October 14, 2008
Kathleen

I participated in my first sprint triathlon, See Jane Tri, on Saturday, September 27, 2008, with 900 other women in the Bay Area. I was going to write about my near drowning during the swim, the water bottle I dropped while on my bike and the 3 mile run that felt like 10 but the actual swimming, cycling and running were small potatoes compared to what happened to me as I was packing up my things to go home.

A fellow athlete I met in the transition area and I were sharing our experiences on the course and our finish times. She mentioned that she had completed dozens of Sprint and Olympic tri’s and she is now training for her first 1/2 Ironman. I mentioned to this seasoned triathlete that this was my very first tri and that we had something in common. I, too, was training for my first 1/2 Ironman. I also mentioned that I had diabetes.

Her eyes went wide as she told me her 53 year old brother has Type 1 diabetes and that he's had a kidney transplant and has other serious complications. She looked me up and down in disbelief and then asked me if I was "healthy". I said yes. She then told me that her teenage niece also has Type 1 and is living in a diabetic closet. The only person her niece knows with diabetes is her father. This woman asked me again if I was "ok". I reassured her, “Yes.”

I told this woman about Team WILD and that I was training for this 1/2 Ironman with 25 women from all across the USA and Canada, and that we are ages 19-54 and are various fitness levels; from first timers like me, to veteran athletes like herself. I told her that we wanted to show the world that you can't let diabetes stop you and you can accomplish anything you set your mind (and body!) to. She was amazed and inspired. With tears in her eyes she said she was going to call her niece when she got home to tell her about me and Team WILD. Tell her about all that I was doing....and doing it with diabetes. This woman was stunned that I could be participating in a triathlon with diabetes and was excited at the prospect of asking her niece to join her in future triathlons. She wanted to run home (literally) and start training with her niece right away!

After swimming, cycling and running all morning I never thought I'd have the energy to do anything else, but I skipped all the way to the car!

It's a small diabetic world and if me participating in this one little sprint race can make a difference in the life of a teenage girl with diabetes, then I've made a world of difference. I can hardly wait to see what happens when we do the Half Ironman!