The Swim Around Key West

Yes. The Swim around Key West is a single-day continuous swim, with no contact with land until the full 12.5 miles are completed. Fuel and hydration are taken by the swimmers while treading water and are typically consumed from plastic widemouth bottles attached to a rope thrown overboard by the supporting kayaker.

The two-word answer is: Very Carefully.

First, I use the Garmin-Dexcom integration, which is Dexcom's officially-approved way to view blood sugars on smartwatches. They partnered with Garmin on a joint release and promotion of the integration, which is a significant step up from third-party apps like xDrip and Nightscout that require GitHub downloads, builds, and connecting up multiple apps and servers by hand.

In my experience, I've found that the integration works best when the Dexcom CGM transmitter is near, at, or above the surface of the water and I'm using a normal swim stroke that gets the watch out of the water enough to receive a reading. Since I swim in open water and always use a visibility buoy with a built-in sealable dry sack, I put my phone in a drybag inside the dry storage in the buoy. If the system doesn't pick up a reading, it typically buffers it on the transmitter until it can send one to the phone, which shares it with the watch.

My other option--and this is just a common-sense backup strategy, is to train consistently so I know what my blood sugar is going into the water and at each fueling stop, typically around a mile. That's when I usually take in 50g of carbs from either two Untapped maple syrup packets tucked into my jammers or wetsuit, OR have my kayaker toss me a feed bottle with that same amount dissolved in water.

It's hard to tell in cold water if you are sweating or feel shaky, so I look for clues like a sudden degradation in my swimming technique, clenched jaw, or a feeling of doom and gloom; and when in doubt, I get carbs.

Sure! As the event date approaches, I'll post links to routes, locations, etc. and suggest what might be the best way to watch.

During the event day, I will have a Garmin InReach satellite tracking beacon. We'll post a tracking link on the main T1Determined.org page.

What I really value most, as corny as it sounds, is your faith in the indomitable human spirit and your own ability to handle what T1D throws at you or your loved ones. If you took that home and bottled it, then paid it forward, I'd feel like I'd accomplished my goal,

The van is well-stocked and we're not generally in need of supplies.

I'm self-funded, but you can contribute to me directly if you feel like it.

My ultimate dream is to provide a free, practical source of information for people struggling with how to balance diabetes and exercise--to close that last mile between "You're diabetic" and "How will I ever do anything active again?" In the mean time, though, we can help each other.

Right now, you can point people to one or all of these Facebook groups: Type 1 Diabetic Athletes, TypeOneRun and its many local chapters, the local chapters of my own Diabetes & Exercise Alliance, and the Diabetic Ultra Endurance Athletes Facebook group. There are many more, around the world, but these will get any T1 off to a good start.

You can also support one of these non-profits that help us thrive, fight discrimination, and look for better treatment and cures.