100 Miles a week

I learned I had diabetes in a roundabout way. I had recently made up my mind, in the middle of the depths of the dot com crash, to earn my commercial pilot's license and follow my life's passion of being a professional pilot. When my Doctor saw my blood test results - well, that was the end of that. Or so I thought.

By cycling and managing my nutrition (within the context of today's food processing marketing - more on this rant in another blog) I've been able to bring my blood glucose numbers in line. But it takes a great deal of effort.

Last year, when I was in daily training for my second MS 150, my numbers were not only normal, they were phenomenal, for any person. My blood test readings read like an athlete. All the key indicators were low, or in some cases, nearly off the low end of the scale. I intend to achieve this performance level again.

I've started my 100 miles per week regimen, and so far, it's not been hard to do. To be sure, the weather has been cold - I've ridden in the 40's, high winds and in mist so far. I do miss getting some projects done, but this can wait for a few months. And in any case, doing this helps me organize my time and life better.

So, how is it working? Already, my glucose numbers are normal. By keeping this up for 3 months, I will have lowered my ultimate statistic, the HbA1C number, which measures your 3-4 month average glucose buy checking the percentage of hemoglobin contaminated by excess glucose (below 7% is good, around 5.5% is awesome). At that point, assuming nothing else has gone wrong, I'll go for my flight medical again.

I plan to make this test an "open book test" though. Home blood test kits are available to check the HbA1C number at home. So I plan to have the answers before I take the test. Hey, what great pilot is not fully prepared?

Fingers crossed for luck too.

P.S. Bad luck yesterday, I flatted my rear tire with only 30 miles done this week, so I put the bike in the shop to fix that and for the yearly cleaning and maintenance. I'll have to make up the miles next week.

Much delayed postscript - 2006 MS 150

I rode the 2006 MS 150, after training for the entire year on hill after hill, while increasing my distance riding. Lance's book was spot on, and my performance and endurance really increased.

The 2006 MS 150 I averaged over 18 MPH, and right near 18 MPH on the second day, and that includes the Bechtel Challenge section, so that is really, really satisfying.

Also, the safety of the ride was much improved, I didn't see or hear about accidens or the foolishness of 2005. Still, the riders were in general uneducated in group riding, and generally not paying as much attention as they should have.

So 2006 was my last MS 150. A great ride and a great cause. But I am moving on to the Tour de Cure, addressing diabetes, a much more widespread, and easily preventable disease.