Something to digest

A true test of any fitness level is the paczki, a Polish doughnut usually eaten in America on Fat Tuesday. They're a big hit around Michigan, Toledo, and areas of high Polish-population density. And they're delicious.

My test came after I devoured my paczki on Tuesday. Because I'm diabetic, I have to be careful about eating carbohydrates. My body doesn't produce insulin on its own, so if I eat more than my insulin injection can handle, my bloodsugar spikes drastically. Tuesday, post-paczki, this didn't happen.

To top it off, I also had a sizable breakfast at Rotary: eggs, bacon, and a few pancakes with strawberry jam, plus the usual orange juice and coffee combo.

By all accounts, my insulin shot should have only covered my egg-and-pancake meal. After the paczki hit my stomach, my body would have searched for any leftover insulin to cover the pastry bomb. Finding none, it should have spiked my bloodsugar, turning my plasma into a system-wide poison.

Again, this didn't happen. When I check my bloodsugar levels before lunch, my machine read "108." Normal bloodsugar for diabetics is anywhere from 80-120. Mine was perfect.

I can explain this in two ways. First, on my own, I've started to adjust my insulin medication to fit the meals I eat. If I eat less carbs for breakfast, I take less insulin after breakfast. If I eat a lunch full of carbs, I take a bit of extra insulin. My bloodsugar level also gets factored in: high bloodsugar equals a bit of extra insulin to take care of it. There's some math involved, but it's not too complicated.

Except now, through trial and error, I've figured out how much insulin I need when I eat, say, a salad-and-fruit dinner. My bloodsugar has dipped a few times when I took too much insulin after such a meal, but I've learned from those experiences. Now my adjustments are much more accurate, and my bloodsugar remains stable.

Before, I would have to eat enough carbs to cover the insulin I took after my meal. I had a set level of insulin I would take after every meal, so if I didn't eat enough my bloodsugar would crash. Now, I don't have that problem. I can eat what I want, and adjust the insulin - not the other way around.

That's number one. Number two is, with my gym membership, I've had to adjust my insulin around my meals. Since my metabolism is running pretty steadily these days, any insulin I took would have a bigger affect. When your body is more efficient at burning calories, you need less insulin to make up the difference. This is why healthy people don't become Type 2 diabetics.

Which makes something really obvious: the body is a wonderful, remarkable machine. This plus this equals that. Excercise plus insulin equals flexibility.

And flexibility is something I haven't had with my diet in a long, long time.

So when that paczki was finished digesting, I had enough insulin and enough metabolism to cover the beast. Instead of taking more insulin at lunch to cover lunch and the paczki, I only had to worry about lunch. And since I had chili and an apple for lunch, I had even less carbs in my system.

This, friends, is progress. It's a system that has helped me prevent a lot of the high-and-low swings that are epidemic among Type 1 diabetics. Because my bloodsugar doesn't crash after I take my insulin, I don't eat as much - and because I don't eat as much, I can take less insulin. In fact, if I could subsist on plain vegetables, I might not need to take insulin at all.

But let's not get crazy, here. I love paczki and fruit and bread too much to let that go. So I'll work with the system.

And, these days, the system is working great.

News from the front [April 28, 2008]

Meet Too Tall.



Too Tall is a chocolate bunny that is, incredibly, too tall for his packaging. Too Tall is so tall, in fact, his ears have burst through the box top.

But is this the truth? Is Too Tall truly taller than his bunny comrades? It turns out Too Tall isn't tall enough.



As you can see, there is plenty of room in the bottom of Too Tall's box. His feet could rest comfortably on the real bottom, and there would be clearance between his "too tall" ears and the box top. There's no need for the hole.



Removed from his packaging, the effect is even more astounding. What would happen if you or I were to lie to little children like Too Tall is doing? Is his ego the only true thing bursting from the box?



I believe so. I believe Too Tall has an inferiority complex. It could stem from his hollow nature, or his average height, or a lack of a loving relationship in his parental rabbit den. Whatever the origin, Too Tall is simply telling a too-tall tale.

What kind of society have we become?

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In other news, I got promoted last Tuesday to "Senior Communications Specialist." That means I'll be doing more of this, and some other video- and web-based projects. Which is cool.

But it also means I have to toss out my unused business cards and order new ones. Not cool.

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Have a dirty...anything?

Two words: Magic Eraser.

I tried it out on my iBook this weekend, and it looks like a new friggin' laptop. Amazing. And all from simple abrasion.

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Running season is here again, and the new Nike+iPod kit is doing wonders. Just to have numbers (calories, average time per mile, etc.) to go along with my workouts is a dream come true.

