If you didn't know, the blue circle symbolizes World Diabetes Day, which is coming up... uh, sometime. Wait, let me check.
There: it's November 14th. Plenty of shopping days left.
There have been some discussions of late about why the JDRF and the American Diabetes Association haven't embraced the blue circle. These are fair questions, but it's kind of like asking the Phillies and Major League Baseball why they don't sport the Olympic rings. Yes, we're all playing the same game, but we're doing it in different ways. At least, that's my opinion.
More to the point, I've been thinking about why I don't use the blue circle in my own avatars, much like these fine people do. To be fair, I like the look and I like the color, and God knows I like the cause.
What I don't like is the STAMP that it signifies to me. To me, the blue circle suggests that when people see me, they see a diabetic. While I'm infinitely cool with that, I'm not cool with that being my dominant characteristic, which I think such a symbol somewhat suggests. Again, that's just me. But if I were to do a blue circle, why not a 26.2 to signify the marathon? Or a Nxtbook icon to signify my employer? Both of these consume at least as much time and attention as my diabetes does.
In the end, how I want people to think of me is how I have it written on my Facebook bio:
Husband, father, spin doctor, runner, diabetic. Pretty much in that order.
I'm just not sure how to convey all of that behind a blue circle.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Thursday, August 26, 2010
You Wanted a Cure, We Give You Temporary Tattoos
I kid because I care.
In honor of National Infusion Set Awareness Week (who knew?), Roche Diabetes is offering free temporary tattoos. The idea? You shouldn't put an infusion set in where one was before for ten days. Put on the tattoo and there's your reminder not to replow that field until it's healed.
Tattoos are free for the asking, while supplies last. More info can be found here.
I didn't feel I'd be a responsible blogger without trying one out. Hence, you'll see the tattoo where I removed my old set (this one reminds me of Optimus Prime's face), and the new set correctly positioned more than two inches from the original.
Let's be clear: this will end ugly. If the idea is you keep the tattoo on for 10 days, but the average site lasts 3.5 days, you're looking at 3 fading tattoos plus 1 infusion set. Add in a CGM and the assorted site glue that accumulates and let's just say you won't be the prettiest guy or gal on the beach.
But that's ten days from now. For today, I'm a responsible rebellion, inked up with a fresh site.
Monday, August 23, 2010
To Boldly Go Where I Haven't Gone Before...
So three weeks from today, assuming I don't break a leg or something, I'll be an ultra-runner, with one ultra-marathon under my belt.
How does that happen, exactly? How do you go from saying that you're not training for a fall marathon in one blog post to announcing that you're taking stupid to a whole new level just two posts later? Well, first up, you don't blog so much. That helps. But beyond that, you do something I haven't made a habit of doing: you run a race that you're not trained, peaked or rested for.
This all started bout eight days ago (yes, that's how much mental planning has gone into the process, too... about as much as I typically put into mulching the yard) when my training buddy, Dave, mentioned the Susquehanna Super Hike and Ultra-Trail Run to me during a 12 mile run.
Dave and I - it should be said - are in a similar place, runningspirit-wise. I went into the late summer fairly fit but mentally fried, whereas he entered it too-soon removed from injury and illness to put together a good fall build. In a nutshell, we're strong, but not strong enough to attack a marathon plan and get the results we'd both want.
That said, we have been going out most weekends and doing long runs, though I haven't gone beyond 15 miles and I don't think he's gone beyond 12. But this isn't just an ultra-run we're doing. No, it's billed as a Super Hike, too, and with 8,700 feet of elevation, we're counting on there being more than enough walking to carry us through the 28.4 miles.
And that's another point - at 28.4 miles, this is firmly in the just-barely category of ultras, which are defined as anything beyond the marathon distance of 26.2. It's not like it's an ultra-ultra. Rather, it's just an ultra. So with all of those excuses in place, we thought, "What the hell?"
