Erin Spineto, Kate Eldean, and Renee Moreno, all living with Type 1 diabetes, are embarking on a swimming adventure June 28, 2014. But, this wasn’t a spontaneous decision on any one person’s part; this is a story that has been years in the making.
Erin’s background is triathlon, but after years of running, biking, and swimming she came to a realization: “I’m not built for running, and I suck at it.” Well there’s a little more to it than that, she explains, “When doing triathlon races I would come of out the water in the top 10, would do okay on the bike, but would have everyone passing on the running course.” So, she decided to drop the biking and running, and do what she says comes most naturally to her—swimming. She wanted a swim race that would leave her feeling like she conquered something at the end, and the three-person relay of the 12.5 mile Annual Swim Around Key West seemed a perfect fit… except that she didn’t have any teammates. Erin put out a call through her social media channels and Renee Moreno and Kate Eldean ended up committing to the project.
Map of the swim route for the Annual Swim Around Key West
The Type 1 team appears to be the first in the Annual Swim Around Key West race, but this commonality has manifested differently for each team member. Erin was diagnosed with Type 1 18 years ago, as a college student at UCSD. Renee Moreno was diagnosed in 1989 at the age of 7. Kate was first diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes a couple of years back; however, it quickly became very apparent that the diet and pill therapies for condition were doing little to lower her blood glucose levels. A year-and-a-half ago, then, Kate was reassessed and diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.
The Sea Peptide Swimmers: Erin, Renee, and Kate
Be it through sailing, surfing, or running all of the members of Sea Peptide Swimmers share a love of keeping active and living life to the fullest with Type 1. All living around the San Diego area, the three are keenly training for June’s race. They’ve been getting a lot of tips from fellow Type 1 Jen Alexander, a marathon swimmer originally from Halifax, Nova Scotia. One of the main goals for Erin, Kate, and Renee will be to build on such advice and develop some guidelines to share about long distance swims while on insulin. Erin’s already got a few to share: the X-1 waterproof case has been great for keeping the Dexcom receiver on and close to the transmitter while in the water; while, Gu Energy Gels have been a great treatment for lows while swimming as they’re sealed, have the perfect amount of carbs, and taste pretty good to boot!
Want to learn more about the Sea Peptide Swimmers? Check out their Trevolta site, here. And don’t forget to follow the hashtag #seapeptideswimmers on Twitter!
Way to go, ladies!