Running a marathon is an accomplishment for anyone but running a marathon with type 1 diabetes on board is especially awe inspiring! Today my guest is Falyn Shilts. Falyn is a type 1 warrior who was diagnosed as a teen. She's now is a mother of four who is crushing her goal of proving to herself and to the world that, even with type 1 diabetes, she can do anything. Listen in as I get to interview Falyn before and then after she runs the New York City Marathon as part of the Beyond Type 1 team! Also, check out the links below to find Falyn on Social Media. She's a fun follow!
FINDING FALYN ON SOCIAL MEDIA and the WEB
Falyn's Linktree
Falyn on Instagram
Falyn on Facebook
Follow the show on Instagram @sugarmamaspodcast
Come join the Facebook Group!
Visit the Sugar Mama's Podcast Website
Donate to the show through Buy Me a Coffee!
Running a marathon is an accomplishment for anyone but running a marathon with type 1 diabetes on board is especially awe inspiring! Today my guest is Falyn Shilts. Falyn is a type 1 warrior who was diagnosed as a teen. She's now is a mother of four who is crushing her goal of proving to herself and to the world that, even with type 1 diabetes, she can do anything. Listen in as I get to interview Falyn before and then after she runs the New York City Marathon as part of the Beyond Type 1 team! Also, check out the links below to find Falyn on Social Media. She's a fun follow!
FINDING FALYN ON SOCIAL MEDIA and the WEB
Falyn's Linktree
Falyn on Instagram
Falyn on Facebook
Follow the show on Instagram @sugarmamaspodcast
Come join the Facebook Group!
Visit the Sugar Mama's Podcast Website
Donate to the show through Buy Me a Coffee!
Hello, and welcome to episode 96 of the sugar mamas podcast. Today. My guest is Falyn Shilts. Falyn has been living with type one since she was a teenager. She has four kids. Yes, four kids, And just finished training for and running the New York city marathon in November. She's here today to talk to me about her experience. The first half of this episode is me interviewing her before the race. And the second half is of me interviewing her after the race. So you get a little before and after synopsis. I am truly amazed at any person who runs a marathon, but especially a person who runs a marathon with type one diabetes. What an accomplishment. All right, let's get started. I hope you enjoy the show. You're listening to the sugar mamas podcast, a show designed for moms and caregivers of type one diabetics here. You'll find a community of like-minded people who are striving daily to keep their kids safe, happy, and healthy in the ever-changing world of type one. I'm your host and fellow T one D mom, Katie Roseboro. Before we get started. I need you to know that nothing you hear on the sugar mamas podcast should be considered medical advice. Please be safe, be smart, and always consult your physician before making changes to the way you manage type one diabetes. Thanks. Hey everybody. I am here with Falyn Shilts today, and Falyn, I would love it if you would introduce yourself and tell the listeners how you are connected to the world of Type one diabetes.
Falyn:Yeah. Hi Katie. I'm excited to be here with you today. So I have type one myself. I have had it for 25 years. I was diagnosed when I was 14. and I'm about to be 40, it was New Year's Eve and, you know, on winter break and I was, you know, I had all the symptoms that week and my mom said, you know what, before the holiday, before everything closes, let's just go check it out. And sure enough, spend New Year's Eve in the hospital.
Katie:Mm. yeah. 14. That's a, i I feel like that's gotta be a rough age to get a diagnosis like that. I don't know. Do you, what do you remember about your diagnosis? I mean, were you absolutely distraught or were you like, well, I guess this is what it is, let's move on. Or how did it go for you?
Falyn:Yeah, I mean I'm like, like I remember the biggest thing for me was like going back to school cuz we were on winter break, so there was like two weeks and I'm like, oh my God, I'm gonna go back and how am I gonna tell all my friends, you know, I'm gonna have to go to the nurse's office all the time. You know, I'm gonna have to explain to everybody like what everything is and, you know, I didn't want people you know, like I didn't want the questions, you know, I was 14. I may now bring the questions on. I love it. But back then you know, I didn't want people asking me about it. I didn't wanna show my pump. I did not want any of that. So my core group of friends, like who I ate lunch with, who I was in activities with, like, they. But it was a big adjustment for sure. At 14 It was just your life's turned upside down. But I accepted it. I mean, my mom always says like, she remembers, like, I just took it on myself. Like I always did the shots. Like I just always managed it myself. Like I didn't want my parents to really do it for me, so,
Katie:I'm, I'm sure that was a, a good thing and maybe not a great thing at the same time. I mean, you know what I mean? Like, I, as a parent, at least if there, you know, you kind of wanna have a little bit of control, but but also as a parent, I think it would be really nice to have somebody take some of that control away from you, you know, take some of the responsibility away from you and share in it
Falyn:yes.
Katie:Well, Fallon and I live in the same city. We have actually met each other in real life. And I, last year, last summer summer of 2021, I was dropping my boys off at camp. And Sarah was with me. She wasn't going to the camp, but I was, she was just with me to for drop off. And Fallon was also dropping one of her kids off at the same camp. And she saw Sarah's Dexcom and kind of elbowed, elbowed her or elbowed me. I don't remember, but it was like, ah, I have type one too. And. you know, asked Sarah a few questions about diagnosis and whatnot. And then Fallon, you know was just asking me like, I think you had asked me if I had gotten connected with J D R F and I had, and I told you a little bit about the podcast. And anyway, so we've kind of been following each other on social media and have run, run into each other a couple times over the past year. But I have been wanting to have Fallon on for a couple different reasons, but most recently she's taken. An amazing feat of training for a marathon with or through the Beyond Type One organization. So I have lots of questions about that and I can't wait to hear about it. So is, is this your first marathon,
Falyn:It is my first full marathon. I have done two halves in the past one, four years ago, and then one just this past February.
Katie:Mm-hmm.
Falyn:so this is my first full one. And I, it's a New York City marathon with Beyond Type one, and I used to live in New York City and after college I lived there for three years. And I would watch the race, like it was a thing, you know, a big weekend event. You would watch the runners and I always thought like, wow, like this would be so cool to be able to run a marathon, you know? But.
Katie:Mm-hmm.
