Virtual 5K - Go Get em Tiger

Wahooooooooooo!!!!! It is my Birthday and while I plan to celebrate with a 50 mile race this weekend I also wanted to do something for the 5K.  SO:  If you get 2 people to sign up today, you get a Road ID Gift Card (until I run out of Gift Cards).  Just let me know here or on FB or by Email that you did so and the GC is yours (I have 13).  GO GO GO!!!! It is only 3.1 miles and $15 and 100% goes to JDRF.  This is a great cause.

Info on the 5K
Register Here
List of Registrants

Race to Cure Diabetes - Sock Winners (3/25-4/27)

The Winners of Socks this week will all be listed here.  I am updating the Registrants every morning and doing a new raffle for socks.  If you win don't worry you are still in for the big prizes at the end you just get this bonus prize for helping me out and registering.  Spread the word, please. 
Event: April28/29
Information HERE
Registration HERE
Registrants HERE


Winners (Please contact me if you win and let me know if you want Women's or Men's socks and if you want Trail or Diabetic (for athletes) socks.

March 25: Aimee Cronin (We are out of womens Trail socks so let me know if you want trail socks for a SO or Athletic Diabetic socks)
March 26: #59 = Cindy Roerig
March 27: #32 = Hope Epton
March 28: 29 = Liz Day
March 29: 6 = Michelle Bishop
March 30: 62 = Anne Ryerson
March 31: 22 = Kristin Cundiff
April 3: #52 = Joe Maher
April 4: 76 = Kara Wooldrik
April 5: 10 = Mary Cornell (What would you like?  Diabetic socks, Trail socks (XL) or reusable shopping bag?)
April 6: 66 = Anna Stein
April 7: 86 = Nikki Stevens
April 8:79 = Candice Hope
April 9: 72 = Vol Stover
April 10: 36 = Rea Fawcett (congrats Mom!)
April 11: 84 = Jimmi
April 12: 74 = Jennifer Potvin (Let me know if you want Diabetic socks or Trail socks  XL)
April 13: 91 = Joanne Ross
April 14: 100 = Kaci Nash
April 15:9 = Vannessa Christensen
April 16:37 = Ellie Fincham
April 17:48 = Tracey Kite
April 18:53 = Kim Martin
April 19:82 = Christine French
April 20:106 = Mom Scarborough(Let me know if you want Diabetic Athletic sock or XL Tral sock or Reusable Tote)
April 21:5 = Cynthia Bergland(Let me know if you want Diabetic Athletic sock or XL Tral sock or Reusable Tote)
April 22:Zorion Seaman (Let me know if you want Diabetic Athletic sock or XL Tral sock or Reusable Tote)
April 23:112 = Teri Prater (You signed up just in time :))  (Let me know if you want Diabetic Athletic sock or XL Tral sock or Reusable Tote)
April 24: Bridget Maher
April 25: Jake Roerig
April 26: Ana Volovsek (wahooo you signed up just in time for an extra prize, see April 23 for Prize options and let me know)

Race to Cure Diabetes - Raffle Prizes

And the Bribery and Coaxing Continues.  Here are a few Raffle prizes to tempt you. There is a the huge prize from Todd and More (pictured below) and two necklaces below that from CreativeInputbyLiz.  These items will be raffled off with a ton of other awesome prizes after April 29th.  Enter now and get a ton of others to enter.  If you get the most folks to enter you can straight up pick your own prize.  If you run the most miles you can straight up pick a prize.  Enter Now (you could win awesome Drymax socks) enter for 3.1 miles or 50.1, just enter, please.

Race to Cure Diabetes - Raffle Winner

Raffle Winner #2 drawn by Random Number Generator is #18 = Aimee Cronin.  Aimee you won a pair of Drymax socks.  Let me know if you want Trail socks in a womens size, mens size or their special athletic socks for Diabetics. 
You can still enter.  There is a month to go.  Another winner will be drawn tomorrow and the sock winners will go back in the mix for the prizes at the end of the event.  So the sooner you enter the more prizes you can win.

