WILD 101 Team Blog

New to Type 2

2010-06-23T17:32:00.000-07:00

Kerry Snider
June 23, 2010

I was recently diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes and have gone through every emotion that one goes through when told you have this disease, from self blame to blaming others to self pity to anger and lack of self worth.
Not all by any means, but most type 2's have a weight issue, which is where I fit in, and where the blame game began.
I was told by the doctors office that exercise was the key, “yeah ok " don't they say that for everything. This coming from the ultimate couch potato. “Not going to happen".

Anyways as the days went by and the tears didn't stop, I decided to go to the American Diabetes Expo that they were holding in Denver. Dragging my husband along me.( he hates those things, but wanted to support me) That was the day my life changed, I met Mari. She didn't look at me as if I was someone to be pitied, but instead asked me what I was going to do about it. She asked me if I could ride a bike, "Of course I can" was the answer, although I was thinking "at least I could when I was a teenager". Mari convinced me to go talk to the " Tour De Cure " booth, which I did and with the same bravado told them the same thing " Yes I can ride a bike" Well before I knew it I was signed up to ride and with my husband telling me the family ride will only take about an hour, lets do the 32 mile ride, I agreed.
I left that Expo feeling like a whirlwind had surrounded me, what the heck was I thinking, I can’t ride a bike 32 miles. I can even ride 3.2 miles, but if anybody knows me, once I commit that is it. So the training must start. I began to go for a walk ( huge step for me ) and ride my bike, yes I did actually own one, and began to realize that the object in my bedroom was not a place to throw clothes, it was actually a treadmill used for workouts, who knew....

Little by little my stamina has increased and I push myself a little further, my weight is by no means where it should be but I am working on it.
My blood glucose levels are pretty steady and I should get my new A1C score in the next few days (tested yesterday) I watch what I eat and count my carbs and if I don't know what a food contains I tend not to eat it. I am taking an oral medication once a day, which I find difficulty in remembering, because I don't feel ill.

In June of this year, I attended " Camp WILD " (Women Inspiring Life with Diabetes) and was totally inspired by each and every camper, coach, nutritionist, and person that attended, each person had their own story and by sharing them, you realize that you are not alone on this journey.

Although I found out that I was the only one attending with "Type 2” which I thought was strange. Where are all the type 2 women? I cannot possible be the only one who wants to improve their health. I know where they are, they are hiding, scared to death to make the first step, afraid of being laughed at or humiliated because they can't get up and jog, or ride a bike, or even find a swimsuit so they can try and swim. How do I know? because I was that woman, All they need is someone to tell them " yes you can" start small. They need someone who has been in that position showing them that it is possible.
For me, my journey has just begun, I got off the couch and decided my life was just as valuable as the next persons, I did something about it, and on the last day of camp, I completed my 1st sprint triathlon, yes me, the overweight 47 yr old who didn't do anything till February of this year did it. It wasn't about time or finishing in the top ten, for me there was a different goal, it was to finish, it was about finishing what I started.

And that is how I now look at my life, no matter what, I know I can finish anything I start, and have proven to myself over and over again since that point, I have climbed rocks in BV that I only looked at before, I have ridden my bike for 20 miles at 7am on a Saturday morning, just because I can.
Mari did it for me, and maybe I can “Pay It Forward"

My favorite saying is "If you believe in yourself, no-one can take it from you."
I wear it on my wrist every day along with my diabetes band

and my camp wild band to remind me!

The Skinny on Me and Team WILD 101

2010-06-21T18:40:00.000-07:00

Laura Tipson
June 21, 2010

I really want exercise to be a healthy part of my daily routine, in the same way that I incorporate meditation and carb counting into my schedule. And I’m not giving up on these goals, in fact, I’m more committed than ever! I have the equipment at hand, mental and material. I have the information in front of me, online, in books, and from my medical support team. I have access to the latest technology and I’m fortunate to have excellent health care coverage.

I’m over 60 and have never been a “consistent exerciser”, more a dabbler in Tai Chi, yoga here and there, kayaking on vacations, a hiking club when I felt like it. You probably know the type! I’m trying, but I know I’m still a long way from the mindset that my a relative of mine has—when she gets, she warms up and jogs come hell or high water. I have never given myself that permission, or arranged my life that way, and see it now as a big mistake. But never too late to change! Having been misdiagnosed as a Type 2 and having passed out all over the place from low BGs, it has definitely taken me a good amount of time to regain any confidence about risking those episodes. What I had hoped to find from the Team 101 was some shared dialog about specifics about blending settings with exercise and carbs to offset lows. Let’s face it, most of you are way down a triathlon trail, but this tortoise is still determined to inch along.

