<p>CBB- That’s hilarious. Why in the world would they do that? Geez. Talk about competitive!</p>
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<p>A better bet is that they were both smokers since more than half of the adult population smoked in the 1940s. Smoking gives you a front-row seat in the stroke lottery. It’s like a direct cause and effect due to the impact on circulation from carbon monoxide in the blood stream and the constriction of arteries and elevated blood pressure caused by nicotine.</p>
<p>I’m not dismissing T2 diabetes as a serious health issue. My wife is diagnosed with T2 and I see the blood testing and medical appointments and shelf of medications that she has to deal with. There’s no question that it is more of a struggle for her to maintain a diet and her weight, as I am sure it was for Drew Carey. I’m not a nutritionist, but I convinced that how we eat changes the way our bodies process the food we eat, especially in the cases of extreme consumption and/or extreme non-consumption.</p>
<p>I was looking for some directions on preparing for my upcoming 5K. I was thinking of doing a long run two days before, relaxing the day before and then doing the run. Questions of clothes (should I get a high-tech shirt?), hydration, parking, where to put your keys and ID, food - what to eat and when to eat it, etc.</p>
<p>My son is running it too but he’s going to walk part way. He likes to run 1.5 to 2 miles fairly regularly with a backpack but he’s running much faster than I run. I tell him to slow down to build his distance running but he would rather run faster.</p>
<p>Two months sounds like plenty of time to prepare.</p>
<p>Whew! Went to the club early this morning and was shocked to find all of the recumbent bikes in use! Since I am such a freak about routine I got a little nervous! Hopped on the dreadmill and did a slow walk for a half hour until I could get on a bike. I had the setting on 3.2 mph and my knee bothered me just a little, some slight pain. What a relief to find my comfort zone on the bike. Really worked on intervals over the 70 minutes on the bike. My HR was high and I was sweating and comfortably tired when I finished up. I weighed in before I went this morning and I have achieved my lowest weight since I started this journey April 1st. Yay! It has been slow…averaging a little more than a pound a week. But at least the scale is moving in the right direction! :)</p>
<p>Interesteddad, before being diagnosed with T2, I <em>never</em> drank sugared sodas, I ate almost all whole grains, I ate plenty of fruit and vegetables, I used olive and canola oil and avoided things with trans fats, etc, etc. Yes, I did like some unheathy stuff, like potato chips and french fries, but I didn’t have them often. I cook a lot, and we rarely ate out and very very rarely ate “processed” or prepared foods. Too much cream and butter, probably yes!</p>
<p>I also exercised and although indeed overweight was not obese.</p>
<p>No one in my family is known to have diabetes.</p>
<p>I didn’t give myself T2 by what I ate. I had the gene. I got it from somewhere. I don’t think you can pin strokes in the 50s on smoking alone. (And I have no idea if either of them smoked. I doubt that my grandmother smoked. She was the daughter of a Lutheran minister. 
