And life carries on and on and on...

As I type this post the lyrics to Peter Gabriel's song, "I Grieve" come to mind.

I think of all that my family has been through in the last 15 months - changes I would wish upon no one. And yet there has been wonderful things in the midst. And within those changes are Vic and Nicole Kinnunen. Vic just completed Ironman St. George as part of the Triabetes team.

This was an EXTREMELY emotional moment when Vic received the "Cure Jesse" award.... Vic's daughter, Nicole, who is standing with him was also diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes a couple of months ago (his son, with the red shirt, is in the photo also). The "Cure Jesse" award was started in 2008 as the first team of Triabetes embarked on Ironman, awarding it to Jesse & I. It's a beautiful thing to watch new people carry on this tradition in the memory of Jesse. I want to thank all of the athletes for dedicating mile 23 of the run in Jesse's honor. I know he carried you all through.

We all go through many changes in our life, some good, some unimaginable. As I type this I'm embarking on my own life changes of a new house and a new future once again with my amazing kids, Samantha and Joey, starting a new chapter. But life carries on and on and on...

Peace and love my friends.

Giddy...and Ironman Documentary PREMIERE!

Hi, kids. I hope you've missed me at least a little. Time to play a little blogging catch up. I was working today (have I told you already that BRAVA magazine is alive, kicking and a helluva lot of fun?!) Anyway, our resident fashionista, Mollie Shambeau, was putting together our blog (check it if you are bored, I think we crack ourselves up - www.bravaintheknow.wordpress.com) and I thought, "I think its time for a Triabetes update."

Nella, the guts behind this project, is currently putting together a pretty "rough cut". People have been submitting amazing tunes that will set the stage and catapult these Triabetes athletes forward on a big screen.

I got an email the other day from Peter Nerothin, king of Ironkidz, Insulindependence, and temporary Colorado resident (he moved across the street from Johnny Moore!!!). He teased my brain by sending a marquee from a theatre...in Tempe, AZ.

Drum Roll....

I have goosebumps when I tell you the documentary is set to premiere in Tempe, AZ, November 21st, the day before even more Triabetes team members embark on a new Ironman adventure...

Stay tuned.......

Triabetes - the Next Generation

Where have I been, you ask? Where have I been? Errr...well lots has happened. The magazine I worked for (and loved) suspended operation on 4/10, 14 of us walked out with boxes, sadly, not knowing if it would reopen. In those two months, we worked hard and found a new investor and will happily be back to work soon enough.

But more importantly, I've spent some time working on the distribution of the documentary - lots of exciting news on that front, but can't tell you yet....

So instead, I'd like to take a moment to highlight members of triabetes that go beyond the original twelve. My focus was always the documentary itself, while Peter Nerothin and the team at Insulindependence worked hard to keep the momentum building to take the team to newer and greater heights, quite successfully in fact.

Case in point, here is Casey Boren, who you may be seeing on Twitter as "Triabetic", does an interview is Boise, Idaho about his upcoming races. Go, Casey!

Follow Casey on Twitter at Insulinpowered.

http://www.kivitv.com/global/video/flash/popupplayer.asp?vt1=v&clipFormat=flv&clipId1=3848839&at1=News&h1=Boise&rnd=28047572

The grass is greener on this side of the fence

For 18 months the Triabetes Project has been in my life. Next week Wednesday athletes start to arrive in Madison. I'm having a little Triabetes sleepover on Wednesday with Steve Chop and Bill Carlson at my house - how fun is that? The rest arrive on Thursday, staying with host families like The Gorsuch family, the Sollingers, etc. I can't thank them enough for them opening up their homes.

Dr Matt Corcoran and I are attending a medical meeting with Ironman medical advisors to make sure our team is safe on the course. Friday turns into crazyland as we swim, film, register, film, eat, film, bike, film, run, film, get headquarters ready with supplies, computers, twitter, you name it. Oh, and film. Mandatory meetings, film. The huge welcome reception on Saturday at Grey's Tied House from 3-5 (you are invited, blog reader!), a quiet dinner for just the athletes, Matt, film crew, and I...up at 4:00 am for RACE DAY! WOOHOO.

