Disease Invades a Body, and Endorphins Kick In

“David Shack’s Type 1 diabetes had been so out of control for so many years that he had had more than 100 seizures. The highway patrol once stopped him at a roadblock because he was weaving. ‘My eyes were acting up, and my blood sugar levels were so low, they thought I was a drunk driver,’ said Mr. Shack, 31, a science teacher and father of three in Boone, N.C. So, of course, he decided to participate in an Ironman race. Mr. Shack was recruited for the 2008 Ford Ironman Wisconsin by John Moore, 31, who also has Type 1 diabetes. The competition was organized and designed specifically for the diabetes community as part of the Triabetes project. Participants would have to follow a 2.4-mile swim with a 112-mile bike ride and a 26.2-mile run. Given that Mr. Shack had gone long stretches avoiding medical care, often nodded off by 8 p.m. (‘I was getting lazier each year,’ he said) and enjoyed nibbling on steak fat or chicken skin, he made an unlikely candidate. ‘Dave was a doctor’s worst nightmare,’ said Mr. Moore, who lives in Denver and sells annuities. ‘There’s no question his life was at risk.’ But, Mr. Shack said, ‘Something about the craziness of it got me going.’ And go he did. Mr. Shack completed the race in September. It took him about 16 hours. ‘I was the last dude across the finish line,’ he said. He is training for a 10-mile race later this month. Dramatic shifts from apathy to athletics aren’t exclusive to Mr. Shack. Faced with a chronic condition or a terminal diagnosis, some individuals start training regimens that even the healthiest of us would find taxing. And the result is a fascinating if somewhat incongruous equation: people fighting sickness or disease who are, at the same time, in the best shape of their lives. There can be dangers. Some may push themselves too hard, while others may put too much faith in their new physicality, believing that they can defeat disease and sickness purely through physical exertion. But experiencing the body as capable, experts say, can be a way of choosing to own (rather than disown) the body. And this can be a powerful, and empowering, way to cope.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/08/health/nutrition/08fitness.html?_r=1&ref=fitnessandnutrition