Lee Langill
June 21, 2010
I’ve had some ups and downs in training lately. Not horribly up or horribly down though, so that’s good I guess. One nice thing was that I got to ride in Bike the Drive/Tour de Cure with other WILD women. Jennifer, Lorrie, Susie, Catherine and myself all met at the start. It was great getting to meet them, and really nice being able to ride that distance with people. I was able to keep up with them for about the first 9 miles or so. I hadn’t ridden my bike that far yet (30 miles). And I passed a ton of people!
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Lee Langill
May 12, 2010
You are working out harder and longer than you ever have before.
You are experiencing some of the lowest “lows” you’ve had in years!
You have lowered your basal rate on your pump, and are setting more temporary basals than ever before.
You are making better choices about what to order when you are eating out.
You start feeling guilty for not exercising on one of your days off.
You’ve had your first glass of chocolate milk in over 30 years and are considering buying “Gu” for the first time.
You’ve gotten great advice on where to wear your sensor so you get accurate readings.
You’ve switched your workouts to outside and have seen deer, baby geese, and terns while running or biking.
You have already gotten sunburn this year (and you live in Chicago!).
You’re inspiring your friends to run and bike more.
You’re endurance is increasing.
You are really enjoying yourself!
Lee Langill
April 10, 2010
My name is Lee Langill. I am 44 years old, and have had type 1 diabetes for the last 32 years. I live in Chicago and am a stay-at-home mom to a wonderful 6 year old boy named Aaron. I also have a daughter Mallory who died 2 years ago at age 7 from Cystic Fibrosis. My husband and I have been married for almost 20 years (June 3rd is our 20th anniversary).
Right after my daughter was born, I was swimming laps in the pool one day, and said to myself, “I’d like to do a triathlon within the next 10 years.” My husband and I were swimming a mile 3 mornings a week, so I knew I had that part covered. I just had to learn how to run – I figured anyone could ride a bike.
Over the next 7+ years, I slowly worked my way toward that goal, but without much success. I spent a lot of time living in hospitals when my daughter was an inpatient, and even more time taking care of her at home. Whenever I did get a chance to exercise, however, it was a great source of stress relief.
After Mallory died, I knew I needed some kind of outlet, and I heard about a Lazy Man Triathlon at a local YMCA. This is where you do an Ironman Triathlon in terms of length, but you have 6 weeks to complete it. I finished in 5 weeks and felt a little sense of victory. We moved the next year, and started going to a new YMCA. I told the fitness director there about the Lazy Man Triathlon, and she thought it was a great idea. When she announced she wanted to organize one, I signed up again.
When I learned that Team WILD had a training/coaching component for women who wanted to do a sprint distance triathlon, I was really excited. As I talked the idea over with my husband and my friends, I realized that it had been 10 years since I had first voiced my desire to complete a triathlon. What perfect timing, I thought, and I signed up.
I am so excited about all the support and encouragement I am able to get from Team WILD. Just knowing there are other women who have some of the same goals I do, and are trying to accomplish them is encouraging. They are an amazing source of information and support!
I had to call on their knowledge just the other day, when I needed a new swimsuit. I had gone swimming with my husband and son last week, and had felt pretty good about the workout I was able to do, considering I hadn’t been in the pool for about a year. That good feeling quickly vanished though when the man that was swimming a couple of laps away told my husband that I needed to buy a new swimsuit.
I was immediately suspicious, and wondered why this man was looking at me so closely from 2 lanes away. When I got into the locker room later, however, my suspicion turned into embarrassment, and horror. He was right! My suit was indeed very, very thin in places. I threw my suit in the garbage, came home and asked Team WILD where I could find long suits. They answered within the hour; I placed my order, and received my new suit today. Now I’m ready to hit the pool again (although I won’t be going swimming on a Friday afternoon at 2pm again any time soon)!
