Diabetes and um... running (yes I said it)

Howdy from HotLanta,

Great to be home! I have had a few days at home now, and thanks to my little bro, Jacko, I am finally somewhat organized back home. My life the past 3 weeks has been:
Go on trip with bags packed
Arrive home wash clothes (don't put away)- pack bags again
Next am: leave again
Arrive home- unpack- pack- leave etc... There were 22days straight I was gone, and somehow had 3 nights in the house, which was nice, but when I got home the last time, things were scattered... it is somewhat comical, and for those who know me well, know that I can (and often do) function in a state of mayhem... Last time I posted I was in Hollywood. It was cool to go on set of the Sony Studios, and meet with Doug Wick, and chat about diabetes, and the documentary. Then met with a friend that evening for dinner, before hitting the red-eye back to Atlanta. I got home, unpacked, took a nap, did some work, packed, and then set off for Camp Kudzu.

This was awesome. I had the 9-10 year old boys Cabin #24. Great group of kids. I got to witness some doing their first shot, some doing their first pump site change, carb counting, drawing insulin, the works. All of these kids were stepping outside of their normal comfort zone of diabetes, which I think is the reason to go to camp. Seeing kids upset at highs, or cranky from lows at 9 years old is a lot to take in. Seeing kids dance for the first time, or get the nerve up to ask a girl to the dance was all real special. I got 2 days there, and it was my best 2 days so far this year. Camp Kudzu has a few full time employees, but everyone else is strictly volunteer.
Hopefully we can raise enough $ to help make it a full time camp in the years to come, as the kids could really benefit. It was also cool to see the kids that were in my cabin 5 years ago, which was my first time volunteering. Most of them are now a foot taller than me, and are leading cool lives. Sadly I had to leave early, to get to New Orleans for the ADA, but I will be back at camp again later this summer!!

Get home late that afternoon, work for a while, unpack, wash clothes, repack... Chaos is an understatement. Then sleep. Wake up at 4am to finish packing, and get to the airport, which I did, with 2 minutes to spare!! YEE-HA! ADA was great as well. I really got to see how far reaching Team Type 1 and now TT2 has become. Our sponsors, sanofi-aventis diabetes, FreeStyle, Omni-Pod, and Dex 4 were all present at the show, and TT1 members at each booth. Early meeting everyday kept things in check, and it was good to brainstorm research ideas with some of the brighter docs in the world. Always good to see good people.

Oh yeah- so how about this running thing?? I have been doing it for 3-4 weeks now, and it is different. Cardio wise, muscle wise, I am good. But the beating on the body is new to me. Back in the day, I could go ride for 1 hour easy, come home, eat some food with no insulin. But go ride 1 hour very hard, come home, do some rapid or the BS would skyrocket. Why? What I gathered from docs (and I am just theorizing here) is that the body was reacting to the beating by releasing a hormones which caused BS to rise, along with the food that was taken in to perform, now is not needed by muscles, so it goes straight to the blood stream. Running is different, but the same. I can go out for a 4-5 mile run, take in 24-30gms of DEX4 glucose, come home, and then blood sugar sky rockets. So new system is that when I get back from a run, I do 3units of rapid right away. This has been good to level me off. If I want to eat after, I am taking the 3 units, plus an increased dose for the food. It has been a fun shift. I did get to run the 5km race in N.O. It was good to see about 600 people out for a 6:30am start time. I was out with my buddies Matt Vogel (starting BG of 223,) Nathan Bartels (starting at 334-technology set back) and I (starting BG of 194 trending up) The start was all I saw of those guys. I was running with my buddy Chris at a steady pace. Could of gone faster, but really wanted to slow down. Last right turn, went full gas, passed a bunch of people, and finished with a time of 21:33, which is a 6:58 avg pace. My goal was sub 7 minute miles, which was achieved...barely. After a 3 mile cool down, and then a lot of rapid, and off to eat. I hope to be doing longer runs here soon, and will keep posted on the new learning's.

There is no kink age when I run, and I had do get to doing something that is good for my head, and my body. I never thought I would have laced up running shoes for a month straight, but it feels good not to be fighting my body. I still have no answers on the surgical front, and am going to see still about fixing. Until then, Run Phil Run...

Next up NYC for 3 days, then San Diego for RAAM. Both Team Type 1 and Team Type 2 will line up for the start. It is going to be a HUGE challenge for both to meet their goals, and I can't wait to see these guys do it.

So next Saturday, please show your support for the Team's by getting your own TT1/TT2 gear on the site: www.teamtype1.org Wear it on your local ride, and see whose life you change by spreading the word about the team! Thanks in advance for your support!!!

Ciao For now!

Phil