Wednesday, March 28, 2007

A quick look at the last few days

Well here we are 8 weeks from the Bluenose and last Sunday I finished my first ever 29Km run. I can say that I felt good when I finished, this is a good sign that my training is on track. While my legs did feel very heavy in the last 4K or so, I finished up right and smiling.

Just to let you know I used Cliff Blocks for energy with no problems. My blood sugar was in good shape when I finished, but dropped rapidly as it always does. I enjoyed a nice sugar free cinnamon Latte from Starbucks, the guy put Whipped cream on top, which for 20seconds I debated whether or not to scoop out.

I decided not to scoop it out, I talked to the Coffee creator there and we decided there was not really enough sugar in the whipped cream to hurt me. After which it was a Lobster Omelet at My Fathers Moustache here in Halifax. Then it was off to rehearsal for 2.5 hours. So you are saying what is my blood sugar was 2 hours after all that yummy food. 3.6, yep still low. Considering the food I shoveled in my mouth including a latte with homo milk, whipped cream etc.

So you can see again how important exercise is in the grand scheme of life for a diabetic. If you are type II diabetic and don’t exercise shame on you, you are missing the other half of the equation.

Last night (Tuesday March 26, 2007) I took part in a great concert, we sang Verdi’s Requiem. It was an amazing night with great music. We sang to a full house at the Rebecca Cohen at Dalhousie. The choir consisted of 140 members, 4 local soloists and a mix of Nova Scotia Youth Orchestra, Symphony Nova Scotia Members, Nova Scotia Brass and the Chebucto Community Symphony orchestra.

If you were not there to bad, maybe next time you missed a great evening of Great music, and a chance to see 200 people dressed in Tux’s and black evening wear.

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Motivation

This topic comes up often in running. Tonight I am headed over the Running Room to talk to the ½ marathon clinic about motivation. Being a smart lad I decided that I should look up some details on the subject. After a few minutes with Google I determined there is no lack of theories on what motivates us as humans.

I got to thinking, here I am going to talk to about 30 – 40 people about motivation. After thinking it through I had come to the realization that how do you motivate people who are motivated. Think about it, here are 30 – 40 people who are training for the ½ at the Bluenose this year, they come out Sunday’s, the do the hill training on Wed. and come to the clinic on Tuesday. They must be motivated or why would they bother.

So I pondered about what is motivation, of course being an Internet Jockey off to Wikipedia for this definition “Motivation refers to the initiation, direction, intensity and persistence of a behavior.”(Geen, 1995). It also goes on to say that “Motivation is having the desire and willingness to do something,”

In order to be motivated to do something there has to be a reward, we have to get something out the behavior or else why bother. So the theory goes on to say there are two types of rewards, first Extrinsic, this is a reward that comes from outside the individual. In the case of us runners maybe it’s the medal or t-shirt we get for participation. It could be that we are looking for praise from our peers and friends. Somebody to tell us we did a good job.

Secondly there are intrinsic rewards; these are the internal rewards we give ourselves. This is the self satisfaction of a job well done. We giver ourselves a pat on the back smile that big smile when we cross the finish line because I did it, nobody else took me across that finish line. Intrinsic motivation is when we engage in an activity for its own sake. Why run a marathon, because I can, no other reason.

The big difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation is that there are no rewards in intrinsic motivation. As explained earlier we run because we can, running is it’s on reward. But, I don’t think it starts there, it starts with extrinsic motivation. There has to be something to make us want to take that first step.

I suppose we can explain it by using Maslow’s theory, you may remember some of this from high school science or worse maybe first year college or university psychology. This is the hierarchy of human needs theory. Basically stated, as humans we have wants and desires which influence our behavior, only unsatisfied needs can influence our behavior, satisfied needs cannot.

