Category Archives: NaBloPoMo

On My Way to Around the Bay

Posted on November 17, 2011 by Jeff Mather

Several weeks ago, I expressed some interest in possibly running the Around the Bay 30K race in Hamilton, Ontario, in late March. It was between the New Bedford Half Marathon and Around the Bay, which are on subsequent weekends. The decision depended on the dates of our trip to Barcelona. We booked our tickets to Spain over the weekend, and I moved on to picking a race.

I talked it over with Lisa and Scully (friend and future Team Type 1 women’s cycling team rider) and Céline (friend and possible future multisport athlete). The decision: I’m going to run Around the Bay.

It will be my longest race ever. I’m sure I can do the distance, but I’m still working through how I want to approach it. I love running, and I love racing, but they’re often at odds. When I race, I expect to go as hard as I can, but I’m not a masochist. I expect that running a 30K (18.6 miles) is much more like running a marathon—which I’ve never expressed any interest in doing—than running 5K or 10K races, which I like because they’re short enough that I can go all out the whole time.

The ironic thing is that, despite not planning to run a marathon anytime in the foreseeable future, I’ve started a marathon training plan. (I know you’re saying it’s just a matter of time. La la la . . . I can’t hear you.) It looks doable, peaking at 20-mile long runs instead of the 14-milers of the half-marathon plan I was using. It only has three days of running each week, which leaves me plenty of time for my other tri training, but I wonder if that’s enough volume to help me get faster at the longer distances.

I showed my plan to 2:22 Marathon Man, my awesome coworker. (He’s a fantastic guy. We’ve worked on some great features together that I can’t tell you about yet. We also had a lot of fun in San Diego and the Imperial County backcountry some years ago before a medical imaging conference. He’s also a wicked fast runner and very generous with training advice.) His assessment was that it was pretty good, but that if I want to run a consistently fast pace for longer periods of time, I need to run longer tempo runs, possibly as part of my weekly long runs. This will also, he noted, give me a chance to work on practicing my race-day nutrition plan and diabetes management. That was already on my list of off-season goals, and this will (I hope) expand my chances of success.

Tonight I put on my bright yellow shirt, strapped on my headlamp, and went for the first tempo run using my new training plan this evening. In the dark. In the sleet. On the completely uncrowded rail trail. It was great!

Posted in NaBloPoMo, NaBloPoMo 2011, Running | 4 Comments

Bon Mots – Part 3

Posted on November 16, 2011 by Jeff Mather

Here is another collection of French words that I learned recently. That is to say, it’s a bunch of words that I learned just now after ordering the catalog for the PhotoQuai 2011 exhibition that Mom and I saw along the banks of the Seine in Paris. It was a good exhibit, and I wanted to buy the catalog. Alas, the museum shop was closed for lunch, so I had to wait until we got home.

In the end I had to get the book from Amazon.fr, since the US store didn’t sell it (except at an inflated third-party reseller’s price). After placing my order, I poked around for a few minutes, noting words that were unfamiliar to me.

Here you go; a collection of French words about buying, selling, ordering, and e-commerce beyond acheter, vendre, and commander.

  • colis — package, parcel, packet
  • suivi du colis — package tracking
  • les frais — expenses, fees, charges, costs
  • gérer — to manage, handle
  • un emballage — packaging (sing.)
  • ajouter — to add
  • supprimer — to delete
  • le solde — (account) balance
  • programmé — scheduled (adj.)
  • commande — order (n.)
  • carnet — booklet, notebook, pocket book, stack, logbook
  • conseils — advice, suggestions (sing. = a word/bit of advice)
  • fournisseur — supplier
  • compte — account
  • facture — invoice
Posted in Bon mots, City of Light, NaBloPoMo, NaBloPoMo 2011 | 3 Comments

The CWD Info Clearinghouse

Posted on November 15, 2011 by Jeff Mather

As mentioned in my previous post, this is just a short placeholder for you to post resources for newly minted parents of children with diabetes.

