Weeks #3 & #4, by the numbers:

29 miles run on the road.  11 miles on the treadmill.  139 miles on the road on the bike. And 1.5 hours on the trainer.

I had one two/day workout days.  4 rest days.

Average Blood Glucose: 127

No significant pattern of low blood glucose.

No significant pattern of high blood glucose.

Comments about training for the past two weeks:

These past two weeks were a hodge podge of getting out when I could and enjoying time with family.  Certainly maintained fitness, and spent more time on the bike (due to being off from work for the holiday).  Sure enjoyed it.  It’s good to break up training with something like this every now and then so you don’t burn out.

Motivation:

There are a number of motivating factors, but let’s start with the obvious one:  I hate having to figure out how many carbs are in my cake, so I don’t mess up my blood glucose levels.  I just want to enjoy the piece of cake.

Here are some stats about living with T1D from the Dawn Study (http://www.dawnstudy.com/) completed by Novo Nordisk.

2010 – New Jersey: 1 million people living with Diabetes, $9.26 billion in Direct Medical and Indirect Societal costs.

2010  – USA: 32 million people living with Diabetes, $299.3 billion in Direct Medical and Indirect Societal costs.

40% of family members report a high level of diabetes related stress.

61% of family members are worried about hypoglycemic (low blood sugar) events

These facts are true on the general scale, and they hold true in my life.  My family members are worried about my health, now and in the future.

But these items are NOT my true motivators.  When I am tired and don’t want to train, I think of my kids.  

I have talked about how my kids are in JDRF funded prevention studies.  Jacob is in TRIGR (http://trigr.epi.usf.edu/) and Abby is in TrialNet (http://www.diabetestrialnet.org/).  Both are producing antibodies know to cause the development of T1D.  Abby is producing all 4 and Jake is producing 2.  What the TrialNet research results to date tell us is that it is most likely just a matter of time before Abby is diagnosed, and Jake will most likely be diagnosed at some point in his life.

I can’t stop it from happening.

There is no cure.

So, what’s a father to do? (A Type A nut-job, control freak of a father at that?)

I’ve teamed up with the most aggressive folks in the world of treatment, prevention and cure therapies:  JDRF (www.jdrf.org)  There is no better organization focused on improving the lives of those living with Type 1 Diabetes.  Not to mention, they were listed as one of Forbes Magazines Top Five Non-Profits last year because of their efficiency rating.

I’ve worked with my JDRF team mate, Scott Kasper, to start Hope on 2 Wheels.  Riding between camps for children with T1D, this ride team is focused on motivating kids to live successfully with T1D.  We partnered with Riding on Insulin (http://ridingoninsulin.org/), a non-profit program that has snowboard and BMX camps for kids living with T1D.

Support the research, support the kids who are currently living with T1D, and now to test the system.  The system?  Yeah, my body.  My T1D body.  Push the envelope, and do it while my kids are young and impressionable.

They need to see their T1D father push the envelope, swing for the fences.  Fail, overcome failure, and succeed.

I need to push my physical capabilities, so I know how a T1D body will react.  Because its different, no doubt about it.  Training, fueling, recovering…..its different than someone without T1D.  So, I am going to experience it, so that when my kids get to high school and college, and participate in athletics, I will be able to speak to their focus, drives, and hurdles. If they don’t participate in athletics at those levels, then I have merely provided for a life lesson in facing adversity and overcoming.

It’s starting to work, too.  The kids in the neighborhood decided to sell lemonade a couple of weeks ago (because it was in the 60’s!).  My daughter asked or talked most of the kids in to donating their profits to the JDRF.

So, its great that $9 is being donated to the JDRF on behalf of the kids of the neighborhood.  However, I am just excited that my daughter understands how important JDRF is in our lives.  She thought she was just helping me and others who currently live with T1D.  She didn’t even realize that she was helping herself.

That’s why I’m training for long distance triathlons.  That’s what motivates me.

Thanks for everyone’s support!

Week #2, by the numbers:

25.2 miles run on the road.  8 miles on the treadmill.  And no time on the trainer.

I didn’t have any two/day workout days.  2 rest days.

Average Blood Glucose: 107

Pattern of low blood glucose: Between 1:40am and 9am.

No significant pattern of high blood glucose.

Comments about training this week:

I was tired.  I mentioned it last week, but I was focused on trying to address the middle of the night low blood glucose levels.  I was successful for a few of the nights, but not all of them, and the unsuccessful days lead to tired and a lack of energy for the two/day workouts.