Falyn:know, back in my head it's like, oh, you know, I'm diabetes. How am I gonna go that far? But just seeing the people running it of all ages, all sizes it just always stuck with me. And then the last, so the last half marathon I did was the Disney Princess and it was with J D R F. So there was a bunch of us. With diabetes or parents of running it for their kids, raising money and helping raise awareness. I did it and I felt pretty good after, and I'm gonna be 40 this year, so I'm like, this would be so cool if I could run a marathon before 40. And then I think like a few weeks later, someone I know in the type one community who's a big. He posted something that there's a team with beyond type one you had to apply to be on it.
Katie:Mm-hmm.
Falyn:I applied, kind of forgot about it, and then he messaged me. He is like, Hey, did you ever apply? Like we're waiting to hear Did, I just wanted to know cuz I haven't received anything. I'm like, oh no, I totally even forgot. So anyways long story short I'm on the team. There's about 50 of us from all over living with type one running New York City.
Katie:do you know anybody else personally that's on the team, or will you be meeting everybody for the first time in person once you get there?
Falyn:Yeah, I've never met any of these people in person. Some of them I know just from social media, you know, following them different accounts just, you know, one or two people like we've chatted a few times through text message. But no, it's gonna be awesome. Just meeting together and there's some cool things, you know, when you're a part of the team. with different sponsors and it's just a great nonprofit, great organization. What they do, they put out a ton of resources ju for beyond for type one s, but now they're also doing a lot of work with type two also. So that's a, obviously we know a huge crisis
Katie:Yes, I was just actually the last last week's episode that I published was the last chap was going over the last chapter of Think Like a Pancreas, the book, and that chapter is all about resources and it, the section on websites. I was like, whenever I do a Google search for anything diabetes related, the first website that always pops up is the B Beyond Type one website. And I always end up there because their resources are always so great, so thorough. They, they definitely are doing a lot of great things for the diabetes community. And I just, I love that they're not only like putting out resources for, you know, people just to like, educate you and, and, and whatnot, but like, just the encouragement of like, Hey, we wanna show the world that, like people that have type one or type two can really do anything including running a marathon. So is, do you know how many years they've been doing this? Like, what year will this be for them?
Falyn:I don't know exactly. I know this is the first one they've done in two years because of Covid. They've done a few though. I know, cuz like when I've looked at their website, their resources they do have stories from a lot of different runners. I don't know, I'll have to find out. I don't know how long they've been a charity team. But yeah, it's like then their name beyond type one. You know, like we're type one doesn't define us. You can definitely go beyond and do so much more. So I'm excited just to prove to myself, obviously that I can do this, but then just everyone else to show that, you know, your Type one diagnosis does not define you.
Katie:Yeah. So was it, you think that was your primary motivation to, to prove it to yourself or
Falyn:So, yeah. Yeah, I think that, and then also just I've always been active working out, but never a distance runner, you know, I would do two or three miles and then my blood sugar would crash. And just with anything, if I would go on the elliptical or just any site type of cardio I would just be like 30, 40 minutes. But, I'm the type of person, like I need something to work towards, to keep me motivated, to keep me going. And I have four kids, so I, you know, it's a lot, but I feel like, like for me, like I wanna do it for me and obviously to raise awareness and help and show other people they can do it too.
Katie:Yeah, I think that that's wonderful. I know that for myself, like I just, I mean, I just hate, I hate running I, I love to work out. I, I really and truly, I, I say that sincerely. I know of a lot of people who are like, well, you're crazy. But I do, I love to work out. I love to feel strong. I love to feel in shape, but I, I absolutely hate running. I always have, and I, I blame my elementary school PE teacher who was He was like a horrible. Saying he's a horrible person, is a, is a strong is a strong statement, but he would like, make fun of us when we were running, you know, the, the presidential fitness test that you had to do when you were a kid. Like yeah. He would like be making fun of, of us. And, and I was never a good runner, so I would always be in the back and he would be like, heckling us. And, and so I think for, I think for me, running is more of a mental, just like block of like, I've always hated this. And whatnot. But I do have also have the type of personality where I like to prove things to my own self. And at one point in my life I was like, okay, I hate running, but maybe that's just cause I'm bad at it. So I will train for something and see if maybe I like it after that. So I tr I did the Gate River run, which is Yeah. How F this's not half marathon. What is that?
Falyn:10 K. Yeah. So nothing
Katie:Yeah. Yeah. So I did that twice and I legitimately trained for it, and I decided I still hated running even after even after that. So I think my running career might be over, but I do still love to do other types of exercise. But but yeah. So, so you c you kind of reached out to be on type one now, the, the New York, the New York City Marathon, that's, that's a huge race. I mean, I've, I would say arguably maybe one of the most like well known famous marathons.
Falyn:marathon in the world.
Katie:Wow. Wow. Yeah, and I mean, so as like if you're running with a team, like beyond type one, do you still have to go through like the whole qualification process? Because don't you have to qualify for that one, right? Or
Falyn:you're with a charity team, no, you don't have to qualify
Katie:Mm-hmm.
Falyn:a lot of people were asking me, they're like, how did you get a spot? Because they were applied, I guess, with the lottery. So now with the charity team, you do not, you do need to raise a minimum amount of funds for fundraising for the charity. So I have a$3,000 minimum.
Katie:Okay.
Falyn:you know, I'm just doing a few fun things, obviously monetary donations. And then there's this wine company that donates a portion of their proceeds back to charities. And my friend makes these cute T one D strong bracelets and a hundred percent of the profits goes to charity. So she picks like a charity each month. So just looking for fundraise to help fund differently, to raise money.
Katie:Yeah. Oh, that is fun. Well, let me send me some links to things and I can put it out there for people too to donate a little bit towards
Falyn:Yeah. Thank you.
