Beautiful Weekend!

Yeah, I finally got out on my bike quite a bit this weekend! Both Sunday and Monday were great with my blood sugar as well. On Saturday I hit up the family party back at my parents place. I helped my family out by cutting the grass and doing some other odds and ends to get things in order for my brother to get started on his treatment next week. He's losing way too much weight but in good spirits, check out his blog at: mycancerexperience.blogspot.com he is going to do his best to keep a journal going of all the experiences he will be going through. Right on little bro!!!

So the riding was great on Sunday. I went 30 miles and got some great sun burn/tan lines. It felt good to get out and pour on the miles. My starting BS was 60 and some carbs, rode and ate carbs while out and finished at 70. I can't complain, I think it worked out pretty well.

I also got a new Camelback after not taking my meter with me on Sunday. I decided that I need to figure out a way to get everything around with me. I used to have an original camel back in the mid 90's back when they first came out. They have sure come a long way. Here is a picture of the one I picked up. 70 oz. of water and space for my stupid blackberry (I don't use but need it in case of emergency), my meter and some extras like an insulin pump soon!

My ride today took me down through the Valley where I ran into a nice little Memorial Day parade. I stopped to watch, i couldn't pass it up. They are honoring the people who defend the very freedom I was celebrating by riding my bike where I want when I want as long as I want. It's a good thing I had my patriotic socks on! Today was a 25 mile day. My BS was 87 starting off where I had a small snack and continued to snack through the ride and came home to a BS of 70 again. What a great day. See my socks below.

More Craziness!

Well, it's official, well..., for the most part. The preliminary exam on my brother revealed Ewing's Sarcoma which is a form of soft tissue cancer. The whole family is coming together for a meeting on Thursday to discuss everything. In my work world we would call it a "workstart" meeting to begin a project. Our project now, eliminate cancer. For some reason I think this will be the biggest project I will work on in my lifetime. But they picked a tough opponent this time. My family has it's ups and downs just like every other family but we are all extremely motivated at the things we do. My sister and I already have support plans we are conjuring up, we will hit this hard and be done with it. The grim reaper of cancer is going to wish he had picked someone with a smaller heart and a brother and sister that wasn't as cool as Kim and I are! :) Hang in there Kevin and we are with you on your journey to become a cancer survivor!

Love,
Your Big Brother

Great day for riding!

Yes, I finally got out on the bike! It was great, a little chilly though. I rode from my apartment on the paved hike/bike trail all the way to Brandywine Rd. and back. A 17.5 mile round tip at 15mph average. Max speed reached on the trip was 30mph and the ride took 1h 10m 13s. The best part was there was a stiff headwind all the way out and then a wicked tail wind on the way back. I think it was Kyla pushing me along, after all, the ride was for her today!

Starting BS 57
treated with 45 grams of carbs
Ride
Ending BS 85

Right on the money!

Stressed!

OK, trying to maintain composure and control. I have my A1C checked tomorrow but it's amazing how stress can throw it all out of whack! Here's the scoop: my little brother was admitted to the Cleveland Clinic yesterday with a mysterious 103 degree temp that he's had for 2 days. My Dad had a funny reaction on a kidney test recently. My sister is getting married next year in Jamaica and I just found out how much it will cost to get down there for it. My softball team lost last night and on top of all that I just want to get out and ride but it has rained pretty much since Saturday and is supposed to rain until Friday. :(

I think the solution is going to be to ride anyway tonight. Rain or shine I'm going so if your with me give a call....(chirp, chirp) and we'll go!

My BS at 3am was 47 and after a small snack this morning it was 233. Yikes! I have to get myself under control, I don't care if the rest of my life is crazy my diabetes can not be. T-minus 4 months until I get my insulin pump!!!

Hopefully I can report back tomorrow on how the ride went, keep you fingers crossed! :)

Boo for the weather!

First off, let me say farewell to a fellow diabetic who passed away today. Kyla Maldonado reminded all of us today how precious and fragile life is. She was 29 years old when she passed. She was survived by two terribly cute kids. I was going to dedicate my ride to today to her but I think the man upstairs wanted to give me a better, sunny day to ride and dedicate. So my next ride is all yours Kyla, RIP.

Well, I spent a lot of time today staring up at the sky waiting for the rain to end so I could ride. Nothing doin! Mother nature was not having it today. So I did go to the bike store to research my next purchase, a Trek Madone 4.5!!! My tongue hit the floor, it was so beautiful. Then I drove through rain and hail to the bank and grocery store. As I was leaving the store my BS went low. How ironic the very food to keep me alive was all around me and I have a low! I live right around the corner <3 minutes away. So I ran home and checked and I was 43! Yikes! However, it was time for lunch anyway so I went at it.

I've tried to keep myself busy today doing some other things around the house. Now I'm getting ready to do a 30 minute workout in the living room. Oh well, hopefully the week will be better and I can get out and ride.

I hope the weather was better in MI for my friend Nancy to get out and put in a few miles! lol

I've been tagged!!!