What's better is the iPod Nano is so much better to run with than my clunky 30 GB model.

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Worked 24 hours in two days this weekend. Joy.

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A few birthdays, mine included, came and went without much celebration on my part, and I'm sorry for that.

Keith, hope your par-tay was fab.

Mine? Simple enough, and much appreciated. Just a nice relaxing weekend at home.

---

Spring is here, which means the entire universe changes direction, and moods lift like evaporating snow.

This year, I've really started to pay attention to birds. Not just my good friend the whip-poor-will (who I swear I will actually lay eyes on for once), but also the cardinal and the starling and all the noise-makers who are so cheerful first thing in the morning.

Buds are budding, trees are greening, and the birds are returning, as they do every year, to fill our hearts with gladness.

Now to figure out which ones are making which noises.

---

Speaking of noises, I got my bike fixed so that I can tackle the Falling Water Trail - all 10 miles (one way) of it to Concord.

A quick breakfast, and off I'll go on some sunny Saturday. Eat lunch in Concord, and bike back. If that isn't the perfect day, I don't know what is.

---

And speaking of perfect, my BBQ chicken breast is sizzling. Off to dinner.

Running+

I started running last summer after seeing a set of podcasts that made the whole thing really easy. I even ran my first 5k (not a sponsored one, just me out running one night), the longest distance I had run since track season in high school.

Near the end of the season last year, I hurt my knee because of the way I run. It turns out that I roll my feet on the inside, which wears away the soles of my shoes and is rough on my knee. This season, now that the weather is breaking, I decided to grab some supporting Nikes. While I was at the shoe store, the salesman offered me the Nike+ sports set - which fit my style of shoe - and I decided to give it a try.

It seems like for $30 you'd get more, but the whole set only involves a little red and white sensor and a white plug-in receiver for your iPod Nano. Setup is super easy: simply put the sensor into the little hole in your shoe (you don't need a Nike shoe, either), and plug the other part into your iPod. That's it.

To calibrate the sensor, I charted a mile walk around a nearby park. The sensor read the mile distance very well, reading out "0.98 miles" by the time I reached the actual mile. After the calibration I set the iPod to a normal workout to see how it did. Here's what I got:



I only walked a mile, but it still charted my pace and how many calories I burned. Pretty cool. You can set your iPod to give you voiced encouragement (in male or female), and set it for miles or metric.

After iTunes logged my first "run," I went to the Nike+ site to upload my info, and it showed me a cool visualization of the whole thing:



But that's where I got my first hiccup. I tried registering for the Nike+ community stuff, and accidentally logged my birth year as "2008." The site then froze, saying "children under age 13 are not allowed to register." After logging off, then logging back into the sight with Safari, it was still locking me out. A quick call to Nike HQ, and a friendly guy name Mike (who works on a Sunday!) told me that the site resets these kinds of things after two hours.

I waited until Monday afternoon to try again, entering my true birthday, and things were smooth sailing. I set a goal for myself, and typed in a resolution:



There at the top, it shows my profile information and custom icon. It also logged my mile-long Sunday walk. The coolest part of the whole deal is the challenges.



People from around the world post challenges based on distance, most miles accumulated, fastest time running a certain distance, and a distance goal - say, 50 miles during a month. You can do it individually or in teams, and if you meet the challenge you get awarded a trophy. I signed up for a few simple challenges just to get me started:



So for this one I have to run seven miles. That's it. Some of them, however, are pretty challenging - made for only the hardcore runners you hear stories about. But the competition is there, and I could feel the motivational effects before I even took my first run. After reading some of the challenges, I wanted to lace up my Nikes and get started on those challenges.

Forums, a store, customizable maps of your routes - the whole thing is pretty comprehensive. One thing that turned me off, though, was the site's Flash interface. Sometimes it would grind to a halt, and the transitions between the site's areas were painfully slow. I did try a desktop application, HERE, but it may take me a while to get the hang of it.

I still have to get out and try the Nike+ kit on a true run, but until then I'm pretty well impressed. As the running season goes along, I'll report anything else I find. But I've picked my "Powersong" (KMFDM's "DIY"), I've got my iTunes playlist ready, and my shoes are broken-in.

Someone cue "Eye of the Tiger."

Week 10: Better late than never.

That's it. As of tonight, I'm officially a 5k runner.

And this amazingly after four straight days of non-running.

Let's get down to details.

1. Bad Day / Daniel Powter 3:52
My path begins. We walk for five minutes. I start north down Fourth St. to one of the side streets where I used to take my walks. I use the iPod as a flashlight since its pitch black down these wooded streets. Where is the passion when you need it the most?

