Testing my new kit in the Cairngorms

Myself and good friend Alasdair MacDougal aka Dougal set out for a two day trek and adventure in the Cairngorms the other day to test all my new kit which is a mix of purchased kit from Likeys in Breacon in Wales who are the organisers of the 6633 Ultra and to where I travelled to use their expertise on getting the correct kit and Base layer company Armadillo Merino have kindly agreed to sponsor my base layers for the 6633. They supply NASA so if it’s good enough for NASA it certainly good enough for me!

The plan was we were going to do ten hours on the first day, Dougal was going to camp and I was going to sleep in my bivvi bag, then we had a eight hours planned for day two. However weather and conditions can change any plan. We were doing well on day one when we descended off a mountain into a glen where the wind had caused severe snow drifts where we were heading, this caused our pace to severely drop fighting to keep moving. At one stage I sunk waist deep in a mix of snow and bog and nearly lost my left boot in the bog, poor Dougal had to dig me out with his hands. We realised we weren’t going to reach our planned destination for our overnight stay so Dougal navigated us safely to a small Bothy where we slept for the night after five tough hours on foot.

Day two I opened the Bothy door to find the there had been a massive fall of snow during the night. I had to dig us out of the Bothy before we could get out. We tucked into breakfast before setting out on what we expected to be a another tough day. What we didn’t expect was for our first two miles which did include a big climb to take us two and a half hours. We were minimum of knee deep in snow and sometimes up to our waist. We were concerned about getting off the really deep snow before darkness but luckily Dougal’s navigation and us just putting the head down and getting on with it got us back to the car just before darkness after a tough seven and a quarter hours under foot.

Although we didn’t achieve our planned time as Dougal said as we were approaching the car “That was two mentally challenging days”

I was pleased with how my new kit performed in such hostile conditions and it’s another box ticked leading up to being on the start grid of the 6633 Ultra on March 11th.

On Friday I had my normal busy day in our cycle shop Biles of Inverness then went home to pack my food drop bags which you could collect every 10 miles into the 72 miles Ultra Marathon which had 7000 feet of climbing. I got all my safety kit and diabetes kit all packed and headed for Inverness sports centre to get the race bus to Fort William at 9.30pm for. 1am start on the Saturday morning. I had a good look during the week at my fellow 75 competitors and realised I didn’t recognise any names so I boarded the bus and looked for a friendly face to share the journey with, I made the correct choice sitting next to Scott Robb. After a good blether with Scott and getting close to Fort William we both decided that the bus journey was epic never mind running that distance plus some and climbs.

We all signed on, got our numbers and headed for the start complete with head torches for the 1am kick off. I had a look at the 2014 results and splits and thought I’d be around the 15 hours for the race so took two different spits from people who had done close to 15 hours. I got to the first checkpoint and was 8 mins up on schedule, tested blood glucose, picked up my fuel and headed on. Over the next 3 checkpoints I kept increasing on my schedule and although I was still comfortable it was concerning knowing I still had the toughest last 32 miles till the finish.

Blood glucose was behaving up till 20 miles to go, due to the severe rain my CGM sensor came off and my blood glucose monitor stopped reading my test strips with the amount of rain.

I knew I was dipping so took 2 energy gels, still felt I was dipping so took a full packet of glucose tablets and ran the last 15 miles on feel of blood levels. 5 miles from the finish I couldn’t believe it I caught Scott who I sat next to on the bus. He was struggling big time after going over his ankle and told me to push on, after a blether with him I headed on for the finish shocked to be 2 hours ahead of my schedule but even more shocked to have finished on the podium in 3rd place. I was a happy bunny

 

During May I was honoured to be invited to the Animas Sports Weekend held at Loughborough University over three days as one of the Animas Heroes. The weekend is set up by Animas for 50 type 1 delegates who learn from some of the most experienced diabetic medical professionals about how blood glucose can be affected with doing different sports and how different foods will affect blood glucose before, during and after exercise.

The great thing about the weekend is all the delegates then get the opportunity to try out their newly learnt knowledge doing various different sports but within a very safe environment having the medical professionals there to help advise on any issues during their activities.

I had the privilege of doing the Saturday pre evening meal presentation which was an honour to be asked to do in front of a room full of very inspirational people.

