August 28, 2009
Cheryl

Training for a triathlon is easy. Yes! I said easy as in uncomplicated. You just design your workouts (or have that done for you), and just do them. See? Simple. This isn’t about ability. We’re all capable of doing anything we set our minds to.
The challenging part is remaining motivated. While training for three events typically means you don’t have to do the same thing daily, boredom can set in. After all, how exciting is it to go to the pool, do warm ups, do your main set, cool down, get out, shower and continue on with your day? It’s a lather-rinse-repeat kinda scenario. Do you find washing your hair exciting?

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Today’s entry chronicles a puzzling event for me and helps explain the title of my entry.
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June 16: I overslept and didn’t make it to my group run and decided to run on my own. Now “run” is relative. I mostly alternate with a fast jog and brisk walk, but, I was determined to run for 25 minutes before slowing down to walk for a few minutes.
Merrily I’m running along, feeling really invincible that day. It was overcast, and fewer people were out on the trail than normal. I wondered if it was a local holiday. At about the 9 minute mark, I passed by the apartment complex that always has at least 10 stray cats hanging about. That morning, a few stopped to watch me was I strode by. My cheering section meowed meekly as I rode by. They were subdued only because most of the apartment dwellers were still asleep (it was just 6:30 am or so). Just as I cleared the complex, I went down.
Down as in hands slid on the pavement, chin bounced off, and glasses popped off down. Embarrassed, I got up, looked around and whew! Nobody saw my ungraceful tumble to the ground.
No matter the effort, I couldn’t get the stride back that I’d had to that point. I settled for jogging for 4 minutes, walking for 2 to complete the 3 mile run.
Back in the car, I checked for signs of injury. No torn clothes, no blood, no scratches, no nuthin’. Home to shower, shampoo, and shine. Then, off to work. Uneventful day and the day after.

Thursday June 18: I made it to my run group on time. My trainer and I ran together, and that day I ran 11 minutes without stopping. She said I looked good, and asked how I felt. “My knee feels wobbly, but other than that, I feel very strong,” I replied.
Same deal as on Tuesday; no ill effects from the run (and no fall either), so off to work.

Friday June 19-Monday June 29: Knee often buckles when walking (i.e. Cheryl falls down). Seek chiropractic treatment. Feel good for several hours afterwards, but nothing persists except the pain and swelling. Buy & use knee brace.

July 1 – July 10: On vacation. River rafting, bouldering, rock scrambling, hiking. Should I be doing these things? Yeeesssss. I’m on vacation dammit! Wear knee brace, but feel awkwardly weak when I take it off. Cause for concern? Not then.

Rest of July: no improvement, but no deterioration either. Chiro orders MRI and I get an appointment with orthopedist. Found an ortho who is also a triathlete. Score!

August: Orthopedist tries cortisone shot. No benefit. After further evaluation and second review of MRI, orders arthroscopic surgery. Sigh.

Down & Kinda Out: No training for the event is really possible. Can swim but bike and run just not happening. Most days my walk resembles that of a hermit crab. Pain & swelling are too much. So, no event for Cheryl but happy for the progress made by the rest of the team!

I’m anxious to find out what’s really wrong, fix it so I’m better than new for 2010!
Good luck at Longhorn Tri ladies! I’ll be there in spirit.

August 25, 2009
Kathleen

Lost: 3 strokes. If found, DO NOT CALL ME!

I just returned from 2 amazing vacations in New Hampshire. Actually, it started as one vacation and then a mini vacation became the vacation within the vacation. Are you thoroughly confused yet? That's ok, read on.

I spent a glorious 6 days at a cottage on Lake Spofford, New Hampshire with my sister, her 14 year old daughter, her little friend and my cousin (the now owner of the cottage). This cottage was a place my sister and I went many times in both summer and winter with my mother to visit her Aunt Josephine. Our beloved Jo Jo. We hadn't been to this cottage in over 30 years and both my mother and Jo Jo are gone so returning to this memorable place of my youth was both exciting and emotional. I was happy to see that not much had changed at the cottage but somehow the Lake was smaller than I remember. As kids, we were out in that canoe all day so Lake Spofford felt like Lake Erie to us. I'd forgotten that there was an island in the middle of the Lake, just over a 1/2 mile from shore. The path around the Lake was 6.5 miles and the roads in and out of Spofford were rolling, smooth and endless. Perfect tri training ground!

