{"id":30519,"date":"2012-09-26T11:14:35","date_gmt":"2012-09-26T15:14:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=30519"},"modified":"2015-12-27T15:44:21","modified_gmt":"2015-12-27T20:44:21","slug":"diabetic-olympians","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=30519","title":{"rendered":"What Diabetics Share with Olympic Athletes"},"content":{"rendered":"

I love the Olympics. While I\u2019m especially partial to track and field because I\u2019m a runner, I am entranced by any sport in the Olympics. Handball, fencing, swimming, badminton, gymnastics \u2026 you name the sport and you\u2019ll find me glued to the tube watching competitors go at it for the gold, silver, and bronze. I spent hour after hour in front of my computer screen watching the London Olympics this summer. I even got up at 3 a.m. to watch the women\u2019s then the men\u2019s marathon live. During all that watching something remarkable occurred to me: The unique qualities that make almost every single Olympic athlete successful are qualities shared by people who successfully manage their diabetes.<\/p>\n

Like most people, I was awed and impressed by the grace, strength, agility, and power of the athletes as they competed. But the more I watched the more I was particularly struck by the overpowering focus each competitor possessed. A look of stone cold determination was etched on McKayla Maroney\u2019s face before she executed a near perfect vault. Usain Bolt stared 100 meters down the track with a laser-like focus before he nabbed gold as the world\u2019s fastest human for the second time in the event. Michael Phelps blocked out absolutely everything in the world except the lane he was swimming in as he powered himself into the both the record and the history books time and time again.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

These athletes were not just \u201cwearing\u201d a look of intense focus\u2014they weren\u2019t mugging for the NBC and BBC cameras. And they didn\u2019t trot out a particularly special level of concentration because it was the Olympics. Great athletes, such as those gathered in London, acquired their exceptional ability to focus and concentrate by focusing and concentrating day in and day out for months and years before they compete. As the great marathoner Juma Ikangaa said, \u201cThe will to win means nothing without the will to prepare.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, all athletes measure and examine and plot and plan and program their fitness practices to an obsessive level. They time splits on the track or in the pool. They run patterns on the field and repeat moves on the court. They constantly compare their times, their reactions, and their performance with previous performances so they can work specifically to improve.<\/p>\n

What great athletes share with diabetics, though, is how they do this day after day, month after month, and often year after year as they focus on the best ways to improve. They are constantly checking and monitoring and then adjusting in order to find ways to become stronger, to be healthier, and get better.<\/p>\n

One example is how athletes obsessively watch what they put in their bodies. From my first marathon at age 15 when I tried to deplete and carbo load as a diabetic to my latest marathon at 43 where I tried protein drinks for speedier recovery (chocolate milk is the best thing to have after a run) and tested drinks and gels that would be available to me on the course during the race, diet has eaten up almost as much of my training time as logging miles on the road.<\/p>\n

Some Olympians, such as runner Ryan Hall, recently switched to a gluten free diet and improved his times significantly. Other great athletes, including ultrarunner Scott Jurek, are strict vegans. Athletes typically experiment with multiple diet regimes before finding a combination that most efficiently provides them with the nutrients they need to fuel their daily training regimes while safeguarding and maintaining their overall health.<\/p>\n

But that is just physical preparation. Physical preparation is a finite area of improvement. You can only hone the ability of your body to such an extent. At an elite level of competition, most competitors operate at a generally comparable level of fitness.<\/p>\n

What separates an athlete who hears her anthem played in London and one who vows to get \u2018em next time on the way to the locker room lies between the ears. Or, as Yogi Berra said about baseball, 90 percent of the game is half mental. The rigors of focusing on preparation and execution and improvement on an ongoing basis for years with no guarantee of victory or success significantly contributes to making an athlete truly great.<\/p>\n

Which means that truly great athletes, like those circling the track in London, become great because, for a period of time in their lives, they did what diabetics do every single day for their entire lives.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":30523,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1501],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Diabetics Share with Olympic Athletes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What great athletes share with diabetics, though, is how they do this day after day, month after month, and often year after year as they focus on the best ways to improve.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=30519\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Alex O\u2019Meara\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=30519\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=30519\",\"name\":\"What Diabetics Share with Olympic Athletes\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=30519#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=30519#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Olympic-Rings.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-09-26T15:14:35+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-12-27T20:44:21+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/39a63c7215ee072a94bbc4a681de116d\"},\"description\":\"What great athletes share with diabetics, though, is how they do this day after day, month after month, and often year after year as they focus on the best ways to improve.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=30519#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=30519\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=30519#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Olympic-Rings.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Olympic-Rings.png\",\"width\":800,\"height\":388},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=30519#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What Diabetics Share with Olympic Athletes\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/\",\"name\":\"ASweetLife\",\"description\":\"The Diabetes Magazine\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/39a63c7215ee072a94bbc4a681de116d\",\"name\":\"Alex O\u2019Meara\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d46cda412d65fd79447ff39275a4856e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d46cda412d65fd79447ff39275a4856e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Alex O\u2019Meara\"},\"description\":\"Alex was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes 36 years ago. Since then he has run six marathons \u2013 the first when we was 15 \u2013 and the latest a few years ago. In 2006 Alex underwent islet cell transplant and was, for some time, insulin independent. He now lives in Southeastern Arizona where he is working on a novel, teaching college English, pursuing a Master\u2019s degree, and training to run his first 50 mile race.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?author=4\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What Diabetics Share with Olympic Athletes","description":"What great athletes share with diabetics, though, is how they do this day after day, month after month, and often year after year as they focus on the best ways to improve.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=30519","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Alex O\u2019Meara","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=30519","url":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=30519","name":"What Diabetics Share with Olympic Athletes","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=30519#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=30519#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Olympic-Rings.png","datePublished":"2012-09-26T15:14:35+00:00","dateModified":"2015-12-27T20:44:21+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/39a63c7215ee072a94bbc4a681de116d"},"description":"What great athletes share with diabetics, though, is how they do this day after day, month after month, and often year after year as they focus on the best ways to improve.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=30519#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=30519"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=30519#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Olympic-Rings.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Olympic-Rings.png","width":800,"height":388},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=30519#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What Diabetics Share with Olympic Athletes"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/","name":"ASweetLife","description":"The Diabetes Magazine","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/39a63c7215ee072a94bbc4a681de116d","name":"Alex O\u2019Meara","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d46cda412d65fd79447ff39275a4856e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d46cda412d65fd79447ff39275a4856e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Alex O\u2019Meara"},"description":"Alex was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes 36 years ago. Since then he has run six marathons \u2013 the first when we was 15 \u2013 and the latest a few years ago. In 2006 Alex underwent islet cell transplant and was, for some time, insulin independent. He now lives in Southeastern Arizona where he is working on a novel, teaching college English, pursuing a Master\u2019s degree, and training to run his first 50 mile race.","url":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?author=4"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30519"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=30519"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30519\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/30523"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=30519"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=30519"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=30519"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}