I had two thoughts when I received the invite to run an 8k race and speak at the Insulindependence Philadelphia Weekend:

1. Cool!
2. Holy crap! 8k? I better start training!

8k is just about 5 miles. Well outside of my comfort zone, but not so far outside that it felt unachievable. The Insulindependence group provided a training plan that looked realistic, and I started following it – to the letter – on day 1 of week 1.

The Training Plan

Run 20 minutes. Yikes. I haven’t done that for over a decade. I play basketball, and do some biking, and have experimented with some running (run 2 mins, walk 1, run 2, etc), but 20 minutes straight? Not going to be fun, but let’s go.

I couldn’t show up in Philadelphia and not be able to do this. So I took it slow and steady and worked through it. I thought back to my cycling training in 2012 and knew I could do it if I stuck with the plan.

It took about three weeks before the running felt different. It felt … not easy, but not as hard. I noticed a difference, and it felt good to notice that difference. It was encouraging and motivating.

Kick It Up a Notch

I was still playing basketball – my favorite form of recreation – but I was doing the running just whenever it fit in. After basketball, in the evenings, sometimes instead of basketball. Just whenever. One Saturday I did my running right before playing basketball in order to hoop with my buddies and enjoy lunch with them afterward.

It was a complete disaster. I shot air-ball after air-ball. I felt horrible, was exhausted, and my basketball game was a train wreck.

One of my buddies coaches high school varsity basketball.  He said that I should expect to feel terrible for about three weeks, but if I could stick with it, if I could tolerate the terrible and continue to run before playing, that I would feel like superman on the court before too long.

So I started to be very intentional about my running. I’d get to the YMCA early and hit the treadmill before basketball. If I was running late, I wouldn’t let myself play basketball until I got my running homework done first. More than once it meant that I completely missed basketball – I was on the treadmill while the guys were out there hooping it up, only to be done playing ball by the time I was done running.

But I was starting to notice a difference, and it felt good to notice that difference.

It was encouraging and motivating.

Feeling Good

As time went on, I started feeling better and better. Balancing my blood sugars was still tricky, but I figured that’s to be expected when adding a big variable into the mix. Part of investing time in training with exercise and diabetes is preparing physically, part is experimenting and learning about blood sugar behavior during the activity, and part is building the mental confidence. Again, I leaned on my experience with the cycling training in 2012 to know that this process isn’t necessarily smooth but is critically important.

As race weekend approached, I was feeling so good on the basketball court that I knew I was going to continue running after the race.

Having Fun on Race Day

Running at the gym before basketball and running outside on race day are two very different things. But this was a very fun weekend for me and I had worked hard. I was ready.

On the eve of his 8k debut, @scottkjohnson says he feels ready and accomplished. He's completed 8 weeks of training, never missing a step.

— Insulindependence (@IN_Events) November 16, 2013

Gary giving Scott a verbal tour of downtown Philly while Scott focuses on breathing…

I had the great pleasure of Gary Scheiner and his son running with me for the whole race, and they gave me an awesome tour of the city as we ran. We even got to high-five Mayor Nutter at the finish line!

Gary, Ben, & Scott giving Philly Mayor Nutter a high-five at the finish line.

Official finish time? 53:49 pace of 10:50/mile.

How Awesome You Are

On Saturday afternoon, I had the privilege of giving a short presentation during the Northeast Symposium on Diabetes and Exercise. It was like a fancy rock concert where I got to open up for Gary Scheiner, MS, CDE, Anna Floreen, and Dr. Matt Corcoran, MD, CDE.

The goal of my talk was to remind everyone what an amazing job they do with the tools they have to manage their diabetes and to be proud of that!

Seriously, the cards are stacked against us in many ways, yet we all find a way to not only make it through a day in one piece, but to do a bunch of amazing things on top of it all.

We kick so much ass.

Inspired

I spent Sunday spectating the Philadelphia Marathon and Half-Marathon. I woke early to show support for my Insulindependence brothers and sisters who were running  (seriously, y’all, we were out there at 5:45 am…).  I spent the rest of the day hanging out with Amrie, taking in the marathon experience, and seeing some of downtown Philly before heading home later that afternoon.

I had never spectated a marathon before, but it was an absolute blast. But even better than that was being there to be inspired by some incredible people with diabetes who I am proud to know and call friends. I watched Bill King finish his 21st marathon, I saw Stephen Meo grit out a hard fought finish, I celebrated a great half-marathon finish from Harry Thompson, just to name a few. I even got to meet The Diabetic Camper (and runner (and streaker)) himself, Dave!

And then there’s Danielle. Her guts. Her attitude. Her drive. And her medal.

Scott Johnson supports Danielle Panetta after her half marathon! Danielle tells Scott of her half marathon medal, “You want this!”

Yeah. She’s right. I do want that. But more importantly, because of her example, and people like her, I think I can do it. Which is encouraging and motivating.

Seattle – Here I Come!

Four short days after returning from Philadelphia I was doing a live recording of DSMA Live with Cherise Shockley and George Simmons, with our guest Stephen Shaul. I was still riding high off the Philly trip and committed, live on the internet (recorded internet, at that), to running 2 more 8k’s and 1 half-marathon in 2014.

@SweeterCherise Wait – I thought I said two 8k's and ONE half marathon? You're putting me in deeper water, sis! 🙂 (cc: @IN_Revolution)

— Scott K. Johnson (@scottkjohnson) November 22, 2013

Long story short? I’m running the Rock n’Roll Half-Marathon in Seattle on June 21st with Dana M. Lewis, Cherise, and hopefully a few more who are on the fence.

Motivated by Basketball

This all comes back to the basketball.

It’s what I enjoy.

And the running I’ve been doing has been making the basketball more enjoyable. I feel so good out there that I can’t help but keep going with this running stuff.

I’m motivated to run by how I feel when I play basketball.

That is encouraging and motivating.