I am beginning a new chapter in my life. One that involves really thinking about what I eat and eliminating things that my body cannot tolerate. I am glad that I have found out that I am pre-diabetic now. A month ago I did not feel this way. A month ago I was mad and felt sorry for myself. Now I am ready to take control of what I can.
I had a doctor appointment and we had a good conversation about decisions I have made. We talked about my diet and sugar and carbs. We discussed the medication I am on and how it is affecting my running and ways to get around that. We decided to get me started with a kit and begin to monitor my blood sugar. This way I have an idea of what is normal for my body right now. That will help us know later if there is a problem developing. Everybody has a different spot where low or high sugar affects them so I need to figure out what my body is doing. It was a very good doctor visit in that I feel like I came in with some ideas of what I could do to have some control and my doctor was totally on board and, of course, had suggestions on how to take some things even further.
This summer my husband and I have committed to riding in the Tour de Cure. This is a fundraising biking event put on by the American Diabetes Association. They have events all over the country. You can ride in support of a person or you can ride as a Red Rider, someone who has diabetes. We are riding in support of our friend Betsy (and myself even though I don't qualify yet as a Red Rider, we know it's coming.) Joe and Betsy are going to ride 100 miles and I am shooting for a minimum of 50. Joe and I have both committed to raising $200 each towards finding a cure for diabetes.
If you are willing to help support click on the link below. Enter my name, Lisa Van Veldhuizen, as the participant and then you can follow the directions to donate from there.
Tour de Cure Donation Site
I am not one to ask for money usually and this is way out of my comfort zone. But not only do I have diabetes looming in my future I have family members, friends and several students who are all dealing with it. I'm really riding for them more than myself.
Riders that have diabetes are called Red Riders so that people participating in the event know who we are riding for. While I am not a Red Rider yet my friend Betsy got me a Red Rider bike jersey to train in this winter and spring to get ready. I feel very privileged to wear it. And Betsy is letting me use her old bike so I have absolutely NO EXCUSES in not getting ready for this event!
I had originally planned for one of my goals to be that I would run 1000 miles. I think I'm going to have to change that goal since I see a significant amount of bike riding in my future.
Today I went on my last long run before the Tinkerbell Half. I did 11 miles. It was cold and there was a breeze. I did pretty good with my pace overall. It wasn't fast, I won't break any PR's with that pace but I held pretty steady so that was good. I felt like I was running through mud and everything hurt so that part was crappy. But I ran the whole thing and that was good. Next Saturday I only have to do 8.5 which will seem like a piece of cake after the last two long runs. ;) Running is all about perspective. A few years ago 8.5 miles seemed like a ridiculous distance that I would never be able to walk let alone run. Now it is a short run. I guess that's another indication of how far I have come. Another thing that I realized today is that I was frustrated with my speed and felt really, really slow. My average pace over the 11 miles was 13'50".
Last year at this time my husband and I were at the beach celebrating our anniversary. I went on a run from the highway to the lighthouse, up a hill and back down to the highway. I went four miles and my average pace was 16'29". I did most of it at right at a 15' pace but the trail to the top of the hill killed me (and my average pace). This year I completed an 11 mile run with an average pace that is 2'39" faster and 7 miles longer. I'm okay with that. :-)
Yesterday I ran four miles which is a better comparison (but still no hill so not an exact comparison). I ran yesterdays run with an average pace of 12'44". This is a 3'54" improvement on my average pace. I have worked hard this year to gain those improvements. I'm looking forward to continuing the trend.
I have a rest day tomorrow and then it is back to work and training after school. The week after that I start my next term of grad school. Life keeps moving. I just keep moving forward with it. :-)
Hope everyone has had a wonderful holiday season and a very happy New Year!
Lisa
p.s. If you decided to donate for the Tour de Cure I would love to know so that I can thank you!
I had a doctor appointment and we had a good conversation about decisions I have made. We talked about my diet and sugar and carbs. We discussed the medication I am on and how it is affecting my running and ways to get around that. We decided to get me started with a kit and begin to monitor my blood sugar. This way I have an idea of what is normal for my body right now. That will help us know later if there is a problem developing. Everybody has a different spot where low or high sugar affects them so I need to figure out what my body is doing. It was a very good doctor visit in that I feel like I came in with some ideas of what I could do to have some control and my doctor was totally on board and, of course, had suggestions on how to take some things even further.
This summer my husband and I have committed to riding in the Tour de Cure. This is a fundraising biking event put on by the American Diabetes Association. They have events all over the country. You can ride in support of a person or you can ride as a Red Rider, someone who has diabetes. We are riding in support of our friend Betsy (and myself even though I don't qualify yet as a Red Rider, we know it's coming.) Joe and Betsy are going to ride 100 miles and I am shooting for a minimum of 50. Joe and I have both committed to raising $200 each towards finding a cure for diabetes.
If you are willing to help support click on the link below. Enter my name, Lisa Van Veldhuizen, as the participant and then you can follow the directions to donate from there.
Tour de Cure Donation Site
Riders that have diabetes are called Red Riders so that people participating in the event know who we are riding for. While I am not a Red Rider yet my friend Betsy got me a Red Rider bike jersey to train in this winter and spring to get ready. I feel very privileged to wear it. And Betsy is letting me use her old bike so I have absolutely NO EXCUSES in not getting ready for this event!
 |
| I ride with diabetes! |
 |
| Gotta do this shirt and Betsy proud!! |
Today I went on my last long run before the Tinkerbell Half. I did 11 miles. It was cold and there was a breeze. I did pretty good with my pace overall. It wasn't fast, I won't break any PR's with that pace but I held pretty steady so that was good. I felt like I was running through mud and everything hurt so that part was crappy. But I ran the whole thing and that was good. Next Saturday I only have to do 8.5 which will seem like a piece of cake after the last two long runs. ;) Running is all about perspective. A few years ago 8.5 miles seemed like a ridiculous distance that I would never be able to walk let alone run. Now it is a short run. I guess that's another indication of how far I have come. Another thing that I realized today is that I was frustrated with my speed and felt really, really slow. My average pace over the 11 miles was 13'50".
Last year at this time my husband and I were at the beach celebrating our anniversary. I went on a run from the highway to the lighthouse, up a hill and back down to the highway. I went four miles and my average pace was 16'29". I did most of it at right at a 15' pace but the trail to the top of the hill killed me (and my average pace). This year I completed an 11 mile run with an average pace that is 2'39" faster and 7 miles longer. I'm okay with that. :-)
Yesterday I ran four miles which is a better comparison (but still no hill so not an exact comparison). I ran yesterdays run with an average pace of 12'44". This is a 3'54" improvement on my average pace. I have worked hard this year to gain those improvements. I'm looking forward to continuing the trend.
I have a rest day tomorrow and then it is back to work and training after school. The week after that I start my next term of grad school. Life keeps moving. I just keep moving forward with it. :-)
Hope everyone has had a wonderful holiday season and a very happy New Year!
Lisa
p.s. If you decided to donate for the Tour de Cure I would love to know so that I can thank you!
I'm excited to see where this new chapter takes you. I'm wondering if you will find that you like cycling more than running. Best wishes with your training and fundraising for the Tour de Cure. Fundraising can be very uncomfortable, but you'll raise $200 in nothing flat, and it's for such a good cause. My sister died from complications due to diabetes. I'm behind you on this one.
ReplyDeleteThanks Teresa! I didn't know that about your sister. The complications from diabetes are significant. Another reason for me to develop the right habits now! Love you tons! :-)
Delete