The highlights are too numerous to say but the image that will carry me thru the 1.2 mile swim in Austin is of my 14 year old niece on a kayak for the first time guiding and protecting me to and from the island as I swam. Each breath I took, there she was out of the corner of my eye keeping me on course and I could see her keen eye ensuring that no boats crossed our path and that I made it safely to and from the island. I was so excited to include her in my training but I think she was even more excited. I'm old enough to know that this will be one of Hannah's memories of the Lake, the cottage and her time spent with her Aunt Kathleen. My sister, her mother, will join me in my hotel room in Texas and will be there cheering me on and scooping me up as I cross the finish line on 10/25. Everyone has a role!

The second vacation was in Lincoln, New Hampshire swimming with Celeste St. Pierre, our skilled swim coach. (Triathlon Skills) Since I was going all that way to New Hampshire, Celeste was a mere 90 minutes north of Lake Spofford . Celeste expertly guided me through 90 minutes of swim drills and at the end of it all........I was swimming 20 yards in 3 less strokes. Let me say it again people....when I arrived it took me 16 strokes and when I left it took me 13 strokes. I Lost 3 Strokes!!!!

According to my mathematical calculations:
1.2 miles= 2112 yards
2112 divided by 20 yards = 105 laps
105 x 16 strokes = 1680 strokes
105 x 13 strokes = 1365 strokes
1680 - 1365 = 315 strokes!!!!!

Can this be right? Seriously, my math skills are basal, bolus, carb counting based so can someone confirm that I have lost 315 strokes! If yes, this will surely help me on the bike and the dreaded run.

Woo Hoo!

Thanks Hannah and Celeste!

August 21, 2009
Jennifer S.

We’ve been seeing the “mental strategy” on our training calendar and likely have noted this in the back of our mind as something we focus on already while we are training. But seeing the written description of this in the past week has really hit me as far as how much mental energy goes into these types of endurance events as well as the muscular output to keep you moving.

I’ve taken the chance to bring this mental strategizing into my training sessions for the past week and a half because I’ve had to limit my intensity and type of activity due to a recent surgery. I took a 4-mile walk (close to Edy pace!) the other afternoon hoping to get a workout in “in the heat” as Yoli’s calendar suggests. It was about 90 degrees with significant humidity as I set out. I started the walk thinking how irritated I was that I couldn’t actually be running or biking, but then tried to curb that by realizing I could focus and plan a little more while working out at the slowed pace. I focused hard on keeping my walk pace and breathing steady and even found it easier to time my “fuel” and “hydration” points. Half way through my walk I started thinking about the surgery I had and all the planning (mental and other) I had done prior to it….long story short anesthesia and I don’t agree! I had successfully made it through the 3 ½ hour surgery…high BG levels, nausea, convincing the nurses to let me monitor and dose my correction insulin with my pump – and it occurred to me that if I could make it through something so ultimately scary to me with enough planning before hand, then doing the same thing for our event would be most beneficial. The mental preparation is key.

Since I was walking, I imagined myself moving through T2 – starting to urge my legs to move like running legs after just completing 56 miles on a bike. Thinking positively that this is the last leg of the Tri – planning my best fuel times and hydration times and how to remind myself to do these things. I successfully completed my first sprint tri a few weeks ago (only brawn in this photo!), but completely fell off the fuel/hydration plan that I had set. I’m assuming it was race day nerves/excitement etc. So learning from this and getting back to my planning for our race I have decided to wear 2 watches. My Garmin for timing/speed/distance etc. and a stop watch that I’ll use only for that purpose. Allowing me to be alerted to time for fuel or hydration. I also thought it would be great to have a mental mantra of sorts that I can bring to mind at the times that I will fuel and hydrate and a time to do a mental analysis of how I’m feeling, etc. I’ve found that sometimes this just falls away when I’m so focused on the goal of the training session – not reminded until that feeling that we all know takes hold as Sara talked about in her last Blog – the lows!

The completion of this event together means we are all planning and strategizing a little differently. I think we’ve learned a lot from each other about Diabetes control, but also we’ve talked a lot about how we mentally think before and during events.
It has strengthened the message that Yoli has taught us…. that both our brains and our brawn need to be working together to finish this as strong and visible women with Diabetes!

