January Review - Pre Boston Marathon

Thanks to surprisingly good January weather, the month wrapped up really well workout-wise. To sum:

* Missed workouts - 0. I've found that work, weather and health issues usually knock me out at least 1-2 days per month, but January was flawless. I had 4 planned rest days and took 4. One workout had to get moved due to weather, but that was it.

* Total mileage was 204. That's my third highest total of the past 12 months. Perhaps more important, it's a very nice volume for me so far before the Boston Marathon. It bodes well for a good build.

* Re-introduction of speedwork. The best surprise of all was 4 successful tempo runs, culminating with an 8 miler that included 7 miles @ 6:52 pace. I also did 4 hill workouts that will now turn into interval workouts.

* Diabetes-wise, things were pretty good, though not as well as I'd like. According to my numbers, I spent 3% of the time higher than 170 and .6% of the time lower than 60. Both of those figures are a bit higher than I'd like. It seems when I'm really jamming I'm only over 170 about 1.5-2% of the time, and can keep the lows to as little as .2%. But still, it wasn't horrible.

February will bring my annual trip to our UK office, but this one will be a couple of days shorter than other years, which means I shouldn't have trouble hitting all of my long runs prior to and immediately after the trip. With jet lag and work, I keep things casual running-wise on those trips, getting in easy miles when I can and not sweating it if I can't. The shorter trip this time means it shouldn't hurt my fitness much at all.

Historically speaking, I hate January more than any other month, due to the horrible weather, the limited light and inevitable head colds. This year was a pleasant surprise, and I'm happy to be on the back half of winter already.

Surprising 60

The plan wasn't to run 60 miles last week.

The schedule had me planning for 53 or so, just a notch up from the previous week's 50. But Saturday's scheduled long day got snowed out, which pushed the long day to Sunday. And rather than take a rest day on Saturday, I hopped on the dreadmill for about 6.5, because I knew that I wouldn't be able to get out today (Monday). The result? Exactly 60 miles, and the first I'd ran that far in a week since last September and only my 6th in the previous year.


Everything feels good right now, I think mostly because I'm doing the right things. I'm following up hard days, with very easy days - trying to slow those down to 9:00 miles. It makes a huge difference. I neglected to do that last Wednesday, zipping through a bunch of 8:20 miles and the result was that I got through Thursday's tempo, but it was an effort. Hard - easy, Hard - easy - it makes a difference. Not just in days, but in weeks, which is why last week's 60 mile week will be followed by one of about 40. My bg also behaved like a champ on this week's 20 miler, hanging around 120 for most of the run. I finished at 74 but knew I was falling and would've taken a gel about 2 miles sooner had I planned to be out longer.

Sh*t Diabetics Say

I love the funny video series making its way around the Net. It started with Shit Girls Say, and has spawned many funny sequels. But none for diabetics, until now!

If you like the camera work, that's my 15 year old daughter at the helm. My son was home sick from school and my daughter felt she needed a "mental health day," too. I said, "Sure... I can use your help with something, anyway!"

2012, and Go!

Hard to believe it's been a month since my last post, but as usual, that's generally a good sign. When things are going good, that's usually when the blogging takes a back seat.

Diabetes-wise, all is status quo. In fact, I just got back an A1c of 5.9, which I'm pretty sure is my lowest ever, if not, certainly in years. Ironically, though my CGM is certainly partly responsible for that great number, I've been sensor-less for about 3 weeks now as I miscalculated my reorder and then had to wait for new insurance info. to get sorted out. But even so, things have been excellent blood-sugar wise and the good news is that a big shipment of supplies is on its way to me, so very soon I'll be CGMing again.

Running-wise, things are also going well. After an injured November leading to a lackluster December marathon, December ending up being nearly a 200 mile month, injury-free. In addition, I started adding in tempo work and this past week awesome coach Missy had me add in hill work, which serves as the precursor to speed work. All of this is important because in 2011 I taught myself to run much higher miles than ever before, mostly injury-free; 2012 is the year I try to add in regular speed and tempo work without getting hurt. And after a month of tempos, things are going well.

The purpose for all of this is to be ready for the Boston Marathon in April. That said, running Boston is a dream come true, and I'd like to PR there, but the course and weather usually conspire to make that tough, so I'm really only concerned with being as fit as I can be there. If that means a PR, fine - if it doesn't, fine.

Coming off of Boston, there's a better than average chance I'll go for a PR at the Cleveland Marathon a month later with better weather and a friendlier course. But of course, that depends on the next 3 months and how Boston goes.

If you're a diabetic running nerd, you should know that this weekend's Olympic Trials are important, as they include only the second diabetic (and first diabetic man), ever, to run in the Olympic Marathon Trials in the US. Tommy Neal's challenge is somewhat unique, however, as he qualified for the Trials early last year, and only was diagnosed with diabetes last summer, so this will also be his first marathon as a diabetic. There's a great story about Tommy here. Here's hoping he knocks it out of the park!

And finally, Team Type 1 is going through tons of planning for a great year. The pro cyclists are gearing up in Europe while us domestic amateurs are preparing to help SANOFI here in the US. All in all, it's shaping up to be a great year.

