A Perfect 100, x2

As I posted about on my previous post, this past weekend was filled with some non-running athletic activities. Friday was the faculty vs. student basketball game at my school. We played the 8th grade team of mixed boys and girls. I played basketball for a long time, however, that was not the case for all other members of my team. We had trouble getting the ball past half court. I tried not to show any frustration, but it was hard not to be when my teammates turned the ball over almost every possession. But, I had a good time and the students beat us, just like it should be.

Saturday morning I got up early to get in a short run of 5 miles. I had ran Friday in the late afternoon but wanted to log a few miles before my canoeing trip later in the day. I ran at a fairly slow pace, but it was so nice to just jog along and not worry about how fast I was running. I think I need to do this more often...it is good for the mind and the body!

Saturday afternoon I met my friends and we drove up to where we were starting our canoe adventure. I started was in a canoe with 2 other people and got to sit out the first shift. It was nice to look at all of the beautiful homes along the Fox River. They were all so big and many had docks that led out to the river. It was very picturesque. There were 2 other canoes as well - one that held 3 people and another one that held 2.

After the first switch, I took over the front position in the canoe and stayed their for the remainder of the trip. We stopped a few other times, though, so it wasn't like I did not ever get a break.

We stopped at a Mexican restaurant along the way to eat some food. Most of us were hungry and wanted to refuel our bodies for the remainder of the trip. I took out my meter and tested - 100. I am never 100. The girl that was sitting next to me was impressed (she is in grad school for sports nutrition). After our short meal, we continued on.

We canoed for 12 miles on Saturday. Now when I think about it, 12 miles does not seem like a far distance; however, in a canoe, it is very far! We did it in about 4 hours or so, arriving at our destination just as dusk was approaching. My muscles were tired from canoeing so many hours and my arms felt like wet noodles. However, it was all worthwhile because it was such a fun adventure.

Saturday was my first time canoeing and I could definitely feel the result of the exercise in my muscles when I got up on Sunday morning. I have fully recovered today, and even got another 100 blood sugar reading this afternoon. Maybe canoeing is very good for my blood sugars?

MC200 + more

The past week I feel like I've been going nonstop, always with more things to accomplish and less time to sleep. Even right now as I write, I keep thinking about everything else I should be doing, like grading papers, entering grades, preparing report cards for 3rd quarter, planning lessons, registering for races, stretching...the list goes on and on. But that is mostly because things are busy for me as a teacher right now.

My "big news" is that I am running MC200 this year! I am beyond thrilled and excited to do this. It is a race from Madison, Wisconsin to Chicago and is 200 miles; hence, MC200. You do it with a team of 11 other runners and run in shifts three different times. I am either doing an 18 or 19 mile shift. They are broken up differently, though. The 18 mile shift is 6, 6, 6 and the 19 mile shift is 3, 7.5, 8.5. One of my friends wanted to run and there was an open spot on her team and she asked me. Apparently we are not going to be competitive, which is okay, but I know I'll be competitive with myself.

One reason why it will be hard not to be competitive is because my brother has run this race 2 times before. Although my brother is a pretty good runner (Boston qualifier multiple years and is running it this year and is training for the Leadville 100 mile race = craziness), his team won the relay one year. I'm sure he remembers their time and will be interested in knowing what my team's time will be. He'll probably tease me about my shift time and how slow I am. But, although I'm competitive, I just love running so it will be fun no matter what.

Monday and today I ran 8 miles in 1:04-1:05; however, I feel completely out of shape. Maybe it is because I am so tired? I know I'm not getting enough sleep at night which hurts my running a lot - this week I've averaged 5 hours which is not good. This weekend I plan on sleeping a lot, or at least hope to. Tomorrow I'm playing with other staff members in a basketball game vs. the 8th graders at school for a fundraiser. Hopefully I'll still be able to make shots - I haven't played since the fall. Saturday I'm going canoeing all afternoon. I am excited to do it since I've never been canoeing. I'm hoping to run some serious miles tomorrow and during the weekend as well. Don't you love active weekends, or is it just me?

