Here I sit waiting for the temps to hit double digits so that I can get out for a "long" run.It is long overdue that I give a public shout out of thanks from our whole family to those that supported JDRF through our efforts last year. We attended the 2009 Awards Ceremony last month at the Basket Ball Hall of Fame in Springfield. Camryn's Team was once again honored with the Platinum level award. Our family team raised over $11,000 for JDRF. This amount far exceeded our expectations for a year in which so many people are having trouble making ends meet. But as Camryn said in her letter - type 1 diabetes can't wait until times are better, we need a cure now! So many friends, family members and kind strangers heeded her call and gave so generously. Even more touching than all of the money raised however, were the many, many letters that Camryn received from people, many of whom we don't know who were touched by her story and the work that she has done. Last year was an amazing experience in Camryn's journey through the world as a kid with type 1 diabetes. From meeting the President to lobbying Congress for health care reform she learned about health, government, economics, etc. That's some big life stuff for a little 9 year old. Experiences that have changed her life, for sure.
Camryn's personal fight against type 1 diabetes has been taken all the way to the top - we've had the privilege of meeting some of the top research scientists in the world and hearing what they are working on to cure this insidious disease. Camryn is committed to being a part of the solution and continuing to do her part to help find a cure and help others. This year she has expressed interest in reaching out to kids who are newly diagnosed, and their families and helping them understand how to incorporate diabetes into their lives. She wants them to know it's going to be okay. We're looking into ways to work with our local health care professionals to find a way to get in touch with these kids. We also all continue to be concerned for those who do not have the resources to battle this extremely costly disease. Of course we continue to follow the debate on health care reform. We continue to use our affiliation with JDRF to garner support for new legislation, but in the meantime, there are kids with this pre-existing condition who can not get the health care that they vitally need.
And on the home front, as Camryn approaches her "tweeny" years we are working tirelessly on the lessons we all need to learn: what it means to take care of your body, making wise nutritional choices, being physically fit and active. And while these are all things that are on most people's new years resolution list and they may or may not get accomplished, they are day by day, hour by hour goals for a kid with type 1 diabetes. A poor food choice made at the breakfast table will surely result in a punishing afternoon. Balancing ones nutritional needs with physical activity is not just a "great goal", it is mandatory in order for these kids to make it through the day.
For these reasons, endurance sports remains a great metaphor for type 1 diabetes. On a long bike ride I can surely get in touch with what it means to have to take in proper nutrition in order to stay in an upright position. Exercise physiology and nutrition is a big subject - not entirely easy to understand, and much of it is what type 1 diabetics need to intrinsically know just to get through every day. So we continue on in our journey to both live with type 1 diabetes and fight for a cure. To that end here are some of the events that we will participate in this year:
The Ride to Cure Diabetes - the Vermont ride will take place in July this year, starting out of Burlington, VT. The Ride site opens tomorrow and promising the usual, amazing destinations of places like Death Valley, CA and White Fish, MT. Both are rides we hope to attend in the future. But for now we will be concentrating on our more local ride. If you are interested in participating in a fully supported Century Ride - you won't find a better ride out there. These rides are beyond amazing - if you are interested in learning more, visit http://www.ride.jdrf.org/.
The Cohasset Triathlon - This National Qualifying event is one of the largest volunteer driven fund raising events for JDRF. In the last 3 years this race has contributed portions of its proceeds to JDRF in an amount exceeding $450,000. For more info about this race visit http://www.cohassettri.com/. The race takes place on June 27. I will be proudly racing with Team Lyons. Click these links from more info about Team Lyons and also Tri Team For Diabetes. You can donate, participate and/or volunteer - but at the very least, check out the links, you'll be amazed and inspired by these people, I am!!
The Hartford Marathon - For the past several years JDRF has been an official charity of the ING Hartford Marathon. I hope to be participating in some way in 2010. I'd love to be running, whether it be the full, half or even the 5k. But I will settle for volunteering on behalf of JDRF depending on how my body has held up through the summer - this event is in October.
My training to participate in these events is well underway. My "tentative" schedule for the year includes many "training" events and at least one large personal goal. I offer it here as a means of commitment:
February - Jones Group 10-Mile road race (running that is)
May - Sudbury Spring Sprint Triathlon
June - Cohasset Sprint Triathlon
July - JDRF Ride to Cure Diabetes
August - Half-Ironman 70.3 (event TBD)
October - Hartford Marathon (distance TBD)
So there we have it. Some goals for the kid, some goals for me and many thanks to you! The temp on my computer now reads 13 F, so time to hit the road. Happy trails to all.
