October 28, 2009
Jennifer S.

I DID IT!!! I can’t even explain how it felt to cross the finish line with 70.3 miles under my belt (feet, arms, etc.)!! But, I can personally explain what it took to get to this fantastic finish line. A combination of People, Places and Things!

People: Like most people, when I am invited to do something or encouraged to try something I usually grab the opportunity. Such is the case with my decision to join this fantastic group of women. I met Mari, our team founder at DTC last September ’08 and by the end of the week was convinced I could swim/bike and run 70.3 miles with the support of a team. Not only were my teammates priceless in my journey and on the course on Sunday, but also the expertise of our medical and coaching staff went above and beyond. I can’t imagine how many miles Yoli put on her feet on Sunday as she cheered for each of us on each lap of the run, or Matt who was out there making sure we had checked our BG and were OK. Behind the scenes are the often-unmentioned type 3’s - supportive family and friends who make our journey in life with Diabetes manageable. We had the best…THE BEST.. supporters on Sunday. No one else’s compared!

Places: Every journey starts somewhere….mine happened to start in Snowmass, CO at Diabetes Training Camp. Rather than continuing to “go it alone” in my diabetes management during exercise, I decided to take the recommendation of one of my clients and attend the camp. I learned so much about diabetes and exercise during this camp, and felt more confident in training for endurance events after returning home.
After meeting Mari at camp and making the decision to join Team WILD, I then attended camp in San Antonio, TX last April. Training was specific for our 70.3 Ironman and included swimming in Decker Lake, biking part of the course (I don’t remember the road having so many gaping cracks) and running part of the course. All essential elements as I look back on this journey.
I also think of my favorite running routes, and bike trails I took while logging the miles to get me to the start line. Thank goodness for the George Washington Parkway trail, the W &OD trail, Capital Crescent Trail and yes, those virtual trails when the weather outside didn’t permit activity and I had to resort to my local gym!
And finally the couch in my house, where I took all the Sunday night team organization calls, was another essential place. Here, via teleconference, we as a team planned not only training strategy and BG/insulin/food strategy, but also how to build our team into an organization that could empower more women in the coming years to join and make a healthful change in their diabetes management.

Things: Along with healthy management come a lot of “things”. BG monitors, test strips, syringes, insulin or pills for blood glucose control, measuring cups, carb counting resources, pumps and supplies, continuous glucose monitors, glucose tablets and on and on! Throw in the swim goggles, bike helmet and shoes, running shoes, heart rate monitors, cadence monitors, hydration and fuel needs of endurance athletes and we should need a small U-Haul truck to follow us on every outdoor adventure we take. But, we figured out how to include and use all of these things while training for and finally competing in this endurance event. Without these things and the technology behind them I wouldn’t have finished the race.

There is absolutely no I in TEAM and there is a reason this is true. All of these people, all the places and all the things used to get me here, were a compilation of a TEAM effort. I couldn’t have done this alone, and frankly, I don’t think I would have finished without the commitment of every team member. We learned so much together and hopefully we can continue to inspire women everywhere to live healthfully with Diabetes.

THANKS TEAM!! (Said with a huge smile on my face!!)