June Workout Summary

I like to consider myself an optimist. Today is the last day of June. Does the optimist say that the year is half over already. Or only half over? 

Either way, it's the last day of the month so it's time to report in with how the month went in terms of activity. 

Let's start with swimming. Why? Because it's easy to report. It didn't happen. The pool was closed 3 weeks out of four and the first week was the week leading up to my sister's wedding. The only swim I did all month is actually this morning. As this post goes up, I'll be getting out of the pool for the first time in four weeks. Hopefully my arms have enough strength left to lift me out of the water! I wrote this blog before the swim in case I didn't have the arm strength to write it after...

Cycling wasn't much better. I was only able to join our Sunday morning cycling group twice in June thanks for a wedding, Father's day and a half marathon. So I cycled a grand total of 3 hours and covered 63km. 

Running on the other hand went quite well. I ran a half marathon on the first day of June. I took 8 days off running and then eased back into it. I'm now back up to 3 days per week and have started adding interval workouts to my routine. I ran 10 times in June. I covered a total of 88.8 kilometres and ran for 10 hours. 

I've started adding golf to my monthly workout reports because a 9-hole game is about 5km of walking and an 18-hole game is therefore 10-11km of walking. In June I played 4 9-hole games. I also played 4 18-hole games. I walked a total of 22 hours and covered 60km. That's a lot of walking! Zip was really happy about that. 

Out of 30 days, I ran, cycled or golfed on 19 of them. A few days had more than one thing (run in the morning, golf after lunch). Eleven days had nothing. 

Not my most active month but not awful. I got a lot of fresh air and my body is enjoying all the walking that golf has given me. 

The pool re-opened this morning so July will see a lot more swimming - once I get back from Friends For Life 2014. Speaking of which, I leave tomorrow so I had better get packed! 

6x800m and an Irish setter

In the fall of 2011 I developed a stress fracture. I was a few weeks away from my first marathon and the increased running had finally caught up to me, causing me to take 8 weeks off, miss the marathon entirely, discover swimming and eventually become a triathlete. 

During that marathon training, I was doing regular interval training in an effort to increase my speed a bit. 

Once I returned to running in the early cold days of 2012, I avoided doing anything other than regular running for fear of reinjuring myself. After a while that just became the norm and I no longer did interval training at all. I just ran. Short distances. Long ones. Always at the same pace. 

Yesterday, a full 2 1/2 years after my post-stress fracture return to running, I did interval training. Why? Because I feel like it's time to kick it up a notch and I am sick of running the same pace. 

Guess what happened? 

I remembered!

I remembered how much I used to love intervals. The easy warm up. The tough push to keep running right to the end of the interval even though your lungs are heaving and your legs are screaming. The wonderful, blessed two minutes of recovery and then the challenge of doing it all over again and trying to beat the time before. 

I remembered how much fun that used to be. How I never thought I would get through however many we had to do but I always did and always felt great afterwards. The kind of great when your body feels tight and strong and yet your bones feel soft with fatigue. 

As I prepared for this return to intervals I was happy to discover that once around my block is exactly 800m. Since 800m is my favourite interval distance I decided to start with my favourite workout: 6x800m. 

I circled the block twice to warm up, stopped for a minute to stretch my calves and sip some Nuun, and then I headed off for my first one. 

I started off at a gallop and had no idea how long it would take me to get all the way around. I also didn't know if the pace I started off at was sustainable for the entire distance. I was expecting to work hard. I was expecting to be tired. It was not expecting to have to stop 30 seconds into that first interval. But I did. Why? Because a rather large Irish setter I had never seen before was running straight for me. I stopped and calmly extended my hand for him (her?) to sniff me hoping he (she?) was as friendly as they looked. I was sniffed and then, feeling safe enough, I took off again for the last 750m. Followed by an eager red dog galloping along beside me. 

I stopped back at the start and was pleased to discover that I could make it all the way around going as fast as I could without collapsing in a heap. 

The dog got bored about 30 seconds into my rest and decided to explore my backyard. One minute in, it came back and then took off down the street. 

I did my second loop feeling strong and much more confident. I made it all the way around without mishap. Another rest. Another few gulps of Nuun. Blood sugar holding steady at 5.9. 

My third time around I found a man whistling and hollering in the middle of the street. I sighed and stopped again. "Are you looking for a red dog?" I asked. "Yes" he replied looking frazzled in his pyjamas. If he had hair I would guess it would have been sticking straight up. "He went that way" I pointed and took off again. "Thanks!" he yelled and hopped into his car. 

