Diamattic
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 678
- Type of diabetes
- Type 1
- Treatment type
- Insulin
I don't normally (humble) brag, but in this case it lifts my mood, and may give others some hope after diagnosis.
I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes last May, which (inconveniently) was smack in the middle of my 6 months training period for my first Adventure race.
An 'Adventure Race' for those unfamiliar with the term is a race that takes place over a period of 5-8 hours (this was short one, some races can last for days!) that involves running, hiking, cycling, and canoeing through the country side with no set path, just the path YOU choose to get you to the next check point the fastest. You turn up in the morning without a single clue on where the checkpoints are, or how far they are from each other all you know is that you can only use the map they give the morning of, and whatever you can carry with you the ENTIRE time. That means if you want 8 hours worth of food, you bring it, if you want insulin you bring it, if you want water you carry it, extra sock, hats, sweaters, a knife, etc....
I had been training for about 3 months and all the while showing typical symptoms of T1 diabetes (i lost 33 lbs!) one night i was admitted to the emergency room and long story short i was diagnosed with T1.
All i could think about was "Can i still do my adventure race!?"
After a week of resting at home trying to figure out this new speed bump i was cleared to get back into the gym.
I started slow with 10km bike rides,
then i did 10km rides followed by weights,
then i did 10km rides followed by weights, followed by another 10km ride, and kept adding..
As you T1s know its tricky! I was that guy sweating his **** off at the gym while eating candy lol People thought i was mad!
The day came, and i turned up at 7am at the starting line, with a bag filled with everything i could think of that would help. I checked my sugars made sure they were at least 9+ and then took off!
I followed a rule i had read that i should consume 30g of carbs for every hours of cardio, and reduced my basal the night before and it worked beautifully! I checked my sugars again 4 hours into the race and was still around 9mmol/L ! So i pushed on, and opted to take the 'Long Course' which meant an extra 10km hike through a forest/swampy area with just a map and compass..
At the end of the day i was so tired, but I completed the full long course, placing 26 out of 90.
This race was almost exactly 2 months after my diagnoses, and in total was around 70km cycling, 10km hiking, and 10km canoeing!
2 months after spending a week in the hospital, being told that my pancreas took an early retirement and i had to stick myself with needles every time i ate i was able to jump right back into life!
I wanted to let those of you who may be feeling a bit down and out about diagnoses that life doesn't have to change if you don't want it too! Just study up and ease back into it and you'll right back to where you left off in no time!
As a follow up, 2 months after the race (so roughly 4 months after diagnosis) i had my HbA1c tested and scored a 5.7%... which i was told is pretty normal.. And yes i know what you thinking, I asked them to double check to make sure i actually diabetes and yes.. i still have it haha
I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes last May, which (inconveniently) was smack in the middle of my 6 months training period for my first Adventure race.
An 'Adventure Race' for those unfamiliar with the term is a race that takes place over a period of 5-8 hours (this was short one, some races can last for days!) that involves running, hiking, cycling, and canoeing through the country side with no set path, just the path YOU choose to get you to the next check point the fastest. You turn up in the morning without a single clue on where the checkpoints are, or how far they are from each other all you know is that you can only use the map they give the morning of, and whatever you can carry with you the ENTIRE time. That means if you want 8 hours worth of food, you bring it, if you want insulin you bring it, if you want water you carry it, extra sock, hats, sweaters, a knife, etc....
I had been training for about 3 months and all the while showing typical symptoms of T1 diabetes (i lost 33 lbs!) one night i was admitted to the emergency room and long story short i was diagnosed with T1.
All i could think about was "Can i still do my adventure race!?"
After a week of resting at home trying to figure out this new speed bump i was cleared to get back into the gym.
I started slow with 10km bike rides,
then i did 10km rides followed by weights,
then i did 10km rides followed by weights, followed by another 10km ride, and kept adding..
As you T1s know its tricky! I was that guy sweating his **** off at the gym while eating candy lol People thought i was mad!
The day came, and i turned up at 7am at the starting line, with a bag filled with everything i could think of that would help. I checked my sugars made sure they were at least 9+ and then took off!
I followed a rule i had read that i should consume 30g of carbs for every hours of cardio, and reduced my basal the night before and it worked beautifully! I checked my sugars again 4 hours into the race and was still around 9mmol/L ! So i pushed on, and opted to take the 'Long Course' which meant an extra 10km hike through a forest/swampy area with just a map and compass..
At the end of the day i was so tired, but I completed the full long course, placing 26 out of 90.
This race was almost exactly 2 months after my diagnoses, and in total was around 70km cycling, 10km hiking, and 10km canoeing!
2 months after spending a week in the hospital, being told that my pancreas took an early retirement and i had to stick myself with needles every time i ate i was able to jump right back into life!
I wanted to let those of you who may be feeling a bit down and out about diagnoses that life doesn't have to change if you don't want it too! Just study up and ease back into it and you'll right back to where you left off in no time!
As a follow up, 2 months after the race (so roughly 4 months after diagnosis) i had my HbA1c tested and scored a 5.7%... which i was told is pretty normal.. And yes i know what you thinking, I asked them to double check to make sure i actually diabetes and yes.. i still have it haha