August 17, 2009
Sarah

Ever since I went to DTC last June I have learned two things about biking and exercise in general. 1) That it is OKAY to eat and 2) that you NEED to eat! I used to go on 40-mile rides and not eat a thing. I feared I was going to spike from the food or drop from the insulin I had to give for the food. So instead I just ate NOTHING. And inevitably by about mile 30 I would start to bonk. DTC was a revelation for me and since I have done much better on long workouts.

Throughout this year of training I have never had too many issues with lows. I have figured out about how much carbs I need for whatever activity I am doing and have had pretty good results.

But the other day I headed out for a ride/swim. I started out at 121, which is lower than I usually like to start at, but still ok. I ate a shot block, filled my bottle with Accelerade and headed out. From the very start of the ride I felt off. Finally, about 20 minutes in I checked my blood sugar. 65. Okay, so I guess I didn’t eat enough and probably still had some insulin on board from breakfast. So I quickly ate 23g of carbs, kept drinking the accelerade, and kept going. 25 minutes later I still felt crappy and just didn’t have the ‘oomph’ that I normally have. Checked again. 69. Another 21g carbs, more accelerade and off again. At this point I thought about turning around. I couldn’t seem to get my blood sugar up and stay there and I still had 8 more miles of biking, 1 mile of swimming, and 20 more miles riding home. But I figured, this is a good learning experience so do what you can to figure it out and finish what you planned. Although I felt off, I wanted to keep going to see what happens and how I can work with it.

So I made it to the pool (slowly, but still made it). Checked BS again. 73. Ate another 20g carbs and headed to the pool for a 1-mile swim. The swim felt better than the bike had and I thought I had finally gotten my blood sugars up again. Out of the pool, checked BS again. 58! But I still had a 20-mile ride home and I wasn’t giving up now! Had another 38g CHO and started my ride home. The ride back felt a little better, but still not at my normal power. Got home, and finally after eating a total of 130g CHO and about 600 calories worth of food my blood sugar was 104! At least it was above 100 =).

So, although it wasn’t an ideal ride I learned how important it is to figure out what you need to keep your blood sugars at an optimal level. Although now I probably won’t head out on a 3 ½ hour workout with a lower BS and insulin on board, the lessen was valuable and I’m glad I stuck with it and pushed through. I learned what my body needs and can hopefully avoid rides like that in the future!

August 16, 2009
Karen R.

Team members are few and far between here in the southwest and I was very glad Edy came to visit her son recently for it meant we could get together for one of the 30-mile aerobic rides. It was a beautiful day, a great ride, and so much fun to have shared it with a friend and teammate.

August 14, 2009
Jennifer A.

I feel like I know how to ride a bike… this I learned when I was a child when my training wheels came off. Granted, I rode my bike growing up, but not as intensely as I do now… and, even that has just really come to pass over the last year when I got my road bike. But, lately, I feel like I need to relearn how to ride.

Living in Chicago is great because there are so many places to bike. I try to bike to work at least 1-2 times a week (depending on how much stuff I have to lug around). A few weeks ago, it was predicted to rain in the afternoon… but to stop by the time I go home. I took a chance and decided to go ahead and ride. The weatherman was actually correct… rain in the afternoon and stopped just before I left work. Needless to say, the roads were still wet when I left. Traffic was terrible that day (due to Obama visiting). I was at an intersection that just turned yellow as I crossed and the car across the street decided to try to beat the yellow and turned right in front of me. Bike brakes don’t really work on wet pavement so I ran into the car and fell over. Luckily, I had no broken bones just a big bruise and bump (that still present) on my left hip. And, yes… I was wearing my helmet.

The following week, our triathlon group got us a sweet deal to get fitted professionally on the bike. They raised my seat 4 cm, changed my stem and moved the clips on my shoes forward. Of course, riding home, I wasn’t used to the height and clips being in a different place and didn’t clip out fast enough just a block from the place. No injuries… just embarrassment. But, what a difference on the bike!! Much better handling and comfort. To top it off, it was raining during my interval work-out Saturday. I was in a rush to get home to do weights with my trainer… didn’t pay attention to the raised curb and crash!! This time… road rash galore! Needless to say, it was hard to do a lot of the intense work-outs this week. Swimming stung, running hurt and biking was fair but not as fast as I usually ride. ☹

So, battered and bruised… I’ve learned. I can’t ride in the rain. I need to watch where I go. And cars and bikes just don’t get along. Most of which I knew… but it takes a reminder now and then. I think I should be good as far as falling off the bike goes… I’m determined and ready to go for October despite this. Go Team WILD!!