Ok, here's the point of my picket fence picture. I anticipate some of you will be disappointed with my decision to not race on Sunday. I've tortured myself with a vibe I have had for over two months - the vibe that I serve this team better as a logistics person for the week. As much as I cherish being called the lucky #13 team member - the Triabetic Wannabe - I more so cherish the idea of making sure the film crew can find the athletes on the course, etc. I only have one shot at this documentary. It will be a great honor to watch each of them cross the finish line and I look forward to that. Not to mention I started my fabulous new job as Marketing Director for brava magazine last week!

To those of you who have supported me through my training etc this year... no worries, I don't think I've done my last Ironman. I'm trying to convince Anne and the rest of the team to do Ironman in France in 2010. I'm not kidding... a girl has to have goals.

So support me, by supporting the team. More info to come soon on how you can help on the course! Now, off to the Taste of Madison with the kids....

Feelin' the love

This past week has been extremely difficult, and yet, it's been one of the best. The outpouring of support has been just nothing short of incredible. I'm amazed at the people who have called or emailed me.

Our lives are full of chapters. When one chapter closes, another opens. Triabetes has been one of the most rewarding projects I've ever been part of. Every time an athlete calls me or emails me to tell me how it has changed their lives...I can't tell you what that does to me.

Nella told me that we should be able to have the documentary out there and ready to go in December. December! It's going to change lives, more so than the 12 athletes, the executive producer (me), the emmy-winning filmmakers (Nella/Ray), the amazing team at Diabetes Training Camp (Matt), the folks at Insulindependence (Nate), and those who have touched us through sponsorship like Charles.... it has expanded my diabetes world in an incredible way.

Now I get to focus 100% of my diabetes energy on watching Triabetes soar.

A humble thank you to all of you who got my back.... :) I look forward to seeing many of you at the Capital Brewery on Friday for the celebration party! (It cannot possibly be my 39th birthday....so let's not call it a birthday party!!!! )

Jesse - the diagnosis anniversary

03/03/00

A 3 year old boy was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. For days before he was incredibly thirsty. He was lethargic. He would walk up the stairs and ask me to carry him. I knew something was wrong. On a Friday evening at dinner time, he ate spaghetti and begged for 3 glasses of milk. And fell asleep on the couch. I threw him in the car and drove to the emergency room. I'm not a religious person. But I guess I was praying. I was thinking, "Please. Please, do not let it be diabetes." And I had a sudden thought. No, WAIT. Please don't let it be cancer, or something that will take him away from us. Diabetes, we could live with. Diabetes, we would overcome. Diabetes, wouldn't take over our lives and destroy it.

It's a familiar story I would imagine to many who take the time to read my blog. I've said many times over the years, something that just easily comes to mind for me, "Sometimes the path in life leads to darkness...but sometimes that darkness is our friend." What does it all mean?

It means, I have met the most incredible people because my little boy was diagnosed exactly 8 years ago. It changed my life in positive ways. The road has taken me to Washington, DC to stand before Senate hearings, talk to important people who make decisions about research, steer others on my same path. It has lead me to the best career on the face of the earth as the Executive Director of the Western Wisconsin Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. I have seen people rally around me in support. And personally, it got me on a road bike, it got me to participate in Ironman, and today, it has put me on the Triabetes path to film a documentary about amazing Type 1 athletes.

Today I signed Jesse up to take a 3 day canoeing trip with other type 1 kids through http://www.insulindependence.org/ and Wilderness Inquiry. He didn't want to sign up at first because it's scary. But he met the guides today and changed his mind. When the guides asked him why he wanted to do it, he said, "Because I want to support my mom on her Ironman."

Huh. Aren't I on this path to support him? I guess we support one another, eh?

Not a Happy Anniversary, but a day to reflect, at the very least. Thanks for listening