What Comes After Humbled

Last weekend was my third marathon of the year, in addition to one ultra, and I owe readers a race report on it. But first I'm going to spend time discussing several things that happended at the Team Type 1 Training Camp, which happened in Tucson at the same time as the Tucson Marathon.


There were a lot of reasons for the Camp to take place. For the Pro Cycling Team, it's a ten day long series of workouts in the desert and the mountains. In addition, it was a rare opportunity for us amatuer athletes to interact with one of the finest professional cycling squads, certainly in the US, and more every day, in the world.



In addition to seeing some of my best friends on the team, the Camp gives us the ability to meet "in real life" people we may have only met online. Generally speaking, Team Type 1 folks follow each other on Twitter and friend each other on Facebook, but this was the chance to actually meet. Anne Findlay, Laura Eli, Patricia Brownell, Mike Hebe, etc... The list goes on and on of friends who bdcame more than virtual this weekend.



It was also the first time the new runners and triathletes had the chance to meet with us. The running and triathlon team has gotten so much faster with the 2012 additions, which I hope to cover this more in the coming days. But selfishly, I did want to talk about finally meeting, in person, my coach, Missy Foy,  as well as Ryan Nichols. Ryan and I have been online friends at least 2 years, and it was through me that Missy became Ryan's coach, so having all 3 of us together was absolutely a blast.



Saturday consisted of mostly a strategy session. Team Type 1 Sanofi is so committed to working with Sanofi for the good of everyone affected by diabetes, and it was great to discuss how we are going to do that in 2012. Specifically, look for the team to focus more energy, more appearances, more events, more races, etc. in certainly key markets. What's particularly exciting is many of these cities, thus far, havent been that exposed to Team Type 1, so everybody involved has the opportunity to truly benefit.




Saturday afternoon consisted of quick photoshoots with a man whom has worked with Lance Armstong. I doubt he was able to make me look as dangerous as Lance, but I am optimistic!



After the photoshoot,  those of us running on Sunday went out for a short shakeout run. To participate in these runs really can't really be described, unless perhaps you've run cross-country with a team. The mood is light, the jokes are great, and often diabetic themed.



Saturday night was a keynote presentation by Phil Southerland, one of the founders of the team, and about the biggest superstar in the diabetes business. Before that night, I had heard "Phil stories," and we'd chatted online, but we'd never met in person. It's impossible to come away from a Phil speech without being awed and everyone involved certainly was.




Toward the end of the presentation, Phil announced that for the first time ever, the team was awarding an Amateur Athlete of the Year Award, to be given to someone who most exemplified what we stand for.




As it was described, it occurred to me that I would not have wanted to decide who to give such an award to.  Truth be told, the room was full of 100 of the finest spokepeople for diabetic athletes I've ever known. Every day they inspire people. How do i know this? Because they inspire me.



As Phil went through what the athlete had done in 2011, I recognized myself right away. Qualifying for Boston was a huge highlight for me in 2011 as was the NJ Ultra Fest. But he went on to describe that Team Type 1 is about more than athletics and at length, he described my 86 mile "Tour for Advocacy" that I'd in July, when we secured support for House Bill 1338 in 9 of my local 10 local legislator's offices. At this point, I heard some of my teammates say, "it's Marcus." And I was called to the stage, in front of everone, to accept the award.



I'm a fortunate man. I've recieved awards before in my life. But two things hit me as I walking to the stage. The first was that I was being given a standing ovation and I'm certain that's never happened. The second was that I was humbled to oblivion. These people are my heroes.  



How do you accept an award you couldn't have possibly won without the daily inspiration of the people you were inevitably chosen over? A day later, I don't have an answer for you.



But I know this: what I love most about Team Type 1 is that the flow of inspiration is so strong that I leave every event I do with them bound and determined to do better. I look at the athletes who out-perform me and resolve myself to train more, to train smarter and to, inevitably, get faster. And I learn about what they're doing with the diabetes community in their hometowns and find myself becoming more committed to doing the same. And though my diabetes is very well controlled, my A1c is not the best on the team. Truth be told, in everything in my life, which includes my Team Type 1 life, I can do better.



There is a scene at the end of Private Ryan where Tom Hanks knows he's dying. He looks at Matt Damon, whose life he basically has spent the entire movie saving, and says, "Earn this." While I don't know that it's possible for me to feel deserving of this award, I know this: I'm going to do everything I can to earn it.

Running Thankful

A year ago, I was nearly through my first month of almost 200 miles/month of running. November 2010 was the first of many high mileage injury-free months. This year, I'm dealing with some tendonitis in my foot that won't allow me to run on back-to-back days. It's my first injury in over a year and like all injuries, it's annoying. But even so, I come into this holiday (my favorite holiday, actually) thankful for the year of running I've had.

* This year I ran races of distances I never did before: my first 10 miler, my first 16.3 trail mile race and my first 50 miler.

* This year I PR'd at both the 5k and marathon distance.

* This year I enjoyed AG awards in 10 of my 12 races, plus 2 races where I was top 3 overall. This included my first 2 trail race awards and my first ultra award. The only 2 races I didn't win an AG award at were both of my marathons, which gives me a nice goal to continue to chase.