August 14, 2009
Sandria

Time for my afternoon run! I want to train around the time I will stat the run during the race and account for the HEAT! I lock my office door and change in to my ever-so-sexy spandex shorts and exercise top then I sneak out of my office, around the corner and slip out the side door. No need for any co-workers to get a look-see at my bootay in spandex. It’s HOT out here. 92 today. Yozer. This will be good for me, I decide.

Booting up the iPod, I select a play list called “Interesting Stuff” and MIA comes on with Paper Planes. I pick up my walking pace and look down the road where I will spend then next 60 minutes in hot pursuit of my goal. Next song…Jimmy Eat World – Let it Happen…and I’m off. Foot in front of foot, my run has begun. It’s HOT out here!

It’s interesting what happens when I settle in for that run or bike or swim. Once I’m at a pace I can maintain, it’s like a meditation and I start to think. It’s just me, my running shoes, the road and my thoughts. The more I run, the more at peace I become…just letting my endorphins carry me onward. Today I’m thinking about a thought I started on Sunday during a 60 mile bike ride with Mari – that women bring such grace and elegance to triathlon. And though it’s an individual sport, we are all there to cheer each athlete on in her journey to the finish line. “GO WILD” I think to my self, and I am reminded about how amazed I am by the women of this team. I, a type 3, am in such reverence to the women of wild and your fierce determination to succeed though the hills, the pools, the trails…and of course the highs and the lows.

Turn around point – I pick up my pace. Techno should motivate me so I put on a little Tiesto, one of my favorite DJ’s. I’ve been running at lunch time for the past two weeks, and I love it. I see some of the same people out on their runs as well. And here comes my new buddy. He’s seems to be about 50 and kind of runs with a limp. He salutes me and yells out a friendly reminder “don’t forget to go back to work!” HA! How did he know that I would rather run and run and run all afternoon instead of working? ☺

I’m back now and sweating. I dash off to clean my self up and change back in to “office attire”. One run down…more to go. October 25th is right around the corner, and I’m excited!

August 13, 2009
Karen L.

I know some of you have been waiting with bated breath to hear how my rehearsal race went after the disastrous blood sugars in my Olympic triathlon recently. Okay, maybe not. Anyway, following some suggestions from Dr. Matt I was able to keep my blood sugar between 70 and 334 during my 6:20 effort (I did the 1.2-mile swim, the 56-mile bike, and a 10K run during this practice race). That might not sound good, but it was a lot better than the previous race, and now I have more data to work with…


Should I mention strategies? Those who aren’t diabetic can skip ahead to the next paragraph. I had breakfast 3 hours before the race, and bolused 70% for the carbs in that. 1 hour before the race start, I set a temp basal for 75% to continue through the anticipated end of the race. I checked again and ate just before I disconnected my pump and got in the water. At T1 I hooked back up, and set a square wave bolus for 150% of the basal insulin I’d missed, to be taken over 90minutes (and ate again). Here’s a key thing: at every 30min riding time, I made myself STOP and check my blood sugar and eat. My mantra for making myself stop is the title of this blog entry, and I think I’ll use it at other times to make myself mentally tougher while racing. I took a 33% correction bolus each time I was over 225. I didn’t explicitly take any insulin for the carbs I was eating (although based on this race, I will for the T1 carbs I eat in the next race; I’ll also be reducing my basal even more starting an hour before the run). I continued this strategy through the run.

I took in 243 grams of carbohydrate from immediately before I got in the water until the end of the race. I know, it sounds like a lot, and after awhile my belly got pretty sick of it all. Ramona, who was visiting for this race, had some giant Fig Newtons and generously offered me some of her stash. I must say, those chewy cookies were the closest thing to real food that I had during that greater than six hour period, and were by far the most delicious thing I ingested (no, the water in the Boulder Res is not more delicious than a giant Fig Newton, although I sampled some of that as well.)