Does that mean there is something unsatisfied in our lives to make us want to take the first steps? Perhaps it’s the Physiological need this is the lowest on Maslow’s pyramid. I am feeling out of shape, by changing my eating habits and doing more exercise I will feel better about myself. If I feel better about myself I will feel more secure and safe in my environment. This may give me the self confidence to be more social and interact with my peers and the environment around us. If we are more confident about interaction certainly our self esteem will go up leading to the fact that I am really a good guy and radiate positive energy to others (Self Actualization).

There I just explained running in terms of Maslow’s theory, not bad for a regular guy. So extending Maslow’s theory we garner the praise of others in the social step of the pyramid. Therefore giving us extrinsic motivation for running, it’s not only nice to know that you did a good job, but it’s even better when the instructor and your peers recognize the fact that you did a good job.

But still why do we take that first step? I think I can answer that question for myself, but I don’t think I could for someone else. My motivation is to live a long healthy diabetic life, it goes back to what I always maintain, and “I run for my life”.

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Keep it S.M.A.R.T

Keep it S.M.A.R.T

Goal setting is hard, whether it’s to go out and run a marathon or loose 95lbs. Sometimes we get lost in the bigger goal and forget that to get to a big goal we can set smaller steps. I was recently talking to the Lifescan representative here in Halifax about why Diabetics don’t often take care of themselves.

Chris and I both agreed that the news of being diagnosed a diabetic can be overwhelming at first. Imagine sitting in an office, and the Doctor is telling you loose 95lbs, lower your blood pressure, and telling you that you should be exercising 30minutes a day 5 – 6 times per week. I would think the first thing I would do is head to the nearest comfort food station (place your favorite here). Grab that food that makes you feel good and eat until you are smiling.

But, let say reality has you past that part, and you say to yourself how I am going to go and loose 95lbs. and start exercising. Well the Key is to keep it S.M.A.R.T.

S = Specific
M = Measurable
A = Attainable
R = Realistic
T = Time bound

Lets look at a large amount of weight that has to come off, we know that a 1 lb. weight loss a week is optimum, that means you are looking to loose weight through healthy eating over the next 2 years. I know what you are thinking and stop it right now. You are thinking 2 years of dieting to loose 95lbs. How will I even do that? By changing your thinking that’s how.

Well, let’s look at our smart formula; well we certainly have a very specific goal to loose 95lbs. Is it measurable sure is stand on that scale today you are 295lbs, in 2 years you will see 200lbs. Is it attainable sure is 1 lb a week for 95 weeks. Is it realistic; sure is, 1 lb. a week, and its time bound 1 lbs a week for 95 weeks.

Wait Do I see a pattern, being a computer nerd I often see patterns. What if I thought of my weight loss as losing only 1 pound this week, I certainly can loose a pound by cutting back on that muffin, bagel or donut with that morning coffee, while I go out for a walk at my 10:00am and 2:00Pm break. Maybe 15 minutes of moderate walking down the block, around the corner but somewhere around where you work.

Do you see it now not only will I lose a pound, I have added that 30 minutes of exercise a day and while I am at work. That should be easy, I don’t have to make any special time out during my valuable time with kids, computer games, or what ever your favorite hobby may be.

Now you may want to make a better change in your healthy eating but just the very fact that you dropped a muffin or bagel from your day is 4 carb choices. That is around 360 calories. Added 2 x 15 minute walks for another 200 calories a day, for a total of 560 calorie net loss. Now take that over 7 days and you have 3920 calorie loss, well do the math 3500 Calories is one pound. Looks easy, it is easy, you just have to do it. Heck Richard Marcinko would say, “You don’t have to like it, you just have to do it.” We are going to battle fat and become healthy and it’s really easy, but you have to just do it.

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Sick last few days, But now on the mend

Well, after being sick for 5 days I finally coming back to the surface of wellness. Last Thursday I went home from work about 4:00PM just feeling really bad. Apparently I was running a 38C+ temp (according to my trusty Nurse Aingeal). It was pure luck that I had booked the Friday off anyway as I would never had made it in.

