Day 4 & 5 in one: Carbs and Excerise

We were a little busy yesterday.  Busy at the hospital.  My hubbie has his "chemo port" removed! Yay!  No more chance of needing chemo.  Since his CAT scan came back totally stable earlier this year in February they scheduled the surgery to remove his port.  We were at the hospital at 7 am and by 11 am the "thing" was gone. It was funny.  Nate said the surgeon showed him the "thing" and it reminded him of the disgusting contraption that Neo had removed from his bellybutton in the Matrix.  Funny. 

So once we came home Nate rested for the rest of the day.  He slept until about 7pm when he work up, ate and went back to bed until morning.  Today he feels great.  His upper peck is a sore but other than that he says he feels good.

We are glad to have that "thing" out of our lives.  Not just the port, but the cancer and all the craziness that comes with battling cancer.  We are thankful to God that Nate is well now and cancer-free.  And so excited that we are able to have Nr. 2.  We really thought maybe Noah would be it for us.  They (the cancer specialists) did a good job prepping us for that possibility.  So now we consider this little Nr.2 such a blessing.  He is active and kicking and punching me and I don't mind one bit.  His tiny little hands and feet and elbows don't bother me.  I gingerly "pet" my tummy every time he fidgets around in there.

In regards to carbs, I've been talking carbs this whole week.  And as I talk about it I can hear I ridiculous I sound.  I am giving myself too much slack.  Most of the T1 diabetics out there are eating their meals measured out with measuring cups and spoons.  While I just pour, scoop and eat.  Not that there is anything wrong with that.  But I indulge to the extreme.  And there is something wrong with that.  If I want a chocolate bar I will have it.  I will bolus for it and then watch the sugars to make sure they don't get crazy.  But that's not okay.  I never used to touch chocolate bars - like a Snickers or a Mars bar.  It would give me a crazy headache even if I bolused the exact of insulin required.  Not so much lately.  I can have it, bolus and be fine.  But that still doesn't mean a chocolate bar or a whole sleeve of ladyfingers are okay to eat.  Even for a non-diabetic a chocolate bar a day or even every other day is not recommended. 

The other night hubbie and I were discussing this.  We did some research to see if a low-carb diet is okay for a non-diabetic.  Our search was inconclusive.  Mainly because I broke down in tears and said "I do not want to be on a low carb diet!  I would lose my mind if I had to eat a hamburger with lettuce on both top and bottom instead of bread."  I do not want to be restricted to those extremes.  But I also understand that I am way to "lax" with my carbs.  I will find that balance once again.  That is the plan.

So enough about carbs and on to running 1/2 Marathons.  Last year in the summer, hubbie and I joined a co-ed soccer team every Monday.  We really love it!  I made a friend who was a runner and I asked her one day if she knew of a marathon that would allow me to run the Ambassador Bridge (the biggest border crossing in North America - linking Detroit to Windsor).  She was so excited that I was interested in this since she was thinking of signing up for it.  It's called the Detroit Free Press/Flagstar Marathon.  I signed up for the 1/2 marathon (13.1 miles/21.1kms) and started training for it.  I would run about 5km about once or twice a week to the tune of Monkey Business by the Black Eyed Peas.  It was so amazing.  I was the kind of runner that dreaded starting the run but loved it once I got going!  As soon as I would hear the first notes of "Pump it" I would be off.  I could go and go and go. 

The marathon day was amazing.  It started in Detroit, across the Ambassador bridge along the riverfront in Windsor and back into Detroit through the tunnel.  Nate and Noah came to see me at the entrance of the tunnel and they cheered and it really brought tears to my eyes.  I was able to go and go without jogging even until the 10 mile marker.  I remember thinking, "Alright I've got 10km down and I'm almost half-way..." Then I realized: I am in the states.  These are miles!  I only have 3 more miles.  It was an amazing feeling.  Sadly though, since I felt so amazing I thought well now I can slow down a bit and take it easy.  Big mistake. I jogged and walked and ran but those last 3 miles were the hardest.  I crossed the finish line at 2:32:51 and felt amazing.  Later that day - different story.  I become so stiff I could barely walk.  I was also battling a cold but I didn't allow it to let me not attend the race.  So I really paid for it in the coming days. 

From a diabetic perspective everything was fine during training and during the marathon.  As long as I started the run with good sugars they didn't really get affected too much.  I had never run more then 10km from start to finish before the 1/2 marathon which was 26km.  So on the way to the race my friend and I grabbed egg McMuffins from McDonald's and some OJ and so I was hoping that would keep me going.  Then along the way I devised a plan.  Every other water station I would grab a cup of Gatorade and a cup of water.  So I can get some sugar in me and then wash it down with water so that I won't have that sticky sweet taste in my mouth as I ran.  It worked brilliantly.  Within those last 3 miles there were peanut M&Ms being given out and I grabbed a handful and washed them down with water.  I was wearing a sensor and tested before the race to calibrate and everything went smoothly.  My sugars never dipped and never spiked. 

It was a great experience and it I wasn't  having Nr.2 a month before the 2010 marathon I'd be all over it.  Next year. 

I did not run even once since then.  Not an ounce of exercise.  Unless you count the walks around the block now that I'm pregnant.  I'll sometimes pop Noah in the jogging stroller and we'll walk to the park.  But that is about the extent of my exercise regiment.  Maybe once I go on mat. leave I will be able to do more.  Play more.  Chase him around the back yard more... or less since my belly will be bigger and bigger and I'll be more and more tired as I enter third trimester.