How to plan and prepare

Often with type 1 diabetes you just have to adapt to your conditions.

With type 1 things can be more tricky. There is certainly more to think about, and more to carry, but with a bit of ingenuity you can always find a way.

In this clip I show how I was able to re-charge my insulin pump and my tired legs at the same time. Being three days into a 250km trail run, half-way up a New Zealand mountain range without power doesn’t mean you can’t recharge.

Before the race, one of the things I had expected (and therefore planned for) was how to re-charge my pump battery. I knew the normal battery life of three to four days would not be enough for my seven day race. The T:Slim pump doesn’t have replaceable batteries, it has mains power feed. So, before the race I researched charging solutions and purchased the lightest weight and most robust solar power charger I could find.

The one I used was the Anker PowerPort Solar, it weights about 700g and has a large fold out panels which provide efficient charging. It’s a bit of extra weight to carry but it worked brilliantly. It also has two outlets so, while charging my pump, I could also charge my GPS watch or camera at the same time. This was my Plan A and it worked a treat!

Of course the panels might have failed. For example, finishing after sunset, or in conditions that were too cloudy, or breaking one the panels in my back pack all might have left me exposed without a power source and no insulin pump. So, I also had a Plan B. If the panels had failed, or if conditions were not suitable, I had also packed fast and slow acting insulin and syringes for multiple daily injections. In the end, the panels worked just fine.

I love it when a plan comes together.

Thanks JamesHolmanFilm for taking the footage.