One Week To Go

Only one more week until my marathon in Dublin, Ireland. I did my final long run yesterday, which was only eight miles. I'm on my taper now and until race day I won't run any distance longer than four miles so that my body has a chance to rest for the big day.
I would like to share a story that has inspired me and motivated me during my training. A few weeks ago, I attended a conference on Exercise and Sports Performance in Type 1 Diabetes, hosted by the TRIDEC Diabetes Education Centre. Dr. Michael Riddell and Dr. Bruce Perkins, who both have Type 1 Diabetes and are both active in various sports, gave excellent presentations. One of the athletes that Dr. Riddell mentioned in his presentation was Jay Hewitt. When I got home from the conference I checked out his webiste and learned his remarkable story.
Jay Hewitt is a Type 1 Diabetic who competes for the U.S. National Team for Long Course Triathlon. He's completed several Ironman distance triathlons with a personal best of 9 hours, 47 mintes. For those of you not familiar with the Ironman, it's a 2.4 mile open-water swim, followed by a 112 mile bike ride, followed by a full 26.2 mile marathon run. It is arguably the most gruelling one-day sporting event and its very nature makes it difficult for someone with diabetes to complete, let alone excel.
On his website, Jay has a video with clips taken from some of his races as well as from his motivational speeches. In his speech, Jay says some things that I believe but I haven't been able to articulate about overcoming a challenge, turning a negative into a positive and making it your motivation. Speaking about completing the Ironman as a diabetic he says, "It's an opportunity that others don't have because they haven't overcome what you've had to overcome."
On his website, Jay writes further, "To me diabetes is an opportunity, not an obstacle. An opportunity to discover how strong you are, to prove that you have the discipline and determination to achieve your goals no matter what the obstacles, and set an example for others."
The Ironman provides many inspirational and motivational stories like Jay's and I encourage you to check out his website at www.jayhewitt.com. Jay's story is remarkable but he's just like two million Canadians living with the day-to-day challenges of diabetes.
Jay ran his first marathon in 2000 in Kona, Hawaii with the American Diabetes Association's Team Diabetes in a time of 4:15:19.
I've been quietly considering trying the Ironman after the Dublin Marathon, perhaps as soon as 2008. I'm not a very strong swimmer and I don't own a bike but these are small obstacles that I can overcome.
Fundraising Update: I've had a few last minute donations and the total now stands at $7,265. Thank you for all of your donations! There's still time to make a donation before the race and you can do so by following these instructions.