I started this blog at the start of the summer to both document my progress as I trained for the Ultra Duathlon to raise funds for Diabetes Ireland, as well as sharing some of our family experiences as Harry lives with Type 1 Diabetes. On Saturday September 4th I completed the London Ultra Duathlon in a time of 5 hours 20 minutes. Finishing the race is something I am incredibly proud of, as it was the culmination of eight months of early starts, physical exhaustion and psychological battles to keep going every day through all weather conditions. More importantly, I’m delighted with the increas ..read more

With just 6 days to go, this is my final post before the Ultra Duathlon! I started training for this over eight months ago, having never competed in anything of this magnitude before. Below is an overview of some of the key numbers from nearly nine months of training, six days a week, in all the weather conditions Ireland can throw at you! I’ll put up a final post next week after the event, and I’ll announce the winners of the prizes draws for the hotel and restaurant vouchers, Fitvision PT session and other spot prizes for everyone who sponsored me. It’s not too late to get involved – please ..read more

I’ve written previously about low-carb/no-carb snacks that Harry would eat during the day in-between full meals – Harry would be able to consume these no-carb snacks without the need for an insulin injection, and they would help to keep hunger at bay in between “proper” meals. On Thursday August 25th I will be sharing samples of three low-carb snacks with the parents and children at Harry’s midweek training session. The ingredients, instructions and sources are all listed below. I’ll share some photos and feedback on Social Media after Thursday! Apple-Raisin Surprise ¼ cup raisins ½ cup apple ..read more

A really short but important post today, as the final few updates over the coming weeks will be focussing on the countdown to the Ultra Duathlon! The difference between Type 1 Diabetes and Type 2 Diabetes is still misunderstood by lots of people. When we inform them that Harry has Type 1 Diabetes, we will still regularly get responses along the lines of “oh… had he been eating too much sugar?” Type 1 Diabetes is an autoimmune disease that cannot be prevented or cured. The causes are unknown, and it requires insulin injections for life. Type 2 Diabetes is not an autoimmune disease, and causes i ..read more

From Guest Blogger – Gillian Whelan Delighted to be asked to include a feature post about Travelling and Type 1.  We had our amazing family trip to Cornwall in July but the August Bank Holiday took us to the airport for the first time since Harry was diagnosed. It was also the first time I had ever travelled alone with them as we decided to give Graham a training and chill weekend. So off we set to London with our medical letter, additional medical bag and a fear of the queues that awaited us in Dublin Airport. First time through security with all our diabetes kit. You can’t put this ..read more

Last week’s post detailed some of the carb-free snacks that Harry would typically consume during the day, which allows him continue to eat at a regular frequency (for a constantly hungry 11-year-old boy!) without having to inject insulin with each “meal”. We have learned through research and experience that not all carbohydrates are created equally. Even accurate calculation of the carbs in a meal, and the constant tweaking of carb-to-insulin ratios does not mean that Harry’s blood sugar levels will remain flat, as these diagrams for the last 24 hours and the last week show: 24 hour blood suga ..read more

Some of the previous posts focussed on the measurement and management of carbs in each of Harry’s main meals that are spaced throughout the day (Breakfast, Lunch, Afternoon Snack and Dinner). In addition, Harry would typically also have a mid-morning snack (or “little break” in school parlance!). In order to manage his insulin absorption, Harry needs to allow at least 2 hours between each of his meals. Therefore, due to the proximity between Breakfast and Lunch it is typically not possible for Harry to consume carbs as part of his mid-morning snack. Likewise, there may be times when Harry is h ..read more

Following some of the earlier posts, a number of people have asked me how Harry manages the variability of his blood sugar levels while participating in sports, and if his diagnosis has limited him in participating in activities and exercise. The short answer is… not at all! As previously mentioned, Harry wears a Constant Glucose Monitor (CGM), so we can see what his current blood sugar level are, and also the trending over the last number of hours. Along with midweek training, Harry has Gaelic Football or Hurling matches every Saturday morning. Usually we wait until Harry’s levels drop below ..read more

We’ve just returned from our two weeks family holiday spent travelling in the UK. A one-night stay in Bristol followed by a few days in Centre Parcs Longleat, then onto Padstow in Cornwall for a week. We wrapped up our trip with two nights in Leicester before getting the ferry home to Dublin from Holyhead. One of the challenges with the level of intensity of training at the moment is getting the balance right between active training, travel, and rest. We had the advantage of bringing our own car with us on holidays, which meant once I invested time in planning I could pack: My bike, most impo ..read more

As I described in previous posts, the amount of insulin Harry injects throughout the day is proportionate to the amount of carbs in each of his meals i.e. if his lunch contains a total of 45g of carbohydrates and he is on a 1:15 ratio for that meal, Harry will need to inject 3 units of insulin. I’ve also previously mentioned the timing throughout the day that Harry needs to take his injections, and in future posts I’ll discuss in more detail the nuances around whether the injection immediately precedes or follows the meal, and the reasons we may split the dose and Harry would take half before ..read more