I don’t really follow the CWD community . . . sorry, but I’d like to help a friend out. So leave a comment below with what you know. Please post any of the following:

  • Links to blogs of parents of children with diabetes
  • Twitter accounts of parents of CWDs
  • Websites that offer reputable information for parents
  • Really good on-ramps to the DOC for newbies
  • Anything else you think would be valuable to know
Posted in Diabetes, Hoarding, NaBloPoMo, NaBloPoMo 2011 | 9 Comments

Beating the Advocacy Drum on the Day after World Diabetes Day

Posted on November 15, 2011 by Jeff Mather

Yesterday was World Diabetes Day, the date that would be the 120th birthday of Frederick Banting, the principal investigator of the project that isolated insulin, preventing diabetes from being a death sentence for those of us who can’t make our own (T1s) or enough of it (T2s). The commemoration is spearheaded by the International Diabetes Federation, the organization with the mission “to advance diabetes care, prevention and a cure worldwide.”

We were busy with our own kind of advocacy round these parts: T-shirts. But I didn’t want to let this important day go under-recognized, so I bring you a post about advocacy in three acts. Three acts.


Act One: Low Glucose Suspend — As you might remember, last Friday I finally met Bernard Farrell after months of near misses. Bernard’s really up on diabetes technology, and we talked a little bit about the Artificial Pancreas Project, which should eventually automate big parts of the T1 diabetes experience. It’s an improvement, not a cure. It’s also years away.

We talked a bit more about the low-glucose suspend (LGS) technology that’s currently for sale in the European Union but isn’t available in the United States because the FDA is worried that it might cause hospitalization for DKA (diabetic ketoacidosis, or very high blood glucose). This misunderstanding of the differences in immediate danger between severe hypoglycemia and DKA seemed ridiculous to us, as it has to every other person with diabetes that I’ve talked to about it.

The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) dropped a bombshell a couple weeks ago in an attempt to spur the FDA toward more progressive action on LGS. In full-page ads placed in the New York Times and Washington Post, they cited research that found 1 in 20 people with type-1 diabetes dies from hypoglycemia. LGS could prevent many of those deaths, which is exactly the reason that we need it.

(Victoria Cumbow wrote an excellent article about the JDRF ad and her own experiences with severe hypoglycemia. I recommend reading it when you’re done here.)

The day after meeting Bernard, Lisa and I went to the movies and saw “J. Edgar”. [1] I was heading low before the film started, so I tested with my meter to verify, preemptively treated it, and turned off my CGM’s low alarm so that it wouldn’t start singing to the crowd during the moody period drama. (When I’m hanging out in the low-rent numbers it usually gets very insistent every 20 minutes-or-so.) Sunday morning, I did my long run for the week: 10 miles.

About 4:00AM yesterday (Monday) morning, an hour before the alarm was set to wake us to go to the pool, I awoke feeling not quite right. I tested: 70 mg/dL, which is low. During the daytime I would normally have started to feel symptoms, but at night I rarely do. As I was treating the low, I looked at my CGM, wondering why it hadn’t woken me up. It read in the neighborhood of 70, and that’s when I realized that I had forgotten to turn the low alarm back on. I didn’t hear anything because there was nothing to hear.

The worst part about this event was that the CGM graph for the previous three hours had me in the mid-40s twice for extended periods during that time. I’ve never had severe hypoglycemia (*touch wood*), but Monday night rattled me, especially given the whole 1-in-20 statistic. When I told Lisa about it today—after she mentioned Victoria’s article—she said, “If I wake up and you’re dead from hypoglycemia, I’m going to kill you.”

C’mon FDA, let’s get with it and approve low-glucose suspend!


Act Two: The Ophthalmologist — Yesterday, World Diabetes Day, was also the day to visit my ophthalmologist. Despite the fact that my appointments start chronically late, I like him. He’s a great doctor, and I respect that he treats me as a peer in taking care of my eye health rather than simply as a patient.

But as awesome as he is, his office staff doesn’t get diabetes. I’m sure that they see a bunch of patients with diabetes, as well as a bunch with glaucoma. [2] Surely they believe that trying to preserve vision is their highest duty, and I respect that. Frankly, I’m scared to death of going blind; it’s my biggest fear related to diabetes, and I appreciate that they feel like they need to stress the importance of good diabetes management.