To Enter go Here

Even Details

List of Registrants

Race to Cure Diabetes 5K - Plan B

REGISTER HERE

DETAILS HERE

LIST OF REGISTRANTS HERE

It only costs $15 to enter.  There are insanely cool Raffle items.  100% of the money goes to JDRF.  PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE enter. 

I bet you can guess from the get go that, I am having trouble getting folks to register this year.  AHHHHHH!!!! We aren't even close to last years numbers.  I have put a ton of time into this thing and truly want it to be a success so, rather than throwing up my hands and giving up (Tosta's don't quit) I am rolling to a plan B.  I am resorting to bribery.  That is right.  I have tons of raffle items and I am willing to bribe people to enter this thing.  So starting tomorrow with the Drymax socks, the raffle is on.  If you are entered for the race you are entered in the raffle.  If you are entered for more than one entry and win a raffle you will have all your entries minus one left for more raffle items.  So the sooner you enter the more chances you have to win. 

Diabetes Awarness -Tom Kingery

We still need a ton more folks to sign up for the Virtual 5K.  You can Sign Up HERE!  Find Information HERE!  There are tons of prizes!! Please Sign up, get a friend to sign up, you can walk the 5K, you can run the 5K, you can run further, you can walk shorter and split it between two days, JUST SIGN UP!! Please, Pretty Please! 

Next up for Diabetes Awareness is an amazing athlete Tom Kingery.  He has Run Across the US, He has biked Across the US (twice), Competed in 5 Ironman distance triathlons, run countless marathons and if that isn’t enough is now helping lead Team Type 1 as their Director of Amateur Athletics.  I am in awe of all of his accomplishments.  If he doesn’t prove you can do anything you set your mind to (with or without Diabetes) then I don’t know who does. 

At what age were you diagnosed? 28

Does anyone else in your family have Type 1? No, I was the first one.

Tom I know you were diagnosed about 8yrs ago and were quite an accomplished athlete prior to diagnosis and of course are an amazing athlete now. What were some of the hurdles you encountered after diagnosis so far as training goes? When I was first diagnosed, I was training for my 7th marathon. After being told that I had Diabetes, I immediately thought that my athletic career was over - I simply didn't know enough about the disease to know that I could live a very active lifestyle and that I could actually become a better athlete. I luckily had a great endocrinologist who was also a biking friend. He really helped me see that this diagnosis wasn't going to limit my life if I took control right away. I won't say it was always easy thought - we had a lot of workouts that were cut short as I learned to manage my highs and lows and how my body reacts to insulin and exercise.

How long did it take you to get your diabetes under control so you could train at the level you wanted to? I was never really out of control. Yes, my blood sugar was really high when I was diagnosed, but I think I caught it fairly early and from the start, tested my blood sugar constantly and controlled my blood sugar levels with insulin. I knew that I didn't want to give up training so it was just a matter of figuring out the right formula to do it all. I'm still working on that. It changes with so many things... what I eat, what I'm doing for training, the weather, the time of day, the location. Diabetes is a learning disease... I will learn about it until the day I die.

How do highs and lows affect your training? Both highs and lows negatively affect my training. If my sugar gets low and I don't get it up fast enough, my workout is over. I get really weak, I sweat a lot, and quite honestly it's too dangerous for me to go on. If my blood sugar gets too high, then my legs and arms tingle, I'm super sluggish and I feel like I hit the wall. That's why I constantly monitor what's going on with my body. If I tend to be heading low, I make sure that I consume fast acting sugar (a gel usually or some sports drink). If I'm heading high, I might take just one or two units of insulin. For me, exercise mimics insulin in my body, delivering the sugar to the right places so I find that I struggle with low blood sugar during exercise more than high blood sugar. But again, this is so individual. I have a bunch of teammates who will take 6-7 units of insulin before a workout. That wouldn't work for me.