Once I had finished 3 out of 6 intervals, I was already counting down instead of counting up. I knew I should stop at 6 even though I was having so much fun. I did 4 and 5 feeling pretty good I was tiring. Number 6 was pretty tough. I willed my legs to keep going and willed my lungs to keep pumping. They did but I knew it was time to quit. Intervals are about quality as much as quantity. 

I had no idea what to expect for time since it had been over 2 years since I had last done this. Here is how long each 800m sprint took to run:

1. 4:14

2. 4:18

3. 4:15

4. 4:20

5. 4:14

6. 4:20

Good? Bad? I have no idea anymore but at least I have a baseline to work with for next time. 

Even more exciting. I did a total of 6.68km in 37 minutes. I realize I had breaks in there that allowed me to run that pace but it's still pretty cool to be able to run that fast. Even for a little while. 

Next Thursday should have been hill training (another favourite) but I will be in Orlando for the Friends for Life conference. Not sure how many hills there are in central Florida but I'm guessing the hills will have to wait until I get back. 

I am, however, not dismissing the idea of finding an 800m stretch of road, parking lot or whatever to squeeze in an early morning interval session. I'm definitely bringing my running clothes but I think I'll toss in some NUUN and a water bottle too. 

Any readers out there going to FFL? Let me know if you want me to meet up for some 800m repeats on Thursday before breakfast.

(Driving Range + Weeding) x d'oh = Double Down

I don't usually have the chance to run the insulin in my pump down to fumes. Usually, due to timing, work or the desire to sleep through the night, I will change my pump when there are still 10-15 units left.

I won't go to work with less than 20 units and I won't go to bed with less then 15.

I don't always need all that but I do if I'm high and I'll be damned if I'm getting up at 4am to refill my insulin pump because I was high in the night and drained it.

I'm sure one day I will find myself in the kitchen at 2am, refilling my pump with one eye open, hoping that the neighbours don't look in and get a bit more of a view than they bargained for. I just have no interest in adding that to my ridiculous diabetes moments list so I always change my pump before bed if I'm down to 15 units or less.

Yesterday morning I had 20 units left after breakfast. Enough to get through an 8-hour work day if nothing went wrong.

I risked it.

My blood sugar was fine after breakfast so no extra boluses needed. I had a good lunch that happened to be a bit lower in carbs than usual so that worked out well too. No post-lunch highs so, again, no extra insulin needed.

After work I had a 4:15pm rendezvous at the driving range and still had a few units left. I knew I would be home around 5pm so I figured I was still good to go.

I got home after the driving range and noticed that the weeds in the front garden were more noticeable than they should have been so I dumped my stuff in the kitchen and headed back out with the yard waste bag. I was happily puttering away when my Rose buzzed to tell me that I was 10.5 and climbing.

Odd. I don't usually climb in the afternoon without eating and I had just hit a big bucket of balls which has to count as some form of exercise non?

Oh well, I bolused 2 units (without doing a blood test to verify the pump's number first. I know I know I'm going to hell) and bent over to continue weeding. Rose immediately alarmed again to say that I was out of insulin. Oh right! I forgot about that.

I quickly finished weeding the section I was working on and headed in. I refilled Rose and then bolused the 2 units again.

Yep. I actually did it. Just like that.

Didn't even think to check how much of the first two units were injected before the pump was empty.

Turns out I got the entire first dose. Plus the entire second dose. So now I have four units in my body and my dinner plans are a big huge salad with some carbs (black beans) but not enough to cover all the insulin I had just taken. I had two small pieces of baklava I was saving for dessert and there was no way I was eating those to deal with the low I knew would happen. I wanted to savour them, not use them as medicine.

I ate a banana (20 carbs) and started making dinner. I checked Rose every few minutes to see what was happening. I dropped slowly from 10 to 8 and then the nice green arrow changed from one arrow pointing at 135 degrees to two green arrows pointing straight down. I had a date and continued chopping. At 4.8 I was still showing the double down arrows so I caved and had an oatmeal cookie. I was now up to about 50 carbs. Enough to deal with the four units of insulin I took.

I ate my dinner (which was absolutely delicious by the way) and Rose informed me that I dropped to 3.9 before heading back up to 7 and settling there. Not bad considering.