After missing Friday’s run, I took a slow run to the Running Room for the Saturday Morning LTR. That felt horrid, I managed to run with the clinic where I headed to work for an 8 hour shift as it was a big deployment weekend for the engagement I worked for hear in Halifax. It was a very slow day where I could barely function. Good thing it was a very easy deployment.

I had talked to Bruce who is the Marathon Clinic instructor and store manager over at the Running Room about missing the Sunday run. I got out voted and told to not even try if I was feeling that bad. So feeling guilty I stayed home Sunday. I did get out for a 2.5Km slow run around.

Got up Monday, and felt not to bad, ran 4K into work, and I have to admit it felt like 20K. I was starting a new engagement so I was not going to miss my first day. As it was I got to noon and threw in the towel. I went home and slept from 12:30PM to almost 6:00PM. Went out to the Dal Chorale practice, and hit the sack about 10:00PM again and slept until 6:00AM. So lots of sleep, but that did the trick, today I ran 6K in, which was still about ½ of what I normally run on Tuesday but it felt like a 10K run rather then a 20K run so I must be improving.

I am not sure what the turn around was, but I can tell you Monday morning I started taking Cold F/x. I am not endorsing Cold F/x but just saying I started taking it yesterday and today I feel 100% improved over yesterday.

Looking forward to seeing another 100% improvement tonight, and getting back to a proper running schedule starting with the 19K run on Sunday. Will be looking for those hills tomorrow it is 6x repeats. Runners love those hills.

Harry

Thursday, March 8, 2007

Thursday Ramblings on Running this week

The weeks are really going buy and while the weather here in Halifax is still fairly cold at least it is sunny. This is the second week of hills, I must admit doing hill repeats are not the most fun thing one can do while running. But it really helps mentally as you really have to focus when you are on the last rep to get up the hill.

So far my times seem to be done from my ½ training. So I am pleased so far with my program and pacing. The upside is that I have had to increase my carb intake by at least 1 extra per meal to make up the deficit. There are still days where I don’t quite get it right and it drops into the mid 3’s before dinner. Usually I will have a ½ of Flax bread and cheese for a quick snack before dinner. I would say I am bordering on 14 – 16 carbs a day.

Two hours after dinner I seem to go between 6 and 6.5, which my sports doctor said is still to high, but it comes down very fast after the initial rise. This indicates that my body needs the carbs. So the solution would be to eat 1 less carb after dinner and then have a quick carb 2 – 3hours afterwards.

I have yet to try a gel on a run, been snacking on the Sharkies, they are jellied sharks that taste like Gatorade. I tend to pop a couple in my mouth every 20 minutes or so into the run. I also like the Jelly Bellies, they make a sports bean for carb replacement. This week through I think I will try a gel about 13K into the run and see how that effects my blood sugar and performance.

In terms of mileage I will hit 60K per week this week, which is around were I would like to stay for the rest of the program. Maybe take it up to 70K towards the last 2 weeks of training. So far my body is holding out with few aches and pains but nothing show stopping.

Aingeal my partner things I am insane, I don’t think I disagree, running a marathon is a big commitment much less running back to back ½ and full next January. But I remind myself why I do what I do. This makes the effort that much better. When I cross the finish line in Halifax, it’s going to be a very sweet moment that I want to savor for at least 15 minutes. Not to mention I am going to be a Blizzard from Dairy queen, just a small one, but after 42K I will deserve it, don’t you think?

Sue, my neighbour wrote a great article for one of the weekly papers for west end Halifax. While I don’t see the effect of donations rolling in at least there is some awareness in the community. That is the primary goal of what I am doing, raising money is important but if one person reads the article and see’s their doctor then It was worth the agony of the Feet.

As Richard Marcinko(rogue warrior) says “Pain is just mother natures way of telling us we are alive. Some days I am more alive then others”

Harry

Monday, March 5, 2007

Angie_HFX asked me about how I transitioned to running

After I was diagnosed with Type II diabetes I knew that I had to loose weight. According to my BMI I should have an index <25. Making me well over 100 lbs. overweight. I figure when I started I was 305 – 310 lbs. The choice was die before 60 or clean up my act.