Congratulations on your record setting Ride Across America. Can you tell us a little about that experience and specifically what goes into your diabetes care to make something like that possible?

Well Race Across America (RAAM) is an amazing event that's been going on for over 30 years. It's a 3000 mile bike race from Oceanside, CA to Baltimore, MD. Team Type 1, the team that I race for, has raced as an eight man team six times and has won the race overall (against non-diabetic eight man teams) four times. We currently hold the world record for the fastest transcontinental journey (5 days 9 hours and 5 minutes). I was lucky enough to be part of the team in 2009 (when the world record was set) and 2010. The experience was unlike any other that I've had in life - seeing the country from a bike! And knowing that we were doing what we were doing, all while managing our disease was pretty amazing. It really helped us get across our message that diabetes doesn't have to be a limiter and that you can do anything you want with proper control and exercise. As far as what it takes in terms of diabetes care - we all were just continuously on top of our individual management. With eight of us dealing with highs and lows, we all had to look out for each other too. But my body's reaction to the high intensity intervals was totally different than my teammates. Many of us are on continuous glucose monitors which help us know what our bodies are doing and we just made sure that we were always in range. Throw in sleep deprivation, heat exhaustion and altitude, all of us needed to test all day long and adjust our insulin levels according. This year, our team set out to Run Across America. We had 10 guys that ran from Oceanside, CA to New York City, ending the 3000+ mile journey in 15 days and ending in NYC on World Diabetes Day. It's just another example of how we don't let this disease limit what we are able to push ourselves to do.

What do you mean by your quote "You can't manage what you don't measure"? Simply put... you can't control your diabetes if you don't know what's going on inside your body. There is no manual for the disease - it's a very individual disease and each of us needs to know our bodies and the way we react to things. I "measure" my blood glucose all day long. It's the only way to know exactly what's going on in my body. That number tells me if I need to eat some sugar or if I need to take some insulin. I'm lucky enough to be on a continuous glucose monitor which gives me a blood sugar reading every five minutes, and graphs for me if my numbers are rising, falling or staying the fairly constant. I can't workout if my numbers are too high or too low. For me to be in control of my disease I need to know what's going on at all times.

Do nerves before a big race mess with your numbers and how do you handle that?

For me, they don't really do much to my numbers, but I have a lot of teammates who have adrenaline spikes - as their nerves get the best of them, their blood sugar spikes. It can be a little hard to manage because usually as soon as they calm down, their blood sugars drop. So they don't really want to treat the adrenaline spike with insulin, but it's nerve wracking in itself to know if that's what's really causing the spike.

I run ultras, specifically I love the 100 mile distance, and during those races I have to be on top of my nutrition, I take in 200 calories an hour. What is your caloric intake like during an ironman distance triathlon? Does it differ at all from someone who doesn't have type 1? First, that's amazing that you run ultras. I completely admire anyone who can run for hours and hours at a time! In terms of caloric intake, mine is no different than any other athlete's. I am probably a little more careful to make sure the carbohydrates are more slow acting so that my blood glucose numbers don't spike and drop. I always eat a big bowl of oatmeal in the morning because it is such a slow burning fuel. And then I try to take in 250-350 calories an hour. I'm a fan of solid food, because that's what I train with. I use bars, gels, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, etc. For my drinks, I am a little bit more careful to know what I'm drinking because a lot of sports drinks are really sugary. But my exercise kind of mimics insulin so I find that I don't take a lot of insulin throughout an Ironman.

