Take The Challenge! #T1D4aDay

November is JDRF's Diabetes awareness month. For the month of November they are offering a challenge called Type 1 for a day. Free of charge, you can register any day in November to receive text message alerts from professional snowboarder Sean Busby to get a sense of what living with T1D is all about. In my opinion, this is not realistic because honestly the majority of the people will quickly read the text and not actually have to do anything, BUT it is a good way to educate and get SOME idea of what it is like. 

So I challenge you! Will you sign up? Watch the video posted on the JDRF site. I think it explains it well.

Speaking of JDRF, this Sunday I am participating in my first JDRF walk to cure Diabetes. Luckily I have had a few people join my team which I am really appreciative of! It looks like it is going to be a beautiful day so I am really looking forward to it. If anyone is interested in joining "Team Kim" I would love to have you. :)  Stay tuned for that post!

Also, Happy Halloween! I have never really been a big fan of Halloween. It all started when I was 3 years old and planned to be the Wicked Witch of the West from the Wizard of Oz. It was my favorite movie and I had nailed the line "I'll get you my little pretty... and your little dog too!" However, the day of my pre school parade it was raining and I was afraid I was going to melt. So there went that idea. Baby Bop for another year in a row it was.

Luckily since I am not a big fan of candy, I am not too tempted. I am saving my splurges for Thanksgiving and Christmas which are quickly approaching.


I leave you with some of my throwback Halloween moments.

My good friend Nicole and I back during our LA Dance days

An Exciting Delivery

I usually pay no attention to the mail except for around the week of June 19 and Christmas.  However lately I have been paying special attention to deliveries because I knew something was coming other than my mom's shoe orders and diabetic supplies/insulin.

If you remember, ThinkThin and I are now besties.

They so kindly offered to send me some bars on them which I gladly accepted and am very appreciative of! Then I was the winner of their Fall Style Giveaway and won another box. 

 After receiving this message I was anxiously awaiting! 

Last Thursday was the day. I came home just before bar time to find this in the kitchen....

 

 After careful examination I was excited to see that they were made just the way I like...thick and fluffy! Maybe the best batch ever.

Then it only got better on Friday when I came home to see my second delivery waiting for me. I was on cloud 9! 

If you haven't already I HIGHLY recommend you make ThinkThin your protein bar of choice. They are so delicious, it is like having dessert. No strange after taste like I have had with some other brands. They pair nicely with Starbucks Coffee! My typical snacks include...

And remember... do not disturb. You have been warned if you interrupt.

Go give my pal ThinkThin a like and/or follow on your social media sites and give some of their products a try, you won't be disappointed! And if you are (which is impossible) I will gladly take the rest. :)

Thank you again to ThinkThin for their great products. Tasty and healthy!

Race Day!

Yesterday was a great day so therefore I must share! It was my second 5k race, this time the Commack Coalition of Caring. I was really excited to take part in this once because it was at my high school which meant I would probably see some familiar faces.

Of course there was that looming voice in the back of my head worrying about blood sugars, but I made it through once again. I am learning though that adrenaline is really tricky to figure out.

The day started with my usual breakfast. Nothing fancy, but I know it works. Off we went!

Another thing I am learning about races, is that if they tell you the race begins at 9am and registration is from 7-8:15, you only need to get there about an hour before. Arriving at 7:35am to an almost empty lot isn't necessary, but oh well!

Checked in, got my bib and began stretching. This race was clocked by a computer so everyone had an electronic chip to record their time and the results came out right away.

After watching my sensor all morning I was happy to see it staying steady at a slightly higher level. At 8:45 I checked and was 187. I had a small bite of a protein bar and headed off. Later I would learn that I most likely didn't need it, but with a race I just wanted to be safe.

At 9am...ready, set, go! 

It was a really motivating route. There were different checkpoints with volunteers cheering and handing out water. There were also clocks at the mile markers so you could see where you were at. 

The last mile felt like the longest. I was wondering when this last stretch of road was going to end, trying to ignore the fatiguing in my legs and of course thinking...Hmmm what is my blood sugar doing? I had my sensor on me and some glucose tablets just in case so that helped to put my mind at ease.

As "Firework" by Katy Perry came on I finally saw the finish line in the distance. Just before finishing, a volunteer called out 23:02... with only feet away I knew I could beat my first time of 23:35. 

And I did! Crossed the finish line 15 seconds faster. I was so excited!! Another race successfully completed. 

After catching my breath I checked my blood and saw the effects of my adrenaline... 304!! YIKES!! Usually when I am running for a regular workout, steady cardio tends to drop me, so it is really tricky to figure out when your blood sugar will do what. Oh well wasn't going to let it put a damper on the beautiful morning. Took a correction and knew it would eventually come down.