Athlete. Me?

2010-06-21T18:26:00.000-07:00

Heather Leide
June 21, 2010

I have never thought of myself as an athlete. As a kid, I hated sports. I would hike only to find a quiet, shady place to lie down and read a book. I played t-ball because my mom wanted me to participate in team sports. I can’t remember why I ran track in junior high, but I suffered through every step of the mile, the half-mile and long jumping. I started to like tennis too late in high school to get on the team so I’ve always just played a couple of times a year with my parents.

When I started working for a health club company, I started going to the gym across the parking lot from our office. I found several benefits in the exercise routine added to my daily life, but it didn’t change anything about my self-perception.

I started ‘training’ for my ride in the Tour de Cure, inspiring my friends to get on their bikes and ride with me. It feels really good to know you’ve stumbled on a solution to a friend’s quest for enjoyable exercise, but still I didn’t feel like an Athlete.

Then, I found out about Team WILD through a comment Mari posted on Title Nine’s Facebook post. Something made me sign up for WILD 101 almost immediately. And I started to wonder if perhaps things were starting to shift.

A couple of weeks ago, I zipped into the local Title Nine retail store and was stopped short by the words on their window. Two of them really spoke to me.

“You’re an athlete… if you think strong is beautiful, whatever shape it takes.”

My favorite quote, as shown in my bio here at Team WILD is, “Be strong. Be gentle. Be beautiful, from the inside out.” Some things are ringing true here…

“You’re an athlete… if you stretch your limits.”

For starters, I live my life with Type 1 diabetes. And while it consumes a great deal of my brain power and very occasionally makes me pause, I am always stretching for better self-care and less impact on the rest of my life. On the exercise front, I’m going to train for a longer ride next Tour and longer still the following. I’m stretching my limits, and my teammates’ too. I don’t really know anything about the “how” of this sort of training, but with Team WILD and the support of my T3’s, I’m going to figure it out.

It isn’t like I didn’t consciously start increasing my exercise, but something did sneak up on me. I think, all of a sudden, I might just be an athlete after all.

Back in Love...With Running

2010-06-08T17:13:00.000-07:00

Erica "Erky" Krauthamer
June 8, 2010

Recently I have fallen back in love with running. Each week as the weekend approaches I look forward to sleeping in and my Saturday morning run down the Embarcadero along the water. Running now brings back the same feelings that I felt when I was 8 and running wild with my brothers around the neighborhood that I grew up in. Sometimes the sweet memories of of playing in the street with my friends get so strong that I end up tearing up a little, then I end up looking like a crazy lady running down the street crying.

I can’t put a exact date on it, but a few years ago I made a conscious decision that I was going to fall back in love with running. I followed training plans diligently, and gradually increased my distance until I was running 5 miles with no endurance problems, but with major pain that ran the length of both of my legs despite taking pain killers, using heat and cold therapy and doing yoga. The pain was so bad that I had to stop.

A few months ago I was at REI browsing and got interested in the Vibram 5 finger shoes. I will admit that I routinely laughed under my breath at people I saw wearing them in San Francisco as they are the hands down ugliest shoes that I have ever seen. I bought the shoes and they are what convinced the that I could love running again. After my first in them run I didn’t feel any pain and noticed that wearing them had completely changed my gait. I have continued running almost every weekend in my hideous 5 fingers, and I can’t wait to complete my first official race in 2 weeks, a 5K wearing them. After that I hope that following the WILD 101 program can help me to increase my distance so that I can do a 10K by the end of the summer. Thank you Team WILD and 5 fingers!

Registration is Open!

2010-04-16T12:29:00.000-07:00

Come join the fun! Team WILD is now accepting women of all ages and abilities to help spread the word that women with diabetes are a force to be reckoned with! Get out there and show ‘em what you’re made of!! What are the perks you ask?? Join now and get a reduced rate for our signature 70.3 race in Branson. Always wanted a team of coaches? Well, we have that covered too. Along with our coaching we have top notch CDE’s, and dietitians that will get you to that finish line with a smile! Remember, you can recruit a friend without diabetes to be a Type 3 supporter!

For more information, please go to our website, www.teamwild.org.