Cleared for Takeoff

My husband has been running for a little over a year now.  He started off slowly at first, and built up his endurance.  Last fall, he ran his first 5K, and since then, he's run two more.  Now he wants to run a half marathon, but not just any half marathon; he wants to run the Beaver Creek Slide.  This is a course above Sheridan, Wyoming, on a ranch in the Big Horn Mountains.  It's an off road, cross country race, scheduled for May 5th. 

He has already begun training, and has been running 5-6 miles a day, 3-4 days per week, but he needs to keep increasing his distance even more to be ready.  Since he isn't exactly a "spring chicken" anymore (yikes, that means neither am I!!), and has some health conditions, such as diabetes, we thought it would be a good idea to see his doctor and get medical clearance.  That appointment was this morning.  His doctor is OK with him trying to do this, but wants him to be cautious.  While he's training, she wants him to do some different things, like check his blood sugar before and after his runs, and take his glucometer on the runs with him so if he "hits a wall or gets into trouble", he can check his blood sugar immediately.  She also wants him to carry some glucose so he can take it if he needs it.  Thank goodness for a neat thing called a runner's belt that has some little pouches in it, so you can carry stuff like this.

So, if he does well with the training runs and has no difficulties or problems with blood sugar, he has been cleared for takeoff!