Howdy from Hollywood,
Jersey rocked! Had a great time up there and the whole team got to go to Sanofi Aventis to meet the people that make it happen for us. Then a bunch of races, and the guys did good. It was definitely interesting being a spectator. While up there I got a chance to see a doctor who was actually knowledgeable about my leg deal. I explained the symptoms, and he pulled out a book written by the guy who invented the surgery in the Netherlands. It was great to read through that to get a feeling for what could be going on. Apparently there are 4 ways the the iliac artery stops working.
1. Lesion in the artery.
2 Stenosis or narrowing due to a ligament coming down on it.
3. Iliac artery is too long, which causes kinking
4. just plain old kinking.
I also learned that cyclist normal ABI: (blood pressure in arm relative to leg) is .90 or above. Symptoms begin at .85 or below, and my left leg had an ABI of .66.
It really meant the world to talk to Dr. Silberman, and now I have copies of the book to take to all my docs in Atlanta to try and get this bad boy figured out.
In the meantime, I need a goal. Having a ride or race goal is out of the question right now, as I have no idea what the length of time for recovery/fixing is. But, a run goal is doable. So I signed up for the NY Marathon, and have begun training for that. Running has been ok so far, but I definitely miss getting lost in the middle of nowhere having the thoughts run free. Back to some bike racing:
I got to watch the " Tour of Somerville" from the sidelines. The boyz were rocking it, being in just about every move. Then at the end, they lined it out, and it was great to see the full TT1 train going for the W. Execution was perfect, but racing is racing, and Aldo got 3rd, which was a great result. I had never been so excited at a bike race before. I was biting my nails out there... We had a nice celebration that night, and then in the air on Tuesday. Delta rocked out for us. I guess I fly enough to get these 6 free upgrades, which I will never use. It just so happened Dan Holt was on the same flight, and the agents let us use a ticket to upgrade him, free bags and all. Sometimes they go out of their way to take care of us, and is much appreciated. Wed I flew to Laguna Beach so I could give a talk at the Mother's dream Guild for the "One Shot" Doc. We are trying to raise funds so they can be there every step of the way from now, till the tour. It was def cool being at the Pelican Hills Resort. I would be willing to caddy to get to walk that course on a regular basis...ha
Friday was an athlete day which was fun, and this time was extra special. I got to talk diabetes to a lot of docs, and finish up with Ramon and Andrew taking me to Millers Children Hospital. This put it all in perspective. I met kids with hemofelia, diabetes, leukemia, cancer, and all sorts of ailments that they can not control. It is 100% in the doctors hands. This made me feel lucky. Diabetes can be a challenge at times, but it is controllable, and that control is up to me. It was really cool to sit there and chat and put some smiles on their faces.
So how about that diabetes game?? Running has made it easy. 15u basal and every night... So far training has been easy, doing 4-5 mile runs at about an 8minute/mile pace. It is nice not having to stress about 1u more, or 1u less, but I am sure as the runs get longer this will come into play. It is interesting teaching the body to do something new. My feet have finally stopped aching, and I seem to be getting more efficient, meaning that I don't have to eat a lot. While out on the run, all I take is a tube of 10 Dex4 tabs. I typically eat about 5 -7 of them on the run, and have been finishing runs around 100. Thing is, right after the run, my BS spikes. So have got a new system to just do 3u rapid at the finish, and no food. Different than riding, but fun to learn.
Also: Big congrats to Shawn Milne for the W yesterday, and Aldo for his win on Wednesday. The boyz are rocking!!!
Today I am meeting back with the "One Shot" http://www.voxpopfilms.tv/oneshot/
crew to try and raise some dollars to make the film happen. The goal for Lisa/Guy (and me:) is to win an Oscar. Tonight will be the Red-eye, getting back to Atl at 6am, run a few errands, and then head to Camp Kudzu to spend a few days with kids. Can't wait! That is all for now.
Have a great day.
Phil
www.TeamType1.org Clothing is available!! Get it while it's hot!
http://twitter.com/PhilSoutherland
5 comments:
Glad to hear that you might be fixing your leg! Good luck with that!
Good luck getting things worked out! I'm surprised you can run though ... before I had my surgery running was actually worse then cycling and my foot only got numb on runs - never on the bike. Weird. Anyway ... I hope your docs get you fixed up for good soon!
- Kari
Well now I am really proud to be Dutch :)
Being more of a runner than I am a cyclist, I'm pysched to hear that you're taking on a marathon!
For me, the longer runs aren't much different than the longer rides with respect to long-acting dosing. I generally take 1 to 2u less Lantus for any run over 2 hours, the same as I'd do for a 3+ hour ride. And I find that Gu packets work the best for fuel. Long runs are pretty predictable since they're done at a slower/more consistent pace (where as blood sugars can get a little whacky when doing shorter/faster runs). I find that 1 Gu about once every 40 minutes keeps the sugars between 100 - 120. They're convenient to carry in your pocket as well. The key is remembering to take them at the right intervals which seems easy at face value but the thought process doesn't work so well around mile 20 of a marathon. :)
Good luck with your leg. I hope they can get to the bottom of it quickly.
Are you still a pro biker or do you lose your license if you don't race enough (like in golf)? Will you start a running team, too? That would be cool to have Team Type 1 running clubs around the US. Heres hoping your leg comes around one of these days. You're the teams' best hope to make it to the Tour!
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