PATRICIA BROWNELL

Cambridge, MA
Age: 36
Diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at age 12

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

First marathon completion: Grandma’s Marathon, 2007
First Ironman completion: Ironman Wisconsin, 2008
Boston's Run To Remember Half Marathon, 2009: 1:38:41
Amica Ironman 70.3 Rhode Island, 2009: 5:23:50
8th Annual Lucero Memorial 5K, 2009: 1st overall female
5K RunToThe Beat, 2010: 2nd overall female
Dover-Sherborn Boosters Tri, 2010: 4th overall female, 1st in Age Group
Scituate Duathlon, 2010: 1st in Age Group

MEET PATRICIA BROWNELL

When were you diagnosed with diabetes?

In 1989, when I was 12 years old.

How did you feel about diabetes when you were first diagnosed?

I was scared. My Grandfather died from complications related to type 1 diabetes. I had seen him have some horrific insulin reactions where he would have to be restrained in order to be fed and I was frightened those things would happen to me.

How do you feel about diabetes now?

Not scared! In fact, there are days that I don’t even think about the fact that I have diabetes. I do get frustrated with it at times, as I think anyone with the disease does, but in many ways I feel fortunate to have it. I have met so many great people that I would never have come across if I didn’t have diabetes. I also think I have a very clear understanding of what is going on in my body at any given time because I have to. This heightened knowledge of my body has helped me in many ways.

Are you married? Any children?

Yes – I am a newlywed (I think)? I was married to my wonderful husband, Dave, a little over a year ago. Is one still a newlywed after a year? No kids.

Why is exercise and competition a part of your life?

Exercise keeps me sane and allows me to escape the stresses of every-day life. And I am a naturally competitive person – put me a sidewalk and I will attempt to pass every person walking in front of me. This time of the year – my offseason (where my coach forces me to not work out) is where it becomes glaringly obvious how important exercise is to me. I become cranky and can’t wait till the day I’m allowed to swim, bike and run again (well, maybe not swim…but run and bike)!

What drew you to Team Type 1?

I liked that everyone on the team was a dedicated, competitive athlete with type 1 diabetes and I wanted to be a part of that.

Tell us about a personal Achievement that was highly significant to you.

I had two hip surgeries this year, one in January and one in February. The doctors weren’t sure if I’d ever run again post-surgery. In June I did my first triathlon of the season and qualified for Age Group Nationals at it. I ended up with three “1st in age group” awards and several 2nd or 3rd place finishes this season. I work full time so every amount of free time I had was spent on rehab. It was a painful, time-consuming and often frustrating experience but I feel proud that I never gave up.

How about an athletic achievement that you find especially significant?

Finishing my first Ironman Race, which was my 3rd ever triathlon. I learned how to swim and got my first bike less than a year before that Ironman. I never once thought that I wouldn’t be able to finish it and at the time, didn’t realize the challenge I was about to take on. In retrospect I realized how ambitious that goal was, so the fact that I finished in a relatively decent time is pretty cool.

If there is one piece of advice you could give to someone who was newly diagnosed with diabetes– what would it be?

Expect the unexpected and don’t get frustrated when things don’t go according to plan. Even after 20 years, this disease still throws me for a loop at times. I’ve always been a bit of a perfectionist, more-so when I was younger, so when I was first diagnosed I expected to be able to control everything right off the bat – you know if A happens do B and get result C. Well sometimes when A happened and I did B just like I was told, the result wasn’t what I expected and I felt like I was doing something wrong. It helped when I finally met a doctor who told me that was okay. Of course I still strive to control things but I try to just roll with it now when things don’t go exactly as I want them to.

How did you feel in school about having diabetes?

I was diagnosed when I was 12. That was probably the most difficult time for me with respect to the disease. I was trying to “fit in” and I felt like having diabetes made me different than other kids so I often tried to hide it. I was embarrassed when I had to eat in class when other kids weren’t allowed to have food. As I got older, I realized that it wasn’t a big deal and that my friends didn’t see me as being different – the more I accepted it, the more they accepted it.

Tell us about your favorite TT1 event to date.

The Relay. It’s a 200 mile (running) relay race that goes across the state of California and was shortly after my hip surgeries so I wasn’t able to compete – I was assigned with being a van driver. To be honest, I wasn’t exactly excited about the event prior to it; who wants to be stuck driving a van with no sleep watching everyone else run when you’re not sure if you’ll ever be able to run again? It turned out to be the most fun I’ve ever had over the course of a few days. There is nothing like being stuck in a van with a bunch of stinky type 1’s who understand the challenges that each of us face on a daily basis. The camaraderie was pretty cool. I almost forgot about my hips during the process!

In what way have you found that your diabetes has helped you grow as an individual?

I’ve learned to see challenges differently – that sometimes what may seem like a negative thing is exactly the opposite. For example, I was diagnosed with celiac disease two years ago, another auto-immune disorder where the body is unable to digest wheat protein (so I can’t eat pasta, bread and a lot of other foods). If I had a dime for the amount of times someone has said to me “I couldn’t live if I couldn’t eat bread!” I’d be rich. But to be honest, it sometimes makes me angry when people say that to me because in fact, I can live and I can live without pain because of the diagnoses. To me, not eating wheat means health and that’s how I look at it. When simply avoiding foods makes my life better, that’s a good thing to me! My husband has also adopted the diet (he is not celiac or gluten intolerant) and has benefited from it as well so in the grand scheme of things, it has helped him as well.

Tell us about an athletic goal you have for the short term – say in the next year.

To qualify for Age Group Nationals in Vermont in 2011 and do well there. My super secret goal is to do well enough there to qualify for Worlds. I guess it’s not so super secret anymore, huh?

How about an athletic goal that you have for the long term?

Two parts to this, both having to do with my hips. A) I’d like to continue to improve my hips post-surgery so that I can run without pain and B) I’d like to improve said hips enough to be able to be competitive at another Ironman distance race.

Thank you for taking the time to talk with us.

Thank you.