Howdy from Atlanta,
So last week I was at the AADE National Convention with most of Team Type 1. I had a great time, and got to meet some of the most caring, and passionate people in all of diabetes, The CDE's! I got my A1C checked as I usually do at conferences to get an A1C of 5.1 using FreeStyle Navigator, Lantus, and Apidra. Exact same result as last year using Apidra, Omni-Pod, and Navigator.
While at a dinner, I was asked if I had a mutated form of diabetes, where my pancreas still works on some level, meaning it is "easy" to control my blood sugar. I know this was meant somewhat as a compliment, but it got me thinking out on the ride today, and I kept going faster. I look back at the 26 some odd years with diabetes, the many trips to the ER as a kid both from hypoglycemia (no such thing as projected alarms back then) or when I had the flu, having severe ketones, and not being able to hold food down, then having to get the one needle that actually scared me as a kid, an IV. My mom would let me bite down on her finger for as long as it took to get the needle in... Thanks Mom:)
But that was just a point in the game, a lesson when diabetes got a goal on me. What do you do when the other team is up?? Learn from your mistakes, and go out there and beat that team. Use the loss as motivation to do better, and leave your mark on the team. That is what I have done with diabetes. I am stubborn, and will try, and fail, then try again, and fail. This will repeat until there is success. I feel like I am scoring most of the goals, and diabetes has now become one of my best teammates. Outside of our games, it helps me to win. A hospital visit or lesson was just one step closer to a better A1C. And now when I apply those lesson's and discipline to real life, it is a synch. It is also a synch due to the treatment (lantus/apidra) and technology (Navigator/omni-Pod) that I can always win! I work with these companies, and am excited about their long term commitment to making our game easier.
But even with these goodies, we are still out on the field. It is still a 24 hour a day, 365 day/year job. I am the CEO of my body, just as much as you are the CEO of yours. Can your company beat mine? Can you be better than you were last year, and ensure the long term success?
My A1C is 5.1: I want to have fewer blood sugar under 60. That is my goal.
What is your goal? Where do you want your A1C to be? What is it going to take to get it there?
Being an election year, I would ask: Are there any politicians out there who would like to be responsible for ensuring these tools are in the hands of those who need it. Anyone who can make sure that no child or adult is left un-insured with diabetes? I hope so, and if you are one, or know someone, please pass that challenge along.
Thanks for reading the rant! Have a great day...
Phil
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Riding fast again...kind of
Howdy from Atlanta,
Not sure where I left of last time, but needless to say life has been busy. Been riding a lot more these days, talking on the phone way too much, and spending time with Rylie (my beautiful little girl:)
2 weeks ago I got to speak to a Sanofi-Aventis Sales conference, which had appx 650 people. I get a big rush from talking to groups of this size, and I worked very hard to make sure I was ready to nail it, and I did!!! Then it was a 4.5 hour day in the 200 degree fl heat, then CWD. This is my favorite event of the year, as I get to see all the future Team members there in action. Did that for 2.5 days talking to kids, and parents of kids with type 1.
Then 2 days of disney. Thanks mom for coming down to help.
3 days in Atlanta (all on phone) and bike, and then up to Sanofi home office in NJ, so that we can make plans for 2009. Exciting day.
2.5 hours yesterday, and then 4.5 today, doing a century. My metabolism is kicking again, so this morning I woke up, ate a big bowl of cereal, and got in the car with coffee. I was hoping to get my blood sugar up to 150 or so, but it only hit 125. I kept snacking, and then we set off at a blistering tempo... I was snacking on my Dex 4 gel, and eating bars, and low and behold 1 hour in BS on my Navigator is 63. I eat about everything I have, drink it all, and stayed between 62-73 for the entire ride. I was always ok, but whenever I would go hard the energy would not last that long. So tonight, I have reduced my lantus further to 13 units. I am still dieting, so food has been not such a factor. I was going to race, but now am going to go train in the mtns by myself. This is fun, and will give me a good chance to rock out to my tunes...
