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Bullying gives no Peace, no happiness. Don't Bully.

Know Peace, know happiness!

*Brought to you by the Kindergarten Class at Frye Elementary School

Catching Up - Skirt Chaser

I’ve been so busy I really haven’t had a chance to report on one of the races I did about a month ago. On Valentines Day Erica and I ran in the "Skirt Chaser 5k" in Tempe AZ. The premise of the race is this...the females get a 3 minute head start on the males. Hence..the skirt chaser. What better way to celebrate Valentines Day than a friendly battle of the sexes right! 3 Minutes is a lot to make up in a 5k (3.1 miles), but I was up for the challenge. I really didn’t expect to make it up. My strategy was to just run as hard as I could and hold on for as long as I could. It didn’t take long for me to start passing some of the women but they were the slow ones and Erica is not slow. I knew I would be running harder than her but I started to think that even if I run hard enough to catch her, she would have more left in the tank to kick it in than I would. Needless to say it was never an issue. I was able to make up 2 minutes but still finished a minute behind her. Single runners were encouraged to wear a sticker to mark their singleness during the run and at the after party. The men may have been handicapped in the run by starting 3 minutes behind but they were given the advantage at the after party of 2 free beers AND 2 free glasses of wine given to all runners. This may have helped out the dateless males of the group. Oh by the way, one guy did pass Erica right at the finish line. He was wearing a skirt…I’m not sure he understood the rules.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today is my Dad’s Birthday. It got me thinking about how my parents influenced me early on that incorporating exercise into your life is important. Growing up my Dad was a “runner”, most likely a child of the running boom in the late 70’s and early 80’s. I always remember him coming back from his runs in the morning as I was getting up and getting ready for school. Saucony Jazz was his running shoe of choice. For years he wore a Busch light (or maybe Natural Light) running jacket and a white Olympic hat during the cold months in Michigan He owned a valuer jogging suite replica of those worn by the USA in the 1984 Olympics. I vaguely recall one time running about a half block with him while my Mom waited at the driveway so that I could turn around and run back to her. I was not an endurance athlete as a kid. I enjoyed team sports, basketball, baseball, hockey, soccer and a little football. As a result I viewed running as a way to get in shape for those sports. We had a large block around our house that was about a mile. I would run that and that was it. It wasn’t until I met Erica that I realized that running can be “fun”. My Mom was a phenomenal tennis player, one of the best in the state of Michigan as a kid. There is also a legend that she scored all 48(?) points for her team in a basketball game in high school. I remember going to the racquet club with her and playing in the daycare center while she had her weekly tennis games. She even used to “Jazzercise” when that was hot in the 80’s. I believe she might even have been an instructor. Maybe that’s why I have an affinity for wearing fuzzy leg warmers when I’m working out. It is through their example that I was exposed to fitness. I guess you can truly say it is in my blood.

Reflection

I just returned home tonight from an incredible 10 days training and learning about diabetes management and performance at the Diabetes Training Camp in Tucson AZ with the Triabetes Team captains. I had no plans of posting this evening. I opened my e-mail to start catching up after being away only to find it filled with thoughts and reflections from my teammates on last weeks events. Diabetes, particularly type 1 (Insulin Dependant), is like a fraternity. There is an instant bond as a result of knowing that they "get it". They understand. I hope to update what I learned and more on how the camp went in the next week or so. We had the fantastic privilege of working with Rick Crawford from Colorado Premier Training. (more on that in future posts) Rick also writes for Velo News. Below is a link to his article this week about his experiences at the Diabetes Training Camp. I read it tonight and just had to share.

http://www.velonews.com/article/89008/

Bike Fit

The other day we received Great News! Thanks to one of our GENEROUS sponsors, TriSports, and the help of Kestrel Bikes the whole team is being supplied with top of the line Tri Bikes for the 2009 season. I am so excited! I feel incredibly lucky. What more could I ask for? So today I had to get my measurements so that our bikes would be ready and waiting for us when we get to Diabetes Training Camp in March. This is where the story goes sour. I went to one of the local Tri/Bike shops with a cheat sheet of the parameters they needed. First, he told me that my top of the line bike was CRAP! :-0 Secondly, he told me that he invented the bike fitting system that 80% of the bike shops in the U.S. and continued on to tell me that the measurements they were asking for were ridiculous and that it was a rip of of the system HE created. Lastly, He tried to convince me that He was going to be at the Diabetes Training Camp in March. I told him he was not diabetic so he can't come (not really but I was thinking that). Who does he think he is? TriSports and Kestrel have been kind enough to supply our team with Awesome bikes, what kind of fool would not be happy with that? We may have diabetes but we're not stupid. In the end I got the measurements I needed, he got $20 for the shop beer fund and I told him to watch out for me in November on my lightning fast bike at Ironman Arizona! Thanks TriSports and Kestrel! Check it out!

Calling all Youth Diabetics.

Are you a Type 1 Diabetic between the age of 9 and 11 or do you know one. If so you have a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Back by popular demand are the most adventurous kids on the planet: Triabuddies (formerly known as the Insulindependence IronKiDz) Fifteen lucky kids (ages 9-12) will be selected to travel to the American Southwest this November for a trip that will surely change their lives. Under the guidance of certified wilderness guides and experienced diabetes mentors, the Triabuddies will embark on a 3-day sail- and kayaking journey to the Channel Islands off the California Coast. They’ll work as a team to prove to themselves that they have what it takes to overcome diabetes in the face of adversity.
On November 19, the Triabuddies will reach Santa Barbara, then voyage to Phoenix to meet their designated training buddy from the Triabetes team. Each of the Triabuddies will have worked with one of athletes over the course of the summer as they trained for the 2009 Arizona Ironman.
On Sunday, the day of the Ironman, the Triabuddies will use the diabetes management skills they obtained on the river to help their training buddy cross the finish line. Together, they’ll continue to make history as a part of the Triabetes project. For further information and to apply follow the link below.

http://triabetes.org/triabuddies.php

Back in the Saddle

I've been trying to get back in the saddle this week after a month of sporadic workouts, excessive eating and drinking and high blood sugars. It has been tough but I'm getting there.