Over the years I’ve tried to gently inform his staff about useful ways of approaching the diabetes issue. “‘What was your last BG reading?’ isn’t really a useful question for people with type-1 diabetes,” I told one tech, who was taking my health history. When she asked what a more useful question would be, I think she really was sincere. I’m not sure that one of the other techs was quite as interested in hearing me tell him that, “Yes, I know my BG values are too high. I don’t like them where they are either. And I understand the possible consequences for my eyes [and feet and heart and kidneys and man parts] from prolonged high BGs. I’m doing my best. It’s really difficult, you know.”

This time, I knew that I had to escalate the issue and take it to their boss.

As the doctor was reviewing the notes the tech took earlier in the visit he got to my A1c. “7.9. That’s lower than last visit,” he said with a hint of satisfaction. Yeah, I’m trying to bring it down, but it’s difficult. “What do you do for exercise?” I train for triathlons about 8-10 hours each week. “Wow. That’s great.” And then he blinded my dilated eyes with three different instruments.

At the end of the visit, I knew what I had to do. “Can I get a few minutes of your time?” He dismissed the person who had been taking notes. “I think you need to talk to your staff about diabetes. I don’t think they know the right questions to ask, and I get a lot of judgement from them. I don’t think they understand how hard it can be to get good blood sugars.” He seemed surprised, and I told him about the previous few interactions and that day’s event. The tech who checked my pressure, put the dilation drops in my eyes, and took my history had gasped when I said my A1c was 7.9 and then groaned when I countered that it was down 0.5 from last time and was the lowest that it had been in a year.

“How would you suggest that we handle diabetes in the health history?” he asked with complete earnestness. I suggested just asking what the last A1c was—or 14-day average or typical range of meter values for people who haven’t had an A1c recently—marking it down in the notes without comment, and moving on. I told him not to single any of his staff out.

“I’m sorry that you had those experiences. And thank you very much for telling me about how my staff can improve. We have an all-staff meeting in a couple weeks. I’ll let them know. Thanks again.”

Can I tell you again how much I really like my ophthalmologist?


Act Three: Diagnosed on World Diabetes Day — I learned this morning that a friend’s seven year-old nephew was diagnosed with type-1 diabetes yesterday on World Diabetes Day. I wouldn’t wish this way of learning about diabetes upon anyone, regardless of their age, but I’m glad that my friend was able to reach out and let me know about it so that I can help in whatever way possible.

While I offered myself to her step-sister as a resource for any kind of question, the truth is, I really don’t follow the “children with diabetes” (CWD) part of the diabetes online community very much. While I understand living with diabetes, I don’t know what it’s like to take care of someone with diabetes, especially a child. It’s just different.

But I do know people who were children with diabetes, and I know some people who have T1 kids. Some of them might even be reading this post. My hope is that you can help fill in the gaps in my knowledge of this neighborhood of the DOC. The next post here will be a special place for you just to share links to blogs and Twitter accounts of parents of CWDs along with any other website that has reputable information or is a really good on-ramp to the DOC for newbies.

Thanks for advocating and for helping me advocate! Together we make a difference for those of us with this shitty disease.


There you have it folks: three short tales related to advocacy all taking place around World Diabetes Day. But as Scully said, “World Diabetes Day is over. I still have diabetes. Dangit!” Yesterday we got some people’s attention; now the hard work starts.

We need a vaccine and a cure for every type of diabetes. We need to keep pressuring our governments for more funding into disease R&D. And we need a regulatory scheme that brings to market new technologies which help us manage the dozens of daily diabetes decisions more effectively.

And we need to make sure that basic treatment is available to everyone all over the world. As awful as it is that I can’t get a device with low-glucose suspend in the US, it’s worse for people who don’t have adequate access to insulin at all, even 90 years after its first therapeutic use. So go watch the The Life For A Child film and help stop diabetes worldwide. That’s the real message of World Diabetes Day.


1 — A.k.a., “Brokeback Bureau.” [Back . . .]

2 — Glaucoma, which I’ve had since I was a teenager, is my first chronic illness. Even though I’m up to three now after finding out that I have vitamin B12-deficient anemia a couple years ago, you needn’t worry that I’m trying to collect or hoard them. [Back . . .]