Goal tomorrow: get blood sugar up to 150 pre-ride, and keep it there for 4-5 hours, so I can have a good ride. Will do 10-15 minute efforts up the climbs, and see how well the surgery went. Right after the ride, I will head to Camp Kudzu for 2 days, which is AWESOME!!! Then Boston for Camp Joslin, and Carefree, then Washington DC, for the AADE National meeting, and back home to race next weekend. Then 4 weeks at home to train and prep for US Pro Champs...
Team is looking good for end of year, and next. More details to come when I can.
I hope all is well. Thanks so much for reading.
Have a great night.
Phil
Not sure where I left of last time, but needless to say life has been busy. Been riding a lot more these days, talking on the phone way too much, and spending time with Rylie (my beautiful little girl:)
2 weeks ago I got to speak to a Sanofi-Aventis Sales conference, which had appx 650 people. I get a big rush from talking to groups of this size, and I worked very hard to make sure I was ready to nail it, and I did!!! Then it was a 4.5 hour day in the 200 degree fl heat, then CWD. This is my favorite event of the year, as I get to see all the future Team members there in action. Did that for 2.5 days talking to kids, and parents of kids with type 1.
Then 2 days of disney. Thanks mom for coming down to help.
3 days in Atlanta (all on phone) and bike, and then up to Sanofi home office in NJ, so that we can make plans for 2009. Exciting day.
2.5 hours yesterday, and then 4.5 today, doing a century. My metabolism is kicking again, so this morning I woke up, ate a big bowl of cereal, and got in the car with coffee. I was hoping to get my blood sugar up to 150 or so, but it only hit 125. I kept snacking, and then we set off at a blistering tempo... I was snacking on my Dex 4 gel, and eating bars, and low and behold 1 hour in BS on my Navigator is 63. I eat about everything I have, drink it all, and stayed between 62-73 for the entire ride. I was always ok, but whenever I would go hard the energy would not last that long. So tonight, I have reduced my lantus further to 13 units. I am still dieting, so food has been not such a factor. I was going to race, but now am going to go train in the mtns by myself. This is fun, and will give me a good chance to rock out to my tunes...
Goal tomorrow: get blood sugar up to 150 pre-ride, and keep it there for 4-5 hours, so I can have a good ride. Will do 10-15 minute efforts up the climbs, and see how well the surgery went. Right after the ride, I will head to Camp Kudzu for 2 days, which is AWESOME!!! Then Boston for Camp Joslin, and Carefree, then Washington DC, for the AADE National meeting, and back home to race next weekend. Then 4 weeks at home to train and prep for US Pro Champs...
Team is looking good for end of year, and next. More details to come when I can.
I hope all is well. Thanks so much for reading.
Have a great night.
Phil
Monday, July 14, 2008
The Timeline
Howdy from Atl!
So great new down here: I can ride, and ride a lot. I have been upping the miles the past 2 weeks, and feeling good about it. 2 more weeks, and I can go hard, so in the meantime, I am gonna pour em on.
Now looking back 10 weeks, I was thinking of the where I was to where I am, and where I hope to be, and wanted to get it down. It made me start to think that no matter where you are in any aspect of life, if you have an idea of where you want to go, and work, you can get there!!!
May 5: surgery- hurts badly to move in the bed
May 7: hospital discharge- 50 feet is a long walk
May 10: Home on couch. I think I walked to the coffee shop, on a lot pain killers, with a cane
May 15-16: AACE program in Orlando- sitting in a booth, in lots of pain. 2 trips of the hotel had me in absolute agony. My friend Jay, got yelled at my my friends in the CSM dept, for having me there.
May 20: back on the phone/email full time. Walking is better.
June 5: San Fran for ADA- Walking is not painful- so I do A LOT of it. Worked real, real hard for 5 days, and laid groundwork for future.
June 11: Start of RAAM, 2 days later fly in for Red Bull Party for last 1500 miles, as driver...
June 19: first bike ride. 20 minutes on indoor bike
June 20-28: Indoor riding on hotel exercise bikes. (I despise riding inside, but was still fun)
June 29: 1hr outside!!! So liberating
July 5: 1.3 hours
July 7-11: 1-2 hour rides: very hard at finish
Last Saturday- Sunday: 3hrs and 3:45!!! Felt good.