Results were posted and I scored 3rd in my age group! I am really liking this running thing :)

The awards ceremony was held in the gym and there was a bunch of vendors there as well. One of them being a massage company...

I even saw some of my spinners at the race! 

It was really rewarding to take home a bronze medal. Just another challenge tackled! 

The day only got better as we went to celebrate my dads birthday at our favorite restaurant Dazies! 

Anyway back to work on a presentation for school. Stay tuned for my next post about what came in the mail last week. Any guesses? ;) 

Genetics? No, Just Hard Work.

In honor of Transformation Tuesday, I'd thought I'd share what happened yesterday during my UFX Burn class.

It is a small group and all of us early gym goers are friendly with one another. I am usually the youngest in the class so I guess I am the one to be teased, I don't mind I know they mean no harm and in a way it's kind of flattering.

One woman stated how in her next life she'd like to come back in my body. They continued to make comments about my physique which, again was very flattering. It wasn't until one person stated "It must be a genetic thing right?" To which I replied "No, it is just called hard work." 

Although there are days where I feel "fat" (like most people that have bad days), I would like to think I am pretty fit, and I take pride in physically and sometimes grueling activities. I didn't just "get" a fit body. I work hard for it. I wake up at 5am and work through the highs and lows to make it happen. No one forces me to do it, I do it because I want the benefits. I fit my workouts in and make them the most effective. 

I wasn't always as fit I as am now. I have gotten slimmer within the past 3 years as I really started paying attention to what I put into my body and changing up my workouts.

After saying that it was hard work, one woman said "good for you!" Which made me feel really good. Especially because the majority of people do not understand just how hard I really try especially having T1D. If I can do it, you can do it... You just have to WANT to do it. 

Other than that this was my post workout  burn:

Not bad for a Monday morning! 

Practice Makes Progress

Well yesterday was the much anticipated day of the semester. I taught my first mini lesson in methods and it went well I'd say! After multiple practices throughout the week and one more an hour before teaching the practice paid off. The first run through earlier in the week was a little choppy, but I think it helped to get all of the kinks, stutters and stumbles out. Except for walking RIGHT into the podium as soon as I started (lol), I am happy with my first of many lessons to come. Once I was up there and getting into the lesson it was actually fun! 

I wound up scoring a 36/40. The professor gave some great comments and feedback so hopefully I can improve based on the comments. Without practicing I doubt I would have felt as comfortable as I did come time to perform.

This past week consisted of a few more lows than I would have liked (remember that 45, yikes). I am still figuring out the right mix of Symlin and Humalog, but there is always an element of unexpectedness with T1D. Over the past month I began recording my numbers again. When I was first diagnosed with T1D I was really diligent about writing everything down. Over the years I strayed away from it just because it is a lot to record everything and it becomes really overwhelming. It is helpful to see patterns, but at the same time it is discouraging to see numbers that you don't necessarily like especially when you try your best. I started using the MySugr app on my phone and recording as best I can.

 Hopefully by practicing this again it will be good for something. Ideally progress on my next a1c. 

Some other snap shots from the week:

ThinkThin and I are bffls!

Lol

Feels nice to relax on this Saturday afternoon after a long week and tutoring all morning then staying to work on my own assignments. 

Happy Saturday! 

So looking forward to seeing some very special people tonight who I have missed soooo much! 

Xo

AHHH

STRESSED STRESSED STRESSED. It has been a BUSY week and it does not look any better until Thanksgiving. Everyday has been going going going. Tomorrow I teach my first lesson in my methods class and I hope it goes smoothly. We all have to teach 4 mini lessons as a practice for student teaching. I cannot wait for my first one to be over!


Not only am I worried about the lesson in general, but my biggest fear is having my blood sugar drop during any school presentation. It is always so stressful because there is no one really who can relate to my fears. Its not like having an unfortunate stomach ache before a presentation and having people "understand." I know I will be doing a lot of testing tomorrow. Better get the extra test strips out now.


My plan tomorrow is to sleep in, get ready and head out to school early to practice again. I am even skipping the gym because I do not want to feel rushed and make sure everything is in place. Not too happy because I will also be missing the gym Saturday as I need to tutor again at the math clinic.

Besides my on going school anxiety here are some other snapshots from the past week:

Twins? 

Fall is here!

Talk about on point

Wish I could have gone :(

Sooo frustrating and scary! 

My school planner for the rest of October

Luckily the majority of my assignments are due before Thanksgiving which I am so looking forward to!  

