I wonder if having diabetes will make her think twice before trying things that intrigue her. I wonder if it won't. Like all of my children, I wonder what her future will hold...and I'm honored to be a spectator as she grows into the person she is yet to become.
Recently, I had an opportunity to interview an amazing PWD who is living life to it's fullest, and pushing the limits when it comes to her life with diabetes. From marathons to triathlons, it seems that NOTHING can stop Claire Duncan. Not even swimming across the English Channel, facing 6 foot waves while managing an insulin pump, and getting entangled in seaweed...
Would you mind sharing a little about your T1D diagnosis story?
I
was diagnosed with type 1 at the age of 23. I had just started my life as a
freelance classical musician and It came as a complete shock. There is no
history of diabetes in my family and I knew nothing about the condition and so
I started to read as many books as I could find. One
common theme was the importance of exercise for weight-control, insulin
sensitivity and avoidance of complications. I had no previous involvement with
sports, but I started to run and built up one mile at a time. After about 18
months, I ran my first London Marathon to raise money for the British Diabetic Association.
When did you begin swimming, and how long did you train before swimming across the English Channel?
I
started swimming at school but didn’t take it up again until I was about
30. A few injuries meant I had to leave
off running and so I started swimming and cycling, which lead to my
participation in triathlon. I worked up through to Ironman distance, which
meant regular 3 mile swim sessions in open water.
The
challenge of the channel swim was to swim without a wetsuit, which I found
quite daunting and very, very cold! I trained about 6 hours a week in the pool
from January through until April. In April I moved to open water, starting in
the Lido (100m open water pool) and moving to the lakes. I had to experiment
with new ways to fuel. I used gatorade for pool swims and a product called
isomaltulose for open water (this is a very low GI carb, which meant I could
drink it before I got into the lake and it would slowly get into my system, so
that I didn’t need to stash other forms of carbs inside my costume)!
I
found the cold water hard to tolerate and I started in 55 deg water for 30 mins
at a time. I found my blood sugars would rise due to the cold water shock and
my hands would claw. I adjusted my basal rate to cope with the cold shock and
solved the clawed hands by taping my fingers together for my longer swims! I
swam with a “swim safety device” in the lakes, which is an inflatable dry-bag
that I could keep hypo treatment in and use as a float if I felt hypo (I didn’t
need to use it for this purpose but it made me feel more secure). I tried to
swim 5 times a week with as many 6.00am starts as possible in order to
experience the water at its coldest! My swims ranged between 1 and 2 hours each
and sometimes I would swim twice in one day, so that I could simulate the idea
of relay swimming.
What was the biggest challenge you faced during the swim?
There
were 2 main challenges. The first was swimming in the big waves as the English
channel is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, which meant we were
surrounded by very big boats! A passing ferry would send a wake of 5 or 6 feet
which would lift me high up in the water. The wave would then hit the support
boat and bounce back and hit me again! I had swum in the harbour at Dover but I
was not expecting the waves to be quite so big out at sea. After a couple of
minutes I managed to calm down enough to swim with the waves and have the
confidence not to try and fight over the top of them.
The
other challenge was to try and keep my diabetes on an even keel. The adrenalin
of the event made my blood sugars rise and I had to take small corrective
bolus’ to compensate. I also had to swim harder than I had anticipated to get
through the waves and to keep warm (the water was still around 55 deg). I also
found that I didn’t want to eat as the swallowed seawater and rocking of the
boat made me lose my appetite! Again, the joy of my Animas Vibe saved the day
and a change of basal rates saved me from forced-feeding!
What's next on your list?
I
want to return to triathlon. A niggling back injury means that running is hard
work but I want to do some shorter sprint distance races. I need to work on
weight-training to build more power and this again is throwing up new
challenges with balancing basal rates! I am planning to race the London
Triathlon 2012, which should be exciting in our olympic year!
PS -- That's a pretty nice Animas Vibe you have there. We can't get those in the U.S. yet. How did you like it?
The Vibe is amazing! The CGM facility is a real bonus as I have not had the
benefit of this before. Meter tests are great but it is only a result for that
one moment in time. It has been so useful to join the dots and see trends
during different activities and I have changed my basal setup based on the
results. I took part in a triathlon with it the week after the channel swim and
it was great to see what happens real-time during a race. It is also good to
know that with the water-proof facility and the rubber skin, it is pretty bomb
proof and I can get on with things without worrying about my pump.
Thanks for taking the time to share a little more about your amazing experience, Claire. I'm completely inspired by your accomplishments, and excited to reaffirm that the sky's the limit for my daughter!
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