I know Phil Southerland wouldn’t want me to call him a hero, but I can’t help myself. He has achieved what many thought impossible: creating a team of competitive cyclists with type 1 diabetes on track to become world-class. His efforts in recruiting athletes for Team Type 1, finding pharmaceutical sponsors, training like a maniac, and yet still finding time for motivational speaking around the country are beyond inspirational for people with diabetes everywhere. I honestly don’t know how he does it. So I thought I’d ask him. Please enjoy, five minutes with the legendary young Mr. Southerland:
DBMine) Competitive cycling is such a grueling sport. What drew you to it? Especially with an illness that seems to make it “next to impossible”?
PS) Oddly enough, it was diabetes that drew me to riding. When I was about 12 years old I started riding bikes so I could eat snickers bars. Then I ate so I could ride. I learned early on that if my legs hurt, or I was having trouble keeping up, I needed to eat. So I could go out and ride for hours without checking, no shots, all I had to do was eat just like the other guys. That turned into racing, and I got hooked on the weekend trips, and vying for the win every weekend.
DBMine) Other than reducing insulin and eating a lot of carbs, what is the trickiest part of cycling so hard with diabetes? And how do you “keep the balance” so you don’t ever pass out?
PS) The trickiest part is just nailing the blood sugar before the start. If you hit it right, then it sets the mind up for a good day. But if blood sugar won’t come up, or went too high, then diabetes is taking part of the focus away from the race.
Making the switch back to Lantus has allowed me to be much more consistent on this level, and then using the FreeStyle Navigator (CGM) during races helps to prevent those lows, which can spell the end of a bike race.
DBMine) What diabetes devices / equipment have made the biggest impact in your life? And why?
PS) As far as devices go, the FreeStyle Navigator has had a huge impact. I have been able to lower my A1C (now 5.5) and reduce the amount of blood sugars below target (now 3%.) In the insulin world, having the combo of Lantus/Apidra allows me to essentially have a guessing pancreas. The Lantus acts a metabolism which keeps the BG good/flat throughout the day, and Apidra is so fast that excursions are rare.
DBMine) You have huge ambitions for Team Type 1. Do you really think a team of all-diabetics could ever compete in the Tour de France?
PS) I know it can happen. The questions is when? If everyone with type 1 were to hop on a bike, start by doing your local ADA Tour de Cure, followed by some racing, we might be there faster than I think. Getting a type 1 in the tour by 2012 is the goal, and then we will look to getting a team solely of type 1′s in there some years down the road.
DBMine) Now that the team includes non-diabetic members, in what way has that changed the dynamic or the mission of your team?
PS) It has allowed us to have great athletes as ambassadors to the diabetes world, and educated a lot of people about being succesful with diabetes. One of my non-diabetic teammates, Ian McGregor had a close friend’s brother diagnosed last winter. The family had gotten horrible advice, and the guy was told to quit cross country skiing. Ian put us in touch, I talked with him for 30 minutes, and his whole perspective changed. The next weekend he was out for 5 hours on the slopes loving life.
We have also begun studies, with Howard Zisser, trying to determine the optimal blood sugar for performance in both type 1 and non-diabetic athletes. We had 6 guys at camp using CGM, and it was cool to see a blood sugar of a teammate at 177 climbing a mountain fast, and also seeing the same guy struggling up the mountain the next day with a blood sugar of 91. We want to pave the way for all future athletes with type 1, and have concrete data info so people know what to do, and how to do it.
DBMine) What would you tell anyone with Type 1 who wants to get involved in competitive sports? What’s the most important first step: finding a great doctor, or getting to know your body’s reaction by trial & error? Or…?
PS) I am going to borrow the Nike slogan and say “just do it!” But be prepared in the process. If I am trying something new, I will always carry some Dex4 glucose with me, just in case. We all react differently, but know that diabetes will never hold you back.
DBMine) If you could wish for one major advancement for us diabetics other than a cure, what would it be?
PS) Group Health Insurance, that paid for all the tools, and the new technology so that everyone has an affordable best chance of success. I am working on this one, and will keep doing so until we have it!
Thank you Phil! Definitely my hero(es)
Cool interview. And when one can touch someone’s life that significantly (MacGregor’s friend’s brother), it makes all the rest of the struggles worthwhile.
Interestingly coincidental: the CAPTCHA is “Other Brunel”, which came close enough to “Bruyneel” (as in Johan Bruyneel, director sportif of Team Astana) to capture my attention…
Great interview, Amy!
A friend of mine introduced me to Phil just after the Tour de California. He is an avid advocate for Diabetes and cycling. I have never met him personally but he responds to every question I have asked. The information he provided me and obtaining the Dexcom Seven increased my confidence in moving my mileage up from 40 – 50 miles to 70+…
Great advocate, great cyclist, nice person
We would SAG for him or TT1 anytime!
Great interview Amy – and thank you Phil! My buddy Kyle Rose is involved with TT1 as well, and I’ve very much enjoyed hearing about it from him too.
I think what he is doing is a great thing, my son is 12 years old with Type 1 and cycling would be a great way for him to keep his sugar level in check.
We here in Canada are doing a cross canada rely race. Anyone interested in finding more about this event can go to my donation site http://my.e2rm.com/personalPage.aspx?registrationID=585141&LangPref=en-CA or http://www.cyclebetes.com to find out more about this event.
Brian
Does anyone know how Phil did in the Tour Of California? I can’t find his name in any of the results?
I am lucky enough to know Phil and to have been able to watch Team Type 1 grow exponentially in the last few years. In my mind, he is doing more for people with diabetes than anyone else out there. I was lucky enough to be a part of the crew for the Race Across America in 2007. Let me just say that I do not have diabetes and I know I could not have kept up with any of the racers. It was hard enough to drive the van for that long…haha. Those guys actually see the chore of maintaining their own blood glucose as an advantage over the competition. It was a privilege to watch. I can only hope I qualify for crew duties at the Tour de France. I have no doubt it will happen.
Phil and Fabio Calabria (another pro on Team Type 1 with diabetes) were two of five riders on the team who unfortunately did not make it to the finish of the Amgen Tour of California.
Three of the first four days of the 750-mile race featured some pretty adverse weather conditions. Only 84 of the 136 starters completed the entire nine-day race.
Rest assured, Phil, Fabio and the rest of the Team Type 1 squads (pro women, triathlon, elite, development, etc.) will be making more headlines throughout 2009. Thanks for your support.
very good
[...] Interview with Phil Southerland from Team Type 1. [...]
Good interview, Amy.
These guys are amazing to watch. A documentary is being made about Phil and his journey to the Tour de France. My wife — who has type 1 – and I are producing and directing the film! Please check out the trailer!! http://www.voxpopfilms.tv/oneshot
More information at http://www.voxpopfilms.tv.
Amy, great interview and go TT1!
Terry – Phil dropped out around stage 5 … I believe he said something like “These guys start fast and everyday it gets faster!” Keep in mind TT1 was competing against many of the top teams in the world in the Tour of California.
I love to ride because if I cut my basal rate in half on my pump (your milage my vary) I can ride for hours, lightly snack/refuel like other cyclists, and my BG will stay flat all day long. LOVE THAT!
Thanks for this interview. My ideal BG prior to an XC race is about 150, trending slightly upward. Still having trouble getting things figured out for those all day, endurance MTB races though.
I’d like to hear from others about their fueling for an endurance event, and tips of that nature. I’ve had some success with Hammer products, but wondering if there are better alternatives.