Welcome back to Day 7 of Diabetes Blog Week 2012!

Wow, I can’t believe the week is over already! That went by fast! :) The topic for today’s post is “Diabetes Hero:”

Diabetes Hero – Sunday 5/20: Let’s end our week on a high note and blog about our “Diabetes Hero”.  It can be anyone you’d like to recognize or admire, someone you know personally or not, someone with diabetes or maybe a Type 3.  It might be a fabulous endo or CDE.  It could be a d-celebrity or role-model.  It could be another DOC member.  It’s up to you – who is your Diabetes Hero??

There are a handful of people I’d like to recognize as my diabetes heroes today.

First, the DOC (Diabetes Online Community) in general is amazing, and I only wish the internet were around back in the early years of my diabetes so I could have learned so much from them when I was first diagnosed! Though I’m a pretty silent DOC member, I love how inspiring the members are–always searching for ways to beat the disease, and do it with a smile!

I was seriously inspired by the DOC in general to get on the wagon and combat my A1c, which had been riding in the mid- to high-7’s for a few years (after hitting an all-time high of 11 when I was in college). Yikes. I’m happy to report that my latest A1c came back at a shocking 6.1! (I was seriously shocked!)

So, thank you, DOC, for getting me back on the road to better health.

Second, there was this guy I met a little more than a year ago who told me about this iPhone app he was using to learn how to run, called 5kTraining. He was overweight and had started showing symptoms of Type 2 diabetes, and took up running to loose weight and keep his bloodsugars in check. He showed me the app and told me how hard it was to get started, but also shared the sense of accomplishment he had as he completed each training session.

After our short chat, I went home and decided that I, too, was going to take up running. I downloaded the app, and took off a couple days later. (I think it took me a bit to decide that I could do it!) Between all the diabetic athletes I knew online and my trusty 5kTraining app, I summoned the strength to run regularly for a while.

These days, I’m still running, though not as regularly as I was. In fact, today, my husband, father-in-law and I completed the 26th annual Coronado Bay Bridge Run/Walk! It was really fun! I didn’t run all 4 miles, but I ran as much of it as I could, and apparently finished in 46min 24sec, which was #237 in my age group and #2612 overall. Yippee! Here are a few photos from today: my husband and I, after finishing; the route we ran, according to the RunKeeper app I use; and my results per the run’s website:

So, thank you, random diabetic runner, for the inspiration to get going!