I love saying those 2 letters!)

2008-03-30T17:27:00.005-04:00

I ran in the 31st 15K HEART MINI MARATHON today. This is the 4th consecutive year I've run this event, and my 4th consecutive PR. Today I ran in 1:11:16. Some day I would like to break 1 hour, but that is a few years away, just as my Boston Qualifier is a year or 2 away.

I've been experiencing much better BG levels recently too. I've been watching my diet a little closer, and as I've always know, diet is the key!

Frustration with Infusion Sets & Glucose Sensors

2008-03-27T20:23:00.006-04:00

My love / hate relationship with all of this new Diabetes technology. I absolutely love how much easier the Pump and CGMS have made my life with Diabetes. There is no doubt because of this wonderful company, I will live a longer, happier, healthier life. I do have some issues though.

#1. I'm a pretty lean person and I don't have a whole lot of spots where I can put the infusion set, and / or CGMS. I usually resort to my abdomen, and my back near the "love handles". This leads me to

#2. I think I'm starting to develop some scar tissue in some of these areas which leads to poor absorption.

#3. I realize the Sensor is very "new" technology and the people I talk to at Medtronic refer to it as the "model T" of sensor technology. In 2 years these sensors will probably be amazingly different than now. My problem is that I started a new sensor yesterday, I was very stable when I calibrated, and everything seemed to be fine. Well, about 3 hours later, my CGMS reading was about 134, and my finger-stick was 255. This usually doesn't happen with the sensors, but when these rare occurrences happen, it is VERY frustrating. I think it makes it worse that I pay $35 per sensor.

#4. Doing the Basal testing SUCKS! It's even worse for us runners. If I want to do testing, I have to take a day off. I'm in dire need of doing testing, but it's sooo hard to get it in.

Ok, I think I'm done venting, if anyone has any recommendations. Please let me know.

Six Word Memoir

2008-03-25T13:09:00.007-04:00

I have been "tagged" by Jamie over at the Diabetic Runner, to come up with a Six Word Memoir that best describes me and my life. Here are the rules.

1. Write your own six word memoir.

2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you'd like.

3. Link to the person that tagged you in your post and to this original post if possible, so we can track it as it travels across the blogosphere.

4. Tag at least five more blogs with links.

5. And don't forget to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play.

After much deliberation and thinking on an 8 mile run, here is what I came up with:

Passionate Diabetic-Runner, Scared Dream Chaser.

Pump Support Group Meetings

2008-03-20T23:24:00.002-04:00

My friends make fun of me when I say I'm going to a Pump Support Group Meeting, they say "is that like AA?" If you're a Diabetic, whether you're on the pump or not, I would HIGHLY recommend going to one. I go to the meetings in Cincinnati, Dayton, and Sidney, Ohio. You can learn a lot at these, and it really is interesting talking to other Diabetics about how they deal with certain situations.

As for last nights meeting, Medtronic spoke about their CGMS. Since I've been on it for 18 months it's not that exciting to me anymore. Don't get me wrong, I love it, but I was hoping to hear about a smaller, less invasive sensor, or a new feature. Unfortunately no new news. The coolest thing I heard last night was more an insurance issue. The Doctor who runs the group is getting almost all of his patients CGMS covered by insurance. I'm still paying out of pocket, so this is great!

DREADMILL (I stole this from Steve Runner)

2008-03-18T21:31:00.003-04:00

Well, it's raining HARD, word is, cats and dogs are coming down tomorrow. I've never really talked to other people about this, but running on the Dreadmill is HARD. I can normally run a 6 mile run around 8 minute miles or faster. I really struggled to keep it around 8:30's. On a positive note regarding the Dreadmill. They're doing some pretty cool things with those machines. I'm sure many companies are doing this, but it's the first I've seen. The treadmill has a USB port in it, and when your workout is over, you just push the button about the USB and save the workout to the USB drive. I will then use this information to log my workout on Buckeye Outdoors.

Check back tomorrow, I'm going to a Pump Support Group meeting, and they're talking about the Continuous Glucose Monitor. Hopefully I'll have some neat new stuff to report.

Diabetic Runner

2008-03-11T22:31:00.009-04:00

If you're reading my blog, you're probably a diabetic and a runner. You may have stumbled upon my website from a link from the original Diabetic Runner Jamie. He is a new friend of mine in this new and exciting world I'm joining. I absolutely love reading about other Diabetics stories, and also hearing about other Runners stories. When you put the two of them together, I can read all night.

