Fathers' Day Ride

Last Sunday, Fathers' Day, I went for a ride with my son, Francis. His favorite participatory sports is skateboarding, but he's getting used to biking, going to school and to work. It was great to ride with him around Ahwatukee on Sunday.

When I ride with Francis, I assume that I need to slow down and make sure I don't leave him behind, but we did a few good hills on this ride. Up the first big hill, I left him behind about halfway up. I wasn't being competitive, but I needed to keep my momentum up.
Then we hauled down the backside of the hill and started the second big climb together. After a few minutes I suddenly realized Francis was twenty feet ahead of me and pulling away.
Well, yeah, at that point I did get competitive. :-) I had to shift up and stand out of the seat a little while to catch up and pass him. I'm old, but I'm not dead yet.
He caught up again in a short while, but I think I was ahead of him when we crested the hill. However, it's pretty clear that if I had any edge on my son on the bike, it is fading fast.
Oh, well, it's more motivation to train harder.
And a great way to spend Fathers' Day.

A Visit from a Legend

I know, I've been a non-blogger and a non-runner with a running blog for a while. Well, not quite a non-runner. I've been putting in 10-12 miles per week.
But here we go. I have three straight days of working out.
Saturday I had a great 40 plus mile ride with Jenny and Lynanne, two friends from Triabetes. We weren't fast, but we did the Usery Pass hill, 4 miles of climbing, which is a good workout however you do it.
Then Sunday I was feeling lazy, but I got a call in the afternoon from the legendary Bill Carlson. Bill is almost my age, a year younger, has had diabetes almost as long as I have, a little less. He is an elite level bicycle racer, a marathoner and ultramarathoner with a sub-24 hour finish in the Western States 100, and the first type 1 diabetic Ironman, having done Kona in 1983.
Bill told me last week that he was coming out to Arizona, and he'd like to go for a run with me while he and his family were in Phoenix. For me, this is a bit like having Michael Jordan say he'd like to shoot some hoops with you while he's in the neighborhood.
So Sunday night, Bill and I ran from his hotel to the Ironman Arizona venue and went around Tempe Town Lake. It was a little over 7 miles at a comfortable pace for me, which I'm sure was tedious for Bill. But it was great to talk to him again, to share some stories and hear some of the wild stuff he's been doing and is planning to do.
It was very inspiring. So I'm getting back on track.

Diabetes Blog Week

I missed the 6th and 7th days of Diabetes Blog Week, Diabetes Snapshots and Life After A Cure.
I'm afraid I'm going to be lazy again and finish this off with links to previous posts:
Diabetes Snapshots: Sharp Stuff
Life After A Cure: Diabetic Poetry

Let's Get Moving

It's day 5 of Diabetes Blog Week, and the topic is Let's Get Moving.
Depending on how I treat it, this is either the hardest topic or the easiest, because it is essentially the reason for my blog.
Here's how Karen, who started this, describes today's assignment:

Exercise . . . love it or hate it? Do you have a regular exercise routine? Or do you have trouble finding your exercise motivation? How do you manage your insulin and food to avoid bottoming out during your workout? Today is the day to tell us all about your exercise habits, or lack thereof.

Well, I love it. It's part of my life, like breathing, eating, drinking... The idea of a sedentary life sounds like punishment to me.
However, I can't claim that I have a regular routine, and I do sometimes struggle with motivation and finding the time.
Hmm, I think I'm going to make this the easiest topic for me to post about, by referring you to this blog.

Back so soon?

To Carb, or not to Carb

The fourth in the series of Diabetes Blogger Week posts is To Carb, or Not To Carb.

I am a type 1 diabetic, and this is one of those topics that I think is completely different from the different perspectives of type 1 and type 2.
For me, this is the way I look at it. High blood sugar is not my basic problem. It is a symptom of the real problem, which is that my immune system is destroying cells in my pancreas that are required for metabolic equilibrium.
The idea that people like me should avoid carbs because we have this problem reminds me of the old Vaudeville joke, where the patient tells the doctor, "Doc, it hurts when I do this." And the doctor replies, "Then don't do that!"
Carbs are not my problem. I take Novolog insulin analog to replace the insulin my body isn't producing. And as a type 1 diabetic friend once said, "I'm not on an insulin budget."
I think that basically covers my philosophy. Carbs are not the enemy. Insulin is not the enemy.
Of course it's a good idea to have a healthy, balanced diet. That diet would have to include a fair amount of carbs for someone who was going to put in a lot of miles.

My Biggest Supporter

The third in the series of Diabetes Blogger Week posts is about My Biggest Supporter.

It's hard to pick just one person, because so many people have been very supportive of me, but after giving it a lot of thought, I decided I have to say it's Mom.
She was there at the start of my diabetic life.
Sometimes people ask diabetics when they "got" the disease, but what diabetics answer with is when they were diagnosed. We all had symptoms coming on gradually before we knew what was going on, so the diagnosis is the only definitive starting point we have.
Mom was the person who saw that I was sick and took me to a doctor. She was there while I explained my symptoms, answered questions, had blood drawn, and found out I had diabetes.
She probably saved my life that day, and probably several times after that. (She is not alone in having saved my life.)
She had the patience to make sure I was taking care of myself as a typical teenager, balancing that with giving me enough space to feel like I was doing it myself.
Through all of the things I've done since, she has always had a positive, supportive attitude.

Thanks, Mom!

Make The Low Go

It's day 2 of Diabetes Blog Week, and the topic is "Making the low go."

My favorite hypo treatment for years has been the juice box.

They go down easy. They last a long time. They're delicious. I feel like I'm getting some real, healthy food when I have a juice.
I keep them in my car, in my fridge, in my office, but they're just not convenient to carry everywhere.
So I always have a tube of glucose tablets in my pocket.

However, I don't like to eat the glucose tablets. I would just rather eat real food. If I'm going low, and there is any other source of food available, the glucose stays in my pocket. If I have the option to walk out during a movie and buy something for $2 from the snack bar, that's probably what I'm going to do instead of just pulling out the glucose tablets.
Sometimes the same ten glucose tablets will be in the tube for months as I walk, ride, and run around, the tablets jostling against each other the whole time. When I finally pop the tube open, a puff of pulverized glucose dust bursts into the air.