Diabetic Runners

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Runner Girl - An Introduction (Read 181 times)

Runner Girl


    Hey Y'all ! John encouraged me to share my initial post on ADA with y’all here at RunningAHEAD. So, below you will find my first post at ADA. I’ll update y’all at the end of this post with more recent news and events. Good Morning ! Ah, yes, another newbie here ! I just wanted to say hello and that I have enjoyed reading most of the threads here. Some are a bit "pity party' for me, but, for those folks - I keep them in my prayers that they will learn to embrace knowledge and the opportunity for good health. A little history on me: I am a 45 year old professional woman and was diagnosed with T2 in May, 2006 (yes, just last month). This diagnosis came after I went to the eye doctor for an annual check up and my vision had changed dramatically. I just knew something wasn't right. So, I went next door to the pharmacy and bought a cheap BG monitor. I sat in the parking lot praying that my sugar would be normal, yet, knowing that it wasn't. There is a very strong history of this disease in my family and I just knew it would seek me out. It did. My sugar was 272 at 2 PM that day. I was scared to death. Especially after seeing my grandmother and uncle with amputations and my mother, God rest her soul, have reconstructive surgery on her feet and basically never taking care of her diabetes. Those images were prolific in my mind. So, here I was, sitting in my car staring at the number 272 on this monitor. Needless to say, I called my doctor and made an appointment immediately. I have a wonderful endocrinologist who has been working with me for over a year for hypothyroid. Last October I had my thyroid removed. He has done a great job with my meds and I can trust him completely. On May 5th my A1c was 9.4 and I was officially diagnosed with T2. My cholesterol was 150 and my triglycerides were 107. I'm taking glucophage 1000 mg twice a day (breakfast and dinner). My morning numbers are around 118 and my evening numbers are around 91. I have seen a diabetic dietician and am faithfully following an 1800 calorie diet. I exercise 6 days a week. In April I completed my second half marathon. I am currently training for a full marathon (26.2 miles) in October of this year. At my heaviest, I weighed 316 pounds on February 1st. I now weigh 285 pounds. 23 of those pounds have been lost since I was diagnosed. My goal, of course, is to continue to loose weight, as well as improve my blood work, get off the medicine and control my diabetes with diet and exercise. My primary goal is to remember my mom and how she was simply the worst example of managing this disease....and to NOT be like her in that respect. I never want to go through what she went through nor do I wish that upon anyone else. I have seen first hand how this disease, if left untreated either by ignorance, intention or simply being unaware, leads to loss of life - on so many different levels. So - that's me. Remember - Life IS good. Enjoy and give thanks ! Ok - this is me 3 months later: First, from a medical standpoint – Since February 1st, 2006 I have lost a total of 54 pounds – 38 of those pounds have been since I was diagnosed with T2 diabetes on May 5th. As of this morning, I weigh 262 pounds! This is the smallest I have been in my adult life! I’m so geeked! I am on Glucophage 1000 twice a day; once with breakfast and once with dinner. My FBS each morning is usually around 100. My BS before dinner usually ranges from 75-95. I exercise when I get home from work and before dinner so, prior to exercise my numbers are usually in the 80’s or 90’s. After exercise and before dinner it is around 100 or so then it drops before I eat to between 75 and 95. I’ll ask my doctor about this just to see what she says. My A1C upon diagnosis on May 5th was 9.4. On June 16th it was 7.1 I’ve been working very hard since I was diagnosed and firmly believe that my next A1C next week will be even better. I have a new endocrinologist that I will see for the first time next week. I was spoiled with my other one, but he moved out of state. He was simply fantastic and he saved my life. I only hope the new one does not want to change things for me right now. It’s like a switch flipped and all things are coming together for me – I’m on a roll and don’t want it to stop! I’ll update after my visit next Wednesday. I saw a nutritionist right after I was diagnosed and she put me on an 1800 calorie meal plan. That coupled with the exercise and medication has produced awesome results. I’m very fortunate in that my husband, Brian, is incredibly supportive in all that I do and, knowing he is there for me, it makes things much easier to deal with. Now, exercise! Oh yeah! What can I say? I’m training for my first marathon and I’m beyond excited. I have to say in the beginning – I’m slow. That’s S-L-O-W! Very slow as a matter of fact. I’ve completed 2 half marathons and several smaller events. My first half marathon was in 2003. It was on pavement and basically a good event. However, this last half marathon that I did in April of this year (about a week before I was diagnosed) was miserable . It was a “trail run” and basically amounted to a 13.1 mile hike through the woods! Surprised Now, I live in the country so I am no stranger to dirt roads and hills, but this particular event was grueling. I trained for the dirt and hills, but nothing like a hiking trail. I’ll not be doing that one again come heck or high water! I use a Garmin Forerunner 301 and simply love it ! I love to see all the data from my runs. Brian, my husband, just finished his first Half Ironman so his training has backed off considerably. He is now training with me on my long runs so that he can accompany me on my marathon. Brian is my biggest supporter, fan and cheerleader. I know that having him there pulling for me and urging me on makes a huge difference. He is the reason I finished my