Tag Archives: exercise

Take The Big Blue Test!

October 16, 2012 – 6:22 am

Ohmygosh! I completely lost track of time and missed the beginning of The Big Blue Test.

Once again, the Diabetes Hands Foundation, with a little help from Roche Diabetes Care, is sponsoring this effort to get more than 20,000 people to test their blood glucose, get active for 14 to 20 minutes, and then test again. What’s that again?

1. Check your BG

2. Get active for 14 to 20 minutes

3. Check your BG again

4. Log onto http://www.bigbluetest.org and answer five easy questions to log your test

Want to know more? Click here for a great FAQ page with all of the answers. Hint: You don’t even have to have diabetes to take part!

If the goal of 20,000 is met by November 14 (World Diabetes Day), the program sponsor will donate $100,000 to organizations that provide life-saving supplies and services to people with diabetes in need.

So join together with your friends and family and take part between now and November 14. You can test more than once… so test early, and often. On Twitter, look for the hashtag #bigbluetest.

Now, excuse me while I map out the next month’s exercise routine.
 
 
 

By StephenS | Posted in Exercise | Also tagged , | Comments (0)

I’m number 1! No, really… I was #1

September 17, 2012 – 7:21 am

In short, I was the first person at the check-in table for the 65-mile ride at the Tour de Talbot, which benefits both the Midshore Riverkeeper Conservancy and JDRF.

So they gave me number 1. And since I was wearing a yellow jersey (I always try to wear bright colors when I’m on the road), I became the subject of about 20 Tour de France-type jokes on the course:

“Number 1 and the yellow jersey? No pressure there!”

[While I’m being passed] “Yellow jersey, huh? And number 1 too? Where’s your team to defend you?”

Yeah, yeah, ha, ha, that was funny the first twenty times. Those kind of comments were understandable, but not fun. However, an interesting set of circumstances had me changing my mind.

At the first rest stop on my ride, I briefly saw John Anderson from Sanofi Team Type 1 (He’s actually part of Team Type 2). He lives in Annapolis, about an hour’s drive from the start. He did the 100 mile ride Saturday. While taking a photo of the volunteer table at the stop, I caught John as he was getting back on his bike.

I didn’t want to bother him as he was getting ready to take off, so I just went about my business and didn’t think about it again. I figured that was the only time I would see him all day.

Then at the next rest stop, I had a quick break, ate a granola bar, and got ready to go again. But I realized that I hadn’t checked my BG yet, so I pulled my meter out of my bag to check. I did a quick turn to my right as I checked, and who was there? John Anderson.

“Yeah, gotta check those numbers. How ya doin’?”
“I’m a little lower than I’d like, but I just ate, so I think I’ll be okay.”

We had the normal D-conversation… “Are you on insulin, or pills?”. “Pump? What make?” (we’re both using the Medtronic Revel). “CGM?” (he’s a big proponent of using the CGM, I’m not… especially the Med-T). I asked if I could get a quick photo, since I didn’t get one earlier:

Then I thanked him, shook his hand, and went to put my meter away and get on the bike to finish the last third of the ride.

When I started off, I noticed someone else was getting started again to my right, and when I looked over, it was John. We rode together for about a mile, talking about exercise… I mentioned my blog… and he told me a story about being in a run in Baltimore a few years back. And because he’s usually at or near the front of the alphabet in these events, he received number 1 for the run. “It made me feel good; I thought it was kinda cool. Everybody notices you when you’re wearing number 1”.

That lifted my spirits for the rest of the ride.

So what was the ride like? Well, it was a measure of redemption after the 100 mile ride I was a part of in June. I got advice from other riders and from my doctors in the interim, and my nutrition and overall preparation was a lot better than it was for the last ride.

I did not finish number one on this ride, but that wasn’t the point. In fact, this was the most laid-back event I’ve been a part of in some time. There was no official start/finish line. There was someone who gave a brief announcement at the start, but that person didn’t even say “Okay, Go”, or blow a horn, or anything. He stopped talking, all of the riders looked at each other, and then we just started. When we all finished, we just stopped, next to where we parked our cars in the lot of the country club where the ride originated. That was it.

