Gobble Wobble 5k

Photo by Sarah M. Anderson

I ran a 5k Thanksgiving morning.  Yay me!  I had help though.  I had family go along with me.  It was a super awesome experience and I’m so happy we did this.

Thanksgiving morning my family and I woke up bright and early.  My wife, her sisters Leah and Sally, and my cousin Adam all participated in this event.  Sally was the designated photog and what a fantastic job she did.  You’ll see some of her handy work in this post.

Leah and I ran the 5k while Hannah and Adam walked it.  It was my first 5k in about 3 years and the first since I’d been diagnosed with Diabetes.  I was nervous and excited at the same time.  Nervous that I’d have a low and pass out or act all crazy in the middle.  Thankfully that did not happen.

Photo by Sarah M. Anderson

Everything went smoothly.  I completely and totally amazed myself.  The course was a bit hilly.  Definitely more hilly than anything I’d ran back in Denver.  So I thought it would be a wicked hard race.  It wasn’t and I guess my training had paid off because I did really great.  I finished in 33:15 which for me is pretty awesome.  I’m no speed racer and I really just wanted to finish.  I was hoping for under 4o minutes.  I definitely did that.

Photo by Sarah M. Anderson

All in all it was such a fun thing to do on Thanksgiving morning.  Much better than starting the day off feeding your face.  That’s for sure.  We wanted to start new traditions this holiday season.  It’s such a tough time for everyone to eat well during the holidays and for me I have to take good care of myself during this stressful time.

Photo by Sarah M. Anderson

We recently heard the quote, “Tradition is a guide, not a jailer”.  We just didn’t want to get stuck in the traditions of the past that were harmful to our health and happiness.

Thanks go to my family for supporting me in doing this.  It was cold and it was early. I really appreciate their support and I have hope that we will do it again next year.

Photo by Sarah M. Anderson

After the race was over we stayed because they had a raffle of fun things to give away.  We stayed throughout all the trophies and awards and on the 2nd to last number called we won!!!!  We won ourselves a gift certificate to a bar and grill.  I guess so we can go out and drink and eat badly??  Haha…

Photo by Sarah M. Anderson

Hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving.

 

Thanksgiving Countdown

Gobble, gobble,
originally uploaded by acnatta.

Gobble Gobble…

I’ve yet to decide which holiday is tougher for me. Halloween or Thanksgiving. I think it’s Thanksgiving only because it lasts longer. Granted the damage one can do in one evening with Halloween candy can be pretty awesome.

Since you tend to have the day or even days off for Thanksgiving you tend to eat more. Graze more. Not exercise more. It’s a really gluttonous holiday isn’t it.

Well this year I’m trying to sway the tide towards a Diabetes win. I’m going to run a 5k Thanksgiving morning. This will be my first 5k since diagnosis. So I’m a bit nervous, but also very excited to do something good for my health that day. Something truly to be thankful for I suppose.

Instead of gorging myself all day I hope to start the day off right. With a nice 5k race and hopefully all those endorphins will kick in and guide me through the day with a keen eye towards good Diabetes control. Maybe say only 1 piece of pie??? Although that maybe tough for this sweet tooth. I can only plan the work and work the plan.

I do hope this creates a really fun Thanksgiving tradition. I know that it’s tough for anyone, let alone a diabetic, on a holiday so it’s nice to have something to get you off on the right foot.

Go Turkey! Go 5k!

Gobble Gobble…

 

world diabetes day

Dear Internets,

I can’t believe it’s been another year.  My how time flies when you’re having fun.  Or not.  I suppose time really does fly regardless of the fun factor.  Anywhoo…  Just wanted to post a few words on the wd day.   So tomorrow if you see things lit up in blue it means they are celebrating world diabetes day.  Hooray for them!  Good job.  I’m sure not too many people know about WDD I know I didn’t before I was diagnosed.  I’m sure there are all kinds of days I don’t know about.  Monday, Tuesday….

I think it’s great though that there is a day to highlight what many people around the world face.  It’s such a nasty little disease.  Sometimes I think it’s invisible.  I know it had been for me the past few months.  I went on a streak there where I pretended to be a normal folk.  Without the big D.  It didn’t get me very far as the guilt really never leaves.  It’s just one of those things.

Alas I am back on track.  Tracking my carb intake.  Sidenote: it’s amazing how many people don’t know what a carb is.  And if I’m being honest, just like not knowing there was a world diabetes day, I too didn’t really know what a carb was until I was diagnosed.  Those are the breaks kid.  I’m also working out on a somewhat normal basis.  I’m even planning to run a 5k on Thanksgiving of all times!  I really need to run one on every major holiday.  Holidays are like diabetes nightmares.  I digress.  So times are looking up for me and what I refer to as fighting brimley.

