9 months and counting...

Yes, indeed, only nine months of training left. To some it may seem like a ton of time, to others not much. Learning quickly all the planning that needs to go into this venture. Travel, logistics, insulin, test strips, backup insulin, backup test strips, adjusting basal rates, tri equipment challenges, diabetic equipment challenges, etc, etc, it can all add up without the right attitude. But hey, I wouldn't have started this journey if I didn't know I could finish it.

Planning right now for a week in Tucson where the Triabetes captains will be gathering in early March for a week of training, medical testing and working with friends at TriSports (www.trisports.com). On the immediate calendar in terms of preparation are the Canyonlands Half Marathon on Mar 21 (Moab), Wildflower Triathlon on May 2 (central California) and the HonuHalf Ironman on May 30 (Kona, HI). I've also recently registered for the JDRF Ride to Cure Diabetes in Killington, VT in August and the Tour de Cure here in Colorado also in August. Many other events on the calendar or under consideration, so hope to see many out there as the next year rolls on.

Any young diabetics out there?

Back by popular demand are the most adventurous kids on the planet: Triabuddies (formerly known as the Insulindependence IronKiDz) Fifteen lucky kids (ages 9-12) will be selected to travel to the American Southwest this November for a trip that will surely change their lives. Under the guidance of certified wilderness guides and experienced diabetes mentors, the Triabuddies will embark on a 3-day sail- and kayaking journey to the Channel Islands off the California Coast. They’ll work as a team to prove to themselves that they have what it takes to overcome diabetes in the face of adversity.

On November 19, the Triabuddies will reach Santa Barbara, then voyage to Phoenix to meet their designated training buddy from the Triabetes team. Each of the Triabuddies will have worked with one of athletes over the course of the summer as they trained for the 2009 Arizona Ironman.

On Sunday, the day of the Ironman, the Triabuddies will use the diabetes management skills they obtained on their adventure to help their training buddy cross the finish line. Together, they’ll continue to make history as a part of the Triabetes project.

See this site for more info and a video presentation for a preview of this outstanding experience...

www.triabetes.org/triabuddies.php

Weekend update

Noticed a few weeks ago, that my IM ticker fell under 300 days, Nov 22 will be here before I know it!

Good weekend had here. I awoke Saturday morning and got in an 8-mile run on a beautiful 50-degree morning... pain free for the first time in months. I had gotten in a short run of 2.5 miles earlier in the week which was my first since Carlsbad as my knees had been bothering me for several days. I've got to give a shout out to my local shoe store, Active Imprints, in Boulder. I run in the Newton's (http://www.newtonrunning.com/) and had been experiencing worsening pain in my knees, like somebody was stabbing me with a knife between the patella and the fibula. It would kick in after about 4 miles and get worse as my runs wore on. For the 24 hours following runs, it could be pretty painful. Teammate Bill Carlson diagnosed a few issues while I was down in San Diego for Carlsbad (thanks to Pete for the photo along the PCH in Carlsbad here) and one thing I needed was more support due to some pronation problems. I took my Newton Gravity's back to Active Imprints last week to explain my issues and they simply swapped out my Gravity's for a new pair of Newton Motion's... and my Gravity's had about 150 miles on them. Honestly, I was planning to just buy a new pair. Thanks for earning a lifelong customer! After running on the Motion's, I've felt great and completely pain free. Thanks to Bill and the new shoes, I'm now looking forward to building my base miles to the 26.2 miles I'll need for IM. Next run event on the calendar is the Canyonlands Half Marathon in Moab in mid-March.

Also need to give a shout out to Sarah for getting me up to Red Rocks (the 8th wonder of the world - google U2's 1983 Sunday Bloody Sunday video if you've not seen it before) last weekend. It's a great local training venue, along with the world's best concert site. There's an 80-year old guy who trains a group a couple of times a month up there. He puts together a 1-hr interval training workout running the steps, some core work, etc... and does it himself too! This 80-year old kicked my butt, quite an inspiring guy!

Spent a few hours this past week getting measurements taken for the new Kestrel Air Foil Pro SL Special Edition TT bikes our team is being outfitted with. Never imagined I'd be seated on an $8K plus bike. Special thanks to Tri Sports, Kestrel and Steve over at Wheat Ridge Cyclery for taking care of my fitting needs and taking an interest in the Triabetes program. Amazing the good people I've had the good fortune of coming across thus far. Last night, had the opportunity to get up to Breckenridge to see an old friend from the Diabetes Training Camp last September. She was up there with a bunch of Animas reps and had the opportunity to hang out with the group for the evening and this morning (after trying to hide my Medtronic pump all night :)) Ran into all kinds of folks as we name dropped Triabetes teammate names they knew and discussed the Triabetes program, which they all knew well. Great to hear all the good wishes they passed on - thanks to any of you up there who read this!

I'll be blogging again soon (probably tomorrow) about the Triabuddies program, formerly the Ironkidz program. It deserves its own segment, and program details are now out. See http://www.triabetes.org/triabuddies.php for a preview and details. This experience is going to be awesome!!