I only have one body, I have Diabetes, there is nothing I can do about this. I have to live with it. Running is just one thing that makes life with Diabetes easier. If I didn't have Diabetes, I don't think I would be running. For this I am Thankful!

New Shoes

2008-03-06T20:29:00.008-05:00

So I'm a shoe / apparel whore. Being a runner and a diabetic, shoes are VERY important. I have found a shoe the Adidas Adistar Control 5 that works very well for me. I have been on a mission to find another shoe to rotate in with the Adistar Control. I can think of about 10 different shoes that I have tried, and I think I've finally found the answer. Tonight I ran in the Nike Air Equalon +2, the ride was very cushioned, and my feet felt great. I have noticed after just a few miles in the other shoes a discomfort in different areas of my feet. One thing I did notice in the Air Equalon was a tightness in my groin and achilles after the run. I did extra stretching after the run, but this is something I'll have to monitor before I decide to keep these shoes or not.

Along with me being a shoe / apparel whore, I'm kind of the same with technology. What I'm getting at is I'm a very big fan of the Medtronic Continuous Glucose Monitor and the Garmin 305. The CGM assists me so much on my runs, but make no mistake about it, you still have to check your blood sugars with a finger-stick because it is not exact. My blood sugar to start the run was 114, with that I took 3 shot bloks. After 4.5 miles I checked my blood sugar and it was 121, I then took 3 more shot bloks and set out for another 4.5. About 2 miles in I looked down at the CGM (138) so I took 3 more bloks. When I finished I did a fingerstick and ckecked out at 118.

If anyone has any ideas on the sore achilles and groin please help. As for now I'm chalking it up to soreness from the cold weather.

Icey Rain

2008-03-04T21:09:00.007-05:00

Well, I thought I was going to get a run in today. Mother Nature definitely did not. It started raining at about 9am this morning, and from that point on it got colder and colder. The end result is a lot of branches down all over town, and ice all over the place.

There aren't too many times that the weather will keep me inside, but today it was just too cold and too wet. I decided to do a quick weight workout and then got on the elliptical and watched my disappointing Buckeyes, who are now in overtime.

I started a new Blood Glucose sensor today, and there is a little bit of pain at the site, but not near as bad as last week when I had to remove the sensor. As I stated yesterday, I'm ready to start watching more closely what I'm eating, as I'm having too many unexplained highs. If anyone has any tips on how to make this blog better, please advise.

Back from Vacation

2008-03-03T21:40:00.004-05:00

Ok, so we got back from our ski trip on Thursday the 28th. I ran 8 miles that night and felt pretty good. My plan was to take Friday off, and run 12 on Saturday. Well, that didn't go as planned. I felt like crap after 5.5 miles, and Amanda picked me up. I decided to run on Sunday, and it didn't go much better, though I did get 10 miles in.

After the vacation, I have decided that I'm going to think longer and harder about what I eat. I've been having WAY too many highs for my liking. In order to cut down on these, I feel like I have to start watching what I eat. On days where my blood sugars are way out of whack, I eat a lot more carbs. I'm going to see how it goes by cutting down on my carbohydrates. I would like to keep my exercise up, especially on the elliptical, I feel like it is really good for my blood sugars.

I'm going to try to post on a daily basis, even though I'm not happy with the format of this blog.

Starting Out

2008-01-31T20:49:00.001-05:00

I've been wanting to do this for months. So, Here it goes.

As I have time, I'm going to chronicle my life with diabetes, and how I have begun taking better care of myself. Diabetes has changed my life in so many ways, as has running. Hopefully in a couple of weeks, maybe months, I'll be up to present day.

I was diagnosed with diabetes in September of 1999. Initially I thought I was dying, when I found out it was "just" diabetes, I was relieved. If diabetes is not taken seriously, it can be a very debilitating disease. I'm a Type 1 diabetic, meaning I'm insulin dependent (my body no longer produces insulin). Most diabetics in the world are Type 2, which means their bodies resist the insulin that their bodies create.

I often tell people that I feel that me contracting diabetes has been a blessing. Having to deal with the complexities of this disease has caused me to take better care of myself, and I think it will allow me to live a longer life.