My new diabetic friend Nancy tagged me so I need to give 10 random facts and then tag 6 more people. Similar to Nancy I don't know 6 people that blog, but I do know a few. :)

The Rules:
Once you’ve been tagged, you have to write a blog with 10 weird, random, facts, habits or goals about yourself. At the end, choose 6 people to be tagged, list their names & why you tagged them. Don’t forget to leave them a comment saying “You’re it!” & to go read your blog. You cannot tag the person that tagged you, so since you’re not allowed to tag me back; let me know when you are done so I can go read YOUR weird/random/odd facts, habits and goals.

Alright, time to get started....

1. I've loved cycling all of my life. I built my MTB from the frame up, ordering the best parts from around the country.

2. Only decision I've ever regretted, selling that MTB for $250 in college which was probably spent on alcohol.

3. I absolutely hate onions. I will not eat them in, on or around anything.

4. If I could get paid to ride my bike, I would call my boss and quit right now on Saturday night.

5. I wish I was on the insulin pump, can't wait to start in September.

6. I love camping but haven't gone in 10 years. That may be the only vacation I can afford this summer.

7. I love cars, I know a lot about them and am just drawn to them for some reason. I can identify any car, most of the time by only seeing the fraction of the vehicle or the grill.

8. I like trying new beers but usually go for Captain and Diet Coke when I'm out.

9. My hero is Lance Armstrong, I have a huge poster of him above my fireplace. He is an inspiration to me.

10. I have 5 pairs of brown casual shoes. Not sure how that happened but I wear all of them, well, not at once but you get the picture.

Hmm...I'll send this to:

Kim because she's been blogging forever

Ken White bc he is the only other blogger I know

John, well, you can blog on myspace

Matt, same as John

I'll figure out a few more, later!

Mysteries of Life with Diabetes

So, last night I was woken up by a low at about 2am. I spent the evening working on my bicycle and cleaning my apartment. Nothing incredibly taxing. I checked my BS before bed and it was 186 so I took 1 unit of Humalog and went to bed. When I checked my BS at 2am it was 67. why the hell does the bottom drop out all the time in the middle of the night. I think I burn more calories in two hours of sleeping more than any other two hours of the day. I can't wait to get my pump 108 days, roughly, but who's counting right?!?!?!

However, the mystery above is small compared to the mystery in the photo below. How does this happen?

Down but not out!

So after my injection of motivation (no pun intended) I hurry up to go pick up my test strips from the pharmacy and get home. [Side note - why do people fill 6 prescriptions and then sit there and argue with the checkout guy about why they are leaving the medicine there like it's some kind of storage facility!] I hurried to get Lexi walked and fed and then proceed to gather my gear for a ride. As I'm getting things ready part of what I do is check the air in my tires and top them off. There it was, a completely flat back tire.

WTF! It was fine the last time I was out! Soon I put some air in to confirm and yes, there was some glass in the tire. Boo! So on to plan B. I ran to the bike shop to pick up two brand spankin new tubes and left with two tubes, a base layer and outer layer/jacket from Pearl Izumi. That shit's expensive, I couldn't pass it up and now I can't use the temp. as an excuse not to ride. :)

By this time it was dark so with a quick check of the blood sugar (99) and a light snack I was off. If I couldn't ride then I would just run! A quick 5K, well quick may not be a good adjective. Anyway I did manage to pull off a full 5K which I'm sure I will pay for in the morning.

End of story, no ride but a run will do. I have replaced the tire and I'm ready for the next non-rainy day!

Randomness!

Sorry! It's been way too long since I've posted anything. I've been in a bit of a rut. Here in the diabetes world I believe we call if burnout. I do my best to stay motivated and I'm learning new ways to do that. When I lived with my ex-girlfriend my motivation to go out and exercise was to get away from her. Now that she's my ex I'm trying to find new ways to keep myself motivated. My BS control has been great, my 90 day average after 255 tests is 146. I'm working on getting that down with a 30 day average of 120 after 75 tests. My A1C was 8.6 last time it was checked and I need to keep that lower.

I'm really excited/nervous to switch from MDI (multiple daily injections) to the pump. My plan is to make the switch in late September. With my insurance the pump falls under Durable Medical Equipment which has an annual cap of $2500. So here is the break down: Original cost: $6000, Discount for Medtronic being a network provider: $1000, total cost is now: $5000, minus $2500 from insurance, equals $2500 out of pocket to buy. So I guess if this counts as stimulating the economy then I'm helping. This is where my check will be going! :) Now for the problem, if I get the pump at the beginning of the year then the $2500 will be used up. The catch, the pump supplies fall under durable equipment as well and if there is no money left of the $2500 then it's all an out of pocket expense. Solution, get the pump close to the end of the year so when the DME $2500 rolls over as of Jan. 1 I can use that new money to cover 80% of the supply cost. Jeez, "normal" people have it so easy! lol

I want to thank Nancy from Team Type1Rider for taking a minute to send me an email. It's amazing that such a quick little thing can be so motivating. Check out her blog: http://www.type1rider.org/TeamType1Rider/NancyEastman/GoinNancyBlog/tabid/151/Default.aspx

Good luck with you training and racing season this summer!

On that note, I'm ready to put my head down and drive straight into the fitness world. Wish me luck! I'm starting today with a bike ride this evening. It's a beautiful, sunny day in NE Ohio which can be hard to find sometimes! Check back, I'll let you know how the ride went!

Ride to live, live to ride!