Katie:That'd be great. So okay, running. is for me, challenging enough period, but I feel like running with type one diabetes, that's like a whole different level of challenging and all these sort things you have to take into consideration. So what, so what are, I'm just curious, like what are you, are you still M D I or have you switched to a pump? What are you
Falyn:All right, so right now I use mdi, I, the pens. I have Truce and NovoLog, and I have a Frees Libra sensor with the team, our sponsor, what a few of our sponsors. One is Dexcom and one is Tandem. So anybody who wants that, they're giving six. Worth of supplies and they're loaning you a pump to train, use it. So I just actually just sent in all my paperwork, my prescriptions for that because I, there's a lot that goes into it. Right. And I feel like I don't know. It's just like I, I've been on a pump before. it was great. I went off of it just because I think my body just needed a break. I went off of the Omnipod six years ago, and I think just with this technology running that long of a distance will really, really help. I mean, I know people that have it. They love it. I don't ha really have an issue with Lowe's at all. The Treva has really helped me with my Lowe's. My issues are more, all right, if I wake up, let's say I'm one 40, great number, you know, perfect number. I would just, if I was going to run three or four miles, I would not eat anything and I would come back fine. But what I've been finding with, you know, longer distances is I, I don't know if it's my adrenaline, you know, so many things affect your blood sugar, but I'm going higher. so it's like kind of like a testing and tweaking period. Now, and I don't want to give myself insulin because running is gonna just increase the sensitivity of it. Like this morning for example, I was just doing a quick 30 minute run. My blood sugar was what was, oh, I was like two 15 when I woke up, which is really not like myself. I usually wake up like under one 20. But I'm like, you know, I'm gonna go run. Usually if I'm high, I'll continue to go high if I don't have anything in my system. So I gave myself two units. I didn't drop low, but my arrow was trending down. But I didn't drop low though. I ended up at like, I think one at 180. It was trending down and then I was holding study at like one 50, so that's fine. But there's so many like every day's different. furthest I've ran. It was 12 miles. I did that last weekend and it's crazy. I got these you know, energy and hydration and the fuel for long distances. I'm like, I'm gonna need something. I've been testing a lot of different gels and things to see what works for me. But this one product, it had 50 carbs. It's a drink thing, 50 carbs. And someone I know on the team used it and she said she did not give herself insulin cuz it's not supposed to spike. And she was fine. I'm like, this is so interesting. So I was really nervous. It did not spike me
Katie:At all.
Falyn:dose for it. I went up to like one 90 the entire time and the whole 12 miles. And I had a gel that I think had like 30 carbs in it. So it's like my body, the distance and the energy, I think it was just burning off. But
Katie:Mm-hmm.
Falyn:mean, these are the things, you know, why you gotta learn and try? Cause I, you know, I don't know. So that was just really interesting. If I were to eat 50 carbs
Katie:Mm-hmm.
Falyn:I would need to dose for it. But I guess it's like the ingredients, like it's supposed to control blood sugar and keep you steady. But it was interesting. So think
Katie:So you, you drank that and then you went for a run, right? Like you
Falyn:Yeah, so I, I drank half of it and for the second half in my water bottle that I carry with me to like sip on as I go because I, I, my fear, I don't care about going high, my fear is going low during exercise cuz that is the worst feeling in the world and it can really like, Shut you down. Like you don't wanna do it, you don't have the energy. But I, when I have high blood sugars, it's not as bad. I feel
Katie:Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Falyn:you're exercising, it's definitely not as bad. But I think I'm excited to try the pump. Just to like these situations, you know, cuz when I did the half marathon in Disney, I ran at 300. I would not come down. I even gave myself insulin cuz I got scared. I'm like, God, like is something gonna happen to me? Am I gonna collapse? Am I gonna get dehydrated? I was really scared and I stayed at 300 and then after I came down, so I don't know if it was the adrenaline.
Katie:Yeah. I mean, I have no idea. I don't have type one, and I've never run a marathon or even a half marathon. But I've, I have heard several people say that like training for something that big, they, you know, they, they might run low if they don't, you know, I guess do things you know, overdo it on the insulin. But, but on race day, that adrenaline kicks in and it's like if they don't take insulin, then yeah, they're gonna be like running, running high for most of. So you don't feel so like running at 300 for you, you don't feel necessarily any different than, like if you were running at like one 20, does that feel different to you physically?
Falyn:Yeah, I mean it's definitely harder. I mean, I don't run three, like I don't let myself like all the time. This was just like an instance during the marathon, but I was like drinking and like I said, I even like dosed myself cuz I was not coming down I mean, it's definitely harder, you know, more stress on your body. You don't have as much energy. But I think that was just more the adrenaline and everything. And that, it's interesting because someone who was it? I think someone, something that I was reading, you know how people li. Recently they're wearing the glucose monitors if they don't have diabetes, to see how food and exercise affect them. Well, someone was saying that they were like 180 to 200 during like a race, and the adrenaline is what caused them to spike.
Katie:That's interesting. I, I wore a Dexcom for 10 days once cuz my friend whose daughter's in a research trial, clinical research trial, she had like all these extra supplies and I saw my, I saw my number spike probably to like 180, I think it was during a spin class one time. So yeah, I just wonder if it was like, you know, those. Sprints and then you're kind of competing against yourself and competing against each other, pe other people in the class. I mean, I'm assuming that's what it was, cuz I was a little bit freaking out about that. But maybe that's normal and we just, nobody realizes that because nobody's been wearing these Dexcoms all the time. you know?
Falyn:right. We don't know how our body reacts. What's it doing inside? It's
Katie:Mm-hmm.,I know. It is, it is. Well, I know you said you don't um, first of all, I love Tcea. I I just wanted to comment on that. Like, Sarah has been on the Omnipod pump for a long time now, but when we switched to, when she was m d I and we made the switch to Tcea, it was just, it was, the world made the world of difference. Like, I don't know what it is about that long-acting insulin, but it just holds you nice and steady and it's, I don't know, It's great.
Falyn:really good. I'll tell you I've tried Lantis Lair cuz at times my insurance didn't wanna cover Riva. It, it was a nightmare. It, I was not feeling good. I was fluctuating like crazy Truces. I mean, it works really well for me, so we'll see. But I am gonna try the pump.
Katie:Okay. When will you get it? When? When do we get that in the mail?
Falyn:I don't know. I just the Dexcom came, the pump, I just had to fill in the, they were a little behind on the paperwork, so I just sent that in today. So hopefully within the next two weeks.
Katie:Okay. Yeah, cuz the marathon's early November. Right? So that's a little over two months away, so that'll be a lot of time to kind of play around with it and train with it before
Falyn:yeah.
Katie:Okay. Are you doing any races before this race? Because I know some crazy runners that they're like, yeah, I'm doing a marathon in October, but I'm also doing a half marathon the week before that I'm like, what is wrong with you?
