Beer Runs

As a Triabetes team captain, I would like to be able to wear Triabetes team gear at every athletic event I participate in. However, I'm contractually obligated to promote MGD 64 at athletic events. I agreed to do this in exchange for some cool MGD64 gear and free beer.
Picture Homer Simpson with a far away look in his eyes.
Mmmmm, free beer...
So if you're a diabetic athlete, and you see an MGD64 shirt out on a race course. Look again and see if it's me. I'd be glad to hear from you, and I'll probably give you coupons for discounts on MGD64.
Mmmmm, cheap beer...

Of course, I'd also like to wear my Marathon Maniac gear at some marathons, and my East Valley Runners shirts to promote my local running club, and my Team Diabetes singlet to promote a great local program raising money for the American Diabetes Association.
Maybe what I need is to stitch together something with all of these logos.

The Picture of Success!

So I am a cover boy. A sex symbol, if you will. :-)
I'm on the cover of this month's issue of Diabetes Forecast Magazine. As if being the cover model wasn't enough, they have "SUCCESS!" plastered across my scrawny shoulders. How am I supposed to live up to that?
In truth, I've been somewhat successful in having a hobby, in staying alive and relatively free of diabetic complications. But there are so many things that I'm struggling with from day to day, that I hardly ever think of myself as successful.
But I'm happy. I'm still working at all of those things I don't feel I've succeeded at yet. Maybe being here to struggle, to put up a fight, is a success in itself.
If you're reading this, please let me know what you think.

Ironman Arizona 2009

Last week, just before Thanksgiving, I entered a new chapter in my life. I set out on a new adventure. With about a dozen other type 1 diabetics, my Triabetes teammates, I registered for Ironman Arizona 2009 next November.
This is an odd time for me to be starting out on this, as I've been sick with a cough and congestion for two weeks straight, but this was the time to register, and I'm in.
There's a lot I want to say about this, even before I start, but I don't have time right now. There will be lots of things to put into this blog later on.
Other projects continue. The Insulindepence team is still on track to compete in the Myomed Ragnar Relay Del Sol in February.
I will likely run the Rock 'N' Roll Arizona Marathon and a few other events in the next few months.
I'm going to schedule things so that my 50th lifetime marathon is at Ironman. It should provide some additional excitement and motivation.

2009 Myomed Ragnar Relay Del Sol

Insulindependence is organizing an all type 1 diabetic team to run in the MyoMed Ragnar Relay Del Sol, February 27th and 28th, 2009, a relay of over 180 miles, from Wickenburg to Mesa, AZ.

From the relay web site:

"Running three legs during a 24-hour relay race is much easier than you think. Each team member runs three legs, ranging between 3 and 8 miles. This relay race is physically demanding, but legs vary in difficulty, and participants can choose which legs they run. This unique relay format makes the Del Sol an accessible race for beginners yet challenging enough for the most competitive."

That web site is:

http://www.ragnarrelay.com/delsol/index.php

Take a look, and if you're interested, sign up at:

http://www.insulindependence.org/ragnar_2009.asp

Incidentally, I get to be team captain!

What's My Story?

Marcus Grimm "tagged" me, which I guess means I am supposed to answer these running questions that someone else had asked him.

Here goes:

1. How would you describe your running 10 years ago?

In 1998 I was planning to run my first marathon, the Silicon Valley Marathon on October 25th. I was running an occasional 10K, happy to just be in the pack somewhere, but dreaming of getting faster, remembering I used to be faster.
I wasn't putting in a lot of miles. A couple of 12 mile runs were my longest training runs before the marathon.
I've considered myself a runner since junior high, but for months at a time between the ages of 21 and 39, I was a lapsed runner.
About the middle of 1997 I became more consistent, and I've remained that way since.
My lapses in running are measured in days now, not weeks and months.

2. What is your best and worst run/race experience?

I tend to see "bad" experiences as just experiences. I get disappointed, and I find a way to frame it in my mind so I get over it. It's hard to single out one thing as the most awful experience.
There have been several times that I've run past collapsed runners being treated by EMTs. That's a very disconcerting thing. It puts a cloud over the race for me and makes it hard to simply celebrate the finish.

3. What is your best race experience?

Every year my family gets together for the Big Sur Marathon Relay. It's a wonderful race on a magnificent course. I'm happy to go back there every year with people I love.
If I could name a second choice, and I can because no one is going to stop me, I would mention the Twin Cities Marathon.
At the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon, I was selected by Medtronic as a “Global Hero.” They picked about a dozen people whose lives had been improved by medical technology, and sponsored their participation in the race. They also gave me a gear bag stuffed with cool stuff and a big, beautiful trophy.
Twin Cities really is “America's most beautiful urban marathon,” at least as far as I can tell so far.

4. Why do you run?

I like to run. This question is asked way too often.
I just run because I enjoy running. And I race because I enjoy racing, in spite of not being all that good at it.
Running is certainly a healthy hobby, and that is especially important to me as a diabetic. Running may have helped me avoid some of the possible complications of diabetes.
But if you can picture in your mind a child running, laughing, when there is no reason to run, that's the feeling. That's why I run.

5. What is the best or worst piece of advice you’ve been given about running?

I was explaining my problems to someone who wanted to help me train to qualify for Boston. I told her that I usually did very well through the first 20 miles then struggled through the last 6.
She volunteered to get me fast enough in the first 20 miles that it wouldn't matter how slow I went after that.
I quickly decided she was not the person to take advice from.

6. Tell us something surprising about yourself that not many people would know.

That just doesn't sound like a good thing to do on the internet. :-)
How's this:
My tubing is 43 inches long.
Another one:
I usually have a third nipple.

I think that tradition has it that I am supposed to "tag" others, but I'm not going to buy into this pyramid scheme. There may be a tag I want to pass on someday, but this isn't it.

Medtronic Global Heroes Program open to all ages

Here is an email I got from a Medtronic representative:

Hello, Jerry

Thank you for your previous comments regarding the Medtronic Global Heroes program and its guideline related to runners with diabetes.

As promised, Twin Cities Marathon, Inc. and Medtronic committed to review and re-evaluate this guideline following the close of the 2008 program applications. We thought you would like to know that we are removing this guideline for the 2009 program.

Of course, runner safety remains the primary concern of both Twin Cities Marathon, Inc. and the Medtronic Foundation. However, our organizations agree with feedback from the Global Hero selection committee that the current application and registration process ensures runner safety without applying the age restrictions.

Future selections will rely on an applicant’s personal running and health history, along with that runner’s physician approval, as the primary determinant, not age or disease longevity.

Again, we thank you for your feedback and concern with this program and hope you will consider referring others that would enjoy the Global Heroes experience.

No Age Restrictions on Global Heroes 2009

I have learned that there will be no age restrictions on applying to the Global Heroes program in 2009. I'll post here again as soon as I have confirmation.
I'm pretty happy about this. Now I have to figure out if there is something else I want to do with this blog.