An Unconventional Speed Workout

Yesterday was the first day the greatest summer ever, dubbed by some of my friends. The event to kick off the best summer ever was nighttime ultimate frisbee. I have not played ultimate for a couple years, but love anything active so I must admit I was looking forward to it, as well as hanging out with some friends.

I knew I was going to play ultimate last night, but decided to do 10 miles at the gym, followed by some biking, a few minutes on the elliptical and some walking as a cool down. My muscles felt good and I (actually) stretched when I was done working out. I spent some quality time at the gym, more than usual, but I am on Spring Break so this week I have that luxury.

After my mid-afternoon workout, I came back and had a light dinner. It is hard for me to run when there is anything in my stomach, but I knew I needed something before ultimate. Then, it was off to play.

Originally, we were going to play on a college campus football field, but got kicked off of it by security. So we decided to go to a local park, about a mile away. Some people drove, but I walked with the others instead. We got to the field, picked teams, and the game started. By no means do I think I am a great ultimate player, but what I do have working for me is the fact that I am in pretty good shape and can therefore outrun most people, and can catch and throw a frisbee decently. There were 2 guys that had played in college, another guy like me who has played occasionally the past couple years, and then the rest were new to the game. It made for an interesting mix of talent ability on the field, and the fact that the wind was outrageous last night made some of the passes, well, interesting.

We ended up playing for about 1.5 hours, but the time went by quickly. I realized that in the second half of our game I might be sore the next day, as I was getting in a speed workout that I had not intended for the day. Seriously, if you play ultimate and are competitive, like myself, sprinting is involved. Today's 7 miles were taken at a very easy pace, considering I was and still am sore from ultimate. But, it was well worth it to spend a night with friends and, my team won.

Treadmill Training

Many people are not a fan of the treadmill (read: dreadmill); however, I have logged countless miles and spent many, many hours on various ones over the past years. Some people find running in the same spot dull and boring but I like it. Most days I run and watch TV and try to keep myself informed of what is going on in the world around me.

While in college I trained for my first 2 half marathons on a treadmill in the winter and spring months. I went to a college that was in Minnesota, and if you know anything about Minnesota winters, they are not the warmest. The campus was surrounded by bluffs on all sides and had many trails, but those were covered with snow in the winter. For those two years, I trained outside during the month of May since I went to live with my parents for the first part of the summer.

After college and for the past two years, I lived in Ohio. I joined a gym and did all of my training on a treadmill. We did not live in the greatest neighborhood and I never felt safe going from my car to our back door at night so running by myself, no matter what time of day it was, was always out of the picture.

Now I live in the Chicago suburbs, a safe area. But, I have continued to train on the treadmill. I have often asked myself if I could go back to training outside? Part of my reason for training by myself on the treadmill is that I have not found anyone who runs as much as me (7 miles on a low mileage day) or around my pace (about 7:35 or so pace). There is a group at one of the local running stores that have group runs, but they are only 4 miles. I feel like in order to run outside I need to have a partner. Although I live in a safe area, what if something happened? I am young and look even younger than I am (I was asked last week what college I go to, but I guess this is better than the "what college do you plan on going to next year?," a comment I this winter). I have always been ultra concerned with my own safety.

One thing I like about the treadmill is that I know exactly how far I've run at all times and it shows me the pace I'm running at as well as the time. I don't have a sophisticated running watch that tells me this information and don't feel like I have to purchase one at this time. I'm sure it would help me on race days, but that would be about all.

Treadmill training can lead to P.R.s, as last year I PR'd by 7+ minutes training on one. However, I will say that if I ran on the street my feet would probably feel better on race day. I also miss the fresh air and getting the ever-attractive runner's tan (don't forget the watch line).

In a few days I'm going to visit my parents, where I typically run outside by myself. The route I run is a five mile out-and-back and goes by a fire station and through an older, well-kept neighborhood. I love running this route and know that I'll be safe. I grew up in a small city(60,000 people) so it is common for someone to honk while I am running and wave hi.

Have you ever trained on a treadmill? Do you think I would do better if I trained outside?