Posted in Diabetes, Health Care, Hoarding, NaBloPoMo, NaBloPoMo 2011 | 3 Comments

DiabeTees Day 2011

Posted on November 14, 2011 by Jeff Mather

It’s finally here! International DiabeTees Day, which conveniently coincides with World Diabetes Day this year.

I hope you’re wearing a diabetes-themed T-shirt today. If you are, take a picture of it and post a link to it in the comments below. Here’s my design: “America Runs on Insulin.”


Posted in Diabetes, I am Rembrandt, NaBloPoMo, NaBloPoMo 2011 | 8 Comments

Becoming a Foodie Starts with a Cookbook

Posted on November 13, 2011 by Jeff Mather

In the summer of 1995 I worked behind the deli counter at the Albertsons grocery store on 122nd and Division in Portland, Oregon. I was spending the summer with Lisa and her family. It wasn’t a dream job at all, but it had three benefits.

First, I had the daytime off, so I could travel around the Portland area and do lots of outdoorsy things in the Columbia River Gorge and Cascades. And (2) because I didn’t join the union—I was just working for the summer, and the managers paid me a little more if I agreed not to join—I get to spend the rest of my life wondering exactly how I feel about unions. They went on strike a few weeks after I went back to school, so the question is moot about what stance I would have taken, but I think about it a lot. We’ll just leave it there.

On the first day, the deli manager told me to try each thing over the first week. So the best part of my job was that I learned a lot about meats and cheeses: what they taste like, how well they work in the slicer, what pairs well together, etc. Spiced meats are delicious. Corned beef, pastrami, salami, and hard sausages . . . mmm. [1] And take it from me, brand-name products, such as Boar’s Head meat and Alpine Lace cheeses, really are worth the extra price compared to the store/no-name brand.

(Just FYI, a good deli clerk will make a slice, show it to you, and ask if that’s the right thickness. They have the slicer, but you have the power. Also, after just a couple months, I could weigh things by hand to within an ounce. If your deli is always giving you more meat than you asked for, well . . . now you know the truth.)

When it comes to deli meats and cheeses, I’m something of a gourmet. The distance between just “okay” and “perfectly delicious” is enormous, and it has everything to do with the quality and freshness of ingredients. A little extra effort (and just a few more dollars per week) makes all of the difference.

I had forgotten that this applies to things beyond the deli case until we went to Provence. I had always assumed that really good restaurants made better food than what we bought/prepared because people who knew what they were doing were making the food. But it turns out that the ingredients are more of the reason. Sure, you have to know what works well together, but that’s what recipes are for.

When I got back from France, Lisa and I decided to try something new. We’d both become quite bored with our regular menu, and the cookbooks we bought after my diagnosis in 1999 did not reflect the awesome things that we were looking to eat. (Although they have some pretty kick-ass desserts!) Because we were bored, we started to get unhappy. Eating out or having pizza delivered didn’t fit well into our weight/diabetes management plans, so we did the only sensible thing: We bought a new cookbook, one with excellent-looking recipes full of flavor and calling for fresh ingredients, but it had to be food that we would actually eat and recipes that we could fit into our busy evenings.

Tomorrow marks the start of the second week with the Good Housekeeping Fast Weeknight Favorites cookbook. We’re trying to be sensible and mix in new recipes alongside our favorites from the recent past. We’re not getting rid of them, just making it so that we don’t have to have the same five things every damn week. It looks like we’re trying a couple new recipes each week, selecting what sounds goods and keeping the ones that really move us. I bet that we don’t try everything in the book, but I hope that we push our gastronomic boundaries a bit. Last week we tried something with broccoli rabe in it, and I grated ginger.

Last week we—and by “we” I mean Lisa with plenty of my help—made a penne, sausage, and broccoli dish, as well as chicken tikka masala. I’m a bit of an Indian food aficionado, so I think it was actually more of a chicken korma without cashews than a tikka, but it was good nevertheless. Up this week: a Mediterranean swordfish salad and Tex-Mex chicken with green chile dish.

The house smells a little different these days, and we’re eating more leftovers. We’re also shopping more in the produce section. I hope that eventually I’ll have more of an idea of what things taste like and what works well together, just like I did after working in the deli. And maybe we’ll have expanded our palates enough that I can apply those new flavor skills—along with some actual cooking-from-scratch practice—and actually try making Provençal and French dishes. Maybe.


