Looking back, forward

As 2008 winds down, I had the opportunity to get up and snowshoe this past weekend in the Colorado high country. Many challenges and triumphs can be recalled from the past year. Physical, mental, emotional challenges and triumphs were all present... each provided an opportunity to grow, because by overcoming each and every one, a life experience was gained. Isn't that what this game of life is all about? 2009 will undoubtedly provide further opportunities to challenge certainly what my body and mind are capable of enduring. The more and more I train, the more my beliefs are confirmed that exercise is the key to so much in life... it clears the mind of stress, allows the mind to focus and assists in maintaining a healthy attitude - I have a saying that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. Almost 11 years to the day, I packed up a Penske truck in Cincinnati and drove half way across the country to establish a new home in Colorado. From time to time, some friends ask what drove me out here. There is one thing that drove me to Colorado and one thing only - diabetes. To live out my dreams, I became convinced it was going to be critical to maintain a healthy life and I had the good fortune to listen to a voice that was telling me the West needed to be my home. Over the past 11 years, there are so many events that have confirmed those thoughts. It's not a place for everyone, but it's been the right place for me at the right time. As a result of moving to a new place, it opened my eyes to new ways of accomplishing things. I've explored new places (47 of the 50 states, western Europe, Thailand, Nepal), I've camped out in remote mountains explored by Lewis & Clark, slept in the back of the car in the Utah desert, ridden public transit through rural Thailand, walked the streets of Kathmandu, seen the depths of Death Valley to the heights of Mt. Everest and come to appreciate life's challenges with renewed enthusiasm. It just goes to prove that diabetes can't really stop you from doing anything. Without diabetes, who knows what I would have ever pushed myself to see and experience.

In 2009, I will begin a new chapter by competing in the Ironman. I haven't had the opportunity to say much about this Triabetes project, but the weekend down in Arizona in November was such a remarkable experience. Our Triabetes team represents, to me, so many of the positive qualities that we sometimes take for granted in a world that can too often become cynical. There are some truly remarkable backgrounds from which my teammates come and we have some terrific resources (from medical staff to world class coaches to equipment) from which to draw throughout the year as we train, as we fall down, as we pick ourselves up, as we lean on each other, and as each of us compete and cross that finish line next November. As we broke bread in November as a team, we joked at one point about what our weakest discipline was... I think it was Seb who blurted out all of them. It was perfect and could not have summarized my feelings any better. I've never run or swam regularly and I just manage on a bike. I've never been a big New Year's reveler or goal setter - but, I have never looked so eagerly at the beginning of a new year.

Happy New Year and don't let anything stop you from pursuing your dreams (not even a bad BG)!

Weekend

Snowshoed up in the mountains west of Denver on Saturday and the pic here is the result of 30 minutes of snowhoeing after reducing my basal rate to 55% of normal 45 minutes before we started and downing a ClifBar on the drive up to our starting point. John and I tested about the same time and we didn't reach a combined BS of 70. He tells me he and Steve Ahn couldn't reach a combined 60 during a training run last year, so that record still stands. Looking back, I usually like to reduce my basal rate 90 minutes before I start something so lesson learned for me! Found a good snowshoeing trek where snow was decent, but still a little thin for this point in the year. The mountains are getting dumped on tonight and tomorrow, so should have great snow the rest of the season. I fixed the low BS by downing a couple of bags of SportBeans (50 total carbs) and downed a sandwhich (45 carbs) a bit later. I overdid it a bit as my BS spiked up to 280 in the car heading home. After 2.0 units of bolus, the afternoon ran between 90-110. Planning to head up on Christmas morning with my siblings and their significant others... I'll make sure to reduce basals a little earlier.

I visited my opthamologist late last week for a LASIK eval to determine if that might be an option. When I was down in Arizona in November, Triabetic teammate Bill Carlson talked me into getting it done. Unfortunately, my cornea is too thin and LASIK is not an option. However, PRK (which is the original eye laser surgery) is available and I'm contemplating whether to pursue that. Recovery is a bit longer on it and vision is now always fully corrected in 24 hours like it is with LASIK, but it does have many Pro's to weigh. I'd have to be out of the water for 3 weeks (to avoid any infection) and debating on whether that is a good option with next year's schedule... something to research further and consider over the holidays.