You seem like the type of guy who believes he can do absolutely anything he puts his mind to doing? Were you always like that? How has Type 1 changed that if at all? I've always been very determined. If I set my sights on something, I don't finish until I get it. That's just the kind of person I am. But I think diabetes just helps reiterate that in me. I constantly hear of people who were diagnoses and then told that they couldn't do something - play sports, eat cake, live a normal life, etc. That's not true at all. With proper management and understanding of the disease, you can do anything that you put your mind to. Team Type 1 is a group of 100+ "amateur" athletes. I quote amateur because these guys and gals are amazing people LIVING with their diseases. We have multi-time Ironman finishers, Boston Qualifiers, elite cyclists. We also have three people who have participated in Olympic Qualifiers, one who has summitted Mt. Everest, one who has won a 140.6, and more podium finished in running, cycling and triathlon events than I can count. Every single one of us is out to show that you can do anything with Type 1 Diabetes.

Is there anything you want kids out there with Type 1 to know? Any words of wisdom for their parents? First and foremost, don't be ashamed of having diabetes - be proud... there are some amazing people living with diabetes. Tell your friends about it and make sure that they understand what you are going through and that it doesn't make you any different. Second, don't let diabetes stand in your way of what you want to do with your life. Make sure that you are in control of your management (not your parents) and follow your dreams. For parents... kind of the same thing. I think it's important that they don't do everything for their kids - there is a responsibility for the child, but the parents just need to be there to help. Also... there will be good days and bad days forever. Encourage your children to take risks and live a very normal life.

What is the craziest place you have found a test strip? This is probably a better question for my wife. She always gets on me for them being everywhere. She has found them on my mom's driveway, in her closet, all over the car. Really, they are everywhere... that's just the life of a good diabetic! :)

Thank you so much to Tom for answering all of these questions and for being an all around inspiration and leader.  You can find out more about Tom and Team Type 1 Here!

Diabetes Awarness - A Mother's View (Wendy Rose Post)

First: PLEASE  register for the Virtual 5K. This can't be a success without YOU!!! 

Register HERE.

Details HERE.

Current List of Registrants HERE.

Second: Here are a few of the Raffle Prizes that have arrived.  How awesome are the pottery pieces and come on a hat that says "Girls Kick Ass" everyone needs one of those, ok every woman needs one of those :).

Third:  I read this awesome post by Wendy Rose over at Candy Hearts.  I think it really gives the average person a peek into what it is like to parent a Type 1 child.  Thank you Wendy, for letting me re-post here.

She came home with an invitation to a cookie decorating party the other day. No special reason...just a group of friends getting together to make some memories and have fun on a Friday afternoon. She excitedly handed me the card as we were walking away from her gate, and then scurried ahead to join her pals before skipping off to the park.

I looked around at the other moms, who were also reading the invitation, and couldn't help but to wonder what they were thinking. One by one, they smiled before tucking it away without a care in the world.

I saw that invite, and my mind immediately thought about gluten and carbs. About how I'd need to make some gluten free cookie dough since my freezer stash was used up with the holidays. I thought about shared decorating knives, and the tops of sprinkle bottles that would inevitably touch the glutenous cookies they were embellishing. I wondered if I'd be able to gauge the pump setting changes I made this week. After all, it's not every day, you get to smother a cookie with decorations and call it dinner. Ugh. I wondered if this party would wreak havoc on her blood sugars, and if I'd sleep for more than a 3 hour stretch on the night that followed.

I'm not the same.

Across the parking lot, up the little hill, and the park was there. Perfect weather. By the time I made it to the table where she left her backpack, they were already off and running. I knew she needed to test her blood sugar, but I let it slide. The other moms huddled, and we chatted. About sore throats and runny noses...a fever and antibiotics. They were talking about plans for the weekend, while I stared past them, watching her play at the far end of the field. She seemed off. Slower, off balance perhaps? From where I was sitting, trying to listen to the conversation, I couldn't tell if there was a problem. I was distracted by the distance between us. They looked around and glanced from side to side, making sure their kids were okay while I stared at every step, every move, every sign to determine if I should run her supplies out to the to the field.

I'm not the same.