1 — We only really worked with sliceable cheeses, which totally makes sense. There were the old standbys: Swiss, Provolone, Cheddar, and American (which I still maintain is not really cheese). Havarti and Munster, which are both delicious, were about as soft as cheese got in our case. There weren’t any of the “eat with a fork” French cheeses or fantastic Italian hard cheeses that you use with a grater. It has taken me years longer to figure out which cheeses I really like, and I’m still doing what I can to figure it out; you will often find me eying the cheese case at our local Stop & Shop. (The 122nd & Division Albertsons wasn’t really a “cheese case” kind of supermarket. It was more of an “occasionally we chase Gypsies out of the store” kind of supermarket.) Even though you won’t find it in our store—believe me I’ve looked—I think Stilton is my current favorite specialty cheese, although Comté is coming on strong. I will happily take recommendations and give them a try. [Back . . .]

Posted in General, Life Lessons, NaBloPoMo, NaBloPoMo 2011 | 5 Comments

Odds and Ends

Posted on November 12, 2011 by Jeff Mather

Just a few odds and ends today.

  • This morning I fired up Photoshop and made my design for Int’l DiabeTees Day. I like it a lot, but you’re just going to have to wait until Monday to see it.
  • I’ve been reading a lot recently. A lot for me, that is. I don’t read quickly or as much as I would like, and I’m falling quite behind on my reading list. Earlier in the week I finished The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, a gift from last year which I started reading in France. It’s okay. A bit long because of so damn many unneeded details, but ultimately an interesting read.
  • Now I’ve returned to a novel that I started reading mid-summer last year: Colson Whitehead’s Sag Harbor. It’s not quite the page-turner that Apex Hides the Hurt was, but I do like it. It’s nice to see that in Whitehead’s mind, African-Americans are just as neurotic as white folk. I’m not 100% sure where we’ll end up at the end of this coming of age tale, but I should find out soon.
  • Lisa and I have seen a new film each of the last three weekends: “Moneyball,” “Ides of March,” and “J. Edgar,” which we saw this afternoon. Of the three, “Moneyball” is the one with the most heart and the most interesting story. That’s kinda, I dunno, wrong if you ask me. Really, though, we’re just killing time until “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” is released in the US.

There’s really not much else going on.

Update—21 Nov. 2011: Lisa reminded me that we actually saw “Tower Heist” (which was lots of fun if you don’t expect too much) between “Ides of March” and “J. Edgar.” So, after adding in “Martha Marcy May Marlene,” we’ve seen five films in the last month.

Posted in Book Notes, General, NaBloPoMo, NaBloPoMo 2011 | 1 Comment

A Long Time in the Making

Posted on November 11, 2011 by Jeff Mather

This morning, finally and at long last, Bernard Farrell (@BernardF on Twitter) and I met. He was one of the first people with diabetes that I found online. I really appreciated his commitment to diabetes technology, and I was eager enough to see this fellow Bay Stater that I put meeting him on my 101 Things in 1001 Days list.

It was definitely worth the wait! We will have to do it again.

Posted in 101 in 1001, Diabetes, NaBloPoMo, NaBloPoMo 2011 | 4 Comments

Reminder: International DiabeTees Day is Monday

Posted on November 10, 2011 by Jeff Mather

As you’re making your “To Do” list for the weekend, add these items:

  • Buy stuff to make a T-Shirt at the craft store
  • Make a T-shirt
  • Wear DiabeTees T-shirt Monday

That’s right! Monday is International DiabeTees Day. On World Diabetes Day wear your advocacy on your sleeve.

And anytime between now and Monday, take a picture of yourself (or somebody else) in the DiabeTee, post it somewhere, and add a link to it in the comments of the announcement post.

Posted in Diabetes, General, NaBloPoMo, NaBloPoMo 2011 | Leave a comment

This Is a Stick-up

Posted on November 10, 2011 by Jeff Mather

Friends, I need your help with an advocacy project.