We're planning on doing this together, which should work out well for us. In a flat out run, my fitness might be a hair ahead of Dave, but where he has copious amounts of hiking experience and knows most of the trail, I've run a single small section of it exactly once. When you couple that with the fact that we've run countless numbers of 18-20 mile runs together, our plan to just have fun on this (or as much fun as a man can have on a 28 mile run) seems to make sense.
Diabetic-wise, I'm looking forward to it, too, as I'll be bringing more food with me than I ever have before and making use of the aid stations. Judging by last year's results (when the race was 25 miles), our best guess is that if we were peaked, rested and ready we'd go for about a 6:20, but we're not, so our casual goal - as much as it makes sense to even have a goal for an ultra you haven't trained for - is 7 hours. That's a long time to be active, so it'll be a good test for this diabetic.
Truth be told, I'm more nervous about the 3:30 or so wake-up call I'll need than I am about the actual race, which in my head seems more interesting and less grueling, though I expect it will have equal parts of both.
How does that happen, exactly? How do you go from saying that you're not training for a fall marathon in one blog post to announcing that you're taking stupid to a whole new level just two posts later? Well, first up, you don't blog so much. That helps. But beyond that, you do something I haven't made a habit of doing: you run a race that you're not trained, peaked or rested for.
This all started bout eight days ago (yes, that's how much mental planning has gone into the process, too... about as much as I typically put into mulching the yard) when my training buddy, Dave, mentioned the Susquehanna Super Hike and Ultra-Trail Run to me during a 12 mile run.
Dave and I - it should be said - are in a similar place, runningspirit-wise. I went into the late summer fairly fit but mentally fried, whereas he entered it too-soon removed from injury and illness to put together a good fall build. In a nutshell, we're strong, but not strong enough to attack a marathon plan and get the results we'd both want.
That said, we have been going out most weekends and doing long runs, though I haven't gone beyond 15 miles and I don't think he's gone beyond 12. But this isn't just an ultra-run we're doing. No, it's billed as a Super Hike, too, and with 8,700 feet of elevation, we're counting on there being more than enough walking to carry us through the 28.4 miles.
And that's another point - at 28.4 miles, this is firmly in the just-barely category of ultras, which are defined as anything beyond the marathon distance of 26.2. It's not like it's an ultra-ultra. Rather, it's just an ultra. So with all of those excuses in place, we thought, "What the hell?"
We're planning on doing this together, which should work out well for us. In a flat out run, my fitness might be a hair ahead of Dave, but where he has copious amounts of hiking experience and knows most of the trail, I've run a single small section of it exactly once. When you couple that with the fact that we've run countless numbers of 18-20 mile runs together, our plan to just have fun on this (or as much fun as a man can have on a 28 mile run) seems to make sense.
Diabetic-wise, I'm looking forward to it, too, as I'll be bringing more food with me than I ever have before and making use of the aid stations. Judging by last year's results (when the race was 25 miles), our best guess is that if we were peaked, rested and ready we'd go for about a 6:20, but we're not, so our casual goal - as much as it makes sense to even have a goal for an ultra you haven't trained for - is 7 hours. That's a long time to be active, so it'll be a good test for this diabetic.
Truth be told, I'm more nervous about the 3:30 or so wake-up call I'll need than I am about the actual race, which in my head seems more interesting and less grueling, though I expect it will have equal parts of both.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
On Switching Back From Omnipod
After two months of being on the Omnipod, I'm pretty much declaring the experiment to be a failure and have put my Medtronic pump back on.
DISCLAIMER: Your mileage will vary. This post is only about why the Omnipod hasn't worked out for me.
There are essentially five main reasons I've switched back to the pump, but they can all be placed in the same category: the Pod demanded too much of my time and attention.
1) It came off too easily. I'm not talking about the adhesive here, as I've got plenty of heavy duty glues. I'm talking about door jams that would rip it clean off and pods that jiggled loose after seven or eight miles of running. While I've experienced all of these things with pumps, I estimate they happened on 5-10% of my pump insertions. With the Pod, I got the full 3 days out of less than 1/3 of them.