Falyn:someone, a bunch of people on our Beyond Type one team, they're like running a marathon in October. Like they just, they run marathons. They run No, I am not. Actually this weekend I'm looking at my training schedule. It says half marathon. I'm supposed to do a half marathon. But I honestly, I've been slacking a little with the training I haven't been getting as many miles during the week as I should. I should be running three days and I'm really running two So this weekend I'm meeting up with someone who lives about 20 minutes from me. She's not type one, but she's running the New York City Marathon for another charity. For a brain cancer charity. But we're gonna meet up in Nakai and run the bridge because she doesn't, like, we ran 12 last weekend. She doesn't like to do too long, runs back to back. So she's like, let's get a bridge in. So we're gonna go work the bridge because New York, there's a few bridges we're gonna be crossing
Katie:Oh
Falyn:so that.
Katie:That's exciting.
Falyn:Because you know, your glutes and quads, they're bigger muscles and like going up the hill, the incline, that's gonna affect my blood sugar. I'm sure
Katie:Mm-hmm. Yeah, that's true. I didn't even think about the bridges in New York. Yeah, those are some hefty, hefty bridges. Now, are you gonna turn this into like a little mini vacation? Because if I was going to run the New York City Marathon, I would definitely find a way to like extend that stay for a couple days.
Falyn:I know, well, that's, it's kind of up in the air right now. My husband has to go to Las Vegas the following week for a conference. My four, my, my six year old, she's dying to go to New York City. I have four kids, 2, 6, 10, and 12 The others kind of, I'm not bringing the baby and the others have no interest and I don't know. So at first it was just gonna be me and my husband and the six year old,
Katie:Mm-hmm.
Falyn:but now he's not sure if he wants to go because he has to travel the following week. I don't know. I might take a meat trip and just alone time I, I don't know. I think because Saturday the team has a lunch, we're doing a team lunch and there's, I guess we're the space where it's being held they're not allowing any guests or you know, family members, cuz that would turn into a lot of people cuz there's 50 of us, plus the sponsors and the beyond type one. and then the race Sunday, um, it starts at 1130. I have to get the 8:45 AM ferry and I'm gonna be running, it's gonna be all day. five and a half hours So I don't know if I'm gonna bring anyone. It sucks cuz like I want them to be there when I cross the finish line,
Katie:Yeah.
Falyn:but I think it's just a lot
Katie:Mm, yes. I don't, I mean, I know my opinion doesn't matter, but my vote would be to have, have a, a solitary, a sol, a weekend of solitude to get your, you know, get mentally prepared and all that stuff. That would
Falyn:I think that's where I'm at. Cause I think I would leave Friday and just fly home Monday, even though I'm probably gonna be really sore. but it's hard. Cause you know, my husband, he has his own business. The kids are busy with activities and we don't have family really. My mom lives in South Florida. She's really the only one who helps with the kids. So
Katie:Yeah. That's really hard. That's really, really hard. Well, your husband would be there while you were away, right? He's just, he's going outta town the following week. yeah. It's tough. Being a mom is so hard. I actually I was supposed to go outta town for a couple days a week or two ago for some training for, for my, for my other job, and it's just crazy how hard it is. Like it really just as a parent. But I do feel like moms have a special extra role in the, you know, kind of managing the logistics of the home and the family and everything. And I mean, it was just ridiculous how many cuz of course my husband was like gonna be traveling when I was supposed to be gone, so I'm like, well that really throws a wrench in things like just having to, to plan for grand. And people who's gonna take your kids to school? Who's gonna pick'em up from school? Where are they gonna spend the night? And then of course, my daughter has type one, so who's, you know, who's willing to manage that? And anyway, it ended up, and this wasn't, this wasn't my decision cause I was kind of stressing about, stressing about the whole thing, but it ended up that the um, they decided to do the training virtually anyway. And I'm like, you know, it would've been nice to get away for a few days, but it's. it's just sometimes it's not even worth it. as a mom, I, the New York City Marathon is definitely worth it. I'm very excited for you, but I was just commiserating with you that it's just so hard to get away
Falyn:I know. And then the thing is, like in New York, it's tiring, you know, it's a lot of walking and I don't wanna burn myself out. So I haven't booked anything yet, but I think I'm just gonna go myself.
Katie:I'm sure you'll have lots of pe I'm sure you'll meet lots of friends immediately with the, the team that
Falyn:and, and I used to live there and I have a ton of friends who still live there, so I'll see them Friday night and then do the team stuff Saturday and then three Sunday.
Katie:So when you, when you run a marathon, like I've heard you, especially in New York, it's gonna be a little cold in November. Like you, you like suit up and then you kind of strip stuff off as you run. Or how does that, how does that work?
Falyn:I dunno I don't know. I think the average, they're saying it ranges anywhere from like 40 to 70 that time of year. Like it could be warm, it could be cold. but yeah, I mean, you warm up. I mean, I. Been running. I mean, it's been warm here in Florida, but the last one I did the half was in February and I trained and it was chilly out. But yeah, I don't know what people do if you layer we have some clothing sponsors, so we're gonna get some clothing new shoes. I mean, hopefully they, they're comfy. But yeah, it's fine. The sponsors giving us things.
Katie:That's so fun. I love that. I feel like I might need to sign up to run a marathon just for the fun swag that you get from all the sponsors. Have you have you changed the way that you've. You know, been eating, like, leading up to this. I mean, you know, I, I, I know when I was running, even though it wasn't like as long as a marathon, it, I definitely could tell a difference between like, if I would run after, you know, on a day after I had like, really made an effort and made healthy choices versus trying to run you know, after a day where I really did not make healthy choices and ate a bunch of junk food. And I'm, I know blood sugars obviously add another level to that whole equation too. So have you changed anything about the way you've been
Falyn:Um, I mean, not really. I mean, I try to eat pretty well. I mean, I have. you know, obviously you're burning more calories when you run. You gotta make sure you're replenishing your body so that you don't break down muscle. I mean, nothing major. I mean, I can't run really like, I like to run on an empty stomach, which I know is good for long distance. You know, like last weekend when I did 12 my friend's, like I had half a bagel before. I'm like, I know. But then if I eat that, like I'm gonna have to give some sort of insulin and I don't want it to mess with my blood sugars So that's why I did half that drink to see if it would help. So I feel like you just gotta find, you know, kind of what works for you. But you know, I'm definitely trying to eat more balanced and pay attention more to like the amount of calories. And cuz I do need to be eating more when I do run the longer distances and especially replenishing the next day after, you know, during day to have good things on hand. So I'm not just grabbing, you know, oh my kids are eating mac and cheese, let me eat that It does play a big role. And I'm gonna get more tuned in here, as it gets closer.