Shoes, Shoes, Shoes

I recently posted about how my Nikes were causing me foot problems when I ran so I went back to using my old Sauconys. Since Spring Break started today, not only do I get to sleep in for the week and enjoy my time off, but today I also went to pick up my running shoes.

A few weekends ago I went to a running store but they did not have the updated Sauconys in my size. They ordered them and were at the store a few days, but I've been pretty busy lately and did not get a chance to get to the store. So today I went to go get them.

The store was pretty quiet, given the fact that most adults work during the day and do not have a spring break; however, there were 2 other people there but left shortly after I arrived. After the sales person retrieved my shoes from the back room, I got on their treadmill and jogged half a mile. The shoes felt so good!

I had noticed that my old Sauconys were really wearing out from the amount of miles that had been logged in them. The cushioning just was not as good as it should be and needs to be for my training right now. I purchased my new Sauconys and hope that they will continue to make my feet happy when I run. Don't you just love the sparkling whiteness of new shoes compared to old running shoes? If only they would remain that bright for more than 2 days...

Smelly People

Yesterday I was at the gym running on the treadmill. I was cruising along and a man got on the open treadmill next to me. To give you a mental picture, he was a large man with a big gut (just stating the facts) and began walking. When I run, as I'm sure is the case with you when you exercise, you sweat. However, there is a distinct line between sweating and smelling.

When I got to mile 6 I started to smell a foul odor in the air. The gym was somewhat full and I thought someone might have let one go during their exercise and decided to try not to breathe in the awful odor, thinking it would clear up in a few minutes. However, when I got to mile 7, I realized that the smell was still in the air, only worse now. I wanted to keep running, but it is hard when the air is smelly. In my head I was going through all the possibilities that the stench could be coming from. Then, I realized what it was.

The man next to me was sweating buckets and smelled awful. His b.o. was so bad...and I feel like I have a pretty high tolerance for b.o. since I teach 5th graders. I got off the treadmill to get a drink and give my nose a break and realized that this man had numerous problems:

1. He was wearing a grey shirt. This breaks all "fashion meet running" rules. If you sweat when wearing a grey shirt you will end up with the bat symbol or something like it on your back, which is not attractive. Either wear a dry-fit shirt or a white shirt while working out - never grey. (rule does not apply if you work out in the comfort of your own home)

2. He either forgot to apply deodorant before he worked out or needs stronger deodorant. No one wants to be working out next to a smelly person, especially me.

3. If there are many open treadmills, find one where you are not working out directly next to someone, like me. He could have walked on any open treadmill, which there were many of, but he chose the one next to me.

Have you ever had this problem? I had to finish my run on the track because my nose could not take it. Maybe this is a sign I should be running outside...??

How much is too much? How much is too little?

When I first started my blog a little over a year ago I was living in a different state, working at a different school, and, in many senses, had a different life that what I am living today. As you know if you read my blog, I am a teacher. Although there are many, many benefits to being a teacher, there is one drawback: disclosure.

When I started teaching at my new school this year, the technology coordinator told the faculty and staff that we should not have a blog or twitter or facebook accounts. She said that we should discontinue our facebook accounts immediately so our students and parents could not find us. I wanted to yell "ARE YOU CRAZY???" Facebook is the way I stay in touch with many of my friends from high school, college, and other parts of my life. I knew that I was not going to give that up. I thought it was not a reasonable request.

Then I started thinking about my blog. Although I didn't blog in the fall, I knew I did not want to give this up as well. I'm smart enough not to post names of parents, students, faculty/staff, or my school on my blog. I feel like a lot of it is common sense.

After reading the comments (thank you!) on my last post, where Katie and jpnair called me Queenie made me laugh. To give you a little history, Queenie is a nickname my mom and sometimes, although rarely, my dad call me. My brother and sister tagged me with it when I was in college because when I would come home they thought my mom would wait on me hand and foot, like a queen. Therefore, Queenie became a name I answer to.

Sometimes I wish I could just write my real name on this blog. I feel like there is an issue of trustworthiness when someone doesn't reveal their "real" name - like, what are they hiding? I wish I could share more, but I don't want anyone at my school to find my blog.