It was also a wonderful weekend of teamy goodness for the Colorado contingent and our two visitors from the coasts. It was fantastic to meet Sandria and Kathleen, and to share diabetic stories and race plans with other members of the team.

Last weekend I volunteered at a half-Ironman race, and our aid station was along the 2-loop running course. I saw plenty of people who weren’t looking so good, but I did NOT see the vomit and fainting that I was half expecting. This gives me hope for our goal race! But if I _do_ feel vomitous or vaguely faint during our race?? Well, hopefully I can follow the title of this blog entry…

August 12, 2009
Ramona


A couple of days ago I had a routine visit with my endocrinologist. I’ve been using a CGM for several months now, and I was sure my A1C would be less than 6.9, my last reading. When my doctor said 7.0, I was momentarily dismayed. “At least I have something to work towards for November,” I sighed.

The A1C is a hard number to move! But looking at all the data my doctor downloaded from the CGM, it seems like it shouldn’t be. It’s easy to look at a blood sugar graph – whether it looks like the Rockies or the beach – and determine what went wrong or right to produce that particular line. The sensor, pump and meter hold so much information, it’s possible to retrace almost every step to figure it out. It is science, after all: carbohydrates and insulin cancel each other out. Tweak a few things for exercise, stress, illness, hormones, and so on, and voila – there’s the formula to balance your blood sugar!

Of course, that’s not reality. Sometimes it’s frustrating to be armed with so much information and still not get things “right.” 15 years ago my doctor just asked me, “What’s your average morning blood sugar?” Instead of stuttering, “Uh, er…” I usually just made up a plausible though respectable number, and that was the end of that. Now, my doctor doesn’t have to ask me anything. He just plugs me in and has every last detail of my diabetes management memorialized on the screen in front of him. I know, more or less, what my blood sugar is every minute of the day, how many carbohydrates I’ve eaten, and how much insulin I still have on board. So why isn’t my A1C 5.5?

The answer, I know, is because I’m a breathing, moving human being, not a Petri dish. There are innumerable irregularities that throw things off. Plus, I often decide to let other things take priority over my blood sugar. Sometimes, large pieces of cake with double thick icing take priority; sometimes, fueling on long bike rides takes priority. And that’s ok! It’s ok to take only 50% of my bolus and let my blood sugar rise before a long workout. (My doctor calls those blood sugar spikes “excursions,” which makes me think of my sugar-filled blood traipsing around the Himalayas with a rucksack.) The cool thing is, if I trust the science and stick to my program, it will usually come back down.

Training for the triathlon has made me chew over this stuff a lot recently. For years, I’ve been on auto-pilot with my diabetes (not to say I’ve been managing it well, just that I’ve been managing it without thinking much). It’s great to have something come along to shake things up. My A1C might still be 7, but at least now I can bike 56 miles.

August 10, 2009
Jenna

Hello Everyone. I am Jenna Cohrs. I am a T3 supporter of Jennifer Ahn and the Team Wild. She and I have a friendship grown out of being active together over the past year. We actually meet in boxing class.

August 9, 2009
Kathy

Hi Team. I just finished my first Olympic distance triathlon! It was called the Oshkosh Triathlon, but was in Winneconne, WI (which is just outside of Oshkosh). Ironically, my first ever triathlon in June was a sprint distance in the same little city called, the Mighty Wolf Tri. I chose these two races to be close to my hometown, and family in the area. In fact, my brother caught the tri-bug and did his first the sprint distance tri today. And, my nephew and niece (ages 6 and 4) did their first kids tri the day before our race. Triathlons may just become a family affair!

The weather was HOT, like Texas hot; 100% humidity and highs in the low 90s. In fact, in the picture of me pre-race barely came out b/c the camera lens kept fogging up. Good practice for potential weather in Austin in October.

I'll start with a list of things that I remembered because it will be shorter than the list of things that I forgot. Not exactly, but I did forget a number of key things including: extra insulin (that wasn't already in my pump), my tri top (which was on the drying rack in my basement), my running cap (also on the drying rack) and my special protein homemade bars (sitting ready to go in the refrigerator). Those who know me may be suprised at my forgetfulness, but those who really know me are likely not surprised at all. I've learned the important lesson of list making, which includes a list of things to grab the morning of departure.