Katie:Well, it's not easy to, to, well, I don't think it's easy to, I just love to eat, so it's hard to eat healthy all the time. I mean, you know, you gotta enjoy, enjoy life at the same
Falyn:the pasta, I mean, I love carbs. I don't restrict carbs. But just everything in moderation.
Katie:Sure. Absolutely. I know, I was thinking about my, my husband actually just peeked his head in here and waved goodbye cuz he's, He's going to play golf for a friend's birthday. I'm like, what are, what is life? I mean, it's Friday. What are So he's, anyway, he's doing that and I won't see him before I leave to go. But I was thinking about him cuz he he's like the type of person, like where I, if I was gonna run a race, I would be like, Training, like following some sort of schedule and trying to eat healthier. But he has run way more runs than I have, and he never trains. And he eats horrible the whole time. And then he, the two, the two Gate River runs Iran. He, he beat me by like a ton. I'm like, I hate you. It's
Falyn:Some people, it's crazy. Some people just, they don't need to follow anything. They don't. They can do what they want.
Katie:I know. Yep. That's my husband. And I think he was, you know how people like to, like frats from the lo, you know, university of Florida, which is in town. Like, they're like handing out like beer and, and brat worse during the race. And he's like eating these things. I'm like, what? I don't know how you survived that honestly, but so you are. you kind of already touched on this a little bit, but I know you're, you're so busy. You're, you're, you have four kids. That's like enough said right there, but like, when are you fitting these runs in? Do you try to run in the morning? Are you running, what are you, what are you kind of getting
Falyn:Yeah, so I, there's a friend in my neighborhood she likes to do short distance. 2, 3, 4 miles. Nothing crazy. We just, we connected maybe like a year ago. We started running together just to get exercise in and we go before the kids go to school. We try to do at least two mornings during the week. Typically Tuesday, Thursday is our day. And then with this marathon training program that I'm following, I'm supposed to be running Wednesdays, like Tuesdays and Thursdays is three miles. Wednesdays is supposed to be like a little heavier, like 4, 5, 6 miles. I just think with the summer, the kids getting back to school, like I feel like this week I've kind of gotten my groove back, but it was hard waking up. Plus my two year old was sick last week, so that didn't help cuz she was waking up and, but typically I like to run early bef well before it gets so hot here, and humid
Katie:Mm-hmm.
Falyn:or just after I drop off the kids at school. And then the weekends, usually Saturday or Sunday, depending what we have going on on the weekends. An early run, I can't run, like after I've had food in my body all day. Like I just, I just can't.
Katie:I know. I'm done at the end of the day too, like I, I, I like to work out in the morning. I just like to get it done. I have more energy in the morning. I'm the same way. So I know you said you don't typically go low during, while running, but I'm, I'm assuming you carry something with you. Like what do you, what do you prefer to carry on
Falyn:Yeah, I mean, I've just been carrying I'll carry a pack of fruit snacks already cut open cuz sometimes it's hard to when you're sweaty to open it. And just two gel packs. I used to carry the glucose tabs with me, but. I had the, like, the pow, like I like glucose tabs. They don't bother me.
Katie:Mm.
Falyn:when I run, like in my pocket, if they're in the tube or in like if I put them in a Ziploc, they just like crank like crumble at all. And I'm like, ah, I'll just take the gels or the fruit snacks. So I take that with me. I usually carry a water with a hydration packet in it. and
Katie:You probably, I would imagine when you're running with a team from beyond type one, you probably wouldn't have to run with like glucagon on you or anything, but like is that ever a thought or No,
Falyn:no, no. I, I haven't had that in my house since. I think I was a kid.
Katie:really.
Falyn:Yeah. Well, I was 14 when I was diagnosed. I think in college. I had one in our fridge. But I don't, I don't have one
Katie:Live it on the edge. I like it.
Falyn:I don't, I mean, knock on wood, I feel my lows, I don't get them often at all anymore. I mean, I think the lowest I've ever been was like 30, 35. When I was living in New York, my husband, we were engaged and I'm like, I like, I remember like sitting on the floor. I just need glucose tablets. I just need glucose tablets, Um, but yeah, I mean, I don't, well during the race, the Marathon Beyond Pipeline's gonna have, I guess their own stations and then obviously throughout with Gatorade and whatever else. So I feel like during these long runs, it's like, I don't drink the Gatorade, but like I'll sip on it just to give me something get me going.
Katie:yeah, yeah. Well, I can't wait to uh, hear about it. I mean, will you, will you come back on just for a quick little recap and let us know how it went and, you know, just with just the run itself, but also just managing type one throughout? I would, I'd love to hear
Falyn:Yeah. I'm excited to share what happens that day with my blood sugars and the rest of the training.
Katie:I know, me too. I, I, I mean, I'm amazed at anybody who runs a marathon, but even way more amazed with anybody with, type one and that's, maybe it's just cuz you know, we're still fairly new. My daughter just hit her second. Year, second anniversary. And that just seems like such a accomplishment to run a marathon with type one. So Congrat, congratulations even for, even for attempting. I mean, I know you're across that finish line, but
Falyn:Yeah, it's I mean anyone, a marathon's a huge thing, but I think just with the right management testing, tweaking, you can do it. you gotta get past it.
Katie:Well, before we wrap up most of my listeners are parents and caregivers of Type one Diabetics. So anything you want them to know just in general about managing type one for their kids or just anything that, you know, training for this has taught you that you think would be good for parents to hear.
Falyn:Yeah, I mean, just know, you know, your child can live a healthy, normal life as long as they just take care of themselves, you know? fluctuations are normal. It highs, lows. It's part of it. Don't beat yourself up if they're running high. If they have a low, it happens. It happens. It's part of this disease. So I've had 25 years, no signs of any complications. No eye damage. I mean, everything's okay. Uh, For pregnancies.
Katie:Yeah.
Falyn:I mean, you have to like living with it as an individual. I think it's important. I think now more than ever there's, I don't remember ever having all these resources with podcasts, social media, like there's so many ways you can connect with people, but I did go to a diabetes camp and I remember just loving, like being around others who had it.
Katie:Mm-hmm.