So 10 weeks ago, I could barely walk, and tomorrow, I hope to doa 4-5 hour training ride. Yesterday, I went out and road in the rain (pouring) with Hank. Typically when doing a full year, motivation to ride in lighting storms, is not so high. I am so damn motivated to come back and win this year, that it was a treat to get to ride. There, I said it: I want to win at least 1 race this year. I am working to do so. Time to lose weight, train lots, start to travel, and train a lot.
My commitment to help me win: At conferences, I will train, eat, and sleep properly. No partying, when I can be recovering. I got a stack of books the other day to help me do so.
I hope all is well, and thank you for your thoughts and prayers for Ben Brooks. He is recovering well, and even having some laughs... He was way better than me when I was forced off bike, so who knows where he will be 10 weeks from today.
Congrats to Matt, Moises, and Shawn for great rides at Cascade.
Have a great day.
Philpott
www.teamtype1.org
So great new down here: I can ride, and ride a lot. I have been upping the miles the past 2 weeks, and feeling good about it. 2 more weeks, and I can go hard, so in the meantime, I am gonna pour em on.
Now looking back 10 weeks, I was thinking of the where I was to where I am, and where I hope to be, and wanted to get it down. It made me start to think that no matter where you are in any aspect of life, if you have an idea of where you want to go, and work, you can get there!!!
May 5: surgery- hurts badly to move in the bed
May 7: hospital discharge- 50 feet is a long walk
May 10: Home on couch. I think I walked to the coffee shop, on a lot pain killers, with a cane
May 15-16: AACE program in Orlando- sitting in a booth, in lots of pain. 2 trips of the hotel had me in absolute agony. My friend Jay, got yelled at my my friends in the CSM dept, for having me there.
May 20: back on the phone/email full time. Walking is better.
June 5: San Fran for ADA- Walking is not painful- so I do A LOT of it. Worked real, real hard for 5 days, and laid groundwork for future.
June 11: Start of RAAM, 2 days later fly in for Red Bull Party for last 1500 miles, as driver...
June 19: first bike ride. 20 minutes on indoor bike
June 20-28: Indoor riding on hotel exercise bikes. (I despise riding inside, but was still fun)
June 29: 1hr outside!!! So liberating
July 5: 1.3 hours
July 7-11: 1-2 hour rides: very hard at finish
Last Saturday- Sunday: 3hrs and 3:45!!! Felt good.
So 10 weeks ago, I could barely walk, and tomorrow, I hope to doa 4-5 hour training ride. Yesterday, I went out and road in the rain (pouring) with Hank. Typically when doing a full year, motivation to ride in lighting storms, is not so high. I am so damn motivated to come back and win this year, that it was a treat to get to ride. There, I said it: I want to win at least 1 race this year. I am working to do so. Time to lose weight, train lots, start to travel, and train a lot.
My commitment to help me win: At conferences, I will train, eat, and sleep properly. No partying, when I can be recovering. I got a stack of books the other day to help me do so.
I hope all is well, and thank you for your thoughts and prayers for Ben Brooks. He is recovering well, and even having some laughs... He was way better than me when I was forced off bike, so who knows where he will be 10 weeks from today.
Congrats to Matt, Moises, and Shawn for great rides at Cascade.
Have a great day.
Philpott
www.teamtype1.org
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
No airplane this week!!! Riding bikes...
Howdy from HotLanta...
No more travel!!! Or at least for 7 more days. I checked out my flight schedule, and this is the first 7 day period in 2 months I have not been on a plane... But it has been some great times! Last week, I got to Boston, with hopes of riding with my man Mark Supernaut, but endless games of phone tag, and the inability for me to plan made it not possible. I did catch a ride with Rob Campbell and Amy at Insulet, which was nice, and then cruised through downtown Boston, and Harvard to check out my future school (please let me know when you stop laughing...)
Great times at Omni-Pod, and that is a company that is just taking off. Great people, great products, and great ideas for the future! Then John G, Rob, and I took off for some fishing, and caught a bunch of striper, but no tuna. Saw a lot of whales! Then 3 hours later, wake up, and get back on the boat with John, Rob, and my man Steve Bubrick for another day of fishing! Again, no tuna, but did see more whales, and catch a bunch of striper. John and Rob laughed at Steve and I as we made fishing look hard.