But it was a nice ride, through some beautiful country near Easton, Maryland. There was a cold front that came in a couple of hours before the ride started, and that resulted in some strong headwinds through most of the first 40 miles or so. After that, it was great. Temperature at the start: 60 degrees, with 10-20 mile per hour winds. At the end, it was around 70 and the wind had died down a lot. This time, especially at the end, I stopped trying so hard and started enjoying the ride and the view from the saddle.

Time to finish: About four hours, not counting the time at the two rest stops.
Blood Glucose at the start: 158 mg/dL
BG at 1st rest stop: 91 mg/dL
BG at 2nd rest stop: 81 mg/dL
BG at the finish: 66 mg/dL (treated with juice and another granola bar, then lunch)

And best of all: I felt great after! Priceless.
 
 
 

By StephenS | Posted in Exercise | Also tagged , , , | Comments (2)

Diabetes, Exercise, Nutrition, and Getting Older.

July 19, 2012 – 7:26 am

So now I’ve finished two events this year: a 100 mile bike ride in early June, and a recently completed 5k run. There are a few thoughts I’d like to get down while they’re fresh in my mind. Things that are different between this year and just a few years ago.

First, the good news. My diabetes has been managed fairly well this year. Notice I didn’t say that I managed my diabetes well. It’s really been a wonderful team effort. The Great Spousal Unit has been both supportive and insightful. Asking the right questions at the right time, and not letting me get away with those half-hearted “I’m okay” answers when I’m really not. A D conversation with her can be difficult, but I always feel better after.

If I can take any credit here, it’s for bringing my endocrinologist in on my training and efforts to continue competing. She’s the reason I was finally able to train and compete while wearing my pump. The results haven’t always been spectacular (see here), but it wasn’t the diabetes that caused my problems.

Second: I need to re-learn nutrition. I’m ashamed at the absolute lack of knowledge I have about nutrition at this point in my life. About what kind of foods will serve me well in training and competition. Granted, I could stand to lose a few pounds. But first, I have to get smart about what I’m putting into my body all the time. Not just on race day. I haven’t seen a dietician since I was diagnosed 21 years ago. That was in the days of diabetic food exchanges. It worked like this: Inject the same amount of insulin every day. Eat the same amount of protein, carbs, veg, dairy, and fat every day. Hope for the same BG result every day. Hey kids– my diet needs an upgrade. Version 2.0. ASAP.

Third: I’m getting older. And yes, it sucks. In just the last year I’ve had to come to grips with the fact that my body can’t recover as fast as it once did. Where I used to be able to work out day after day, now I need a day (or two) to recover after a hard workout. Now, I find myself asking: When will just finishing be enough? When do I cross over from being a competitor to being a participant? I want to be competitor. I need to be a competitor, for as long as possible.

Well, I don’t have all the answers yet. Who does? But I believe in the notion that the real honor is in trying. In the effort. Despite age. Despite diabetes. Champions are made not by overcoming every obstacle, but in recognizing that they’re there and trying anyway.
 
 
 

By StephenS | Posted in Exercise | Also tagged , | Comments (2)

5K – Finally, a fun event.

July 16, 2012 – 7:09 am

Sunday was the day for the annual Pikesville 5K run. It’s a very low key event, featuring hundreds of runners, most of whom live within a 15 minute drive of the course. We live about 5 minutes away, and I have to say: it’s nice to sleep in your own home the night before, wake up about an hour and a half before the start, and still have plenty of time to get ready.

So how did I do?

Race-wise, about as well as expected. Better even, considering I hadn’t trained very hard for this one. And this is a tough course. It’s almost entirely downhill for the first half; and since it’s an out-and-back course, it means the second half was almost entirely uphill. My time was 27:42 (did I mention I’m a slow runner?), 150th out of 541 runners. Sixteenth out of 47 in my age group. As I’ve said before, my goals in something like this are the same: 1) Finish the race, 2) Finish better than half the field, 3) Finish better than half the field in my age group. Based on that criteria, I did pretty well.

How ’bout BG-wise? Well, um…. not so good.