So, in order to make the workouts more efficient, I made Wednesday’s workout an interval workout and today’s long run included up tempos.  This helped me at least work on increasing VO2max without getting the significant work in.

Fuel Choices for Workouts:

So, let me give you a little background.  When our kids were born, Breigh, an anthropolgy major, decided that we were going to live like our ancestors….for the most part.  So, if we can’t hunt it, or gather it, we don’t eat it. (There are many exceptions, but we have significantly reduced the amount of manufactured food we consume.)

The above is a kale infused recovery smoothy that I used this past week.

Ingredients:

Protein powder, carrots, orange, kale, coconut water, coconut milk, strawberries, pineapples, mango, banana and coconut……..and chia seeds.

I am not sure what all of the ingredients are doing for me, except for the following facts:

1. I consume this beverage (or something like it) within 30 minutes of finishing a workout or long run/ride.

2. My body recovers quicker as a result of getting this fuel into my body.

I am fortunate to have support of my wife, and her knowledge about food that I have relied on her for this knowledge base.  She’s also a great workout partner during those days when you don’t always wanna go….

Because she’s as competitive as ever, as soon as I think about whining, she’s there reminding me of why I’m doing this. (More about motivation next week!).

Here’s a Sample Day of Eating:

Last Sunday, December 8th – (I do pretty good, but I need Breigh’s help, as you’ll see below)

12 Mile Run in the morning fueled by 12 oz. of ginger ale and 1 piece of pizza about 20 minutes prior to the run.

Post run – 30 gram recovery smoothie made of Banana, coconut milk, vanilla protein powder, Trader Joe’s Peanut Butter, pumpkin butter.  I also had a cup of coffee.

Lunch – Trader Joe PB and Pumpkin Butter sandwich on multi-grain bread

Snack – Homemade bean soup (w kale, of course) and yogurt (See below)

Dinner – 1/2 cup of pasta, 3 meatballs, and extra sauce

Snack – Multiple apples, 3 bites of pumpkin pie, piece of extra dark Trader Joe’s chocolate.  (I was fighting going low, constantly lowering my basal rate at the same time)

Hopefully, this gives some insight into an average guy who’s trying to do some above average things.

Next week –   “Who in their RIGHT mind would choose to compete in 1/2 Ironman and Ironman?”

So, here’s what we have so far, by the numbers:

25.4 miles run on the road.  7.1 miles on the treadmill.  And 3 hours on the trainer.

4 days of two per day workouts.  1 day of 1 workout.  2 rest days.

Average Blood Glucose: 118

Pattern of low blood glucose: Between 3:50am and 10:45am.

No significant pattern of high blood glucose.

So, first things first.  I have GOT to make a change to my basal rates so that I don’t go low at 4am.  Waking up to the CGM has me tired and I drastically need to get better rest.  My only complaint about the workouts is that I am tired.  But I won’t be as tired if I am not getting up to treat lows.  Also, my body will be getting the rest it needs, and I’ll be better prepared for the next workout.

Second, I must adjust my basal rate for the evening between 6pm and 9pm.  5 of the 7 days, my trend has me dropping between those hours, and 2 of the nights I started workouts with my blood glucose dropping.  Well, it wasn’t dropping, really, its just that there was a slight down trend (not arrows) and as soon as my workout started, I was dropping like a rock.  This just about ruined these workouts.  If I’m going to take this time from my family and work out, I need to make sure that every one is efficient and I get out of it what I need for performance.  Otherwise, its just wasted time.

So what’s coming this week?

Multiple 2/day workouts.

Intervals, Sub LT’s and long runs/rides

Focus on Fueling (for performance & recovery) – My wife said she’s bringing back the Kale and Beet Juice Smoothie……what did I get myself into?  I thought steak was the recovery meal?

Stay tuned to see who wins….

I want to issue a public apology to all of the children of the parents who have read my last post, titled “Diabetes, and its Risks, are Real”.  I just sent your parents into a tizzy that will cause you to hear “What’s your blood sugar” constantly for the next few weeks (months, years).  For that, I am sorry.

If its any consolation, my mother did the same to me and I haven’t stopped looking at my blood sugars, via meter or CGM, for the last 20 years.

Ok, its no consolation.  I’m still sorry.

Learning to live with T1D is difficult. The person who helped me and my family out was Jean, a mom, wife, RN, CDE and T1D herself. She set the tone for my family when I was diagnosed. Take control, be aggressive. Live the life you want to live.

Learn more from Jean here: http://learningdiabetes.com/