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Walter Phillips is waging an ongoing battle against type 2 diabetes through exercise and wins every day at the age of 78.
The man from the Chatham region rides his Rocky Mountain bike every day on the 23-kilometer loop around the Thames along the Riverview Line and the Grande River Line between Keil Drive and the Prairie Siding Bridge.
“It’s mostly about lowering my blood sugar, ”said Phillips of his daily exercise regimen.
“As you exercise and use up your blood sugar, your numbers will go back to normal. “
He said that most non-diabetics have blood sugar levels around five.
“If I wake up and have a 10 or 11, I drive until it’s five, ”he added.
Phillips said he could do the lap in about 90 minutes, depending on weather conditions.
“It’s not for everyone, ”he said.
Photo by Ellwood Shreve /.Ellwood Shreve / The Daily News
But these days Phillips said he was waiting for the community to finish the walking / biking trail along his favorite route.
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The retired OPP officer from Chatham-Kent ran to do his exercises, including with a group of fellow officers.
In his prime, Phillips said he ran 121 kilometers a week with his running partner, former Chatham resident Martin Thuss.
“We were hardcore, ”he said, adding that Thuss“ was a wonderful running partner. “
Barb Phillips likes to accompany her husband on his daily trips, but not in winter.
She said they were lucky enough to be in their seventies and able to stay very active even if both of them have second careers. Her husband continues to work as a paralegal and she is a longtime real estate agent after a career in nursing.
“Of course we drove and we like to be busy, we can’t sit still, ”said Barbara Phillips.
Walter Phillips, who also enjoys restoring vehicles in his spare time, is only grateful that he can play sports to keep his diabetes at bay.
“What about the poor people who can’t or physically can’t go out? ” he said.
eshreve@postmedia.com