It was the second time Animas had invited me as one of their Animas Heroes and although I’d heard most of the information that was given out over the weekend before I still left with so much new information which will only help me get through my next challenge. Another great thing for me is I left the weekend having met new friends for life that I will keep in contact with and share stories with.

The weekend for the delegates is heavily subsidised by the sponsor of the weekend Animas and without their hard work and commitment to running such an inspirational weekend a lot of us would not have the knowledge to share with others with type 1 and our own personal medical care teams.

Last week my diabetes specialist nurse (DSN) called to ask if I could go along to the diabetes clinic to speak to two students who were keen to learn about insulin pump therapy and continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). I was due to get my diabetes long term bloods done (HbA1c) so asked if I could get it done at the same time. After spending time with the students showing them how the pump worked alongside the CGM I got my blood taken and was told to expect a call in the next few days with my results. Sure enough I got a call to say my HbA1c was 5.3mmol/L 34mol. I was delighted with these as the average non type1 diabetic would be 5.5mmol/L 37mol. My DSN asked if I was getting many hypos and how was my hypo awareness because my levels are so low which I replied “I’ve not been getting many hypos and my awareness was very good.” My DSN is convinced that having the Animas Vibe insulin pump picking up the Dexcom G4 platinum CGM via Bluetooth which I can monitor 24/7 is one of the reasons I’ve been able to get such control of my HbA1c. Another good tool I have is the averages on my OneTouch Verio IQ blood glucose monitor. For the first time I’ve been able to get all my averages below 6.0mmol/L which makes me smile when I look at them. So thanks to technology, sport and a bit of hard work I’m living within a non type 1 diabetics range. #ruleT1D

Just over a year ago, 3 days after my 18^th birthday, I was diagnosed as with Type 1 Diabetes. It was a big shock, no-one on either side of the family has Type 1 so as a family we had no experience of diabetes which meant we all entered into new era  – which was a pretty sharp learning curve.

Before my diagnosis I was very active on my bikes and took every opportunity to be out on the tracks.

Yet for fear of not being able to control my blood sugars and having a hypo I haven’t been as active as I would liked to have been. I became more and more frustrated at not being able to do any exercise or get on my bikes, and very nearly took off to Learnie in the Black Isle in the midst of rage and aggravation – which wouldn’t have been the wisest way to get back into exercise. But it’s now about to change.

A couple of things have given me the proverbial kick up the rear.  Firstly, at my medical check-up I was told I had lost a stone (but I haven’t noticed any change or changes to my clothes so it must be down to muscle loss). Secondly, I met the irrepressible Roddy Riddle who gave me so great advice and encouragement. He explained that I can manage my Type 1 Diabetes whilst maintaining an active lifestyle. Roddy has given me the support to get back on my bike again. It might be a bit wobbly to begin with, but I am determined to do it.

I thought you might like to come on this journey with me, so I intend to keep you all updated via this blog. You never know, it might help some others along the way too.

 

Guest Blog by: Ryan Donnelly

If the Ice Ultra Marathon hadn’t been cancelled due to lack of entries it would have been done and (hopefully) dusted by now.

The cancellation of the Ice Ultra meant that I had to rethink my season and set new goals – which is exactly what I’ve now done.

On Thursday 18th June I will be running the 98 mile West Highland Way (WHW) with Steve Drake and Derek Stewart who I shared a bivouac with during the 2013 Marathon Des Sables along with Michael Martin. We are going to be completing the run by starting in Fort William, Highland, UK  and finishing in Milngavie, East Dunbartonshire, UK. We are also adding on an extra 2 miles to get the special 100 miles in the legs.

This will be a severe test for me keeping my blood glucose (BG) levels where I like them to be for exercise but, the good thing is that with having my Animas Vibe insulin pump, which is compatible with the Dexcom continuous glucose monitoring sensor, it will make the challenge that little bit easier as with the touch of a button on my pump I’ll see my BG level and the trend arrows (which indicate the direction and rate of glucose change by colour coded arrows). This will help me with my insulin and carbohydrate intake during the run.

And I’m not stopping there. Following the WHW, I will complete in the 73 mile Great Glen Ultra Marathon on 4th July –  just over 2 weeks after we run the WHW. My main concern will be recovering sufficiently enough to get through the event, but with it finishing in my home city of Inverness I know I’ll have the added incentive of running home.