Despite the forgotten items, the race was really fun and went well. I went topless, ha, just kidding. I bought a shirt to wear, didn't run out of insulin and bought protein bars at the store. I attempted to use my CGMS to monitor blood sugars, but the calibration was really off, so I basically just used it for trends. My race and blood sugars were as follows:

5:00 AM wake - drink coffee eat breakfast; b.s. 121
5:45 AM depart; b.s. 231, correction bolus 1 unit
6:15 AM arrive at race, set up transition
6:45 AM set temp basal to 65%, eat granola bar and fruit snacks (I forgot to set temp basal earlier)
7:00 AM Race Start, I'm in "wave 2" and proceed to get passed by those in "wave 6"

3/4 mile swim time 30:59
T1 04:02 - drink Gatorade, b.s. 113
31 mile bike time 1:41:34; drank water and Gatorade throughout, ate Cliff Bar and package of shot blocks
T2 02:30 - drink Gatorade, b.s. 105
10K run time 1:02:37- drink Gatorade and water at every station, ate package of Sport Beans
Finished 03:21:43

As always, happy training, and don't forget you lists!

August 10, 2009
Lyndsay

My first triathlon (a sprint in June) I felt organized and prepared until with transition closed, I hadn’t thought about what to do with my non-waterproof pump during the swim. It ended up working fine to have my husband pass me off my pump coming out of the water (with clear expectations of what would happen if he was NOT there when I came out….) Clearly I hadn’t utilized this “practice race” as an opportunity to test out Levemir like I plan to do at Longhorn.

The swim was in a man made lake that felt like a pool. I felt crowded, and did get a couple kicks in the face, etc, and never felt like I could get into my rhythm. I was disappointed to have spent so much time on swim technique over the past 10 months, for it to completely get lost in the race.

My 2nd triathlon (another sprint in July) I went ahead and tried Levemir the night before. It worked out well, but I still have some tweaking and practice needed. The swim took place in Lake Michigan and although I still felt uncomfortable with the mass start, I had more room to stay out of the “intense” group and didn’t stray too far off course.

Shortly after my 2nd race, I started a 6 week “Open Water Swim Mastery” class. Skills we have worked on so far have been sighting, drafting, and getting comfortable around other swimmers. By all means, I would say I still have a long way to “mastery” in the open water (skills AND diabetes mgmt) but so far I have enjoyed this class, and know it will continue to pay off to work hard in the water.

A sigh of relief for being out of the water!

August 6, 2009
Susie

In recent blogs, there has been some mention of The Journey. In its inaugural event, Team WILD will have approximately 20-25 women with diabetes (and a handful of “T3” team members, like myself) at the starting line in the Longhorn 70.3 triathlon in October. This has never happened before. It will certainly be an amazing sight. Even more amazing is what has occurred along the way. We have been training and learning from each other, and from our excellent coaching and medical staff, for several months. We’ve built endurance and improved our athletic technique and skills. We’re figuring out what works and what doesn’t work for each of us when training and racing, and sharing that information. We’re setting strategies for fueling, practicing those plans, reassessing, and trying again. The Type 1s and Type 2s are sharing diabetes management strategies. We have also built friendships, and talked about this exciting organization to others in our lives. We’re educating others, living by example, and will hopefully inspire women of any age or background to try something new, be active, be healthy and have fun!

It’s been a great journey so far. I believe race day for the inaugural team will come and go like Christmas morning. After the event, I know that when I look back I will think of the journey, and this amazing group of women who have the courage to stand at the Longhorn 70.3 starting line and make history.

OK, enough mushy stuff. I should probably include something training related...
A few weeks ago the Chicago contingent of Team WILD participated in the Harbor Lights Triathlon. This was a sprint distance event. Although it was not a long event, it provided a great opportunity to practice race day strategy, open water swimming (in 58 degree water… I think I saw a penguin swim past me!), biking in non-ideal conditions (we affectionately named one portion of the bike course “Pot-Hole Row”), transition to running, and insulin management for Lorrie, Lyndsay and Jennifer. Aside from the 58 degree water, these are all things we will encounter at Longhorn.

For me, the race reinforced the following:

1. I need to position myself to the outside of the pack during the swim, far from any erratic swimmers or breaststroke kickers, which just cause me frustration because I’m usually not fast enough to pass, which means I can’t get away from them.
   