My morning reading was 68. That’s too low for me before vigorous exercise, so I had to eat something before the race, which I hate to do. But I got myself up to 152 before the race. I set a temp basal (0.55 units) for an hour. But then I definitely over-carbed at the post-race spread. A bagel, an apple, and some orange juice. Without bolusing. I paid for that later when I shot up to 323(!). So I had to go low with the carb count at lunch, and with a well thought out bolus, and I was back at 90 before dinner. What is it that I’ve read about? The Glucocoaster? Yeah, I was on that.

But the nicest part of the event, and of the day, is that Maureen and Rachel were able to be there to cheer me on. Also, I was able to run with several friends who also run every year. It’s a low-pressure, high-fun get together that makes me feel good. And I have to admit that I think I needed that right now. I’d share some more photos, but no one got a photo of me actually running in the race. So I only have this to share with you:

With our friends Jill & Iris after the race. Feels like a reunion coming to this event every year.

Hope your week is great!

By StephenS | Posted in Exercise | Also tagged , | Comments (1)

The ride– final thoughts.

June 15, 2012 – 10:46 pm

I’ve already talked too much about last Saturday’s ride. So, sorry in advance for this long post. Sometimes you just have to get things off your chest before you can move on, you know? So here are some final thoughts on the 100 mile ride.

I can’t tell you how much fear I was feeling at the start. It was a combination of too little sleep and unfamiliar surroundings.

And this: Last year, while I was training for a triathlon, I had a bad fall off of my bike. No broken bones, but a concussion that put me out of work for a week. Honestly, I don’t know how football players do it. My head didn’t stop hurting for six days. I couldn’t concentrate, couldn’t focus. As you can imagine, it scared me. Before the crash, I rode without a care. I wanted to go fast, turn hard, push my limits. After the crash, I was afraid of every downhill, every little bump in the road. Always on the brakes.

I related this fear to my nephew while he was tuning up my bike a few days ahead of the ride. He paused for a moment, then said “A hundred miles oughta take care of that”. He was right.

The longer I rode, the better, the stronger, the more in control I felt. I probably went fastest when I was on my own on the course. I learned a long time ago that the only way for me to overcome my fear was to confront it. Either it would best me or I would best it. And I usually emerged victorious. That’s exactly what this ride did for me. No more worries. I’m ready to train hard again.

By the way, it’s ridiculous how many new elements there were to this ride for me. A new seat (a little wider, a little softer, very comfy too). An extra water bottle. Carrying extra carbs with me. It must have been comical watching Maureen stuff granola bars into the pockets of my jersey, and then watching me take them out. This must happen for parents of CWD all the time.

“Here, take these with you”.

“Honey, the rest stops are close together and I’m already carrying all this other stuff”.

“I just want you to be safe”.

This was the first event with my feet clipped in, instead of going with running shoes and toe cages on my pedals. And let’s not forget that this was the 1st event ever where I wore my pump instead of disconnecting.

All of that is a lot to process. So I didn’t. I just had to trust that everything would work as designed. And it did, until I fell apart after the finish.

And the thing is: I really felt pretty good up to that point. Tired, yes. I felt like I had ridden 100 miles, but as I crossed the finish line, I remember thinking I could probably just ride my bike up to where I was staying, about 1/2 mile away.

I like to think I’m a spiritual man, but not religious. The Holy Trinity and I don’t stand on ceremony. I want to have a relationship with my God and Savior, but doctrine and dogma aren’t my thing. Just before the start of the ride, I said the same prayer I always say, asking Him to keep us all safe from incident and injury as long as we ride. And He did. Of course, once I finished the ride, I collapsed. Lord, why do you interpret things so literally sometimes? Of course, He delivered me into the hands of capable people who were able to help me when I needed them. So there is that.

In the end, after worrying the most about how to manage my diabetes during this event, my diabetes was really a non-issue. Great BGs all day. So while I have some work to do to keep from suffering the dehydration I suffered, I guess there’s a message there that I did accomplish something big for me, and I did it in spite of my diabetes. And my fear. Excuse me, but I really get a charge out of something like that.
 
 
 

By StephenS | Posted in Additional Inspiration, Exercise | Also tagged , | Comments (1)