"With self-disclipline most anything is possible."
-Theodore Roosevelt
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I read a lot of literature on nutrition; cyclist bonking,
marathoners running out of energy, all of these stories about total depletion
of glycogen after total failure of an athlete’s nutrition plan. Each time I think, “I wish it were just
that simple”.
That’s because I have Type 1 Diabetes. An autoimmune disease in which the body
destroys the beta cells in the pancreas that creates insulin. Unlike most athletes who only have to
think about their fuel, I have to think about the balance that fuel brings to
my blood glucose level.
Normally dealing with diabetes is a lot of simple math;
carbohydrates (not sugar like everyone thinks), insulin, and ratios of the two. Throw in an ocean swim, a hard run or a
big brick workout and everything turns from a simple addition problem to a calc
equation. If endurance
sports are a series of yes and no questions, then endurance sports with
diabetes is a series of jeopardy.
I’m one of the lucky ones though. I’ve always been strong, never letting it slow me down. In my mind a challenge that others will
never even know about.
That’s why I run for Insulindependence; a nonprofit that believes using
exercise as a way to help manage ones diabetes. I want to show all the kids and adults out there with
diabetes that have ever been told they can’t do something that they can do
anything.
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ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry I didn't read this immediately when you first sent it to me. I wouldn't have changed a thing.
ReplyDeleteHug.