THE TWINS HAVE ARRIVED!….

…… and don’t I know it. Mabel and Monty arrived on Friday 5th June 2015 safe and well. We’re just over one week into becoming parents for the second and third time with just 11 minutes between second and third children. Mabel and Monty join our 2 year old George and Clive the dog in the Waugh household so safe to say that things have gone a little manic lately.

I have to say that the twins, George and Clive are all keeping Mummy Waugh and myself on our toes and I wouldn’t have it any other way, what a blessing to have such a beautiful (not so) little family.

So what has the flurry of activity and sleep deprivation done for my T1D Journey to Iron Man? Well, it’s a bit tougher but that’s how I like it, if it’s too easy it’s not worth doing, eh. I ran my first competitive 10k of the year at the weekend on around 3 hours sleep! It was a small gathering with just 98 runners in the 10k event, I was originally aiming for a sub-50 minute 10k however finished in 54 minutes 5 seconds and felt like I had loads left in the tank but my legs just wouldn’t up the pace throughout the race. Blood glucose levels started at 7.1 mmol and finished at 5.8 mmol so can’t blame those either.

Previous weeks in review

To review the previous couple of weeks I’d summarise to say that I’ve battled with adrenalin release, lack of sleep and a reduction in training to leave my body feeling a bit drained. My wife spent a few overnight stays in hospital prior to the twins’ arrival and I was left in sole charge of George (and Clive the dog) which made me really focus on my blood glucose levels. I really didn’t want to be in the middle of a serious hypo with a kamikaze 2 year old and twins pending. I managed just a couple of slight hypos in the high 3s and generally spent the whole time in the 5 – 6 mmol range having adjusted my eating habits towards the lower end of the carb spectrum to make things a little easier to predict, just for a while.

I’ve thought about taking on a low carb diet for a while and indeed had quite a bit of success with low carb prior to my T1D diagnosis but my view is that the first few weeks are tough and it requires dedication around what I eat and when. My lifestyle at the moment just won’t allow it which I have to say I’m not too disappointed about, anyone who knows me will know I love my carbs. Juggling the twins’ 3 hourly feeds, reduced sleep, increasing training miles and reducing carbs just doesn’t stack up at the moment. Having said that, despite the lack of sleep my blood glucose is behaving and emotionally I’ve never been happier so I can’t complain at all.

Team BG

I’m also really excited about the opportunity to become a Team Blood Glucose Ambassador (Team BG). I was approached recently by Paul Buchanan, one of the founders of Team BG. Paul asked if I’d take on a voluntary ambassador role promoting their work as a not-for-profit social enterprise. I’ve followed Paul’s work and that of Team BG since shortly after my diagnosis in 2012 and their information provided me with a solid foundation to start my T1D Journey to Iron Man. The information and platform to connect that Team BG provide for people with diabetes #PWD is second to none in my opinion so any opportunity to promote their work is gratefully received.

If you haven’t heard of Team BG, firstly where have you been? Secondly, head over to the Team BG website at www.teambloodglucose.com and check out their exercise basics, their work on #GBDOC and upcoming events for people with diabetes.

Simply put; “TeamBG inspires people with, and those at risk of diabetes to achieve their sports and exercise goals, to educate people with diabetes of the benefits of sports and exercise and to equip them with the tools to achieve their ambitions.”

On that note I’m upping the training miles at the moment so will keep you all posted with my endeavours over the coming weeks. Keep smashing it!