Back to Atlanta, and still training. Hitting the gym to get some strength back, and also got my first 2 hour ride in yesterday. It is awesome holding onto Dan and Joe's jerseys as we go uphill to keep my heart rate down right now, and cracking on a 2 hour ride. Fitness come back please!!!
Now for some diabetes: I can't figure out what is going on just yet. I am doing more lantus then when not training, and in the morning, it seems to take a lot of insulin to cover the life cereal I have recently been re-united with. I am not sure if it is a dawn effect, or what, but am blood sugars are not where I want them to be. Solution: get on the bike. As soon as I do that, the BS comes right now. Tomorrow, I am going low carb for breakfast, then gym, then bike. We shall see how that works. Might try a little something else as well.
7 more days in Atlanta, with hopes of doing 3hrs by the end of the week, and 4 by this time next week. Then we head to Toronto for the DESA convention, then Sanofi National Sales meeting, and finish up the trip with Children with Diabetes conference in Orlando, Fl.
Also, a special note: Please say a prayer for my friend and teammate, Ben Brooks, who took a nasty spill today in the Cascade Classic in Bend, OR. He needs our support right now!
Thanks for reading. Have a great night!
Philpott
No more travel!!! Or at least for 7 more days. I checked out my flight schedule, and this is the first 7 day period in 2 months I have not been on a plane... But it has been some great times! Last week, I got to Boston, with hopes of riding with my man Mark Supernaut, but endless games of phone tag, and the inability for me to plan made it not possible. I did catch a ride with Rob Campbell and Amy at Insulet, which was nice, and then cruised through downtown Boston, and Harvard to check out my future school (please let me know when you stop laughing...)
Great times at Omni-Pod, and that is a company that is just taking off. Great people, great products, and great ideas for the future! Then John G, Rob, and I took off for some fishing, and caught a bunch of striper, but no tuna. Saw a lot of whales! Then 3 hours later, wake up, and get back on the boat with John, Rob, and my man Steve Bubrick for another day of fishing! Again, no tuna, but did see more whales, and catch a bunch of striper. John and Rob laughed at Steve and I as we made fishing look hard.
Back to Atlanta, and still training. Hitting the gym to get some strength back, and also got my first 2 hour ride in yesterday. It is awesome holding onto Dan and Joe's jerseys as we go uphill to keep my heart rate down right now, and cracking on a 2 hour ride. Fitness come back please!!!
Now for some diabetes: I can't figure out what is going on just yet. I am doing more lantus then when not training, and in the morning, it seems to take a lot of insulin to cover the life cereal I have recently been re-united with. I am not sure if it is a dawn effect, or what, but am blood sugars are not where I want them to be. Solution: get on the bike. As soon as I do that, the BS comes right now. Tomorrow, I am going low carb for breakfast, then gym, then bike. We shall see how that works. Might try a little something else as well.
7 more days in Atlanta, with hopes of doing 3hrs by the end of the week, and 4 by this time next week. Then we head to Toronto for the DESA convention, then Sanofi National Sales meeting, and finish up the trip with Children with Diabetes conference in Orlando, Fl.
Also, a special note: Please say a prayer for my friend and teammate, Ben Brooks, who took a nasty spill today in the Cascade Classic in Bend, OR. He needs our support right now!
Thanks for reading. Have a great night!
Philpott
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
travel travel travel-over...
Howdy from Boston,
Or wait, which city? So last week was a busy VA-NYC-Atl trip. Got home said hi to a few people, then back to Boston. Yesterday I visited Insulet Corp, makers of the Omni-Pod. These folks rock! It is fun getting to meet and chat with the people, (John G, Marc, Steve, Amy)
who invented it, and are constantly working to make it a bit better. Got to spend some time catching up with my man Steve B, who has been with TT1 from the start.