) As you say, a lot of people smoked in those days–and it was still highly unusual to have a stroke that young. </p>
<p>I know a lot of people who are fatter and more sedentary than I ever was, and they don’t have T2. It just isn’t that simple.</p>
<p>For the upcoming 5K. Most competitive runners who are peaking for a race would take an easy day 2 days out and run a little the day before to loosen up. I wouldn’t run long days before a “goal” race. Many times we “train through a race” which means we don’t reduce our mileage before the race. This gives us a good excuse if we don’t like our time in the race! :)<br>
If it is hot I would wear as little as possible to race. A tech singlet (tank top type shirt) would be good. The rule is generally “nothing new on race day”, but we’ve all broken that with good and bad results. Get there in plenty of time to make a visit to the portolet and get your race number, timing chip etc.</p>
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<p>It’s not that unusual for smokers to die in their 50s. Stroke and heart attack are the biggest single killer of smokers. Cardiovascular system damage as a killer of smokers is much more widespread than, for example, lung cancer.</p>
<p>I never said that you “gave yourself” Type 2 diabetes. I said that most people diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes today would probably not have been diagnosed decades ago. Obviously, there are genetic and lifestyle factors in Type 2 diabetes, just as there are genetic and lifestyle factors in many chronic conditions such as high blood pressure and so forth. </p>
<p>I could have a genetic predisposition towards high blood pressure which would be impacted by a poor diet, a lack of exercise, being overweight, and smoking. At the end of the day, I’m not sure it really matters what caused the high blood pressure. The genetics are what they are. The only thing we can control are the lifestyle issues, which I did a poor job of for many years.</p>
<p>As far as curing type 2 diabetes: if Drew Carey met the specific blood glucose standards for Type 2 diabetes, then he had type 2 diabetes, by definition. If he no longer meets those blood glucose standards, then he no longer has type 2 diabetes, by definition, just like I no longer have borderline high blood pressure pre-hypertension, by definition. Do we call that “cured” or “under-control”? What difference does it make?</p>
<p>Thanks for the tips. I might go shopping today for shorts and a shirt. The stuff I use absorbs water like a sponge and it can get uncomfortable. On the other hand, the race distance is much shorter than my daily runs and I’m just looking to complete the race - I don’t care about how long it takes and will just try to run my usual comfortable pace. If I get stuff today, I can try it out tomorrow.</p>
<p>I’ve been looking for a one-pound bag of Bazzini Pistachios today and haven’t found it locally or from the importer. The brand I like from my supermarket is called Wonderful. I am not going to order the five-pound bag of Bazzinis as I’m afraid of what would happen.</p>
<p>Well, I am back. Somehow things went awry with my account one day and since I signed up for CC with a now defunct email address, I had to re-join with a new name.</p>
<p>In the meantime, a lot has happened but I am still feeling enormously blessed after reading PMom’s post this morning. </p>
<p>First - extraordinarily fit DH has had more ventricular episodes that have caused his defib to kick in (one happened jogging, the other while biking) in the last month. He has seen the cardiologist and they are determining where they go from here with medication as the current therapy is obviously not working. Right now, his usually pro-exercise cardiologist wants him to stop until they have a chance to work on the new meds. </p>
<p>I do not want to wade into the diabetes debate, but DH’s original heart attack was certainly a result of genetics. And his current problems are the result of the damage that was sustained 14 years ago. </p>
<p>I had a charming episode of my bp going thru the roof. The doctors are skeptical, but I was out to eat late one night and ordered decaf coffee. I know the waitress brought me caffeinated coffee, because when I came home I cheerily completed a complicated report at 2 a.m. and was wide awake until 4. Now I know about the usual half-life of caffeine, but the genome testing I had done at the senior games confirmed what I already knew - I metabolize coffee slowly. So the next morning my bp was 211/113 with a resting (ha) heart rate of 88 (it is usually around 58). I checked in with doc, they did some testing, but as the day went on it just gradually came down. </p>
<p>So - there you have it. </p>
<p>I have maintained my usual working out and am pleased to say that I have reached my goal weight - although it seems tenuous. One thing I have changed is not drinking any carbonated beverages - not only have I totally sworn off my coke/diet coke habit - but I gave up mineral water as well. I think I feel better. Who knows? I did win my age group for the state senior games - but don’t bother to cheer. There was really NO competition. It was stinkin’ hot and my time for the 5K was not great, but I decided with recent events in my family that avoiding a heat stroke would be a good thing. I had a nice time 9:09 for the 1500 on an equally hot day. </p>
<p>As for BP - I clearly am prone to hypertension. Walking as vigorously as I do keeps it in check. However, my BP is often higher in the morning, then drops after I do my 5 miles. In times of extreme stress, I sometimes go out for a quick 2-3 miler in the evening.</p>
<p>WIP#2…welcome back! We missed you! Sorry to hear that your H is having some trouble…hope they figure it out soon.
Maybe I should give up mineral water…only have it once a day with lime…but LOVE it. What do you think it does?
