Have you ever read an email and got so excited about the contents you felt like jumping up and down, or shaking your fists and grinning from ear to ear, or doing the Ferris Bueller in the middle of a crowded street singing Twist and Shout at the top of your lungs? I have. Today.
I got an email from an old Running Room clinic leader asking if I’d be interested in talking to one of her runners who also has type 1 diabetes. Now, I’ve never considered myself an expert with this disease, not by a long shot, but when I got the email I felt honoured that I was the one thought of to pass on my “wisdom.” And let’s be honest, I got super excited too. Finally – finally! – a like-minded runner! Of course I responded in the affirmative and right away fired off an email to the fellow runner.
Well, it turns out, this girl may be dispersing just as much wisdom to me as I’ll be passing on to her! In her response, she told me she’s been a fairly active person her whole life, dabbling in a long list of sports that include, “but are not limited to,” speed skating, figure skating, competitive jump rope, ballet, jazz, irish dance, volleyball, basketball, soccer and now running. Good golly! She’s also a kinesiology major. In comparison, I picked clovers played softball in elementary school and – fast forward 25 years – dragon boated, hiked, ran, cycled. A level playing field, don’t you think 😉
And just like me, she struggled finding information on what works best with nutrition and insulin dosages while running. When I first started running longer distances, I operated on a strictly trial and error equation. When something worked, I tried to crazy glue it into my brain. When something didn’t work, well, that was a little bothersome. And even though I’ve now got my running and diabetes combo tuned fairly well, I’m still learning and I think I always will be as this disease is ever changing. But if there’s any part of my experience that I can pass on, really, how can I not?
The best thing about this pending friendship (oh yes, I am sure we are going to get along swell even though we’ve so far only had email communication) is that finally I’m going to have a fellow runner in the flesh to bounce my diabetic joys and concerns off of that I’ve never had before. Win. Win.
LAST NIGHT’S PILATES:
- 5 p.m. BG before: 4.7 (granola bar)
- Temp basal: -50 per cent
- One hour: reformer, chair, mat,
- 6:30 p.m. BG after: 9.2
That wasn’t the only exciting thing to happen to me today. I also talked on the phone with my cousin Filip from Belgium, who I haven’t spoken to since we left the country in October. Hearing his voice, and hearing all about the goings on in Flanders, it was like no time had passed, like I was just there a week or two ago. Oh how I do so miss the land where the yummiest chocolates do roam and where my amazing Stadeus family do reside. Heart.
Wow!! So cool!! It is great and I can just sense how excited you are!! And my goodness, that girl has dabbled in some cool things! Jumping Rope? How cool is that!? I can’t wait to read more about what you two gain from each other!!