Creating tie-ins to expand awareness

Here's a great article on Alek Komarnitsky’s Christmas lights that increased awareness for Celiac. The thing that I really like is that Christmas lights don't have anything to do with food or medical or support groups. It opens up a whole new avenue for awareness by tying in the awareness message to a topic with broader appeal.

The Christmas season also brings up Christmas cards. Because Celiac is genetic, and many people on Christmas card lists are related, I think that Celiac news should make the list. It doesn't have to be too obvious, but saying things like, "We visited this vacation spot because of the great gluten-free options" can signal to family members that they might want to look into Celiac, too.

Awareness in N. Texas/Newsweek

It's always great to see awareness activities make it into the media. Here's a good article about James McConnell, 11, who was interviewed by Newsweek. I think it shows a good example of how national exposure can result in a knock-on awareness activity locally.

Celiac screening should be considered for IBS sufferers

The medical world changes oh too slowly for those who are suffering from Celiac, but it does change. The American College of Gastroenterology has released new guidelines for IBS sufferers, part of which includes ruling out Celiac disease. Of course, readers of this blog would have known that in April 2007, but it's nice to see the docs catching up.

The relevant guidelines are quoted here:

    --  IBS patients with diarrhea or a mixture of diarrhea and constipation
       should be screened with blood tests for celiac disease, a condition in
       which one cannot tolerate the gluten protein found in wheat and other
       grains.

GF Search Engine - needs work

I heard about a new Gluten free search engine here. I appreciate the effort, but the site needs work. For starters, the site is not just a search engine, it also has a store, which sends a mixed message about the impartiality of the results. Parts of the site do not work with the Firefox browser. Finally, after I entered "awareness" as a search term, the first ad served by Google was NOT for gluten-free products.

It's pretty apparent that the site is simply using a slightly customized Google search. Anyone using Google themselves can likely replicate the results from the search engine. The value in the search engine would be in creating a "search first" list for the celiac-specific and GF specific sites. It's not clear that the results delivered by the search are any better than plain Google results as yet.

The site could be made better by getting rid of the Google served ads, removing the store and making all parts work with all browsers.

25K in 2:26:11

Well, I have to say I was pretty pleased with how my Houston Masters 25K run over the weekend turned out. I think I learned a little bit about my Celiac body during race conditions. I actually pushed this one to race speeds (for the distance), carried water in my 32 oz. water bottle so I could drink when I wanted, and gutted out the last three miles, running.

True story - I think 15.5 miles is farther than I've run consecutively in a long time (if you don't count me stopping for a few seconds to refill my water bottle at mile 11). If you'll recall, my 13.1 mile time trial ended in disaster a few weeks ago. I was determined not to repeat the under- hydration mistake. But I've also made the over-hydration mistake as well.

I carpooled to the start with some of my Katy Fit running club. I set up well - even got a pre-race massage -- and only took about 30 seconds to cross the start line. I started with a cramp in my side, one of those annoying little things - not enough to make you care but enough to make you notice. It stuck with me the whole way. By mile 12 or so, I had taken two electrolytes and had drunk enough to "slosh" -- that is, my stomach wasn't keeping up with the fluid I was putting in... It's an odd thought, because I think I drank about 48 oz. I'd eaten half an Access bar.

The last few miles were interesting. I had to talk myself into keeping running, but I knew I was slowing down a bit and starting to hurt. I struggled up the last hill about half a mile from the finish when two of my (much) faster friends said "Hi" as they blasted by me on a cool down run.

Now, that annoyed me a bit (they looked pretty fresh for all that distance), but it also lifted my spirits and I found I could keep pace, albeit about 25 yards back. So that pickup became my "kick" to the finish line. I did not feel great when I finished, but after a few moments, the nausea passed and I felt pretty good. I got a post-race massage and went home. I would have gone out to Denny's for something afterward, but I just didn't have the energy to explain gluten this time. Afterwards, I wondered if using Celiac as an excuse to skip a social meal was a good or bad thing.

So - what could I do better for next time? My next scheme will be to try electrolytes tabs and bananas -- It's pretty likely I'm not getting enough carbs. Gatorade seems to be unreliable because of the different strengths it is mixed on the course, and my body does not like "gu-ish" things. Maybe Shot Blox?

Then there's the post-race food problem. Everything looks good. I've noticed from using my Wii fit that I overeat after a hard workout or race, so I need to be really health conscious afterwards. So better preparation (stocking the cupboard with good food and not soda) would be smart.

Anyway - good day, good run.

Awesome celiac/run day.

I had a good chat today with one of my friends in the Celiac Awareness business. We talked about various strategies and tactics to get doctors more likely to diagnose Celiac. It was a great call.

For my run, it wasn't an auspicious start - I barely had the energy to get out the door and mostly walked to the track. Somewhere, I learned it was a good strategy to just get out the door, and then just try to walk, then jog, then run, then do the workout. That worked today, despite a late start and an initially tired start. I was supposed to run 2 miles twice at 8:34 pace, but it seemed easy. My last mile was probably around 7:50, and I finished not breathing hard. Now if I just ice my legs and get to sleep, the day will have ended up pretty good.

Time trial meltdown

Just a tip - don't do a half marathon time trial the day after a flu shot. Let's not mention that stupidity ever again...