I decided to walk a few laps around the field. It would give me a chance to meet up with my girl on the other side, and test her number while passing by. 55. I knew it. The other kids started running back to the tables. Snacks were waiting. We sat on the sidewalk with juice. And Starbursts. And Nerds. I retested to see that she was coming up, and then we walked back together. Everyone was scattered. I watched as the other moms doled out granola bars and handfuls of goldfish without a care in the world about carbs or gluten. She was feeling better, so we retested to see that she was over 100, calculated the carbs, and bolused to keep her from skyrocketing.

I'm not the same.

We opened the backpacks, and started going through the folders. The other mothers were talking about their children's 100% scores, and I noticed that mine had missed 9 math problems. Math certainly isn't her favorite subject, but nine is still a lot of errors for her. Come to think of it, I had no idea how her numbers had been all day. I wondered what part of the day this assignment was given. I wondered what her blood sugar was at the time. I reached for the remote to scroll through the history. They reached for a cell phone to return a text.

I'm not the same.

Drama runs an extra half hour after school now. The big show is getting close! They talked about how nice it would be to have an extra 30 minutes for prepping dinner, and helping the other kids with homework. I wondered if I should decrease her afternoon basals, just to be safe.

I'm not the same.

Before bed, I brushed her hair while she read to me. Then we talked about school, and who she played with at recess. We talked about who she sat with at lunch. She showed me a silly handshake they made up on the playground. And we talked about the cookie party. She told me that she got nervous when her friend started passing out the invitations. She was worried that she wouldn't get one. When I asked her why, she replied...

"Because I'm not the same."

Diabetes Awarness - Meet Scully

This year in conjunction with the Race to Cure Diabetes 5K (Register HERE find out information HERE) I am doing some diabetes awareness.  As a runner I was interested to find out what it would take to be a runner with Diabetes.  Meet Chris Scully, an awesome woman who is insanely active and just ran her first marathon.  I met her while at my sister’s house a year ago.  She drove down from Canada to support Joe in his JDRF walk.  How cool is that? I contacted her about doing an interview for this fundraiser and she was game so …. Here we go (my comments are in purple).

When were you diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes?

 At the age of 22, July 2002

Does it run in your family?

 Absolutely no family history of either Type 1 or Type 2

What was it like adjusting to life with diabetes?

It was difficult to say the least. I didn't get any proper training or education at all in fact my Doc didn't think to treat me with insulin for two months. I was flying by the seat of my pants for the first few years of diagnosis.  Scully lives in Canada, their medical system is different but, this is scary, it could have killed her.  Eaaaakkkkkk!

How did you life change?

I had to pay attention to what I was eating. I had to be careful about exercising. I had to deal with highs and lows and constantly never being in the sweet spot. It was a very steep learning curve to say the least.   From reading her blog and listening to my sister (with Joe’s care) I gather that this is a constant battle no matter how long you have the disease.  A type 1 is always searching for the sweet spot and everything seems to effect their numbers.

How did your family react?

Everybody was in complete shock. At the time none of us really knew the different types of diabetes. They all said I was too healthy and fit to get diagnosed with diabetes. We all later learned that it was nothing I did (or didn't do) to get diabetes. My mum wanted to go after my doctor for not treating me but we were all too busy and weak to deal with anything but learning how to keep me alive. Yes, I was living with my parents at 22. I had just moved home from college and was trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life.

Other impacts?

I didn't take it seriously enough until I began feeling crappy all the time. It certainly made my couple years teaching in Taiwan a mahoosive headache. It impacted my friends a lot, especially my boyfriend at the time. He was just as scared as I was.

Were you athletic before you were diagnosed?

Yes I was but I wasn't as into endurance sports as I am now. I was a rock climber, mountain biker, snowboarder, back-country camper etc. I was a runner too but I hadn't been doing it seriously yet. I was just getting used to learning that I was going to be a long distance runner.

How did that change after you were diagnosed?

Scully in a recent Snow Shoe Race. Can you see her smile?