I don’t usually feel like much of an advocate. I do my part, answering people’s questions about diabetes, teaching coworkers how to check their blood sugar and respect other people’s BG values, writing about what it’s like for me to have diabetes, trying to be a good example of what it’s possible to do with this chronic illness. But I have trouble getting spurred into action by all of the bullshit that’s in the media about diabetes or that people off-handedly say. I’ve contacted my Congressional delegation a few times, but I feel awkward commenting on things that I haven’t researched thoroughly.

There’s also this: While I know that every little bit counts, I really want to go big.

The most effective advocacy activities I’ve seen in the United States during my thirty-seven years have been flamboyant, loud, rowdy, or (dare I say) illegal. They reached out to grab the public’s attention because they were so unexpected or audacious: Tea Party rallies, Occupy Wall Street, sitting in old-growth trees, etc.

In my mind, the best advocacy in America during my lifetime has been the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power, or ACT UP. Many people were dying of AIDS, the government wasn’t recognizing the problem, and the public was somewhere between apathetic and hostile. Those with HIV/AIDS, recognizing they had very little left to lose and everything to gain, engaged in civil disobedience in the mid-80s, garnered lots of media attention, and eventually moved policy.

I’m not saying we should occupy the FDA until they accede to our demands or get arrested by causing public disturbances, but I think we have opportunities to be more daring in our advocacy. In particular, I think we can learn a lot from guerilla marketing techniques and graffiti artists. (They essentially overlap.)

What’s our main problem? Media bullshit affecting public perception of diabetes. “Reverse diabetes.” “The cure for diabetes.” “It’s irresponsible to give people with diabetes ice cream.” I’m sure you can think of a dozen more. The problem is that people see the headlines and not our rebuttals. We have blogs—which are awesome—but they’ve got printing presses and distribution channels and advertisers.

What can we do? Change the message at the point of purchase. If we can’t stop publishers from printing incorrect information, we can let people know at the same time that it’s wrong and give them an alternative source. When people see a magazine or book saying “Reverse Diabetes,” we can change it to call shenanigans.

I’m not advocating destroying property. That would be more radical than I’m willing to do at this point in my life. I have a wife and a mortgage and a cat that all depend on me.

I’m talking about Post-It notes. Sticky notes with a message like “There is no cure for diabetes . . . yet” and containing a URL for better information.

My vision is that people with diabetes and our allies carry around a pad of these Post-It notes and when they see BS (or are in high traffic areas with acceptable surfaces) they slap on a sticky note (which is easily removable without any damage, of course).

Here’s where I need your help.

  1. I’ve registered a new URL for our “The More You Know” web site. (Okay I’ve actually registered three very similar domain names: diabetesfact.info, diabetesfacts.info, and diabetesfact.org.) But I’m not sure what I need to do next to set up a free WordPress site that uses those domains. I can Google it, I’m sure, but I’m hoping someone has done this recently. Help?
  2. What should the Post-It notes say? I figure it should be appropriate for a checkout stand or public forum. It should be catchy but not too snarky or offensive. It should be honest but not depressing. And it should make people want to learn more. (Here’s a good, but sadly NSFW, example of something that grabs you, so to speak, and dares you to check it out.) What do you think it should say?
  3. Does anyone have any experience with ordering custom sticky notes? I’m looking for a good deal.
  4. What should we put in the web site? I’m thinking a little basic information about type-1, type-2, and gestational diabetes; links to ADA, JDRF, and another group, such as DRI; and a couple of on-ramps for the DOC. Thoughts?

So what do you think? Would you carry around a pad of Post-It notes? And (more importantly) would you use them?

Posted in Diabetes, NaBloPoMo, NaBloPoMo 2011 | 11 Comments

Hoarding

Posted on November 9, 2011 by Jeff Mather

Friends, I am not a hoarder.

I’m certainly a collector: art photography journals, National Geographic magazines, 1/64-scale tractor models, empty insulin bottles. Lisa and I have jointly built quite a library of our own. I don’t think that’s a problem. That’s normal first-world behavior.

I mean, I might be a pack-rat. I might have kept things that l don’t actually need right now because I might need them one day in the future. And it’s true that I have actually (once or twice) used those things.