Falyn:think just, you know, encouraging them and just surrounding, I remember like my mom would drag me to a support group at the hospital and I hated going She's like, need to meet other people, you know, have to go. But I hated it,
Katie:Moms are the worst, Well thank you so much for coming on. Thank you for your time and good luck to you and like I said, we'll have you back on to give us an update when you're, when you're all
Falyn:all right. Thanks Katie.
Katie:You're welcome. Bye. Okay. Here is where we transitioned to the second half of the episode where I interview Fallon after she's run the race. Enjoy. All right, everybody. I am back with Fallon Shilts today, and Fallon, I can't wait to hear all about how your marathon went. I've kind of purposefully not been. Looking at or reading all of your social media posts that you've put up since the race is over. Cuz I wanna be a little bit surprised when you tell me about about it today, but just how did it go? Just tell us about it.
Falyn:Yeah, so it was. The overall experience, like running the New York City Marathon was incredible, but being a part of the Beyond Type One team was like, I'm like getting chills thinking about it. Like it was unlike anything I've ever, like, nothing I've ever even imagined. And just being in a room with, you know, 50 others living with type one. I've never been surrounded by that many people with type one, like we're all here running together for beyond type one to raise awareness and show the world what it's like to live beyond type one diabetes. And we all just, we all wish we had so much more time together because we. Um, A lot of us got in Friday, we had to be at the brunch Saturday morning and there was so much traffic because well because of the marathon, but the, there was some race going on and the streets were shut down and we didn't know. And a lot of people, we were like all an hour late to the brunch. And we all just, we wish we had more time together cuz we were at the brunch and. A lot of us had different start times for the race, so there was a group of us that stuck together. We had the same start time. We were around the same pace, but you know, just back to the brunch for a second. Like just, we met at the ASIC store in the West Village and Asics was one of our sponsors. And then um, tandem was there. Dexcom was there. Sunita Athletics was one of our sponsors, but they weren't there with us. And then Egg Life Foods, which makes the egg wraps um, they were there. They had like a whole spread. It was just amazing like meeting everyone in person, meeting face to face. Just, you know, some of us have ran marathons before, some of us haven't. You know, hearing from the c e o um, Deborah Duggan from beyond Type one, it was just it was incredible. It was like one of the best mornings of my life just being with everyone and hearing the stories and it was really awesome.
Katie:So had you, had you met any of those people in person before or was that their first
Falyn:No, no one person a few of us were like chatting online. There was one girl actually we spoke on the phone a few times cause we kind of had similar stories. Like she's a busy mom with young kids. She actually grew, she lives in the town where I grew up. So we had a lot in common. We kind of hit it off. But it was, we all like, became instant best friends. Like it was crazy. So it was awesome. A lot of us went to the expo after together and just the whole, the race, I mean, it was I, I kind of knew this going in. Like I wasn't expecting my blood sugars to be like they were during training because of the adrenaline and. just everything on race day. And it was, I was correct it wasn't like anything during training. It wasn't just me, it was all the others we were with too. They were all like, oh my God, I'm spiking, I'm going high Like we were all running high And it was just nice being around other people that understood. You know, what it was like dealing with this the day of the race.
Katie:Yeah, and you're just, you know, you're not alone, like, you're not like looking at everybody else like, oh, these people don't have to deal with, you know, these blood sugars. But, you know, you're with a group of people that are dealing with the exact same thing that you're dealing with. But how so? I mean, I'm assuming that's because of all the adrenaline and the excitement and the nerves
Falyn:Yeah, I mean, just everything. So like I I was at the time doing MDI and I had the Dexcom And you know, typically I would run in the morning or towards the end I was training like midday. So I would see, cuz my start time wasn't until 1130. So you got a figure, you know, okay, we got up at six, you know, we had to meet at seven to get on the ferry, to get to Staten Island. That was a whole process, you know, just. you know, planning. Okay. Like I definitely, I need to take some insulin in the morning, you know, just to cover me. And then I took a little bit less, not that much less because I just knew, like I knew that the adrenaline was gonna make me go high. So I did that and then I got a bagel. I ate like a quarter of it. Cause I just, I was so nervous I wasn't hungry. Ate a little bit of it. I gave myself the normal amount of insulin and I was still spiking you know, before the race started. And I think just since the nerves everything leading up to it. But when we started running, A few of us stuck together and I would say around like miles six, seven. Then we kind of drifted off. Some had to go to the bathroom, some slowed down. We had one girl who felt like she was gonna throw up her blood sugars were running high, and she actually did, she threw up five times. She vomited five times, but she finished.
Katie:I was gonna say, whoa, she finished the race. Oh my gosh.
Falyn:Yeah, there
Katie:That's the
Falyn:I know one girl who did not finish. She just, her blood sugars, her vomiting, like she just was done and she did not finish. I think she's the only one on the team. Mostly everyone did finish.
Katie:My, my heart goes out to her. That's, that's rough, man. You've trained for this thing for a long time and then, I mean, you know, obviously I'm sure she could have done it physically. She would've, but. That
Falyn:Yeah, so I mean, so running with the blood sugars, I mean, it was, I, I kind of expected it to be what it was. You know, I was, yeah. You know, I had the decks come on, so, you know, it showed me if I was going up, going down and then, you know, we're running this long of a distance. We, I know we need to fuel, like I had my gels on me. I was just thinking, oh my gosh, if I fuel and I'm 300, do I bolus? Like do I dose for it? Because when I was training, my blood sugars were great. I didn't need to, to give myself insulin at all during the runs. But I, I was so nervous, like what was gonna happen to my body? Like I was thinking, God forbid I throw up, I pass out. What's gonna happen? So I did give myself Novalog two times, and I still didn't even come down.
Katie:That's crazy.
Falyn:Yeah.
Katie:Wow. I mean, did you feel like you're nervous and everything and what a vicious cycle cuz like your, your numbers are up probably cuz of adrenaline and then you're, that's is stressful, right? To see your numbers spiking like that, especially when that didn't happen before in training. So that probably adds to the, to the spike factor with the stress hormones and whatnot. But did you feel, how did you feel like physically, were you feeling okay or was it kind of a.
Falyn:I mean, I felt, I, I feel like my blood sugars definitely had an impact on my time. You know, I, I was wearing a Garmin with my Dexcom connected to it. I wasn't really paying attention to my pace, like I was honestly just. Like going with the flow, like there was crowds nonstop. The cheering, there was so much to look at. Like I didn't even, I made a whole playlist. I didn't listen to my music. Once. You couldn't hear it. The crowds were so loud.