I knew I had to make changes, but the first appointment with the Diabetic support staff was 3 months away. The doctor said buy a monitor and take readings and change the way you eat and exercise. Well easier said then done, this is a common issue with a lot of diabetics, the doctor tells you to change your life and you have no clue how to do that. According to a Nurse who works at the 2 hospitals here in Halifax it’s a 6 month to 1 year weight to get in to the program.

For me I am lucky my partner, Aingeal is a Liberian with a thirst for knowledge and went to the library and picked up just about every book there was on Diabetes and we began reading. Knowing I had to diet I went to the American Diabetes site and picked up there 1600 calorie diet and started eating healthy. Believe me its not easy going from 3000 calories down to 1600 Calories, but I did find once you start to eat properly you do feel full.

But the focus here for Angie is exercise and how I transitioned to running. My first exercise was a recumbent Bike that my partner had. I started sitting down every day about 1 hour after dinner and starting pedaling. It was not easy I started at 10 minutes, slowly working my way up 1 minute at a time to 40 minutes. Basically I got healthy watching 5 seasons of Babylon 5 on DVD.

I know also that 1 – 2 hours after you eat the sugars rise in your blood stream, being glucose intolerant you want to make sure there is a demand for those sugars. So during my breaks instead of eating 2 bagels and my coffee, I went out for a 15 minute walk. I did this Morning, Lunch and afternoon break, when I started it took 15 minutes to do 1km. But after a while it was down to 10 minutes.

This allowed me to do 1K in the morning, 2K at lunch time and another 1K at afternoon break. All the while doing the bike thing, my exercise was at least 1 hour per day. The Canadian Diabetic Association recommends 150 – 180 per week of exercise. As you can see I did much better then that.

Also I never really thought about the weight loss in terms of diet. For me it was only healthy eating and living. I still maintain to this day there is no such thing as diet only healthy eating. But you have to be committed as it does cost more to eat healthy. I read recently that this is a major problem in preventing diabetes is the cost of eating correctly.

Once I started loosing a bit of weight and feeling better, I wanted to jog. Jogging is really running, just maybe a slower pace. The first time out I ran 10 minutes, at that time I was up to 40 minutes on the bike, so I started cutting back the bike and started running. So I might do 10 minutes of jogging and 30 minutes on the bike. I was still doing the walking during my breaks.
I added no more then 10% to my running so it took a long while to build up to that 40 minutes of running a day. My kids teased me that my jogging was so slow they could walk faster then me, but I did not care the fact was that each week I was loosing 1 – 2 lbs. All this took 8 months. It was not an overnight change, it took 8 months to get to a point were I wanted to train for something more.

In that period we had moved to Halifax, and a co-worker mentioned that as part of the Bluenose International Marathon there was a 10K run. Having run 10K in my early twenties I figured I could run 10K. So in February/March 2006 I started training for my first 10K in 25 years. Believe me it was tough, that first time I ran 10K it took 90 minutes.

Then I discovered the Running Room and started training with them on the weekends. And my 90 minute 10K went down into the 70’s. I was hoping to break 70 minutes for the Bluenose. My Chip time was 57:43 seconds. I exceeded my goal by 13 minutes. Got a medal for my efforts and was ecstatic.

Of course being a foolish sole I thought 10K, if I can do that I can run a ½ marathon. So I paid for a clinic at the Running Room, which I recommend to anybody starting out. They have some learn to run clinics that are great to get you started. This program teaches you various aspects of running, as well as getting you out on the road running with John Stanton’s 10 week startup program. This program slowly works you up to 10 minutes of running and 1 minute of walking.

I followed the ½ marathon training program for the time goal of finishing in 2h:30m. It was 18 week programs that lead me up to the PEI International Marathon in which I did the ½ Marathon. My time for the race was 2:06:37 which was a great time and was well below my goal time. This year it’s the step up, the full marathon at the Bluenose. Again I am following John Stanton’s 4:30 program.