But it’s not like I can’t throw things away. Really. You know, I just want to make sure that there’s nothing earth-shatteringly important in that February edition of The New York Times sitting on the floor in my office. And, you know, if I do see something interesting in there that I need plan hope to read, I’ll just clip it and put it in a box/folder/stack/pile. Obviously, I can’t throw that away.

Okay, so I hoard just a little bit, but I’ve lately been reevaluating my relationship with “stuff.” It just gets in the way and weighs down my mind a bit. In particular, I’m finding it harder to figure out what I want to do because of a glut of choices.

I’m trying to be more of a “Just In Time” kinda guy for what I bring in. “Do I need that information/book/whatever now? No? Then let’s just wait.”

Now, I just have to get rid of the stuff that I’ve got. I’m making progress on this front. I had a “Come to Jesus” moment earlier today, when I decided it was best to just throw stuff out if I ever want to get through the big tub of stuff that I pulled out of the closet.

I’ll update you when I’m farther along.

Posted in 101 in 1001, General, Hoarding, NaBloPoMo, NaBloPoMo 2011 | 2 Comments

From the Archives

Posted on November 8, 2011 by Jeff Mather

Velociraptor #1: “I’m sorry, but Jeff can’t come to the blog right now. Umm . . . he’ll be right back. But he left these pictures for you. Won’t you stay for a while?”

Posted in General, I am Rembrandt, NaBloPoMo, NaBloPoMo 2011, Photography, Travel | 1 Comment

Pull Buoy, Monday, 6:30AM

Posted on November 7, 2011 by Jeff Mather

“Is the water warm?” Pool Lady, who had a cold and looked a bit out of it, was lounging on a bench near her lifeguard’s chair.

“Yes.” It’s been months since the pool caused a reflexive shiver when I’ve hopped in.

“The school hates it. The girls’ swim team has been complaining all year. It’s just not great for practicing.”

“Tell me about it,” I said.

“Hey! You got yourself a pull buoy.” She noticed the new floaty thing I got on Friday and used this morning for the first time. It felt like I was using a ThighMaster. (Not that I’ve actually ever used one.)

“I did. I think I’m just as fast with it as without. Maybe a little faster.” Pool Lady laughed, but it was true. I wasn’t paying a lot of attention to splits today, but I saw the bottom of the pool slide by faster than normal.

That last comment really seemed to amuse her. “So much of swimming is upper body anyway,” she said.

“It is,” I said pointing at my head. In my mind, most of my problem with swimming is not being able to connect the vision of how I imagine myself swimming eventually with the actual effect.

“Oh, I know! I tell the kids that they have to think about what they’re doing. They don’t believe me, of course, but it’s true.”

“Yup. I have lots of things to think about and work on,” I said. “It’s a good thing I have six months of winter ahead of me.” [1]


Those who have been following my swimming since the spring know that these swimming posts are usually about tackling something difficult. While it’s true that I’m much better at it than I used to be, I’m not as good at it as I want to be—as I believe I can be. But knowing one thing and making it happen are totally different things. And this is one of the longest times that I’ve been working at something where the results have been less than stellar. [2]

I like to think of myself as a practical rule-follower. A Calvinist by family tradition, if I learn what needs to be done, how to do it, and work hard enough, success (if not necessarily salvation) should come about. It might not be immediate. It might not be easy. It might not even be as amazing as what other people can achieve. But it should certainly be achievable.

This is what I believe, and it’s why I go to the pool two or three times each week to swim laps and do drills. (By the end of the summer, going to the lake was almost entirely about the pure joy of swimming. The pool isn’t as much fun, but I do enjoy swimming there nevertheless.) I know that nothing comes for free, so I’m working hard at it and taking advantage of opportunities to learn from other people and resources.

Months ago I gave up looking for silver bullets. I still hope that one day I’ll have a breakthrough, the one where I start to feel what swimming efficiently feels like, where I learn how to do what I know I should be able to do. Until then, it’s going to require a lot of lead bullets. Despite giving up hope for a shortcut, I’m still rather frustrated with the slow pace of my progress. It’s the hardest thing for me right now.