trail run half marathon. He was doing it with me and knowing that I was not alone was so very important. You see, I have a very difficult time with feeling like I belong at events. I have an extremely difficult issue with self image and feeling worthy to be with athletes at events. I have very strong emotional and mental feelings of inferiority. Quite honestly, usually I am the largest and heaviest person there and it intimidates me and makes me feel like I do not deserve to be at the event. I feel like others are laughing at me and judging me for daring to think that I can ‘compete’ or participate in an event. Most of the time, as the clock ticks down to start the race, I feel like I want to crawl in a hole. Brian does events with me to help bolster my self confidence and self esteem. After the initial start, it really works. I’ll tell you a story – Even though I have done at least 6.2 miles on some long runs, this last weekend was the first time I entered a 10K event. I started with everyone else and Brian was with me. He carried my water and was my Coach. Overall it was a really good event. I dug deep and felt good all the way through. Of course, there was the little voice in my head telling me that I was going to be the last one to finish and that I should just give it up and go home – escape un-noticed if possible. Yet, I kept plugging along. Finally I was on the homestretch – down into the park and almost up the hill to the finish line. I could see groups of people standing and walking around me so I buried my head down further – not wanting to look anyone in the eye. Then, I hear Brian, who was running right beside me, yelling at the top of his lungs “10K Finisher coming through!” He said this several times on my way to the finish line. At first I was embarrassed and wanted him to hush. But, then I began to hear the cheers and shouts of encouragement. Needless to say – I cried. I finished 3rd in my age group (it was a small event and I WAS last) and it felt great. My mantra for the entire event was: I am proud to be here and I BELONG. Brian had me chanting that before we even got to the event. It worked…..this time. (Dang if I don’t have a lot of issues to deal with! LOL) Saturday....11 mile long run. Cool. Big grin So, that’s pretty much my story to date. Y’all take good care and remember….Life IS good. Enjoy and give thanks.
      Hey that is Great! Remember that if your Heart rate is as fast as they guy who finnished first, then you not only worked as hard as he, but infact worked longer! It is the work that counts not the speed. Good going! Joe
      Age is not an illusion
        Way to go Runner Girl! Don't ever think you don"t belong! You get nothing but respect from everyone on this forum! You are a true inspiration and feel free to ask any questions as we would be honoured to help you any way we can. I personally can appreciate the dedication it takes to lose a lot of weight. I know it's difficult. To have ran two halves and a 10k is absolutely amazing. I personally have a fair amount of marathon experience and I am just getting into running again. I joined because there is not a lot of info out there on running with diabetes. We are all sharing our findings as we go along and I think we have all learned a great deal from each other. We all look forward to hearing from you and glad you took the first step! Dave PS: you are the youngster of the group!
        WHO FARTLEK"D ?
          Hey Runner Girl. Good to have you in the talk. YOU SAID: My FBS each morning is usually around 100. My BS before dinner usually ranges from 75-95. I exercise when I get home from work and before dinner so, prior to exercise my numbers are usually in the 80’s or 90’s. After exercise and before dinner it is around 100 or so then it drops before I eat to between 75 and 95. I’ll ask my doctor about this just to see what she says. My A1C upon diagnosis on May 5th was 9.4. On June 16th it was 7.1 I’ve been working very hard since I was diagnosed and firmly believe that my next A1C next week will be even better. I don't think there is anything wrong with these numbers at all!!!! Just to give you perspective, a BG reading of 120 is the equivalent to a 6.0 A1C. So if your after dinner numbers are consistently below this and your fasting BG is around 100, I think you will be pleasantly surprised with your next A1C. A am very impressed with your present state of health. You are working very, very hard and I think it will pay off. I have a lady who rents from me, a diabetic, who weighs in excess of 300 and I am encouraging her with her walking. She gets so discouraged at how little she is able to do. I keep telling her "just take one step at a time." What a great story about your hubby cheering you on to the finish. That's great. Never feel out of place at races, everyone gets cheered by the crowd. Anyway, it's great having you aboard. You might want to explore setting up just a basic log here (very, very easy and simple to do) so that others can see it and cheer you on. That's what we are here for! John

          Discipline is never an end in itself, only a means to an end. (RF)

            You finished and that is more than those who never started in the first place! I walked the One America 500 festival Mini (half Marathon) this past May in Indianapolis and plan on running it next year. Just finihing that walk had me walking on clouds sore knee and all for a full month!! BTW that is a fun half marathon and also the worlds largest http://www.500festival.com/marathon/ Woudl be great to see ya both there. Sign up early though it will sell out soon

            To paraphrase an old poster: Today is the first day of the rest of your training. It doesn’t matter where you started or how far you’ve come. Today is the day. Your training didn’t start 6 weeks ago. Your training started the last time you hit the road. John “the Penguin” Bingham Life is not tried, it is merely survived if you're standing outside the fire