It took me years to understand the basics of exercise and diabetes (I'm still learning). I remember snowboarding with my pockets full of candies. I remember going camping and getting stuck in the middle of the night with a low because my food bag was hanging in the trees. Or another time a raccoon stole all my food and I was on a slippery slope of adventure to get out and call for help while trying not to expend too much energy. I was backpacking alone.

Basically, any physical activity meant I had to carry sugar somehow, somewhere on my person, no matter what! Even if it meant attracting bears. Ok never would have thought of any of these issues.  Super impressed with Scully’s adventurous nature and that she didn’t let Diabetes stop her.  I am floored by her.

Last year you ran your first marathon, wahoooo! What was training like for that?

It was a giant mixed bag of trial and error. A lot of testing my blood sugar while running. My blood sugar would react depending on the time of day and the duration of the run. Also, the heat of the summer and the type of run would effect it all differently. So a speed workout in the morning vs. the afternoon would have a significantly different effect on how I managed my insulin levels. It takes a lot of pre and post run insulin adjustments since most of the time I need to set my pump at least an hour before I plan to exercise. I had to try and predict how things would go on race day by experimenting with different types of fuel and the timing of carb intake. In the end I felt like I had encountered any situation which made me feel confident that I could make decisions on the fly should anything happen. And happen it did! due to a diabetes crisis that I had no control over my marathon was wrecked before the gun even went off. Aside from that I can't count how many times high or low blood sugars ruined a run for me. I said, "there's always tomorrow" so many times.  Wow!! Just Wow!  I think most of us will agree this is stuff we never thought of.  Just running a marathon is hard enough but with all of the Diabetes care it is a whole other ball game.  Super impressed that she started and finished her 1^st marathon.

What goes into a marathon (4+ hrs of activity) for a diabetic, what do you have to consider that the average runner out there doesn't have to think about?

She says the picture says it all.

Well see the answer above for a start. The biggest difference is that yes, we all experience pre-race anxieties but people without diabetes don't understand that stress severely effects blood sugars. So to manage stress levels is hard. I might not lower my insulin AS MUCH on race day as I would on a training run of similar duration. We also need fuel just like the next person but fuel usually means carbs so there's a delicate balance that exists between input and output. Personally, I adjust my insulin so that I am expected to take in gels. I just have to be sure not to miss those gels. Finally there's the baggage. I choose to run with a glucose meter so I can test while running because I can't afford a CGM (continuous glucose monitor) as often as I'd like. I will also carry more gels then the next person in case I go low. Some diabetics will drink the Gatorade that is provided but I can't stand the pasties.

Type 1 is an autoimmune disorder and many type 1's have other issues like with Gluten. I believe that is your case as well. How does that affect your training and life?

Yes Auto-Immune disorders tend to hang on to each other. With one often comes others. I also have Celiac disease so I can't eat gluten. It certainly effects my life but I just remind myself constantly about how awful I used to feel. That thought alone is worth it to me. Gluten free options are often much higher in carbs so I try to limit them. For training? well, it just means I have to plan in advance new and exciting ways to get my nutrients. That aspect is not unlike someone who didn't have diabetes. Being gluten free kind of still sucks no matter what.

My Sister Reyna and Scully last year.

I know right now you are sitting in your chair thinking…Holy CRAP!  That woman is amazing.  I totally agree. 

Happy Running Everyone!

Go enter the 5K HERE.  We need to find a cure for this.

Pretty Please with a HUGE Sugar Booster on TOP!

Come on only 6 people have signed up for the 5K.  Three are related to me, ok, one is me and, I payed $55 so I could run a 45K, wahooooo!!!! One is my husband who has no idea he is signed up and one is my mom.  Please sign up. You can do so here.  All information on the race is HERE. And Pretty Please with a huge Booster of Sugar on Top spread the word on your blogs, FB, Twitter, DM, etc...  This year one of the moms of a Diabetic asked that I also focus on awareness so, I am going to try and get something up once a week to give you a better idea of what life is like for a Diabetic Athlete or Mom/Dad/Guardian of one.  First up will be an interview with Chris Scully (coming soon), Type 1 running dynamo from Canada.

