October 21, 2008
Karen R.

Good news and new things motivate me. After 23 years of Type I, an eye exam last week confirmed that my eyes are showing no indication of retinopathy. After questioning my ophthalmologist to make sure I heard him correctly, he said, “the only way I know you have diabetes is because you’ve told me you do.” Hearing that my eyes are retinopathy free motivates me to keep exercising, to eat well, and to control the diabetes. It’s my new stuff, however, that gets me out the door on a run or ride.

Running shoes are my favorite shoes in the whole world and my pair from last year just weren’t comfortable anymore. Getting a new pair of runners is such a treat and combined with cooler temperatures, I just want to get out and run. My new shoes have passed through the stage of being broken in, and I now have a great pair of shoes on my feet to take me out on all my favorite runs and new runs, like running in a sandy wash with a friend this past weekend. I imagine it was similar to running on the beach, not on the wet, hard packed sand, but on the other sand, the loose sand.
My other new motivator is a hydration system. I spent last year holding on to a water bottle in one hand (or not) and my CGM in the other with all my diabetes stuff attached around my waist. Even with fairly tight clips, the items at my waist were always moving up and down accentuating the fact that I have to run with all this extra stuff other people aren’t required to carry with them. During that time I know I did not drink enough water; living in the desert southwest demands extra water intake even without exercise. Why I didn’t check out hydration systems earlier, I don’t know, because now that I have it, I don’t know how I lived without it. The lightweight pack has chest and waist straps making it comfortable and secure to wear on a run or a bike ride. So now not only I am I able to carry quite a bit of water with me, the pack’s handy compartments also hold my cell phone, blood glucose monitor, CGM, and any sort of gel, gu, glucose tablet, post-run snack or anything else I might want or need to carry with me.

The good news and the new equipment motivate me to keep exercising and do the best I can in any event, most importantly, the daily event of living with diabetes.