Exercising this summer has been a challenge for sure. I love fresh air…but really…that ain’t what we got these days!</p>
<p>I haven’t had a carbonated drink for almost 40 yrs! Same with red meat! Not because I have something against it or don’t like the taste…just makes me REALLY sick. I guess I am also a semi-fit fat person. LOL! :)</p>
<p>Hey…Welcome back WIP2!!!</p>
<p>BC:</p>
<p>In addition to the gray $5.99 Champion mesh t-shirts, Marshalls also has a plain black Reebok mesh workout t-shirt for $9.99. Same style shirt, maybe just a tad more fitted around the “rock hard abs” (not sausage casing compression shirt tight, though).</p>
<p>They also have pretty big assortment of Nike, Reebok, and other brands in the $12.99 to $14.99 range if you are lookin’ for something flashier with stripes and swooshes, and stuff. I like the plain colors because at least you don’t look like a total dork if you are ever seen wearing the thing while not running or working out. I think they might have the $9.99 Reeboks in white, too, although a white t-shirt that can’t be bleached strikes me as something that would be of limited usefulness. I’d drop mustard on it the first time and that would be that!</p>
<p>All of these have the obligatory reflective logos for running at dusk.</p>
<p>You are on your own for shorts. I absolutely detest the prevailing style of baggy basketball shorts that hang down to the knee. I found some Nikes that are cut like old-school tennis shorts (couple inches above the knee), high-tech fabric, mesh lining, elastic waist with drawstring, pockets, reflective stripe. $12.99 at Marshalls. I bought three pair. Great for working out, but also wearable out in public. I don’t know if they still have them.</p>
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<p>On the Bazzini pistachios, I think my wife only finds them from time, around the holidays, at the gift foods counter of places like TJ MAXX. It’s not something she can go out and find on demand. They are a favorite stocking stuffer at Christmas in our household.</p>
<p>I’m just looking for light-colored stuff that’s airy and wicks sweat. My current workout stuff is mostly dark-colored (I bought cheap stuff). Marshalls is in the same mall as Sports Authority so I can check both out. I don’t really care about appearance.</p>
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<p>Firstly, elevated BG level alone is not what defines T2 diabetes. You could have the same BG level and be a normal person who just ate a bag of potato chips, or you could be a T1. It is more complicated than that.</p>
<p>Secondly, if you achieve control, you have achieved control. That doesn’t mean that you no longer have T2 diabetes. As someone said, Carey and every other controlled T2 is one big carb meal away from a BG spike. The underlying condition is still there. The condition can be improved–sometimes a lot, sometimes not so much, depending on the state of your beta cells–by diet and exercise and medication, but it will not just go away. Ever. At least not until an actual cure is found.</p>
<p>Why does it matter? For one thing, controlled T2s continue to need prescriptions for meters and test strips, and for monitoring tests like the HBA1C. Secondly, it is important that people not get the idea that just because they brought their average BG levels down to the “normal” range means that they can stray back into <em>high carb eating and so forth because they are “cured.” If they do, they will once again start having elevated BGs. For someone like me, there is a *possibility</em> that once I finish losing weight and have gained more muscle mass I might be able to maintain control without the low-key medication I currently take. BUT, I’ll still be a T2, and I’ll still have an abnormal reaction to carbs that must be constantly watched in order to maintain control. </p>
<p>The analogy to hypertension is not a good one.</p>
<p>TR - I decided it was one of the causes of bloating. I won’t go into the details, but I had days where my weight was fine in the a.m., and by the afternoon or evening, I was still bloated. I tried to eliminate different things, and it seems like that may have been the culprit. I WAS drinking a lot of it. So I didn’t gain weight, but things sure didn’t fit properly. I miss it, but if this works, I will drink it more judiciously in the future.</p>
<p>I had a look at clothing at Runners World. They have a calculator where they ask you the conditions of the race and then suggest clothes for you. What they suggested wasn’t what I was thinking so I need to rethink what I want to wear. Worst case is that I just wear what I’m using now. They suggested a full t-shirt tech shirt. I was thinking tank top. I was thinking regular shorts. It appears that shorts for men come in almost modest, less than modest and not modest at all.</p>