Oh yeah, I have been riding!!! Got to ride outside 4 times now, and even though I feel not so great (out of shape) it feels SOOOO good to ride. I didn't realize how much I missed it until I got out there. Now it will be a long slow process getting back to top shape! On Friday I go home to Atl, and then have almost 10 days in Atlanta. I hope that by the end of that stint I am up to 3-4 hour rides, before a 11 day travel stint going to Toronto for DESA, Orlando for a Sanofi Sales meeting, and then Children With Diabetes. During that trip I hope to ride 2-3 hours/day with some intensity. That is my plan, and I hope to stick to it.
Boston is a cool place to ride. Went through BU, Harvard, MIT, and then got lost in the maze of 1 ways in downtown. Fun times! If it didn't snow or freeze for half the year, I would love to live here.
Fishing with John, Rob, and Steve tomorrow. Hoping for some good bites.
Happy 4th to all.
Have a great day.
Phil
Or wait, which city? So last week was a busy VA-NYC-Atl trip. Got home said hi to a few people, then back to Boston. Yesterday I visited Insulet Corp, makers of the Omni-Pod. These folks rock! It is fun getting to meet and chat with the people, (John G, Marc, Steve, Amy)
who invented it, and are constantly working to make it a bit better. Got to spend some time catching up with my man Steve B, who has been with TT1 from the start.
Oh yeah, I have been riding!!! Got to ride outside 4 times now, and even though I feel not so great (out of shape) it feels SOOOO good to ride. I didn't realize how much I missed it until I got out there. Now it will be a long slow process getting back to top shape! On Friday I go home to Atl, and then have almost 10 days in Atlanta. I hope that by the end of that stint I am up to 3-4 hour rides, before a 11 day travel stint going to Toronto for DESA, Orlando for a Sanofi Sales meeting, and then Children With Diabetes. During that trip I hope to ride 2-3 hours/day with some intensity. That is my plan, and I hope to stick to it.
Boston is a cool place to ride. Went through BU, Harvard, MIT, and then got lost in the maze of 1 ways in downtown. Fun times! If it didn't snow or freeze for half the year, I would love to live here.
Fishing with John, Rob, and Steve tomorrow. Hoping for some good bites.
Happy 4th to all.
Have a great day.
Phil
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Life is good: Bike-diabetes-all of it
Howdy from NYC:
I have come to terms with the fact that I am not a good blogger. It seems for a blog to be catchy, it must be updated very frequently, with new material. My apologies, as there is a lot of material (I am biased, so think it is good...ha) but time to sit down and write it up is not.
Enough excuses: I can ride my bike again!!!! For the last 10 days, beginning with the day the team finished RAAM, I have been on a stationary bike. First ride in Annapolis, 2nd ride in Atlanta on my bike (inside) then KS, MO, then Atl, then a ride in Charlottesville, VA, and now 2 days in NYC before heading home to head outside, which I cannot wait for!!! I will go a little extreme here, but to me riding inside would be along the lines (how cheesy can I get) of a
lion in a petting zoo...
So what does a type 1 exercise junky do, when you take his ideal form of life away...
Set new goals: I want to go uphill fast, and am going to target US Pro Champs, and if recovery is good Tour of MO. To be good for these, I have gone into extreme diet mode, and it has paid dividends. I am appx 10 lb.s lighter than in February, and my basal rate of insulin is at an all time low, and that is with minimal exercise. Am hoping now tomorrow to get on the bike, and on the path to speed. The past 2 weeks have been great, and seeing the guys leave their hearts on the road for RAAM was awesome. I got the true appreciation of what it means to be on the crew, and the effort they put in for us the past 2 years. At the finish line, the Apidra/Lantus team had 25 reps from the area to support us. It rocked! Then athlete days, which are a great opportunity to share with docs about TT1, and what we are doing, and who makes it possible. Yesterday was a nice 15hr work day, with a lot of social fun in the mix. Today was a little bit lighter, and got to cab it all around NYC... Good times.
The reps and doctors here have been awesome, and we may have a new teammate or 2 because of it. The ladies of the NYC team Dyna Pride, Yvonne, Adriana, Pam, and others all had TT1 t-shirts sporting the teams time!! Truly a great few days.
