Adjustments - from Team Type 1 SANOFI's Run Across America


Adjustments by Marcus Grimm
October 29, 2011

After a night of running through the Mojave Desert, Team Type 1 SANOFI now finds itself in Arizona, the third state in their RUN ACROSS AMERICA. Gone is the excitement from the pier in Oceanside, CA and the pandemonium of the first day and well-wishes of friends and family. What remains now is the realization that the desert is very quiet and that the team has so very far to go.

In Van A, the runners are learning what twenty miles a day of work means to their diabetes.

“I’ve lowered my basal rates by about 30%,” says Tom Grossman, referring to the amount of long-acting insulin that regularly enters his body via his insulin pump. Matt Patrick counters that he’s down 20%, while Ironman Casey Boren hasn’t adjusted his rates a bit. It’s one of the many ironies of diabetes; it’s such a personal disease that even if you and another man are spending all of your time together doing the same thing, you won’t slay this dragon the same way.

To a man, though, their bodies are now far more sensitive to exercise. Each of their shifts average around thirty to forty minutes of running, a short enough span that seasoned athletes wouldn’t expect their blood sugar to change much. And yet, during a spell through the desert last night, Kevin Powell watched his blood sugar plummet one hundred points during a single shift. At times like these, the runners are immensely grateful for healthy fast-acting carbohydrates like PowerBar Energy Blasts. And of course, for each other.

“You’re running in the middle of the desert in the middle of the night,” says Matt Patrick, “and yet you’re surrounded by a bunch of guys who know how to keep you safe and keep you moving.”

For now, keeping moving is what it’s all about.

Team Type 1 is made up of 100 of some of the finest professional and diabetic athletes in the world. Their mission is to promote wellness and achievement among diabetics worldwide. The Run Across America, a journey of more 3,000 miles, culminates on November 14, World Diabetes Day, in New York City. 

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