The Grand Canyon Trial Run

Labor day was a great excuse to get in our first trial hike. Michelle and I are planning to hike/run the Grand canyon from rim to river to rim in one day at the end of September. I chose a 5-mile loop in Encinitas because I was familiar with it and it had some great inclines to mimic the Grand Canyon. Since recovering from thyroid disease that kicked my butt, I'm not as confident of what my body is capable of.

This hike was a great place to test it out. The bottom of the Grand canyon is not the place to figure out that you have gone beyond what you can handle. Because the first part of the hike is spent easily descending, many people venture too far before realizing it is at least twice as hard to hike back out. the official Grand canyon website is littered with warnings about venturing too far.

The Encinitas hike couldn't have gone any better. It was a lovely 82 degrees at noon, similar to the 90 we will encounter in the interior of the canyon. Michelle was a perfect hiking buddy holding a swift pace and keeping the conversation entertaining.

And my new Hoka One One running shoes made the day. They are made for long distance running with 30% extra cushioning in the soles. And I felt every bit of it. It felt like I was hiking on spring loaded marshmallows. I never even felt the trail. T

he last time I hiked the Grand Canyon I wore a twenty pound pair of hiking boots with a steel rod running through the sole. By the time I reached the top my feet had passed through hellishly painful to just plain numb. I know this time my feet might be sore but the will be in much better shape because of the new shoes.

Straight From the Shutter

I hate it when this happens in the middle of class. Loos like it's time to get that back-up insulin into my class fridge.

Letter to a Diabetic Mommy

I read a blog post recently about the affect Diabetes has on our children. it was something I haven't given too much thought to. When I think about the Type 3 in my life, I think Tony. Shea is now getting to an age where she can clearly express the affect diabetes has had on her life. Since she is such a good writer, even at nine, I thought she might feel more open to express her thoughts if I let her write a guest blog post. So below is her blog post, spelling errors and all (the spelling handicap is hereditary).

Having a diabetic mom has its ups and downs. Sometimes my mom can not play with me as much. My mom can only palay outside for 15 to 20 minutes [mostly due to years of battling thyroid disease not diabetes].

When my mom can play we normally play cards, playing school, or playing American Girl dolls. My mom is super fun when she is playing softball outside with y family and I love when my mom is playing outside with me.

My mom is super fun when she is not to low or to high. Having a Diabetic mom is 75% awesome and 25% not so awesome. My mom is to low or to high alote which affects playing with my mom.

My mom does great things for having diabetes. My mom runs triathlons. My mom is a super fast runner, [If only she knew how slow I am], biker and swimmer. My mom is a great person and I love her to death even though it is hard sometimes I try to make the best out of the ups and downs there are that come with having a diabetic mom. I love my mommy.