Katie:wow.
Falyn:Yeah, it was unbelievable. There was never a boring moment. There was never a time when you were like, oh my God, like how am I gonna get through this? Like, there was always something to look at, some signs, music. It was incredible. So I wasn't focusing on my pace. Like when we started there was the Verano Bridge. So that first two miles you're on a bridge and one of the girls is like, oh, we're at like a, I think it was like a 1230 pace. She's like, this is a good pace to start off at. We're slow. I'm like, yeah. I'm like, this is a perfect pace. And like the first few miles I was at that pace. And then Um, just slow down. There was some times when I was alone, you know, I wasn't running with any, like, I wasn't alone. There was obviously thousands of people, but I was by myself and I don't know if I was like walking more or, you know, I, I think my blood sugar definitely had an impact on my energy. Obviously we know high blood sugar makes you tired. And I mean the heat, it was hot for some people. It was the second hottest marathon in the history of New York City.
Katie:Wow.
Falyn:It was in the seventies, but I was used to it cause training down here in south Florida, up North Florida, I was used to it.
Katie:Like, this is chill. What? Talking about, I'm freezing over here.
Falyn:I know everyone's like, oh, it's so hot. I'm like, this is great weather. But the time. Okay. So I was thinking based on my training time and you know, my average pace that I would finish in max five hours and 30 minutes. And I finished in six hours and 19 minutes And my husband kept calling me like, where are you? Like, what's taking so long? And I think just mentally too, I wanted to finish and I didn't want to. Like burned myself out cuz I knew it was a far distance. Like the furthest I trained was 20.
Katie:Mm-hmm.
Falyn:The lady who used, who worked at the running store when I was buying shoes, she's like, you know, I highly recommend you train to 22 because when you're running the race, you know you're get to 20 but you still have 6.2 more, like you still got a long distance. So, She, I mean she suggested go to 22, but nobody on the team did. So I'm like, you know what? 20 is enough. Like I was burnt out with the training, like I was tired,
Katie:Mm-hmm.
Falyn:I'm like, okay, I've done 20, I know the crowds and just everything will carry me through. And it did.
Katie:Mm-hmm.
Falyn:But I did. I got to my all 11 and I texted my husband. I'm like, I'm dying. I'm so tired. Like how am I gonna finish
Katie:Aw.
Falyn:And. You know, you just men, it's a mental gain. Like you're doing this, you're doing it. And honestly, looking around at other people running that were older than me, heavier in weight, you know, it's like you look at these people and you're like, wow, if they're doing it, I could do it. You know, I mean some, there is some, I remember some people I took a picture of like their backs, their. The things on there. Shirt would say, like one guy, he was almost 80. It was like his 30 something marathon, and he was hobbling along, but he was in front of me. You know, he was going faster than.
Katie:Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh man. I, but the important thing is that you finished, oh my gosh. I mean, what an accomplishment. Like what an experience and what an accomplishment. And you crossed the finish line. And I, it, it doesn't sound like it was the, the most enjoyable or best best race of your life, but it, it, I mean, man, what a, what an accomplishment.
Falyn:Yeah, it definitely you really, it like really changes your life in a way. It's like, wow, like you could really do anything.
Katie:Mm-hmm.
Falyn:I mean, 1% of the population, I could say they ran a marathon and then to throw type one diabetes on top of it.
Katie:Mm-hmm.
Falyn:It's just, you know, the, the challenges with type one and what it does to your body and just everything, like nobody else deals with that. And just another interesting, fun fact from the CEO of Beyond Type One, there was 400 charities. Running the New York City Marathon, whether it's for cancer, you know, kids with disabilities, you name it. Like 400 charities Beyond Type One was the only charity that every single person is living with the disease, right? Like anybody can run for brain cancer lymphoma. You know, beyond Type one was the only charity that everybody had, the disease. So that. Pretty cool and moving, just knowing what we were doing together.
Katie:Right. Pushing through, despite the, the challenges. How did it feel crossing the finish line?
Falyn:oh my God. It was like such a relief. It felt incredible, like It was honestly like the best feeling ever. And. You know, it's funny when when I was pregnant, I think I was reading an article and it would say like, what your body goes through when you're pregnant is like running a marathon. And I never understood it until I finished the marathon because I'm not lying. Katie, the next few days I felt like I. Like, my body was so sore. Like I just gave birth like from a C-section, like how you're so you could barely walk your, everything hurts. Like I felt like I just gave birth and I'm like, oh my God, I've had four kids. like this is exactly what my body felt like. Like this is crazy sore. You are.
Katie:Oh my gosh, it's so cra it's such a, you know, it's funny because my brother-in-law was talking about a Mar Marathons this past week. I don't even remember how we got on the topic of marathons, but Sarah asked him, like, how did they decide the distance? Like how did they decide? The 26.2? Right. It's 26.2. Isn't that what it is? Yeah. And. He didn't know the story exactly and I didn't go back and look it up and I need to do that. But he said it's, there's some, like, there's a history behind it where like some, like during wartime or something like that, there was a guy who had to deliver a message. Quickly, and he ran 26.2 miles and it was so physically taxing on him that he literally dropped dead like the second that he got to where he had to deliver the message and And so they they mapped the distance. I guess maybe the town is even called Marathon, where he like ended up, I don't even know. I'm gonna have to look it up. I could be just telling a bunch of lies right now. So, sorry, everybody, go ahead.
Falyn:I've read this. I've read it cause were asking me like why this distance? I've read it something. There was like some, I dunno if it was Greek, something.
Katie:Yeah, he like had to, he had anyway. And so after he dropped dead, he, they measured the distance and I guess it was 26.2 miles and that's how they came up with the distance of a marathon. I don't know, it just, it doesn't seem like a that would be a natural distance for the normal average person to be running. You know often at least. But um, what, so what do you, I mean, are you, you think you're gonna do it again, or you think you'll do?