2. . Carry an extra Gu/Gel/Fueling product in case one is accidentally dropped. Oops…
3. Rinse all sand/debris from feet after swim to avoid abrasion when biking/running. Ouch…
4. I love this team!
   

August 5, 2009
Wendy

On May 10th I ran my first full marathon (see enclosed photo)A huge accomplishment for me as I think I figured out my fueling strategy. I stopped every 5km to do a sugar check. I took Missy Foy's advice and brought the meter, sticks and just the sharp without the spring loaded pricking mechanism. So a thrill on many levels.

But a week later, on May 18th I went for a run and missed the curb. One step I was in the midst of a long slow run and the next my face was in the grass. When I got up I figured that it was not anything significant and ran the remaining 10k of my run.

For the next few days my foot went supernova, despite rest, ice, elevation and vitamin I (ibupropfen) it was swollen and swore. When a friend described it a "Wilma Flintstone" esque - I knew I had avoided the doctor long enough. I think as diabetics we must have a higher pain threshold as we are constantly sticking sharps into ourselves as a daily ritual. So I can often ignore pain as I did in this case.

I also avoided medical attention because I didn't want the "bad news." And there was bad news-a fractured ankle. My summer of triathlons was over.
In a way it was alot like being diagnosed with diabetes - first denial (I'll be better in 4 weeks and make my June 13th tri), then anger (think road rage with a high blood glucose reading) then sadness/feeling sorry for myself- (sounds something like "isn't it enough that I have diabetes, have to wear this friggin pump, etc and now I have this friggin cast *#?!@ )

The attached photo shows me with the cast (das boot) and a glass of wine. (Well sometimes feeling sorry for yourself can be fun!)

But now I am in the acceptance and recovery stage. My Team Wild teammates gave me good suggestions like water running and arm-only swims. Now I have been given the thumbs up to start training and have actually heeded all advice from doctors, physiotherapists and my local tri coach to not go back too early or too fast- which admittedly is unusual for me.

I have been given a recovery schedule with a long run that must progress by 2 km a week to make the Ironman.
I feel like I am now in a race to the end of the month to see if I can make the October 25th race. For now I am making my schedule but I will know at the end of the month if I can make it when I hit a 13km run.

Train safe - big blog date for me next month.

August 4, 2009
Mari

Medical professionals, ignore this blog entry. I’m not sure it’s a medically supported activity that we did today. It was all in the name of maintaining good blood sugar control while being able to get some WILD work accomplished.

Here’s what happened. I had an acupuncture appointment and I realized once at the appointment that I had taken off my pump at home and had not put it back on when I decided not to take a shower before leaving the house. Right after the appointment, Karen L, Christina and I planned to have a WILD planning meeting. We are down to the wire on ordering our team uniforms and we planned to review the order and designs. I live in Denver, which was where my pump was sitting on the bathroom counter. The appointment and Karen L’s house, where we were meeting, was in Boulder – about 40 minutes from my house. Not next door.

Rather than go home after the acupuncture appointment, which I decided to stay for, as I had eaten right before driving up and had taken a bolus for the food I ate for lunch, I went over to Karen’s to meet her and Christina. I told them what had happened, and I asked if Karen had a needle and insulin that I might borrow. She of course, did, and she got them. I was getting ready to take a shot of insulin and she offered to let me take a hit of insulin off her pump. You know, to avoid having to give myself an actual shot. I had my infusion site on and as luck would have it we wear the same type of pump and use the same infusion sets.

I thought, what the heck? Seemed lots better than taking a shot. Less interruption in some ways. So, using the PRIME feature, (so as not to mess up Karen’s insulin on board calculations) I took a hit of insulin. We had the meeting, had a few snacks and some tasty refreshing Fresca soda, and before leaving her house nearly 2 hours later, I took another hit off her pump for the drive home. I did have my meter with me and I tested a few times. My blood sugar got as high as 200 at one point, but mostly it was in the 140’s and 150’s. Even after getting home and putting on my own pump, all has remained stable.


I have to say, that was one of the more intimate diabetes experiences I’ve ever had. Karen, I feel strangely close to you after sharing your pump for the afternoon. Thank you for your generous offer and thank you for being my teammate. Being part of this team is turning out to be a wild and wonderous experience on so many crazy levels. Here’s to having a team of incredible women who “get it.”