2. Waking Up / Milow 4:56
The run begins, and I don't hold much hope - especially after a dinner of pork 'n' beans and hot dogs (a staple I'll soon integrate into my new invention, the Hobo Diet). I learned long ago the consequences of eating a heavy meal before running. But it starts earnestly enough, even though I don't have much hope. Last week was rough, to put it mildly: week nine was supposed to be the final leg of this torture device, and I couldn't make it any past 20 of the 30 minutes.

3. Rusty Cage / Johnny Cash 2:50
I'm going to break my rusty cage...and run.The cool night air helps, especially because the temperature when I left work was in the upper 80s. I almost forgot to run tonight. Or maybe it was just apathy. I trip over the rough spots in the asphalt, and weird noises come out from the woods around me. I double back down Park and Heyser Streets and retrace my path back to Fourth.

4. September / Earth, Wind & Fire 3:37
I've been down these streets tons of times, but it's always different in the dark. I'm thinking about taking my brain somewhere else, or at least focusing on how my legs function, and how I can run for 10 minutes and not break a sweat. Then the sweat comes, and I wish to god I'd broken down and bought me a sweet headband. Maybe next year.

5. Take Me Out / Franz Ferdinand 3:57
Last week I had almost given up, or at least reverted back to simpler times, like week five or six. "Maybe I'll de-evolve, and try this thing over again." Andrea's running a 5k this weekend, and I'm starting to feel like a loser. I've reached the limits of where my body can take me. I run past the tennis courts, sad to realize I don't see any of the usual deer, who I've come to view as cohorts on this journey of pain. They stand, eat grass, bob their ears and tail when I trot past. I run, and weep, and wish for a bus to end my suffering. Take me out.

6. Orange Crush / R.E.M. 3:52
I race around the park on the corner of Briarcliff and West, and I feel the blister that's been bother me for two weeks return. I've long known that I favor the insides of my soles. You can tell just by looking at my shoes how I walk, and it's not pretty. Even the cushy New Balances are no remedy. Another one on the waves tonight / Comin' in, you're home...

7. Refractor / Circle of Dust 2:49
I know now that it's easier to hate than love. Making the return trip down West, passing the tennis courts and Parkside again, I start to feel like maybe this is it. Maybe this is the night. I've told myself this countless times in the past two weeks, but then I think of how good I'm feeling - even after not running for four days, and spending a good deal of yesterday and Saturday on my toosh. I've picked these songs not out of some desire to overcome adversity, or to rock my way to the top of some pinnacle, but simply to dull the pain and quiet the madness - the madness of running in the dark on a Monday night while everyone else is watching football. You know, like I used to do.

8. Daylight Robbery / Imogen Heap 3:22
Oh Imogen, were you right here, I would take some of your English beauty and transfer the feeling to my legs and chest, which are going numb. Thinking big, thinking positive, and an itch to get on with it... I'm back to the apartment complex and heading toward the back where the drive meets Elmdale and the front side of Ella Sharp Park. I'm thinking that "Daylight" is my final song, and so I pick up my pace just to prove myself I'm not some sick, twisted masochistic bastard. Sweet Imogen, carry me home...

9. She Sells Sanctuary / The Cult 4:25
Ah, but only fools rush in - isn't that what Matthew Perry taught us in some foregone age? This is it, I know now, and so the only thing to do now is coast. I realize - somewhere between the putt-putt coarse and Fourth - that I've actually got energy to spare. So I sprint down Fourth, next to the golf course, back in the Parkside parking lot, and end up home. Finished. That's it. The fire in your eyes keeps me alive...

10. Today / K.M.F.D.M. 4:56
I've usually ended my workout with KMFDM's epic "DIY" - but since Mr. Ullreys' plan calls for a five minute walk to cool down, a more down-beat approach to the finish line works best. I'm already thinking of what Wednesday, my next scheduled run day, will bring - since I'm learning that trying to predict how a run will go is like trying to predict the world at large. It's the end today, but it's gone tomorrow - and today will never come again.

Back at home, I grab a towel, douse it with cold water from the tap, and try to cool down. It's weird how I could go from almost-quitting to hot-damn-I-did-it.

But here it is. Now I'm going to stretch away my accomplishment.

Week 8: couch to holy-crap-it's-working

Maybe the fall is good for something afterall, because running the way I've been running in the heat would be suicide.

It's week 8 in the couch to 5k running program, where the collective "we" run non-stop for 20+ minutes.

Yesterday the sweat barely had time to form before the cool, oncoming autumn air whisked it away. A few nights last week were nice too, now that the dusk temperature is dipping into the 50s and 40s.