On my personal running front I seem to still be stuck in a bit of a rut.  Not sure how to shake it out so I have just been working to get in 40-50miles a week knowing that eventually the need for distance will strike me and I will be set up nicely to hit it hard when it does.  The foot is still and will remain busted so, that is a bummer but hey what can you do?  Oh and I plan to hit Modesto in March to run a marathon with Mama Cathy.  WAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! Now maybe that is what I need to light a fire under me :). 

Happy Running All!

Remember to check out the cool raffle items being offered up and sign up for the 5K.  100% of the proceeds go to JDRF.  100%.

This Bad Boy is being raffled.  If you want a shot at it alll you have to do is sign up.  Thanks Liz.

Let the Registration Begin

You can now Register for the 5K Here. Just click on "Register Now" and pay your $15 or more if you plan to run more than one 5K (Oh you know the ultra runner in me just had to encourage more mileage and in this case more mileage = more money for JDRF and more raffle entries for you). 

Race Details:
Register here.  (Same link as above just put it in again for good measure)
Race Date: Any time during the weekend of April28/29th
Race Location: Anywhere you want to run 3.1miles (5K), once you have run your miles report back that you have completed the race and you are entered in the raffle for some awesome prizes.
Cost: To Register you need to pay $15 for each person running.  This year you can also pay $5 additional dollars for each additional 5K you would like to run so if you want to run a marathon that weekend (Just under 45K) then you pay $15 for the first 5k and $40 for the remaining 5K's for a total of $45 and 9 entries into the raffle.  You have all weekend to rack up the miles so I think you should definately go for more than one 5K.
Raffle:  There are some awesome prizes. Here is how the raffle is going to work.  The person who runs there furthest (which means they paid the most to register) gets to straight up pick their prize out of the raffle items.  After that person has picked their prize the person who gets the most people to register (you will need to let me know who is in your crew) gets to straight up pick their prize. And after that let the raffling begin.  I will raffle off all of the donated items after that.  Again you can earn extra entries into the raffle by running more miles. 

Registrants:  Current List of Registrants and Distances

Let's make this year even better than last.  I set our goal at $10K which is insanely high but hey "shoot for the moon if you miss you will land amoung the stars." 

Raffle Items So Far:
24 Pairs of Drymax socks
4 Headsweat hats (one is absolutely so awesome I want to steel it)
4 Tallygear Belts
2 Running Necklaces by CreativeInputbyLiz
15 Gift Cards from RoadID
1 Sports Package from Todd and More Sporting Goods
Knitted Items by Cindy Roerig
Knitted Ear Warmer for runners by Kaci Nash
1 Headband by Sweatbands
1 Race Quilt by DaDiva (You send her your race shirts and she will turn them into a quilt, this is a Ginormous donation, it would cost $200-$400 to get one of these made)
1 Custom Made Frame by Hope Epton
1 Knitted Baby Hat by Leia Van Booven Ritt
1 Piece of Pottery by award winning Potter Lorraine Bracher

WAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO  Happy Running and lets get some money for JDRF so those smart dudes/dudettes can figure this stupid disease out.