Tomorrow am home, and stay through Monday night, and then Tuesday I head to Boston for a few days to meet with Omni-Pod. Exciting times.
That is about it for now. Thanks for reading.
Phil
I have come to terms with the fact that I am not a good blogger. It seems for a blog to be catchy, it must be updated very frequently, with new material. My apologies, as there is a lot of material (I am biased, so think it is good...ha) but time to sit down and write it up is not.
Enough excuses: I can ride my bike again!!!! For the last 10 days, beginning with the day the team finished RAAM, I have been on a stationary bike. First ride in Annapolis, 2nd ride in Atlanta on my bike (inside) then KS, MO, then Atl, then a ride in Charlottesville, VA, and now 2 days in NYC before heading home to head outside, which I cannot wait for!!! I will go a little extreme here, but to me riding inside would be along the lines (how cheesy can I get) of a
lion in a petting zoo...
So what does a type 1 exercise junky do, when you take his ideal form of life away...
Set new goals: I want to go uphill fast, and am going to target US Pro Champs, and if recovery is good Tour of MO. To be good for these, I have gone into extreme diet mode, and it has paid dividends. I am appx 10 lb.s lighter than in February, and my basal rate of insulin is at an all time low, and that is with minimal exercise. Am hoping now tomorrow to get on the bike, and on the path to speed. The past 2 weeks have been great, and seeing the guys leave their hearts on the road for RAAM was awesome. I got the true appreciation of what it means to be on the crew, and the effort they put in for us the past 2 years. At the finish line, the Apidra/Lantus team had 25 reps from the area to support us. It rocked! Then athlete days, which are a great opportunity to share with docs about TT1, and what we are doing, and who makes it possible. Yesterday was a nice 15hr work day, with a lot of social fun in the mix. Today was a little bit lighter, and got to cab it all around NYC... Good times.
The reps and doctors here have been awesome, and we may have a new teammate or 2 because of it. The ladies of the NYC team Dyna Pride, Yvonne, Adriana, Pam, and others all had TT1 t-shirts sporting the teams time!! Truly a great few days.
Tomorrow am home, and stay through Monday night, and then Tuesday I head to Boston for a few days to meet with Omni-Pod. Exciting times.
That is about it for now. Thanks for reading.
Phil
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Questions from last post
Howdy again from HotLanta...
Had a few questions from the last post, and I am more than happy to address them anytime:
as related to diabetes?
1) Did you ever figure out what the itching was? Do you think it was related to diabetes?
No idea what the itching was. There were a few theories:
1. Morphine- which I was on for appx 1 hr.
2. The epidural, and drug that it delivered
3. The bed sheets.
2) How can you be on a Lantus/Aphidra routine on a pump??
For the time being, I am just on shots. When on a pump, I use the Omni-Pod, with Apidra in it, but for now, I am on a pump-holiday so to speak., and when doing that I take Lantus and Apidra.
Today was first swim day. I got some goggles and a kick board and went to town for 20 minutes. Nice to get a little workout in. I hope to be able to extend the swim to 45 minutes this time next week.
Thanks for reading, and for the great questions!
Have a nice day.
Phil
www.teamtype1.org
Inquiring minds want to know. And congratulations on the successful surgery.
-- Stellasmom
Had a few questions from the last post, and I am more than happy to address them anytime:
as related to diabetes?
1) Did you ever figure out what the itching was? Do you think it was related to diabetes?
No idea what the itching was. There were a few theories:
1. Morphine- which I was on for appx 1 hr.
2. The epidural, and drug that it delivered
3. The bed sheets.
2) How can you be on a Lantus/Aphidra routine on a pump??
For the time being, I am just on shots. When on a pump, I use the Omni-Pod, with Apidra in it, but for now, I am on a pump-holiday so to speak., and when doing that I take Lantus and Apidra.
Today was first swim day. I got some goggles and a kick board and went to town for 20 minutes. Nice to get a little workout in. I hope to be able to extend the swim to 45 minutes this time next week.
Thanks for reading, and for the great questions!
Have a nice day.
Phil
www.teamtype1.org
Inquiring minds want to know. And congratulations on the successful surgery.
-- Stellasmom
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