Lesson for today: if you go to work with only 20 units of insulin in your pump do not decide to weed the garden after a trip to the driving range. Even if you hit a couple of pretty good balls. It will cause you to get so annoyed at the weeds that you double bolus for a mild high and end up eating cookies so that you don't eat baklava. Or something like that.

Anyway, I have to go. I have some baklava to savour.

Site Patterns

I'm beginning to notice a pattern.

Every Tuesday. Or Thursday. Never both but always one. My infusion site leaks insulin.

Only when it's hot out.

And only when I've gone for a run before work.

This was not a problem last fall. Nor was it an issue over the winter. And, trust me, I do sweat when I run in February. A lot.

It is a problem in the summer. Ever since I've switched from long pants and jackets to shorts and a t-shirt, my site leaks.

Here's how things go.

I go for a run. I come back dripping wet. I check my blood sugar and I bolus for breakfast. I keep one finger lightly on the infusion site and, once the insulin is bolused, I do the finger sniff test. If it's wet and smells of insulin - we have a problem. If it isn't, we might still have a problem but I don't know for sure.

No insulin smell means the breakfast bolus most likely worked but it increases the odds that the lunch bolus won't.

Yesterday, Tuesday, breakfast went well. My site passed the sniff test and my blood sugars did what they normally do after a run and breakfast. Lunch time came around and I bolused. The insulin was still going in when I felt wetness on my site. Damn!!

How much got in? Will I have to go home to change it? Does my entire office have that dreaded insulin smell now? I hope not.

I waited a while to eat to see if my sugar would drop. It did. I ate and ended up around 11 two hours later. Not bad but it never came back down again. I hovered at 11 until 4pm. Not high enough to warrant going home but high enough to be mildly annoyed. I did a test bolus around 3pm and could smell insulin. So after work, before heading to my parents' for dinner, I rushed home, changed the site and then hopped on the highway. Problem solved.

This only happens on Tuesday or Thursday. Not Tuesday and Thursday. I think it's because one of those days is usually a pretty new site and one of them is usually a site that is almost due for a change. I also think that wearing a loose t-shirt instead of a tight base layer top is a problem. The loose shirt, combined with sweat and humidity, rubs back and forth against the site while I run, causing problems. And a wee bit of chaffing.

The problem is that the site looks fine even when it's not. It's not like the tiny tube is sticking out or the adhesive came off. It's still securely attached and everything seems good. It's only when I bolus a large amount (5-6 units) that it seems to pool on my skin rather than go in. I have thought about doing 5 one unit boluses over a few minutes. It might solve the immediate problem but it does sort of take away from the 'convenience factor' of a pump. I've also thought about tossing my needle in my purse after runs and bolusing with that instead. Because I think the basal insulin is getting in just fine. It's the bolus that's a problem. 

I'm going to try wearing my tight tank top on Thursday to see if that reduces the movement and helps the site survive the run.

Oh, and I'm putting this out there so that I actually do it. On Thursday I will also be doing 800m interval repeats in my neighbourhood. For the first time in about three years. I'm excited and more than a little nauseated at the thought.

I'll keep you posted on how both experiments go.

Wish me luck!

Friends for Life 2014

Yesterday I wrote about green bracelets. They are apparently a pretty big thing in the Type 1 world.

The first time I heard about them was when I read about people attending the Friends for Life Children With Diabetes conference in Orlando. They wrote about how emotional it was to be there and spot all the people wearing green bracelets.

People just like them who, while they might look different on the outside, shared the same faulty pancreas. People just like them who, no matter what their job, their background or their favourite tv show, all need to inject insulin just to stay alive.

People who wear that green bracelet understand like no one else what it feels like to be high. Or low. What it feels like to have to eat when you don't want to. They know all too well that sharp pain when the insulin needle hits a nerve. That burning sensation that we feel sometimes when the insulin is going in. The frustration we feel when we are judged by the word 'diabetes'.

For the past few years I have read about people's experiences at the Friends for Life conference.

This year, for the first time, I won't just be reading about it.

I'll be writing about it.

One week today, on Canada Day no less, I'll be en route to Orlando for the four-day conference. When I get there I'll be one of the people wearing that green bracelet. I'll be making conversation with complete strangers simply because they are wearing one too.

I will see, and maybe even meet, some of the Diabetes Online Community powerhouses whose blogs I read every day. I will see a few friends I have already met, on-line or in person.

And who knows, maybe someone there actually reads Running on Carbs and might think it's kinda cool that they get to met the Canadian girl who paints her nails before races, wears a Fitbit who writes blogs and who plays golf with a handicap of 47.