2) The failure rate was greater for me. Whether it be Pod failures (which Insulet would compensate me for) or occlusion failures (which they wouldn't), I had more failures in my two months than what I had in a given year on my pump. Incidentally, this was the one area where I was willing to look the other way, as I know that new technologies have learning curves... my first sensors with Dexcom failed at a much higher rate than they do now, so I know operator error is partially to blame.
3) The PDM is too large. True, when you're not planning on bolusing you don't need to take it with you, but most diabetics are only a few hours from eating, anyway, and when you do have it in your pocket, it's bigger.
4) Beep. Beep. Beep. Whatever you do takes more buttons and more beeping than the pump. In particular, I would like this reassurance if I were a parent with a kid on the Pod. As an adult who has been doing this for a while, I've come to think of it as a nag.
5) Three days is three days. One of the nice things about the pump that I underestimated is the ability to make an infusion set last shorter or longer, depending on when I wanted to change it, anywhere from about 2 to 4.5 days in my case. With the Pod, you've got 8 hours more than three days, period. I don't like that.
So now what? I'm wearing my pump, but I haven't told Insulet about it, yet. First up, I'm due for another shipment of Pods and I plan to try it again. There are some Pod users who claim to like it better when the weather turns cooler, sleeves are protecting the Pod and you sweat less. Plus, I have nearly a year's worth of unused pump supplies, so I can continue to hang out and evaluate. That being said, it's so nice to have my pump back on, I dunno. It's nice not to think about it so much.
In addition, I'm continuing my focus being of moving down to one receiver. While my plan was to find whoever integrated with the Dex first, I've called Medtronic about trying on one of their CGM sensors. While the chatter on the internet is mostly negative about Medtronic CGM, the fact of the matter is some diabetics don't mind them. Moreover, internet chatter about the Omnipod is largely positive and it hasn't worked out for me. For all I know, Medtronic's CGM could be the simplest solution... again, for me.
Without a doubt, I'm a little bummed, but I recognize all of this is temporary... Insulet does have a smaller Pod in the pipeline and both they and Animas are working on Dex integration. And, for all I know, Medtronic CGM may not be the failure for me that's it been for others. But after having my first Medtronic pump be such a great move for me eight years ago, I'm a little dismayed the Omnipod hasn't given me the results I hoped for.
DISCLAIMER: Your mileage will vary. This post is only about why the Omnipod hasn't worked out for me.
There are essentially five main reasons I've switched back to the pump, but they can all be placed in the same category: the Pod demanded too much of my time and attention.
1) It came off too easily. I'm not talking about the adhesive here, as I've got plenty of heavy duty glues. I'm talking about door jams that would rip it clean off and pods that jiggled loose after seven or eight miles of running. While I've experienced all of these things with pumps, I estimate they happened on 5-10% of my pump insertions. With the Pod, I got the full 3 days out of less than 1/3 of them.
2) The failure rate was greater for me. Whether it be Pod failures (which Insulet would compensate me for) or occlusion failures (which they wouldn't), I had more failures in my two months than what I had in a given year on my pump. Incidentally, this was the one area where I was willing to look the other way, as I know that new technologies have learning curves... my first sensors with Dexcom failed at a much higher rate than they do now, so I know operator error is partially to blame.
3) The PDM is too large. True, when you're not planning on bolusing you don't need to take it with you, but most diabetics are only a few hours from eating, anyway, and when you do have it in your pocket, it's bigger.
4) Beep. Beep. Beep. Whatever you do takes more buttons and more beeping than the pump. In particular, I would like this reassurance if I were a parent with a kid on the Pod. As an adult who has been doing this for a while, I've come to think of it as a nag.
5) Three days is three days. One of the nice things about the pump that I underestimated is the ability to make an infusion set last shorter or longer, depending on when I wanted to change it, anywhere from about 2 to 4.5 days in my case. With the Pod, you've got 8 hours more than three days, period. I don't like that.