I'm also pretty psyched about getting started on a CGMS. My insurance plan fortunately does cover it and while I likely wouldn't wear it full time, I plan to wear it periodically during training and during competitions. I tried one out up at the DTC in September and the trending on them was a real eye-opener. Maybe I can avoid those 31's :)

I sat thru the Broncos collapse yesterday and think I've just thawed out in the past couple hours :) Boy, was it cold! Go Broncos and Jay Cutler, beat the Chargers this Sunday!

Before I sign off, I want to wish all a Merry Christmas! Hope all have the opportunity to spend it with family and/or friends!

Brrrr!

What a difference a day makes. Enjoyed a training run in shorts and t-shirt yesterday afternoon as we reached the 60's. This morning, John Moore and I got in a 5-mile run in temps near zero. Still was a great day to be out and getting in some training. I'm battling some soreness under my knees in the 24 hours following runs and have consequently not been getting in quite as much running as I'd like. A few have suggested it may be I-T Band Syndrome, but a few others who are familiar with these sorts of injuries are leaning against that. If it continues, may be time to talk to the doc.

Training schedule picked up a few additions this week. I was pleased to receive my confirmation today for the Canyonlands Half Marathon in Moab in March... made it through the lottery! It's a beautiful run through canyon country on the Colorado River into Moab. Both of my sisters have run it on multiple occasions. I'm also psyched to be heading to the Avia Wildflower Tri (Long Course) in May near the central California coast. I've read only great things about it... from what I can tell and what I've heard, it's near nothing but brings in 30K spectators. Nearest hotels are about 45 minutes away, so we'll be camping out with the competitors for that one. Should be a blast with a few other Triabetes teammates. They call it the Woodstock of tri's, so should provide some great preparation and entertainment. Supposed to be a pretty rough course with quite a few hills, so look forward to getting in a good test for the Honu Half Ironman, which will be four weeks later in Kona. On Jan 3, it looks like I'm going to enter the Turquoise Lake 20 mile snowshoe run up in Leadville. The time limit on that is 7 hours, so stay tuned in early January for results :) Of course, also looking forward to the Carlsbad Half Marathon in San Diego in late January as well.

Another trial balloon I've sent out is to get the Medtronic CGM. Spoke to the rep last week and awaiting a call back once they get doctor's approval, check w/insurance, etc. I tested one out for several days in September at the DTC I attended and think it will be incredibly beneficial for training and races. The precision on them struggles from time to time, but the trends they show were really valuable as I cycled or ran. It allowed me to treat hypo's and hyper's before they became real issues.

All for now,
Sean

Training begins

Truth be told, it's been going for a few weeks :) I have never run an organized "run" and have not swam since, oh maybe 5th grade. These two disciplines will be the focus of my winter training. I'm running about three times a week and got in a six-miler this morning. Weather was great in the low-50's at sunrise after reaching 5 below zero on Friday morning... just that time of year up at a little altitude. My BS (I've got to get a diabetes dictionary up for all the non-diabetics) spiked a bit post-run today thanks to a dumb mistake. I drove out to an unpaved trail and realized when I was throwing my Spi-Belt on that I brought a glucose meter with only one remaining test strip. I decided I'd check it at the start and guess from there on until I returned home. After an english muffin and glass of milk when I awoke (backing off bolus by 50%), I dialed my basal rate back to 60% of normal about 45 minutes before I began the run (I usually try to dial back basals 90 minutes before activity). At the start of the run, I was at 132. I scarfed a choc chip clifbar down to tide me over for the run and figured I'd be fine. I ran for about 45 minutes and other than some sore calves that have been bothering me, seemed to be fine. Not wanting to risk going low while driving home, I downed a pack of sport beans. That turned out to be a mistake as I tested when I got home and was at 242. Oh well, I bolused 1.5 units and by lunch time, I was at 101. With the help of DTC, I've gotten into a pretty good groove with exercise up to 3 hours. Even on the bike for 5+ hours I have managed to get pretty good with. I do have some concerns with the swim and how I'm going to balance all that out, but plenty to time to plan for that. I'm a Medtronic Minimed Paradigm pumper and will thus have to take it off when I'm in the water for 1+ hours next November. I'll also have to determine how running for 4 or so hours will be different than cycling. When I ride for many hours, I dial basals back to 65% of normal and eat about 30-45 carbs/hour. Not sure running will equate the same way, but again, much time to determine that. Have also noticed that I'm running a lot of lows while at the office during the week. I suspect that may be occurring due to the increased training and will probably dial down the basal rates some.