I’m learning a lot about myself as I swim: how I approach difficult things, how I work through knowing that most of my peers seem to be better than I am, how I handle disappointment and compliments, how I cope with uncomfortable situations, how I need to focus solely on what I’m doing and be more mindful, etc. I haven’t always liked all of my responses in the past, and learning how to get beyond the past—sometimes the long distant past—is a big part of the whole “swimming as therapy” thing, too.

Occasionally there’s a lot going on in my lane between 5:45 and 6:30 on Monday, Wednesday, and/or Friday mornings. At those times, I have to tell my brain to STFU and swim. Most of the time, though, I’m just trying to focus on undoing, lap-by-lap, the last two years of lap swimming.

Bup-bup-bup.


1 — And then I left the pool deck and banged my foot into the edge of the door leading to the showers. If I didn’t break my left pinky toe, the effect is basically the same. It’s a pretty black and purple, a bit swollen, and kind of tender. I might have dropped the F-bomb. [Back . . .]

2 — Except perhaps trying to get the right insulin pump settings or lowering my A1c. [Back . . .]

Posted in General, Life Lessons, NaBloPoMo, NaBloPoMo 2011, Reluctant Triathlete, Swimming | Leave a comment

No Sour Notes

Posted on November 5, 2011 by Jeff Mather

I’m having a pretty good weekend so far.

And different in so many ways from last weekend! I did not go into the office to work. It is not snowing. Etc.

We had lunch with a friend and her daughter today. I can’t believe how long it had been since we saw Gillian. Years. Long enough that I felt obliged to make the visit an item on my 101 in 1001 list. It certainly was wonderful seeing her; we should do it again . . . sooner.

This evening, Lisa and I went to hear the opening concert of the Claflin Hill Symphony Orchestra’s 2011-2012 season with a friend from Lisa’s choral group. They’re a local symphony, and I’ll admit that I was expecting a fair amount of pitchy notes, missed cues, and amateurism. Over the years, many people have said that they’re very good; then again, many people say that Applebees is really good. (You can feel free to call me a snob if you want to.) I was so pleased to be wrong. They’re quite accomplished! Life in the suburbs isn’t quite so unrefined as you might think.

Tomorrow I’m going for a long run . . . on snow-free roads. Yay! While I’m out, I’ll be thinking about Caroline, my twin-in-awesomeness who is running the NYC Marathon tomorrow morning.

Posted in 101 in 1001, General, NaBloPoMo, NaBloPoMo 2011, Running | Leave a comment

2012 Goals

Posted on November 4, 2011 by Jeff Mather

Two things today.

First, a swimming update. Wednesday morning I went to the pool and (as promised) I just did drills. It think it was useful, but I’m not 100% sure. When I was doing the drills, I seemed to have a decent sense of what I was doing, but when I tried to actually swim, it turned out just like before. Well, not exactly; so that’s promising, but it’s going to take time. I suspect I need to focus on fewer things when I’m swimming, and to that end I’m going to swim next week with a pull buoy and see if that lets me think about my stroke without worrying about kicking to stay afloat.

Mostly though it was frustrating. I like swimming, even if I’m not as good at it as I would like. When I left the pool deck, I was reminded of George Lopez’s interview with Brian Wilson. The whole thing is enjoyable, but I was thinking of the part starting around 3:20.

I will let you know how it goes.

Now . . . to the future!

It snowed last week, which must mean that this season is decidedly over. Time to start thinking about 2012. While a lot can happen—it’s the future we’re talking about, after all—here are some of my goals for next year:

  • Take some nordic ski lessons.
  • Run the New Bedford Half Marathon or Around the Bay (30K) if it doesn’t conflict with Barcelona.
  • Rock the Hopkinton sprint tri I did last May.
  • Do the Nautica NYC Olympic-distance triathlon.
  • Try an open-water swim race.
  • Swim two miles at the reservoir.
  • Figure out how to increase my red blood cell count and hematocrit, which are both anemic (literally).
  • Take 25% off my swim time (i.e., swim 1 mile in 30:00).
  • Ride from Williamstown to Milford (130 miles).
  • Do a half-Ironman triathlon (maybe . . . probably . . . if I have time to train without making Lisa crazy).
  • Climb Pikes Peak.
Posted in General, NaBloPoMo, NaBloPoMo 2011, Reluctant Triathlete, Swimming | Leave a comment