Is this a normal response to a blog for a school or company? I'm interested in hearing your opinions and views on the subject.

Beep Beep Diabetes Alert Day

Do you get the title of my blog? Yes, it has been a long Tuesday and that is my attempt at humor while I put my thoughts together. I know I'll never have a future of being a comedian, a fact that I have already accepted much earlier in my life.

I did not realize Diabetes Alert Day was even approaching until my mother sent me an article a few weeks ago. The article came from a magazine that was in their local newspaper and had numerous tidbits of information about staying healthy. Did you know that chewing gum is good for you? My mom actually circled that piece of information because I chew gum all the time. I probably can keep the gum market afloat just by how much I purchase. I could be addicted to much worse things, and now that gum is healthy, it is even better.

One interesting fact on the page was that it said that if you drink coffee or tea your chance of getting type 2 diabetes decreases. I'm not going to go into my thoughts about type 2 right now, but I plan on blogging about it in the future, but I wished that was true for type 1.

In college I always enjoyed a good Starbucks drink, and still do, but it was not until this year that I started to drink coffee every morning. I'm not a fan of tea. I just don't like the taste of it, but coffee I thoroughly enjoy. However, I am picky: it must be flavored coffee. My favorite it cinnamon hazelnut from a coffee shop where my parents live. It is the best coffee ever. However, since I cannot get it regularly, I settle for other flavored coffees which pass my taste bud test.

If drinking coffee would only cure me of diabetes...

What does a runner look like?

A few weeks ago I was out with some friends. We were eating dinner and I was sitting by one person I did not know. Next to me was one of my friends who also runs and I asked her how her training was going, as she hurt her hip a few months ago. She talked about it and some races she was hoping to do this summer and then asked me about my future race plans. I told her about my planned 5ks, half marathon, and full marathon as well as some others I am thinking about running. To get to the point, the guy that was sitting by me who I did not know said, "I am not surprised to hear that you run. You look like a runner." This comment got me thinking...what does a runner look like?

From my observations, good distance runners are typically lean and leggy. Do I fit that mold? Leggy - check, maybe too leggy (I'm 6'1"; no comment related to my height is necessary). Lean - probably...my BMI is 19. But, I always feel like I can lose some weight. What else defines a runner? Perhaps my long hair tied into a mess ponytail? The ever-present sports watch, which is always on my wrist during a run but not when I go out? The length of shorts? I know this one sounds funny, but it is so true. Have you ever seen runners wear baggy shorts or shorts that go past mid-thigh?

What do you think a runner looks like? Do I look like a runner? hm...

A1C in a Box

A few days ago I was pa rousing the aisles of Target while I was getting what I needed (vitamins). I typically go to look at their health section to see if anything is new, such as new flavors of glucose tablets. As I was looking at the various diabetic products, I noticed their A1C in a Box sitting on the self with all of the other meters.




I have an endo. appointment in less than a month, and one thing I am always worried about is my A1C. I hold myself to incredibly high expectations and would be devastated to see a high A1C. I test my blood sugar a lot to try to achieve the best control possible and with my CGM system my life has gotten easier, but I still strive for perfection. Even though I want to be perfect, I know it is not possible for me. Some days will be better than others as far as my blood sugars go and I will not be able to explain why. As I've gotten older, I have been able to accept this fact better, yet it is still a struggle.


As I stood in the Target aisle contemplating if I should spend the money to buy the A1C meter system, I tried to figure out what my A1C would actually be. I've had a few really bad high blood sugar days since the first of the year, which do damage to my A1C average. However, most of the time I felt like I was in decent control. I decided to buy the system because my curiosity was getting the better of me.



I opened up the box, read the instructions, and decided to skip watching the DVD that they told me I should watch first. I know how to read and follow directions and felt that watching it would be, well, a waste of my time.



The machine takes 5 minutes to read after you put the blood sample on it. I got nervous even waiting for it to read. Finally, it read my A1C: I was pleased. But then I started to wonder: How accurate is this simple machine that you can buy at Target? I guess I'll find out in a few weeks.