* This year I qualified for the Boston Marathon. I've chased this goal for a handful of years and the 5th time was finally the charm. I should also point out I'm thankful for my coach who helped me make it after I declared after my 3rd marathon that I was giving up on that goal.

* Of course I did all of this inspired by my teammates on Team Type 1, who have been even more amazing than I imagined. Next year's squad includes some names I know will make incredible contributions, too.

The smart thing to do with any injury is to allow yourself the ability to heal completely, but I'm not doing that quite yet. Team Type 1 is gathering for one more event - the Holualoa Tucson Marathon - on December 11. (Speaking of thankful, this will also be my first trip to Arizona!)

Until then, I'm doing a lot of cross training, and running 3-4 days per week and hoping that gives me a decent performance in Tucson. But after that, it looks like my next focus race will be the Boston Marathon, which gives me the opportunity to take a few weeks off and let my foot heal completely. I'm thankful for that, too. My 2011 race calendar was aggressive and I need to stop running fast for a little while, so that's the plan.

And even if Tucson doesn't work out in a great race, I've got nothing to complain about. Running-wise, this year has had way more ups than downs. I'm looking forward to being healthy and fast again, but for now, thankful will have to do and I'm ok with that.

From Team Type 1 SANOFI's Run Across America - Night Shift

Night Shift by Marcus Grimm

“We saw what you wrote about us,” Team Type 1 SANOFI runner Eric Tozer said to me, in a way that made it clear that he and his night-shift teammates, Jon Obst and Ryan Jones, were not entirely pleased with one of my earlier dispatches.

The fact that Tozer would voice his displeasure at all meant something in and of itself. If you were to make a list of the most easy-going members of the team, you’d be hard pressed to top the youngster from Sacramento.

Tozer’s complaint was in regards to my first story about the team’s new strategy nearly a week ago. I had written then that the plan for the night-time crew was to run slower and to cover fifty miles per night. In my defense, that was the plan. But as we all have come to learn, many things in the Run Across America didn’t go according to plan and one of those was the success of the night crew, which somehow managed to run similar paces as the day crew, despite limited visibility and fewer than half the number of runners.

“I think our shortest night has been about sixty-five miles, and most have been around seventy-five,” said Ryan Jones. I asked the night crew why the plan had been for them to run slower and why they hadn’t.

“Some of the guys don’t like running at night as much,” Tozer speculated. “So early on, I think a lot of our night running was slower. Truth is, I think some guys got weirded out by some dogs early on and other strange sounds. Me, I don’t know… I think it’s kind of cool. I don’t know if I thought that when we started, but I think it now. “

“The first few hours, when the cars are whizzing by are a little tough,” added Jon Obst. “But then it gets real quiet. The cars are very few and it’s just beautiful.”

Though the squads share a common mealtime and are more united than the two shifts earlier in the trip, make no mistake; the night shift thinks of themselves as being a little different from their day-time counterparts.

“We’ve got this thing,” Jones said, with a twinkle in his eye. “Wherever Dave (crew manager Dave Eldridge) tells us to stop, we go further. Some nights it’s ten or twelve miles further. One night it was only one. But we like to have them wake up and be surprised where we are.”

Looking at the night-time crew, haggard, thin and yet brimming with energy as they waited for the day-shift to drop off the van, I couldn’t help but ask Tozer how things would be for him in just a few days, when he was forced to reprogram his sleeping schedule for the third time in two weeks.

“It’s going to be a little strange,” he admitted. “I’m probably going to be a mess. I could see my wife hating me for a few days.”

And if Tozer couldn’t have been more right when we first started talking, it wasn’t lost on me that he was probably entirely wrong now.

From Team Type 1 SANOFI's Run Across America: The Importance of Team

The Importance of Team by Marcus Grimm

Run across the country for two weeks and you figure, a man could change. Things that maybe seemed impossible before might be entirely possible now.

In conversations I’d had with Matt Patrick, who won a 100k (62.5 mile) race earlier this year, he’d often told me that he thought guys like Jon Obst and Ryan Jones, who compete regularly at 100 miles, were crazy. That there was “no way” he’d do something like that.

And so it seemed like a logical question to ask him how he felt about such races now; now that he alone has traveled nearly 300 miles in two weeks, on slight sleep, through mountains, snow, ice and rain. Truth be told, the writer in me was looking for a story about a man being transformed.

“After a couple days of doing this, I was sore,” reflected Patrick. “But strangely, the soreness went away. Your body adapts and things don’t always get worse. So, physically, I think, ‘Yeah, probably my body could do that.’”

“But then again,” he said, “I really feel like so much of my energy is coming from these guys around me. It’s impossible to not be motivated by every one of them, and I’m not sure I could do one of those races without that sort of inspiration around me.”

“So yeah, if they were with me, I think I could do it.” Patrick scanned the RV, looking at his exhausted teammates, icing injuries and desperately trying to replace thousands of calories of lost nutrition. “But good luck convincing them.”

Somehow one gets the feeling it wouldn’t be that hard to do.