I'll bring my fountain pen to sign autographs just in case.

Finding Our Tribes

Last week I was in Windsor for a few days volunteering at an Outrun Diabetes event. Sébastien Sasseville, a type 1 hero, left Newfoundland in February and has run all the way to Windsor.

His message is clear. It's not about the run. It's about what it symbolizes. It's about bringing everyone together and it's about the hope it gives people who have diabetes.

I drove to Windsor on Wednesday after work and arrived too late to meet up with anyone. So my first chance to meet anyone involved in the event was the Thursday morning breakfast meeting. We were instructed to be there at 8am. Everyone arrived within minutes of each other and, once all present and accounted for, we did round table introductions.

By the time we were halfway around the table I knew I was in for a great day.

Every once in a while, you find your tribe. A group of people who share something fundamental to your identity. I have a running tribe. I'm slowly developing a golf tribe.

As we went around the table, I discovered that I was about to spend the day with a group of people with whom I share not one but two fundamental links.

The first was diabetes. Probably half of the people at the table had type 1 diabetes. Everyone was proudly sporting their insulin pumps and were blood sugar testing, carb counting and bolusing with ease.

The second thing I shared with the team was a little more surprising because I hadn't expected it. Although in hindsight, I guess I should have.

French!

More people at the table spoke French as their first language than spoke English!

Omigod!

Sébastien Sasseville is from Québec. He speaks English wonderfully and eloquently but he does so with a very obvious French accent. His sidekick (driver, detail guy) on the cross-Canada trek is a good friend of his who is also Canadien-français. The sidekick's father was also there as he had spent the last five weeks travelling with them. He was definitely français. Oh, and the videographer as well as the photographer were also Québéquois. Finally, one of the Animas reps spoke French like a champ. Add me to the list and there were 7 French-speakers there.

By the time the event started, I was able to appreciate how important events like this are. Those in attendance who had type 1 diabetes were given a green bracelet to wear. It seemed a little silly to me at first until I saw little kids wearing green bracelets spot adults, like me, wearing them. Until I saw them spot Sébastien wearing one. And George Canyon, Canadian country singer wearing one. And Lindsay, Guelph university student and pilot wearing one.

Those kids, many of them for the first time, found their tribe. They saw other people like them which, considering how invisible diabetes can feel sometimes, is huge. Parents saw other parents with kids who have T1. Siblings without type 1 saw other siblings without type 1.

For me, I felt immediate kinship when I heard the French accents. And again when I spotted the insulin pumps. For the kids, they felt it when they saw the green bracelets. It doesn't matter how it happens. It just matters that it does happen.

When you find your tribe, you realize how much you missed it, even if you had never found it before.

I think that's what Sébastien Sasseville's Outrun Diabetes project is all about. To bring people together through a common bond. One that, as negative as it can be sometimes, is also a pretty powerful motivation.

Outrun Diabetes

I mentioned yesterday that I was volunteering at an Animas event in Windsor, Ontario.

I've been looking forward to this for a while and am happy that it's finally here.

Here's the scoop:

Sébastien Sasseville is a kickass Canadian type 1. He has done all sorts of things since his diagnosis. He has climbed Mount Everest. He has done one of those crazy 250km runs through the desert where you have to carry all your own stuff (my emergency carb stash alone would weigh a ton). He has completed more than a handful of Ironman races.

He's a tough athlete, a smart diabetic and a super nice guy. I met him last year when he spoke at an event in my area and, in five minutes, he completely transformed how I adjust my insulin during triathlons.

Sébastien is almost exactly in the middle of his latest adventure. He is running across Canada.

7500 kilometres. The equivalent of 180 marathons. He started on Canada's east coast in February and plans to arrive on the west coast in November.

He is currently in Ontario and event have been planned all along the route. There were a few events closer to home but they fell right around my sister's wedding so I couldn't go. So I signed on for Windsor. A few hours' drive away but totally worth it to be able to hear the stories, hang out with a room full of amazing people and do my part to help out a bit. I'm happy to drive five hours considering he ran 3300km to get there.

I probably won't have time to write anything for Friday but I'll make sure to take some photos and will share a few stories on Monday.

If you're interested in finding out more about Sebastien's cross Canada run, check him out here. It's a pretty inspiring undertaking. Made even more so as I follow him online and watched him slowly but surely make his way across this vast, beautiful country.