Running is 10% sweat and 90% mental, once you decide that you want to run, just go out and run. Fast or slow, as long as you put on the running shoes put one foot in front of the other you are a runner. Buy yourself a good pair of running shoes, don’t skimp, they are expensive expect to pay 150$ but well worth it. Also get some comfortable running clothes, make sure they are stylish too. Because when folks tease you about your pace, you can say “Yes I am slow, But Do I look Good or What”.

The secret of running is not he pace but how good you look at the finish. Start out slowly take your time; build your running up 1 minute at a time. Head over to the nearest Running room buy John’s book, sign up for the clinic and most importantly HAVE FUN.

Harry

Recent Article In the Chronical Herald (Halifax NS)

Living large no moreHalifax man turned to running after Type 2 diabetes diagnosis
By KELLY SHIERS Staff Reporter

If Harry Jacobs tells you he’s running for his life, he’s not exaggerating.
In 1999, as the former chef was embarking on a new, more lucrative career in the computer industry, his marriage broke up. His life sank into a downward spiral and depression set in. For four years, his daily routine was reduced to working eight hours, playing online video games for eight hours and sleeping eight hours.

"I ballooned up over 300 pounds. I don’t know how much over . . . 305-310 wouldn’t be an outrageous guess," says the Halifax man. "My total exercise was (to) get up from the chair in front of the computer, go to the fridge, grab pop, chips, burgers and come back."
You wouldn’t know it now.

At 49, Mr. Jacobs is training for Team Diabetes Canada’s 2008 Goofy Challenge in Orlando, Fla. where participants run a 21-kilometre, half-marathon one day in no more than 3½ hours, and a 42-kilometre, full marathon the next day in no more than seven hours.

Runners must raise $4,500 to be used by the Canadian Diabetes Association for research and education on the life-threatening disease that affects more than two million Canadians and almost 80,000 Nova Scotians.

Fresh from a morning run to work, Mr. Jacobs refers to the period after his marriage breakdown as his "hermitage years" and credits his desire to date again as one thing that put him back on the right track.

Encouraged by a new love, he saw a doctor for a routine physical — and was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.

"You haven’t had your heart attack or stroke yet," Mr. Jacobs remembers the doctor saying, as he explained many men only learn they’re diabetic after suffering one or the other. "You’re lucky."

The Canadian Diabetes Association says 80 per cent of diabetics will die from heart disease or stroke. Diabetes can also lead to kidney disease, blindness and amputation.

Like Mr. Jacobs, about 90 per cent of Canadians with diabetes have Type 2, a number that is rising as the population grows more inactive and obese. Once considered an adults-only disease, almost 15 per cent of diabetic children in Nova Scotia have Type 2.

But experts say its onset may be prevented or delayed by exercise, healthy eating, weight loss and not smoking.

Mr. Jacobs’s diagnosis sent him scouring for information about diet. He began walking and pedalled an exercise bike in front of the TV.

Then he bought a pair of running shoes, taking up a hobby he had pursued in his 20s.
Over 18 months, he dropped 100 pounds. Just as gradually, he picked up the pace.
"My kids used to joke that my running was as fast as their walking," he said. "After a couple of years, last October, I got the last laugh. I ran my first half-marathon."

Typically, he runs six days a week, averaging eight to 10 kilometres daily, with Sunday mornings reserved for longer stretches.

Still, running a marathon and a half-marathon back-to-back will be a challenge.
He’s already raised a few hundred dollars, plans a silent auction in May and calls on his culinary skills to sell muffins at work to help him reach his goal. He provides updates online at thediabeticrunner.blogspot.com.

Mr. Jacobs said he hopes people hear his message.
"I want people to know I’m diabetic. I want people to know I did this to myself and I want people to know you can have a life with diabetes. It’s not all doom and gloom but you have to take care of yourself, eat right, exercise and you’ve got to monitor (blood sugar levels)."