Falyn:You know, I mean, I couldn't walk like I was so sore. But then like a few days by Wednesday, so the race was Sunday. By Wednesday I was fine. And you know, everyone on the team, we were all chatting cuz some people have, they run marathons. This is what they do. Like there's one guy on the, our team, he has a goal to run a marathon in every state by, you know, however old he is. You know, like a certain deadline. So we were all chatting about like having a reunion, doing something else. And I think I personally would wanna do one again, just because like, I feel like my blood sugars really took such a toll on me. Cause the girl that I trained with, she. We would run our long distance runs together. She did it in four hours and 40 minutes and we ran together. We trained the same pace. I'm like, how did you do it that fast? And I did it in six hours. In 20 minutes,
Katie:Yeah, that is interesting.
Falyn:I don't know if I wasn't like pushing myself, cuz I knew I, I, I was nervous about the distance. I definitely was like, I woke up nervous, like I was just nervous.
Katie:Mm-hmm.
Falyn:About the distance and the day before the Saturday when we had the brunch, like I had a friend who came into the city and we were running around. I definitely did not rest like I should, and I didn't really train like how I wanted. Like I definitely wanted to do more strength training and I just did the runs. You know, it's time consuming and fitting in the time with the kids and everything. So I would like to do another one just to really train properly and maybe with, now that I'm trying the Tanem pump, if my blood sugars would be better. I don't know, but definitely now that I've done one, I know I could do it.
Katie:Yeah, yeah. You absolutely can. Wow. That's And And so did the other 49 or 50 people that were on that team I was, I wanted to know, you mentioned you were texting with your husband and he was like, where are you? Was he just watching you, like on an, on an app tracking you or was he actually there? I remember you saying in our first interview that you were kind of debating. If you were gonna go with travel with a family member or just go by yourself.
Falyn:So, yeah, so up until like a week before, actually I was going alone. My mom was going to stay with my kids. My husband ended up. He had to go to Boston and he was flying home. He was gonna come home on Saturday and he had something he had to be at for work on Monday morning early. So if he came to the race, it would just be too tight. He wouldn't be able to be back Monday morning. So about, I don't know, a week or 10 days before, he's like, why aren't I going again? And I'm like, I said, because you have this thing Monday morning. And he looks at his calendar, he is like, it's must have gotten canceled. It's not on my calendar. So he ended up taking the train from Boston to New York Saturday. So he was able to be there and he, he has a best friend that lives there, so he hung out with him when I was Saturday busy and Sunday morning, obviously I was, it was all day. I left the room at seven and didn't get back till seven.
Katie:Mm-hmm.
Falyn:a whole day event. But he was actually, Trying to see me on First Avenue and he missed me but he did have the app, but he didn't get there in time. He said, oh, I'll just meet you by the finish line. So he ended up somewhere in Central Park. It was two or three miles left. He was at that point. And then where we exited the park, he came there. I mean just the whole route, everything. It's crazy. The city was just crazy. he saw me towards the end and then when I exited the park, but he did, there was a tracking app where he could track me cuz he kept saying like, why are you taking so long? he saw where I was. He's like, you said it was gonna take you five and a half hours.
Katie:Listen buddy, if this is
Falyn:I know down here and run
Katie:Right, exactly. You know, now that you say, when you said Central Park, like New York City is not big, like, isn't that island only? I don't know it. I wanna say three miles. Like from. end to end or something. It's pretty small. Like what? How's, what is the route? Like what are you,
Falyn:Yeah. So you
Katie:said you're crossing bridges. Oh, go ahead.
Falyn:yeah, we, there was five bridges. You start in Staten Islands. Oh, here. It's right here. You start in Staten Islands, you go over Theano Bridge to Queens. You're in Queens. For how many miles were you in Queens for? Two through six. Oh, no, sorry. Brooklyn. Brooklyn. You're in Brooklyn. Two through nine. What is that? Nine or 10 you. Into Brooklyn, and then you go through Queens till 15, and then you go into Manhattan 16. You go all the way up into the Bronx, then down into Harlem, and then down into Manhattan Central Park. You're not in like Manhattan, a lot of the race, like you go all the way up First Avenue from 59th Street
Katie:Mm-hmm.
Falyn:and then you like loops around. You go over two bridges back into the city and it got dark because the time change. So when, by the time I got into Central Park on Fifth Avenue and the city, it was Pitch Black
Katie:Mm-hmm.
Falyn:and it was.
Katie:Yeah. Wait, what time did you start?
Falyn:My start time was 1130.
Katie:Oh, wow.
Falyn:eight, I think was the first eight, seven or eight. They had three different waves.
Katie:Mm-hmm.
Falyn:So, cause there's 50,000 people
Katie:Hmm. Yeah, I guess so. Yeah. Oh, that's crazy. That's a crazy, I mean, you know, most races you are, everybody's kind of starting at like 7:00 AM or seven 30 or whatever. That's, that's a late start.
Falyn:Even though, I mean we were the last wave, like literally our, the group of us that stuck together, we were the last group, like we were all the way in the back of the wave, the whole marathon, like we were the last ones to start Some people walked, they had.
Katie:Yeah. Oh my gosh. Can you, they were probably wrapping up around midnight. Well, listen, I know you gotta go. You got kids to pick up and whatnot, but I thank you for your time. Thank you for coming back and sharing about your experience. I, I'm just so proud of you. Truly. I'm so proud of you. I've never run a marathon and honestly, I don't know that I ever will. I, but I do lots of great things, but I don't know that running a marathon's ever gonna be one of those things, So I'm very proud of you. I think it's amazing. Congrat.
Falyn:thanks for letting me share with everyone. Yeah. If anyone has questions about how to train with diabetes or just in general, feel free to reach out.
Katie:Yeah, absolutely. I'll, I'll put links in the show notes, like to your social media pages and stuff where people can find you.
Falyn:All right, awesome.
Katie:Thanks, Fallon.
Falyn:Thanks Katie.
Katie:That's it for our show today, such a treat to talk to Fallon about her experience running the New York city marathon. Seriously, how awesome is that? Fallon is a very fun follow on social media. So I will leave links in the show notes so you can find her. Fallon also mentioned that if you have any questions for her about what it was like to train for a marathon with type one, or just in general, don't hesitate to reach out and ask. Again, links in the show notes. Okay. That's it just a quick note that I'm taking the next two weeks off from the show because it's Christmas. So I will be taking some time to rest and I hope you are too. I'm going to spend time with family and friends. And again, I hope that's what you're going to be doing as well. All right friend. I will chat with you soon, but until then, Stay calm and bolus on. Bye.