My first organized run will be the Carlsbad Half Marathon in SoCal in late January and I look forward to it. Sounds like we'll have a great crew down there for an entertaining weekend at the Insulindependence world HQ's. Insulindependence is a title charity at Carlsbad this year and we'll all be raising funds to promote the organization's mission of changing diabetic lives through fitness, educational outreach and web-based community support. A few of us will be raising funds for the 2009 IronKidz program as part of the Triabetes project (more on this great program later). If you've got some spare change or a few extra dollars, this is a life changing program for the kids who will participate...I encourage you to visit http://www.insulindependence.org/carlsbad.asp.

Wishing all a great and healthy week!

Kick-off

It's hard to believe I'm blogging as I've never really followed a blog, but let's "play ball!"  

Three months ago, I would not have envisioned myself setting up a blog.  Three months ago, I toyed with the idea of entering a triathlon, but certainly not an Ironman.  Where did this process begin?  I would say it dates back to a hot summer day this past July or August.  Early on a weekend morning, I waited outside the REI on the Platte River trail in Denver for the rest of my training group to arrive for our JDRF Ride to Cure Diabetes weekly ride.  It would again take place in scenic Whitefish, MT this year.  As I waited for a few familiar faces, a guy rides up, notices my JDRF jersey and asks if I'm Steve, who happens to be our JDRF ride coach.  It's not unusual to see a new face, so I introduce myself to John Moore.  John tells me he's recently moved to Denver following completion of an MBA and we get to talking.  Through the course of our morning ride of 50-60 miles, John tells me his story of life with diabetes and how he'll be competing in the Ironman Wisconsin with a team that calls themselves Triabetes ( a pretty amazing feat from the sounds of it).  When John tells me he got his MBA from App State, my eyes immediately light up and I tell him I'm happy that his school shocked the world by beating Michigan in football last year.  John immediately tells me about his roots to Ohio State and how can two Buckeyes not bond.  John and I begin to discuss Diabetes Training Camp at one point which was a couple of months away at that point for me and he goes on to explain that his wife will be working the camp.  I'll expand on DTC later, but it was such a confirmation for the exact reason that I packed up my belongings 11 years ago and moved out West.  An active lifestyle was essential to maintaining a quality of life that I desired to manage my diabetes. At the end of the ride, John and I agree that we'll connect at DTC up in Snowmass once he has completed the Ironman Wisconsin.  

Upon returning home, I look up this Triabetes deal on the internet and track updates on it in the months that follow.  After a week of training in the scenic high altitude enclave of Snowmass at DTC, a light clicked on for me and I decided that Triabetes was something I could not pass up.  It was as simple as I woke up and while at breakfast on the last morning, that light bulb clicked on.  From that moment, I have been fortunate to receive a number of subtle confirmations that this was absolutely the right decision.  For the past few years, I've reflected on my own struggles managing diabetes and have come to realize that in many ways, I represent a new paradigm.  When I was diagnosed as a 15-year old in 1988, I was never aware of anyone out there 20+ years into living successfully with Type 1.  Sure, there were a few out there, but not many who were living complication free.  Technology and insulins have advanced to the point where there are more and more of us out there.  Each and everyone of us who walks this planet is obviously unique in our own way.  I was not blessed with any extraordinary abilities, but I recognize that I do many things above average.  Managing diabetes to me, is in many ways a balancing act.  Too much or too little of anything has never been good.  I think that translates into so much of who we Type 1's become as people.  As the years go by, that just seems to become more and more apparent in my eyes.  In recent years, I've searched for a way to encourage others to grab diabetes by the horns and beat it. Like so many others, it is my goal to leave this earth a better place than the one I inherited.  The Triabetes project is a perfect fit for so much of what I hope to make this world a better place.  I don't yet know exactly how I'm going to complete an Ironman with diabetes (I've cycled 112 miles, but never run even a 5K or swam 2.4 miles), but isn't that story of this cycle of life we all experience?  I look at the stories of John Moore, Dave Shack, Steve Ahn, Anne Findlay, Bill Carlson, Steve Chop, Larry Smith, Steve Parker, Joe Brady, Aaron Perry, Brian Foster and Peter Nerothin of the Triabetes 2008 team and am truly inspired by what they accomplished.  If I can do half of what they have done, a remarkable difference can be made in the lives of so many as we spread this message.  I am committed to continuing the selfless message that this team has started.  I truly believe this Triabetes project embodies a powerful message and will change the way diabetes is approached in so many positive ways.