My type one diagnosis came one Wednesday afternoon totally out of the blue. Suddenly my world was full of testing, needles, insulin, and a whole host of other things I never had to pay attention to before. Not long after being diagnosed I was listening to a podcast on Eric Toza, a Type One who ran 7 marathons, in 7 days, in 7 different continents! I thought if he can complete something of that magnitude and manage his diabetes what could I do? I ruminated on a challenge for some time, tossing the idea of whaka100, the toughest endurance mountain bike event in NZ, around in my head. I spent a lot of time wondering what the heck I was thinking before finally hitting the submit button on my entry some 8 months out from the event.
Entering was the easy part! Who would have thought? As with any training that spans a period there was sickness, meltdowns, weather, and actual life to work around. The training was constant and often felt relentless and numerous times I wondered what my why was! I raced in as many events as I could to simulate and learn how diabetes might react on race day.
Race day dawned hot and sunny after four months of training in the wet and cold! Setting off from the start line almost came with a sense of relief that I could finally get on with the ‘thing’ that had occupied every brain cell for such a long time.
Diabetes has so many variables that are beyond our control. Vomiting at 30km was not in my pre-race plan and threw a spanner in the works! I remember cleaning my shoes and getting back on my bike, a bit of vomit wasn’t going to bring me down. However, the next 20km were rough and I knew by the expressions on everyone’s faces when I got to the halfway point that I wasn’t looking my best! I finally came right about 75km and crossing the finish line was nothing short of emotional. I was blown away by all the people that were there waiting (and waiting, and waiting) for me to finish. Family, friends, and fellow type 1s screamed me across the finish line!
I was very privileged to have tremendous support from all manner of people and local businesses. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. Thank you for the hours, the support and the love. The journey wouldn’t have been possible without you.