For any of you out there that knows someone or is related to someone who has diabetes go ahead and pat them on the back.  Tomorrow is our day.  Just don’t give us anything with carbs.  Or candy.  Or pie.  Or pizza.  I find that sometimes the most encouragement comes with the acknowledgement of having diabetes.  It can be so invisible that no one notices.

 

Me vs. March Madness

I’m in Kansas City this weekend watching the 1st and 2nd rounds of the 2009 Men’s NCAA basketball tournament.  I love college basketball.  I’ve enjoyed it since I was a little kid and going to the tournament is such a fun and exciting experience.  I think anyone that calls themselves a basketball fan should go at least once.  That atmosphere is just great.  With all the different schools playing in one venue and all their fans that made the trip.  This is my 3rd trip to the tournament and I’m glad to be back.

The trip also gave me a chance to catch up with some of my old buddies from when I lived in KC.  One of the reasons we moved back to Missouri from Colorado was to be closer to family and friends.  With the tournament games in KC it was an awesome opportunity to take a mini vacation and chill out like old times.  Granted times have changed.  Well for some of us.  My best friend from high school is still single and living the good life.  He’s dating a new girl and is really enjoying life.  At least that’s what I HEAR.  My best friend from college has a family now.  They brought into this world a baby boy 7 months ago and they are in the throws a parenthood.  Their baby boy is pretty damn cute I have to admit.  He’s definitely motivation for the wife and I to get the show on the road.

Besides all the basketball watching and friend catching up it’s been nice to get away from work and the big D.  Obviously I’ve not left the big D at home, but I’m not talking about it all the time.  Which isn’t to say that I’m on vacation and not dealing with it.  I’m just not making it the main focus of the weekend.  I think maybe I’d like to start a tradition and go to the tournament every year.  I think that would be fun.  It’s something exciting to participate in and it gets me away from the real world.  It’s my own kind of March Madness – not worrying about diabetes…

 

the iPhone and Diabetes (and there goes my money)

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Today LifeScan announced the ability to transfer your Blood Glucose readings from  your Glucose monitor to the iPhone either over a bluetooth connection or the USB connector.

I had the 1st Gen iPhone for almost a year until the wife and I decided to go Lowe Tech and ditch the expensive data plan for a scaled back more friendly finaciapolycapse cell phones.  I really did love it.  It was awesome and such a great technological toy.  But we decided for our financial bottom line it’s best we stick to a non data plan phone for awhile.  Unfortunately Apple is pulling me right back in!

I’m a techy and diabetic.  How can I possibly resist the Lifescan iPhone app?  This just isn’t fair.  Damn you Apple!  It looks like the app will store your BG results in graph format.  It also has the ability to send your results to a contact.  They demoed a 15 year old girl sending meter info to her parents to ensure she was doing well.  I say what 15 year old has a damned iPhone?

Any hoo, that’s pretty sweet.  If only I could convince the wife.  I suppose I’ll just have to tend to the betes the lowe tech approach.  For now. 

 

Sorry blog I didn’t mean it

After a 27 goolgejillion year hiatus I’ve gotten off my lazy bum to write a new blog post.  I guess work has been in the way lately.  I tip my cap to those bloggers out there that can get a post in every week.  There are even those out there that post multiple times in a day.  That is freaky, but amazing.

I also felt that I was complaining too much about the betes.  I really don’t like it when I get that way. I certainly don’t want my friends and family that read this blog to think all I do is sit around and bitch about my disease all day.  That is not who I am and certainly not what I wanted this blog to be about.  So I took a break.  Work did also get in the way.  Funny how a paying job will trump a little ole blog like this.  You do have to have your priorities though.  Especially in these times.

I’d like to say I’ll blog more, but I’m not sure I’ve got the fortitude to keep that promise.  I really want to share my thoughts and feelings about the big D.  I do.  It’s just the complaining all the time that worries me.  I want to blog about positive things and whether that has to do with my diabetes or not remains to be seen.  Like in life there are good days with the disease and bad days.  I think we feel the need to write more on the bad days versus the good.

Hopefully I can reach a happy medium.  Blogging about good and fun things and posting about crumby things too.  I know there are many other things I can write about.  It just seems like diabetes is the one that matters the most.  Which I know really isn’t the case.  Obviously my Missouri Tigers rank way higher on the importance scale than diabetes.  Cars (specifically minivans) also rank higher.  Then there are lost friends.  They too rank higher and will be missed dearly.

Then there are these things that make me laugh my pants off…  So here is to a more funny ha ha blog.

 

Benjamin Baxter “Bear” (1997 to 2009)

Rest In Peace