<p>I don’t know if the stuff at Marshalls is really suited for running. The shorts that I looked at at Marshalls were technical but they seemed geared for the gansta look, at or below the knees. I’m looking for something shorter than that. They had technical shirts but I’m not sure if they are for running. I guess I should go through the a few online catalogs looking for gear and then see if I can find the same thing at a retail store. It would be a lot easier if I were near the New Balance Factory Outlet as most of their clothing is for running.</p>
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<p>Tell me about it. The codeword on shorts is inseam length. 9 inch or longer is the gansta look. 5 or 6 inch styles are above the knees.</p>
<p>I looked and these Nike shorts I like so much are actually from the NIKE SWIM collection, so I guess they are swim trunks, although they are practically identical to some similar shorts from North Face and FILA that I have. Just basic shorts. Not baggy, not indecent. I have another pair of short inseam loose Champion shorts that are OK. </p>
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<p>This is the Reebok shirt that Marshall’s had for $9.99.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.reebok.com/CA/product?modelId=ARMZ9020&articleId=K18576[/url]”>http://www.reebok.com/CA/product?modelId=ARMZ9020&articleId=K18576</a></p>
<p>I don’t know if you are allowed to run in this kind of shirt or not! I can’t keep up with all that.</p>
<p>The running specific Addidas shorts my wife gave me are cool enough for working out, but really not something I would choose to wear out in public. No pockets. Very light material.</p>
<p>Well, I got my WalMart dumbbell set (ordered yesterday, one-day free shipping!), so I did the brutal iPod workout with heavier weights today. Had to skip one exercise. Every few months I get a day or two of vertigo with rapid head movements. No big deal, it just takes me a few seconds to adjust if I roll over while lying down or sit up quickly. Crunches on the stability ball, looking up at theceiling set it off like crazy, so that was out. No big deal. Crunches aren’t much of an exercise; that is pretty much of a 45 second breather anyway.</p>
<p>Otherwise, the heavier weights made for a long, hot (85 degrees and muggy) workout, but I did all three sets at full pace capped off by ten intervals (10 seconds fast, 20 seconds easy) on the Airdyne bike.</p>
<p>The day off was good as I felt strong on all the exercises.</p>
<p>Since I’ve been on my fitness quest, I’ve been increasingly considering starting a journal of some sorts. Not a numbers, I did this kind of of exercise this many times kind of journal, but the kind of journal that represents all the personal reflections I’ve had during the journey that have some sort of connection to my history with activity.</p>
<p>i.e., I was the only girl with three older brothers, who were somewhat athletic. I’m finding that, as I make great strides and am affirmed for my efforts, it reminds me of the times, as a kid, I was often picked on teams over other boys because I was better than they were. I wasn’t a bad athlete, but as I got older in school, and in life, and competition became more fierce and I began to risk injuries due to my desire to constantly push myself, I began to back off out of fear. I’m not looking for answers on this thread as to what I should and shouldn’t be feeling, because my feelings are my feelings. I was just totally unprepared for the memories and reactions I’m experiencing along this journey… the old tapes running through my head and how I cope with them.</p>
<p>Sort of like a Julie & Julia journal, except with wellness.</p>
<p>But I’d like to do it online (I’m not a bad writer when I put efforts into it) and am wondering what would be a good website to host my blog. I want to start it, then over time, if it seems appropriate (meaning I don’t divulge too much personal information on it that would embarrass me or my family) share it with people who might need to be inspired to tackle their own health and wellness struggles. </p>
<p>Anyone have any ideas what websites would be good to start my own blog on?</p>
<p>If you people in search of athletic clothes have a Dick’s or an Academy near you, check it out. I don’t get my stuff there usually, but there are ALWAYS sales and mark-downs and they have good brand names and sport-specific clothes.</p>
<p>Also, roadrunnersports.com If you search online you can find a coupon code.</p>