Rockford 10k Race Report

Do you ever have the feeling that you are capable of much more than your performance showed?  That is the feeling that I left the Rockford 10k with last Sunday.  After speaking with my running coach the races held that day, we decided that it would be most beneficial if I raced the 10k and not the half marathon, as I originally wanted.

Mile 5.5 

My goal was to run the first mile in 7:00 or 7:05 and then run the rest in the 6:50s, so I would average 6:55 or so for the race.  I'm here to say that did not happen.  It wasn't even close.  I ended up averaging 7:04 for the race, and ran about 20 seconds slower than my PR from last year.

Getting my check

There is a lot I should be happy about.  I was 13th overall and the 2nd place female.  This race gives out money to the top 3, so I got a $50 check.  This is the first time I have ever won money for running.  Three of my running club teammates were running in the races, and there were an additional 4 that came to spectate/bike/cheer for us.  Doesn't it all sound great?

This past year, I have had concrete goals for a lot of races and fell short every single time.  The races where I had no goals were the ones that I ran my fastest.  I don't get it.  I can get 3 hours of sleep before a half marathon and run a 1:36 on the hilliest course in Illinois, but actually get sleep and proper rest only to run a 43:53 10k on a flat course?

With all that aside, I'll continue to race and have goals.  Hopefully I can achieve them this summer/fall.  I did accomplish one goal for this race, although it had nothing to do with time.  I've always felt that my body is too fat to only race in shorts and a sports bra.  But, I wanted to overcome that, and I did.  I raced in my shorts and sports bra, and was thankful I did due to the incredibly high humidity.  At least I achieved one goal, right?  It is the small things in life that matter!

Diabetes Blog Week #6 - Art Day

I dumped a plethora of used test strips from my meter bag and came up with this design: 

I think it is fitting, as I am racing tomorrow.

Diabetes Blog Week #5 - Switch Disease Day

When you consider all things, diabetes, although it is a pain sometimes, definitely is not the worst chronic condition one could have.  I thought about other chronic conditions and many are a lot worse, so coming up with a disease I would want to switch with was rather challenging.  Ideally, diabetes would just go away.  However, that isn't happening soon, so instead I would become Celiac in its place.

Changing my diet wouldn't be too awful to do.  I went gluten free for a bit last year during marathon training and it was just a different way to think about food.  Obviously, if you do eat gluten than that would suck.  However, there are so many people jumping on the GF band wagon that it is easy to find options to eat at most restaurants.  Some of my favorite foods are GF anyway, including my favorite: 

Although I don't truly consider myself part of the DOC, given the fact that not too many diabetes topics are spoken about here, I don't think it has impacted how I treat others' medical conditions.  I am a caring person by nature, so I am concerned when someone else gets hurt, injured, or sick.  But that is part of who I am, and would be regardless of other people.

Diabetes Blog Week Post #4 - Accomplishments

Today's post deals with stating your biggest accomplishment.

Non-diabetes-wise, my biggest accomplishment is qualifying (and then running) the Boston Marathon.

Diabetes-wise, my biggest accomplishment is not having an A1C over 6.5 since I was in 5th grade.  It could be longer, except I haven't bothered to look at reports from 18 years ago.

Diabetes Blog Week Post #1 - Doctors

As I've done attempted in the past, this year I will be participating in Diabetes Blog Week.  This year my goal is to actually blog about diabetes for the entire week.

Today's prompt deals with doctor visits:

I think I am in the minority in that my doctor spends more than 15 minutes with me, rather 30 minutes.  I don't hide the facts of my life from my doctor.  He knows that I am a runner and that I do a plethora of cross-training.  He knows that I have always struggled with low blood sugars, and the panic that I feel when I see a number over 200 come across the screen on my meter.  He knows that change for me is very hard, and also that I don't like to use the Bolus Wizard on my pump when I eat.  I believe in being completely honest with my doctor.  This means telling him the good things happening, the bad things, and the ugly things.    

If my doctor read my blog, I don't think he would at all surprised.  I blog about what is important to me on it - mostly running, a little diabetes, with some random stuff thrown in.  Having diabetes requires a lot of work, and even more so if you are an athlete.  Diabetes is always present, and needs a lot of attention.  I think that many people start to have problems because they do not pay enough attention to it.  It is more than counting carbs, finger sticks, and insulin shots/boluses.  It is carrying GU with you on any any run over 3 miles and wearing a bracelet that identifies me as having a dysfunctional pancreas.  

I feel incredibly lucky to have a doctor that understands me, and can help me take care of myself better.  

Perspective

After a rough few weeks in regard to running, including a half marathon that included a stop at the med tent at mile 6.5 on what was supposed to be a 1:32 half PR, I've been especially hating diabetes.  Sometimes having it just sucks - and there is no other way to put it, but especially so when it derails my plans.

Today I opted to run a little later in the morning instead of in the 30* weather.  On the schedule was a "long" run of 10 miles, which was broken down into a 1 mile warm-up, 8 mile MGP run (7:37 pace) and a 1-mile cool-down.  As I got out of my car and waited for my satellites to load, I looked at the beauty around me.  I could see flowers rapidly moving in the wind, and a bright blue sky.  It was incredibly windy, but a good day to run.

A few steps into my run I had to stop and wait for a car before I crossed the street and continued to run on the path.  As I waited for the car, I noticed two people on the other side of the street.  One man was wearing a Boston Marathon shirt from this year, and was talking to another man.  Not really thinking much of it, I looked down at my watch to see that it was paused.  It was then that I realized the other man.  He had a prosthetic leg.

After the car passed, I ran by, saying hi to both men on the way by.  As I ran 1 mile out, I thought about how different life would be without one of my legs.  How much harder running would be.  Could I even bike?  Everything would be different.  And as I turned around and hit the 2-mile mark, I saw the man running by me the opposite direction and said "hi" again.

I am constantly amazed by other people.  This man was out on the prairie path today running, just like me.  However, although I am 100% positive he does not know it, he changed my perspective.  Did the run today go as planned?  No, not in the least bit.  I had a low blood sugar around mile 6 and ended up running an over pace of 8:00 miles, instead of 7:45.  But I could care less because I could still use my legs to run.  It made me thankful that the majority of my body does work well.

This run today was more than just a run, but helped me gain perspective of the good things in life, and to be thankful for what I do have.