On Marathon Training, Diabetic Blogs, the Omnipod & More...
In no particular order:
A. The Omnipod and I had a fairly good weekend, other than the fact that I chose a bad location for my Pod change and switched it hours later; something I chalk up to experience. Final Pod-servations:
1) The nature of the Pod and the amazing painlessness of it has one negative side effect. It's less obvious when you've got a bad insertion and it isn't working. I don't think this is a big deal, though, as I expect to get better at placing it.
2) The more comprehensive menus and frequent beeping actually create a slightly different relationship than that which I had with my Medtronic pump. By always reminding me what's on board and asking about my BG whenever I bolus, the Omnipod works harder to be a partner. In contrast, the pump acts more like a tool. You do the thinking, it does the pumping. Period. 90% of the time, I love this. But sometimes it kind of seems like a nag. However, there's no denying: I'm running better blood sugars on the Pod and this is coming from someone who runs good blood sugars most of the time, anyway.
3) The adhesive of the Omnipod is superior to Medtronic by far, and probably a tiny bit better than that of the Dex, though it's hard to say as I've worn my Dex for up to two weeks, and the Pod comes off at three days.
B. I'm easing into training for marathon #5, currently planned to be the Steamtown Marathon in October. Hopefully, this will be the time I qualify for the Boston Marathon.
All total, I ran four times last week, including 12 miles yesterday in 85 degree weather with a ton of humidity. The heat drove down the pace and the whole thing was a slog around 8:55 per mile. I started with a blood sugar of 213 and finished at 137, sipping Hammer-Gel the entire way. All in all, it was a suck-fest and I'm looking forward to just a few more hot runs, at which point my body will accept the fact that it can run in this weather.
C. With the Omnipod transition complete, it's time for me to stop reading so many diabetic blogs and forums (aside from those of diabetic athletes). While they provide unbelievable insight during times of question and answer, I've never been comfortable with blogs that just focus on how high or low a blood sugar is, how much it sucks when an infusion site bleeds, how people don't understand diabetes, etc. etc. ad. infinitum. While I don't criticize those views, I don't understand them and feel that - too often - they take a negative tone and waste too much energy on external factors or the past: last night's blood sugar or the person at the mall that said something stupid about diabetes. While these are very real frustrations, they are not your blood sugar right now and they are not the thoughts in your head; things which you have the ultimate power to control.
My diabetic disclaimer: C. is a direct statement to blogs or forum posts written by diabetics and not necessarily by parents of diabetics. I don't know what it's like to have a diabetic child and wouldn't begin to predict how I'd feel or write if I did.
A. The Omnipod and I had a fairly good weekend, other than the fact that I chose a bad location for my Pod change and switched it hours later; something I chalk up to experience. Final Pod-servations:
1) The nature of the Pod and the amazing painlessness of it has one negative side effect. It's less obvious when you've got a bad insertion and it isn't working. I don't think this is a big deal, though, as I expect to get better at placing it.
2) The more comprehensive menus and frequent beeping actually create a slightly different relationship than that which I had with my Medtronic pump. By always reminding me what's on board and asking about my BG whenever I bolus, the Omnipod works harder to be a partner. In contrast, the pump acts more like a tool. You do the thinking, it does the pumping. Period. 90% of the time, I love this. But sometimes it kind of seems like a nag. However, there's no denying: I'm running better blood sugars on the Pod and this is coming from someone who runs good blood sugars most of the time, anyway.
3) The adhesive of the Omnipod is superior to Medtronic by far, and probably a tiny bit better than that of the Dex, though it's hard to say as I've worn my Dex for up to two weeks, and the Pod comes off at three days.
B. I'm easing into training for marathon #5, currently planned to be the Steamtown Marathon in October. Hopefully, this will be the time I qualify for the Boston Marathon.
All total, I ran four times last week, including 12 miles yesterday in 85 degree weather with a ton of humidity. The heat drove down the pace and the whole thing was a slog around 8:55 per mile. I started with a blood sugar of 213 and finished at 137, sipping Hammer-Gel the entire way. All in all, it was a suck-fest and I'm looking forward to just a few more hot runs, at which point my body will accept the fact that it can run in this weather.
C. With the Omnipod transition complete, it's time for me to stop reading so many diabetic blogs and forums (aside from those of diabetic athletes). While they provide unbelievable insight during times of question and answer, I've never been comfortable with blogs that just focus on how high or low a blood sugar is, how much it sucks when an infusion site bleeds, how people don't understand diabetes, etc. etc. ad. infinitum. While I don't criticize those views, I don't understand them and feel that - too often - they take a negative tone and waste too much energy on external factors or the past: last night's blood sugar or the person at the mall that said something stupid about diabetes. While these are very real frustrations, they are not your blood sugar right now and they are not the thoughts in your head; things which you have the ultimate power to control.
My diabetic disclaimer: C. is a direct statement to blogs or forum posts written by diabetics and not necessarily by parents of diabetics. I don't know what it's like to have a diabetic child and wouldn't begin to predict how I'd feel or write if I did.