So now what? I'm wearing my pump, but I haven't told Insulet about it, yet. First up, I'm due for another shipment of Pods and I plan to try it again. There are some Pod users who claim to like it better when the weather turns cooler, sleeves are protecting the Pod and you sweat less. Plus, I have nearly a year's worth of unused pump supplies, so I can continue to hang out and evaluate. That being said, it's so nice to have my pump back on, I dunno. It's nice not to think about it so much.
In addition, I'm continuing my focus being of moving down to one receiver. While my plan was to find whoever integrated with the Dex first, I've called Medtronic about trying on one of their CGM sensors. While the chatter on the internet is mostly negative about Medtronic CGM, the fact of the matter is some diabetics don't mind them. Moreover, internet chatter about the Omnipod is largely positive and it hasn't worked out for me. For all I know, Medtronic's CGM could be the simplest solution... again, for me.
Without a doubt, I'm a little bummed, but I recognize all of this is temporary... Insulet does have a smaller Pod in the pipeline and both they and Animas are working on Dex integration. And, for all I know, Medtronic CGM may not be the failure for me that's it been for others. But after having my first Medtronic pump be such a great move for me eight years ago, I'm a little dismayed the Omnipod hasn't given me the results I hoped for.
Monday, August 02, 2010
On Not Marathoning...
Somewhere in the middle of my 15 mile run last week, I decided not to run the Philadelphia Marathon in the fall. There are many reasons for this, none more important than the other:
1.) Physically, I don't feel up to a strong build. Three years ago, all of my easy runs were around 8:15/mile. Now, there's nearly all at 8:40/mile.
2.) Emotionally, I don't feel ready for the burden that comes with focusing on a marathon. Previously, I'd done one marathon per year, but with doing one in the spring, I'd doubled my frequency. While that's nothing to people who run marathons, I think it's a big difference for people who focus on peaking for them.
3.) Meteor-logically, the weather wins. Interesting: before this year, I would've called myself a great summer runner. I don't feel like one anymore. Global warming, 1. Marcus, 0.
4.) Vocationally, I'm just busier. That isn't a complaint about my job - I love my job and 99.9% of the people in the world have it harder than me. But it's been taking a bit more out of me for the past few months, and I expect it will for the next few, too.
There's part of me that's already regretting this decision and I know that part will get bigger when the weather turns and my friends start busting up great times, but the fact of the matter is I'm not set up for a great time right now. Instead, I'm going to enjoy the fall and race way more than usual. I can already point to five short races I want to do - only one of which I was preparing to run before I shelved the plan.
Hopefully, after a season of that I'll be hungry enough to give the effort that I think the marathon deserves.
1.) Physically, I don't feel up to a strong build. Three years ago, all of my easy runs were around 8:15/mile. Now, there's nearly all at 8:40/mile.
2.) Emotionally, I don't feel ready for the burden that comes with focusing on a marathon. Previously, I'd done one marathon per year, but with doing one in the spring, I'd doubled my frequency. While that's nothing to people who run marathons, I think it's a big difference for people who focus on peaking for them.
3.) Meteor-logically, the weather wins. Interesting: before this year, I would've called myself a great summer runner. I don't feel like one anymore. Global warming, 1. Marcus, 0.
4.) Vocationally, I'm just busier. That isn't a complaint about my job - I love my job and 99.9% of the people in the world have it harder than me. But it's been taking a bit more out of me for the past few months, and I expect it will for the next few, too.
There's part of me that's already regretting this decision and I know that part will get bigger when the weather turns and my friends start busting up great times, but the fact of the matter is I'm not set up for a great time right now. Instead, I'm going to enjoy the fall and race way more than usual. I can already point to five short races I want to do - only one of which I was preparing to run before I shelved the plan.
Hopefully, after a season of that I'll be hungry enough to give the effort that I think the marathon deserves.
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