Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Diabetes Training Camp Update

One could not wish for a better setting for Diabetes Training Camp than we have here in Santa Barbara. The facilities at UCSB are impressive and the scenery is absolutely breathtaking. And I feel like I'm pretty spoiled living in San Francisco. Hmm, SoCal may not be such a bad option after all! Even more than the setting, though, are the people making things happen here. So far I have enjoyed some expert help on my swimming, participated in a pilates class for the first time, and was able to have my VO2 max tested. We still need to go over the results for that but the one data point I know is that my max heart rate measured on the treadmill was 193. I saw 193 riding up Welch Creek Road on my bike; today, I also felt like I was giving it everything I had. True to form for high intensity exercise, my blood sugar spiked from 155 to 183 and then kept rising after for another 30-40 minutes, peaking at 230 and settling down to 215 over the next 15-60 minutes. This is probably the only group of fitness/diabetes professionals who understand that exercise can often make your blood sugar rise. How many doctors would be surprised to hear that?

Ray and Nella from Andiamo arrived last night for filming, and caught some footage of the VO2 max testing this morning, and will be filming over the next few days. Although I would gladly say good-bye to the pumps and cgm's and pin-cushion fingertips, events that bring together groups of type 1 athletes are always magical to me. If you want to experience this, I suggest that you sign up for one of the JDRF rides, look into joining Triabetes in 2009, participate in one of Insulindependence's events, or come to a Diabetes Training Camp session. Or, if you are able, please consider donating to or sponsoring Triabetes, which will help inspire people to take on one of these opportunities for themselves.

1 comment:

LindaF said...

It's wonderful to hear from you, Anne. I'm glad you are enjoying everything so much!