( kshiers@herald.ca)

Friday, March 2, 2007

Finish of week 7 woohoo

Well as week 7 of the training for the Bluenose comes to a close, I have to say that so far so good. My weight is holding steady in the 205-206 range. Through one of my goals is to get down to less then 200, I am not actively trying to loose the weight. When I ran the ½ last year I lost about 6 lbs in the last half of the program do to the increase in mileage and activities such as hill training.

This week was the first week of hill repeats, big thanks to Bruce the RR manager here in Halifax who stayed to run the last hill with me seems I was the slowest guy that night, but according to my gamin it was a 6:40/K pace, which for me is pretty brisk.

I have noticed that my training times for weekday runs are down about 20 seconds per K over the ½. Sure don’t feel faster, I surprise myself when I finish a run to learn that it is in the 7:00/K for a steady run. This is a good pace and makes me believe that a 4:30 marathon is a possibility.

For cross training I throw in some elliptical training in the Nubody’s Gym here in Halifax. I tried step classes, and kept up very well, next day my legs were lead weights and took 3 days to recover. No more step classes until after the Marathon.

As far as eating goes, I have increased my protein to almost double what it was for lunch and dinner. This seems to be having a positive effect on my muscles particularly the legs, I am not near as sore and tired at this point. Considering my Km per week know match what my max was for the ½ and I still have a good 11 weeks to go.

My carb intake remains about the same, except I have added an extra carb in the morning. This compensates for the increase activity for running in the morning. So if you are asking me about diet change, I would tell you I have increased proteins for lunch and dinner, and increased my morning carb by 1 exchange.

This week is the first of the bigger 20+ K runs. It won’t be long until we are doing 32K in preparation for the Bluenose. Hard to believe that I have over 100K on my new shoes already and they are only 2 weeks old, I am going to be lucky to push 8 weeks out of them if that.

I wonder if Nike will sponsor me to wear their shoes. I don’t care about money just shoes. I emailed Asics about pitching in and helping me on my way to Disney with Team diabetes but no answer from them yet.

WooHoo it’s the weekend
Harry

Thursday, March 1, 2007

Beware Snake Oil Salesmen

As a Runner and a Diabetic I often try to keep up on the various research and claims made on the internet. There are many products that claim you can cure diabetes. Since I don’t want to be sued by anyone of those companies I will leave it up to you to Google “Diabetes Cure” and look a the claims.

While I would never discount the use of natural herbs and minerals to help, it’s imperative that you do the research. Don’t take claims at face value as these sites are made to entice you drop your hard earn money on nothing more then a High Tech Snake Oil Sales man.

These leads to the Principle of “Don't trust anything you read on the internet - confirm it
Independently.” Many of the studies done for these so called cures are not scientific studies. Where there are control groups and one set gets the good and the other gets a gel cap full of water. Many of these cures are nothing more then a vitamin pill that you can buy at a local health food store.

There are some great sites on alternative type supplements, but know that this industry is not regulated to much degree. Yes, we all know that more vitamin C is good, adding Omega 3-6-9 to our diets is good, there is some evidence that ALA can help with neuropathy. Heck, you can find claims that 70% cure dark chocolate actually lowers blood sugar, I am all for that.

Know thy self, and take caution when trying Supplements and natural remedies that are not approved by your doctor and dietician. If you want to try something check with your doctor, some of these supplements may not go well with current medication and you can do more harm then good.

As Diabetics we have to take much better care of ourselves then the average Joe, we have to worry about cuts on are extremities. Think about me running a blister could easily get infected if not treated quickly and decisively by you and your doctor. So extra care is always better then the alternative.

Make wise choices in your life, and we will Live Long and Prosper, As Jean Luc would say “Make it So”. Empower yourself to make yourself healthy and wise. You want wealth buy a lottery ticket like the rest of us.

Harry