Workout Wednesday

Let me get you up to date on my workouts for the week. Since I know you are all DYING to hear so you can try them.

Sunday Funday Workout: Started with the treadmill followed by weight training. I am getting ready for my next 5k which is a little over 2 weeks away. I got 4.2 miles in. I like trying different things like running at a faster pace and holding it then recovering, sprints, adding incline, etc. My goal though is to not stop and walk. So no matter how slow my jog is as long as I am not walking that's what I am going for.

I have learned that running is just as mental as it is physical. I always make it to the 5k mark (3.1 mi) but then I just tell myself farther. I have that inner dialogue in my head like "Who are you kidding you don't want to stop" or "Just a 1/2 mi more!" It works and as I finish I feel so much better.

It was on to legs. 3 rounds of this set with plyometric moves in between. WOAH!

15 lunges each leg (15 lbs each hand)
20 sumo squats - stop for 5 bicep curls at 15 & 20 (15 lbs)
15 side lunge pulses (15lbs)

20 Jump Squats after round 1, 20 Burpees after round 2 , 20 Side to Side Jumps after round 3.
Abs, stretching and I called it a day.

Monday Madness: I went to a UFX Burn class at the gym. I haven't been since the spring because I would go Weds at 6am, but they added a Monday 6am class so now I can get back to it. This is basically a boot camp style class. There was a warm up, 4 sets with 2 exercises and cool down. We would perform exercise 1 for a minute, 10 secs of jogging in place then 1 min of exercise 2. Do that for 4 sets then 30 secs recovery. We ran through that 4x. It sounds really confusing, but it worked because....

O...M...G I am still sore. The back of my legs from my calves to the back of my knees kill.

Bummer was my blood sugar SPIKED right after so my Monday morning was spent trying to get my numbers down. 

That's better.. 

It really dragged out my Monday because I had a headache all day. It really makes you feel like you just can't win. Try and workout because it is the healthy thing to do (and I enjoy it!), but deal with high blood sugars for unexplained reasons. Another example of a T1D frustration.

Tranquil Tuesday: was an off day. Felt great sleeping in til 8am!

Willpower Wednesday: (this morning) I taught spin. I almost didn't because there was a mishap with the music!! I almost cried. I thought, this CANNOT be happening. I turned on everything for the sound system, set up the microphone, all of the lights for everything were on, but NOTHING was making noise! AH! Luckily a spinner discovered a hiding switch that was not turned on. She saved the class! 

Besides the rough start it was a good class (so I'm told). :) There was some MJ, JT, Aerosmith, Bruno Mars, Adele.. want to know more then come to my class!

Sharing this just because I think it's really pretty! 

Celebrities, School on a Saturday and A Spin Class Dream.

Wow that is a lot in one title. Lets begin...

Where I work is pretty cool. Cool people, customers, food and an even cooler hostess. It's always nice though when a "celebrity" comes in. Rapper Lloyd Banks popped in for dinner! He has been there before and has always been very nice. So I got to take my picture with him once again. Yay because I like the way this one came out better. :D

Beamer Benz or Bentley...Beamer Benz or Bentley...

Sorry Mary Ellen, please don't be mad at me. At least you got to say you sat next to him.

Saturday morning I had to tutor at school for my commitment to math honor society. Everyone must volunteer 3 Saturdays throughout the school year. Local high school kids come in for math tutoring from 10-1. I try to grab all of the Algebra kids since that's my strongest math area. I was happy to say I got through it and knew MOST of the material. :) It is hard because although we are all math majors, we have not seen this material since high school. After going through Advanced Calc it gets a little blurry.

I even helped with some Trig. It is good practice for student teaching next semester. It's still going to school on a Saturday, but it wasn't ALL that BAD.

Sooooo since I was already there, I decided to stay and be productive. I wrapped up most of my next lesson plan due tomorrow which felt good. I was the only one in the computer lab which helped me focus. What I didn't realize about the lab at SJC is that the lights are on sensors. So after awhile they would shut off and I would be sitting in the dark lol. Oh well.. I had bar time to look forward to after I got out.

This HUGE salad was for dinner, yum!

I guess all of this Spinning has now got me dreaming about it too. I stayed up late looking at different spin profiles trying to get some ideas for this weeks class and just fell asleep with spinning on my mind.

 I had a dream that I had a packed class and all of the bikes were taken, even mine! (wasn't too happy about that), but hey that must be saying something if people are fighting for a bike. Every spin instructors dream is to have zero empty bikes...one day! 

Back to school work it is. Two midterms this week, yikes! I am looking forward to having off next Monday for Columbus Day!