Fall is sad, because it means goodbye summer, but I'm just as excited as Andrea to be running some real distance without suffering catotonic coronary despair on the side of some suburban sidewalk.

Since we're running non-stop now, I left the iPod and the podcast at home and ran naked. Without the iPod, my right arm didn't quite know what to do. I don't blame it, because five minutes in and I was counting my exhales for lack of something better to do. It was a good mindfulness practice, though, and I got to 700 before wheezing.

Now, when I see runners jogging down the sidewalk, I feel like I'm part of some mutant group that no one else understands.

RUNNER: "Kill me now."

ME, DRIVING PAST: "Keep it up, buddy."

DOG, ALONE, WATCHING IN THE WINDOW: "Suckers."

And so it goes.

My metabolism has kicked into overdrive lately because, along with the running, I've reignited my usual weights-and-sit-ups workout routine, meaning my bloodsugar rarely rises above 150. I can feel calories burn while I sit on my duff at work, and that's the whole idea: to let your metabolism do the hard work.

Well, that's silly. My metabolism can thank me, because its lazy ass doesn't stretch and run and hope for a quick death.

But it's how I lost 15 pounds after graduation. I've gained five of that back in the four years since school, but it's an easy combination: workout + something something = in-shape Dave.

A simple equation in a not-so-simple world.

Week 6: Couch to 5k

Damn you, Robert.

Your week 6 program just kicked my ass, so pardon the frustration.

I don't know what it is about this week, but this is the first time I've felt pain. Specifically, in my calves. Maybe it was the mind-bending 20-minute run on Saturday (in the pouring rain, mind you), but today just didn't feel the same.

Usually I go from leg-quaking agony to full-stride euphoria pretty quickly. But not this evening. I could be that, for the first time, I actually measured how far I ran instead of for how long. I walked up to the spongy Parkside track and relived my not-so-glorious high school track days - the only other benchmark I have of this whole experience.

I learned that 2.3 miles of pain in the blaring sun doesn't come without a price.

This after learning from my diabetic doctor that my triglycerides are at a remarkable 58 (good is anything below 150), and my cholesterol is at super levels.

It could be the cucumber I ate for lunch. Or it could be that my body still hasn't recovered from the rainstorm death march this weekend.

But I'm tired. And sore. And two-thirds of the way through this thing.

A group of what I imagine to be cross-country students galloped past me on my cool down walk to home. They weren't missing I beat. Then there was the young girl doing amazing things with a soccer ball. I think back to my high school days, and I can't believe I'm in better shape now that I was then. If I would've tried this in college, you'd be placing flowers on my grave rather than comments on my blog.

Week six:
- Day one: run 5 min, walk 3 min, run 8 min, walk 3 min, run 5 min
- Day two: run 10 min, walk 3 min, run 10 min
- Day three: run 25 min

...and then gut-busting death.

See you on the other side.

Running fool.

Let me tell you about running intervals: they're a pain.

I've learned this during week five of the "Cool Running Couch-to-5k" program. I did fine during week one, where I ran 60 seconds and walked 90 seconds. It was the next week, week two, where it got harder. Then it was 60 sec/run, 90 sec/run, and it hurt. The next few weeks were better, but last week was the worst: 3 min/run, walk, 5 min/run, walk. Ugh.

I just got done with the first run of week five, thanks to Robert Ullrey's brilliant podcast. Maybe this cool, rainy weather helped, but my 5 min/run, 3 min/walk intervals weren't that bad. And it timed just perfectly to make a complete circuit around Ella Sharp Park.

The running has been great. I've run in the heat, in the cool evenings, and now when it's raining. I've run down West Ave. and Fourth St. and around Essex Heights and a few laps through Cascades Park. I've seen deer and woodchucks, almost been attacked by a few cranes, and seen my first Jackson-born black squirrel.

I can feel my legs and my breathing change, too. It's hard to imagine, at week one, running for five straight minutes. But this is the second week I've done that, and those 60-second intervals during the initial phases seem like a cakewalk.

Using a bit of mindfulness, I've made it easier to overcome the longer intervals - especially the new 5-minute ones. I concentrate on my arms for a while, then on the way my feet are hitting the ground, then the awful pain my calves are experiences, and - as always - my breath. I ran short-distance track in high school, and never have I been comfortable running for 5 straight minutes.

Now I am. Amazing.

Andrea says the techno music helps her zone out, but I think just running around the neighborhood is doing fine for me.

This week is interesting, broken up into three days of different workouts: there's today's 5-minute intervals, but next is 5 min. and 8 min. intervals. You know, the kind I was complaining about above. The last day there's a straight 20-minute run.

I'll let you know if I survive.