All of sudden, the race is one week away. ONE WEEK.
I have to admit that my "training" was not as disciplined as I would have liked, but I think it proves that if you are not a super dedicated fitness person that sets a schedule and sticks to every detail, you can still achieve a pretty big goal. While I still need to achieve said goal, I'm pretty confident and actually a little excited!
I FINALLY attached the Continuous Glucose Monitor. So, yay, I have something in addition to my insulin pump attached to me at all times. At least I'm never lonely :)
I was very intimidated by this thing. VERY INTIMIDATED. Gave birth twice, diabetes for over 30 years, a few minor surgeries here and there and still very intimidated. The injector thing looks like something from Total Recall (if you are old enough to remember that movie). I felt like Arnold Schwarzenegger, minus the mystery love child, everlasting accent and brief political stint. But I did it! And other than the fact that it wakes me up at night when my blood sugar is low (which I know is actually a good thing), it's pretty cool. Ok, not necessarily cool, but useful.
In the midst of training for this race, I managed to start a small cake business out of my home as well. Oh, the irony. The CGM is also really good for this, because when my hands are covered in buttercream frosting, there's a slight risk that a finger stick may be inaccurate. The CGM lets me know with a button press if my blood sugar is trending up or down or stable. The glucose readings are not 100% accurate (margin of error is about 25 mg/dl either way). But since I'm infamous for letting my blood sugar drop into the 30's before realizing it, that margin of error is irrelevant.
Another positive, and the whole reason for this CGM to begin with, is that I can run with it in an armband and be able to see what my blood sugar is doing while I'm running. It takes a lot of stress out of a long run or any long day of anything, for that matter. I highly recommend it if you are like me and tend to get wrapped up in doing something (cakes, running, Father of The Bride marathon). I sometimes just forget to test and bolus.
My longest run to date is 8 miles. I ran in Ocean City, MD last weekend and definitely confirmed that I don't love to run. It's a great workout and I always feel like I accomplished something when I'm done but I don't love it. I followed that run with a 5k the following morning. I ran my best time in the 5k and realized that all of this work has actually made me faster and more fit. It makes me feel good. Plain and simple.
I'm also really excited to run this race with my best friend. Not my husband, even though he is my best friend too. He pretty much does everything faster than me. Running, reading, cleaning, thinking. I like to take my time with most things and this race will be no different :)
My best friend, Jenn has selflessly neglected to train hard for this race (she ran a half-marathon last year) so she can run with me. She gets credit for that and for introducing me to my husband, which she will gladly accept any gratitude at any time for either.
With 7 days left, I really had to plan out my final training plan and details for a successful race. So, like any accomplished and focused runner, I agreed to make a 3 tier Bah Mitzvah cake for 75 people. I'm certain that that is what the majority of the other runners are doing this week.
As this final pre-race week begins, thought I would share a couple insightful thoughts about running:
1- I highly recommend setting a fitness goal for yourself, no matter what kind of shape you are in or how much time you have.
2- Don't talk yourself out of anything you want to achieve. You can do it if you have kids or a job or an autoimmune disorder. You might not be the fastest or the fittest but if you show up, you're achieving part of your goal already.
3- I do not recommend starting a cake business, or any type of business while training for your first long race. Cake takes a long time to bake and decorate, especially if your cakes are as awesome as mine (shameless plug to like Sweet Daisy Cakes by Steph Tomko on facebook).
4- If you have no interest in running, then set a small goal. Give up something that is unhealthy. Even if its the whipping cream that DD puts in their coffee...that stuff will sneak up on you!
5- Don't put fitness before your family. While its important to run those miles, your kids need your more, so make sure there is balance.
6- Speaking of balance...that is what I revolve everything around. Balance your diet, balance your stress, balance your time. If you have a bad day, just make up for it the next day. It's not ALL or NOTHING. There is a healthy in between that works just fine.
7- and finally, HIGHER your standards. Stop settling for whatever is easiest or most convenient. There are a lot of people who can't do what you can do, so go do it. Do more. Accomplish more. Be more. You will thank yourself for it. Trust me.
Happy final week! If you don't hear from me much this week, its because I'm running and baking. But not at the same time. I think.
Special thanks to all of the people who have sponsored me for this run, I would not be running without you! (literally, since there was a minimum fundraiser amount!)
If you didn't donate and you have extra money laying around, you can still sponsor me but I've already raised what I need to. I would love it if you donated to another charity instead. Here are the links for both:
Steph's page
http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/DetermiNation/DNFY11National?px=31184056&pg=personal&fr_id=42087
Heart of Hope page
http://www.carasheartofhope.org/donate/
Thanks for reading!
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