Yipppeee Yahooo All Around

Last week  I had a great week running.  I ended up with over 40 miles and my foot held up ok.  The best part of the running week was a set of 10 Yasso's.  What the heck did I just say???? I hate speed work, I hate running too fast and yet Yasso's made my week.  I know the paint fumes (we are working on the kitchen) are melting the last two brain cells that were duking it out in my head.  Yasso's are a set of 800m fast runs, not really sprints that dictate your marathon time.  If you can do 10 at the prescribed time you should be able to run that marathon.  huh???? (more head scratching).  If you want to run a 3:30 marathon you would do your 800's at a 7min pace (3:30 x 2) and then jog/walk for 3:30 min between 800's.  Well 5 miles into a run last week I got bored and started doing Yasso's for a 3:30 marathon because, who doesn't do that 5 miles into a run...I was bored...you can't blame a bored ultra runner for anything they do on the TM.  Ok so, I was going along doing my 800's and they just weren't hard enough so the last two I cranked the speed on down.  I couldn't believe it.  I did all 10, 800's at or faster than the desired pace.  Ohhhhhh that so made my week.  Maybe I do like to run fast?  Who am I kidding this is just a passing phase I still love my long slow runs :). 

And what of the Yippeee Yahoo All Around...

1. Well we are finally painting the kitchen cabinets and they are going to look awesome if I do say so myself and...I do.
2. Finally made an appointment to see a shoulder doctor about the injury from falling on the ice.  I am almost sure you should be able to put on your coat without grimacing.  Ehhhhh, the real issue is racing season is just around the corner and I can't get my camebak on right now :).
3.  This is HUGE:  Two more companies hooked up the 5K.  Can you believe it?  Drymax Socks is donating 24 pair of socks, YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  OMG they are over achievers at Drymax, 24 pairs....not 2, not a few but 24 whole pairs.  And Headsweats once again this year is hooking us up with some hats.  Man they are just nice folks over there at Headsweats, they make awesome hats and visors and are just the nicest folks. 

So Yippeeeee Yahoo all around.

Happy Running All and remember the 5K is April 28/29th. 

Why JDRF

Why do I host this 5K to earn money for Juvenile Diabetes?  Take a look to the right of your screen.  See that kid flipping you off...that is Joe (he isn't flipping you off btw he, is flipping off Diabetes, or showing a cut that wouldn't heal because of the stupid disease).  He is my nephew and when he was 3 1/2 his mom realized he was way to thirsty and hungry and peeing excessively.  Joe was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes when he was just 3 1/2 yrs old.  The diagnosis completely changed my sister's world and that of her entire family.  They had to learn to be a pancreas for Joe because, his went belly up.  Since that day Joe has endured 10-20 finger pricks a day, a site change for his insulin pump (large needle placed in his booty that delivers his insulin) every few days and sometimes a third needle to his arm where he wears his Continuous Glucometer.  The kid is phenomenal and diabetes doesn't slow him down or define him.  He is an amazing hockey player, in fact he is an extraordinary athlete all around.  His being so active requires my sister and her husband to be on their A game.  They have to be the perfect pancreas so that he can lead the life of a normal kid. 

There isn't much I can do to help but, I have hope.  Hope that with research one day someone will create a closed loop system to act as a pancreas for Joe.  Hope that his life will be as normal as possible.  Hope that he will grow up to be a strong healthy kid with no side affects from this horrible disease.  Hope that someone will come up with an answer as to why Type 1 even happens.  Why does a persons body attack it's own pancreas and shut it down?  What I can do is support JDRF, support the research necessary to get answers.  This is why I host this 5K and pray that I can make a difference.

This year we are celebrating Joe's Birthday with a 5K.  The Virtual 5K will be on the weekend of April 28/29th (Joe's Birthday Weekend).  The cost to register will be $15.  The raffle of prizes will be huge like last year and this year to earn extra entries into the raffle you can pay an extra $5 for every 5K you want to run after the initial for an additional entry.  So if you want two entries you can pay $20 and run a 10K.  Or three entries would be $25 and a 15K.  More money for JDRF + more running = all good.

We already have the following raffle items:
6 Gift Cards from Road ID
1 hat from Head Sweats (left over from last year still trying to get more for this year)
1 necklace from CreativebyLiz
Crocheted items by Cindy Roeing
1 package by Todd and Moore Sporting Goods

WAHOOOOOOO!!! We are getting there.  I sent out a ton of emails asking for raffle items and got a few responses but I will continue to work this.  I know we can earn more this year.