After a lot of trial and error, I have finally been having some good success managing my blood sugar during intense cycling efforts such as at criteriums, circuit races and time trials. This is very exciting to me because at some points last year, I was at my wit's end with race-related blood sugars severely high enough to not only hurt my performance but also to raise my A1c slightly.
In general terms, I pre-program my pump basal rate to increase by 30%, beginning an hour before I plan to eat breakfast, and I time my breakfast to be no closer than 3 hours before the race start. So, for example, I started my 30% increase at 5 AM this morning and ate breakfast at about 5:50, in anticipation of my 9:00 AM time trial (TT) start time. I ate a normal breakfast and took my full bolus plus a small correction for a 164 BG. (I actually bolused about 15 minutes before I ate, at 5:35 AM. In general I like to take a meal bolus as far away from my race as practical, while not eating so early that I'm hungry again before I race.) I pre-programmed my basal rate to be +30% throughout the duration of my race. I prefer using increased basal rates versus extra boluses because, in the case that I give too much insulin, correcting for the former is much easier.
Once onsite, I got all my stuff ready, rode about a mile to registration and back, and got ready to start my warmup on the trainer. By this time (8:15 AM) my BG was hovering around 100 so I ate 34 g carbs (clif kid twisted fruit ropes, which seem relatively easy on the BG); since I was about to warmup, I expected that effort to keep me from rising too much, as well. I only had time for about 30 minutes of warmup, and checked in with a BG of 89 ten minutes before my race start time. I ate one clif shot energy gel and could see my BG was starting to rise, so tucked another gel under my shorts and went to the line. (I also had 2-3 gels in my jersey pocket because, well, you never know.) My instinct, when I see a BG of 90 that close to a race is to overreact and eat too much; it has been hard for me to learn to trust that the adrenalin will really kick in (especially with a +30% increase in my basal rate).
Since I have been using the Dexcom 7+, I rarely bring my blood glucose testing kit with me on rides of less than a few hours; and it really is very impractical to test during a cycling race. My confidence in the Dexcom CGM technology has grown tremendously compared to the first STS sensor years ago. (I think anyone who used that remains a bit cautious; but I am quite impressed with the current version.) For races, I set all of the alarms on to sound plus vibrate; I also set the low alarm at 100, the high alarm at 200, and the rising/falling alarm at 2 mg/dL/min. Sometimes I can feel the CGM vibrate but usually I hear the 2 or 3 tones that tell me whether I am high or on the rise, or low or falling, respectively. (I really wish the low and high alarms were fully customizable; actually I wish the number of alarms was also customizable and that there were more sounds to choose from. I really want to know when my BG is below 120 or I may have some other arbitrary target. Actually, what would be even better is if it were displayed on my bike computer screen. Can the Dexcom transmit ANT+ please?) Anyway, for today's race I could hear that I was rising; although at the time I assumed I was high since the alarms are the same. The CGM graph showed that my BG rose throughout the race but peaked at around 180, which I'm pretty happy with. It was still on the rise until after I finished racing.
I've used this approach for the past couple races now, and I am slowly beginning to trust it; although I realize there may yet be a better strategy. In some ways, it is similar to the challenges I had during T1 (transition between the swim and bike) in half- and full-ironman distance triathlons. Believing that a 400 BG after a significant swim plus hour on the bike is due to my own hormonal response, and not some fault in the insulin delivery or some other wacky unknown, took some experience. And believing that I could really increase my basal rate during the swim (or end of the swim) took some trial and error as I gradually increased my confidence that I wouldn't go low. If insulin didn't cause low blood sugar, this would all be so much easier, no?
Oh, and for today's race, I came in 4th place for the women's 4 field. Race reports that may describe more of the race details can be found on the Team Type 1 website.
Showing posts with label triathlon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label triathlon. Show all posts
Saturday, April 09, 2011
Monday, January 25, 2010
New Year
Last year was one of those extra special years that leaves one changed forever. Learning lessons in having patience with oneself and life's circumstances does not come without some struggle. Becoming a more empathetic person can be painful. As I approach the one year mark after my bike crash, my bones are healed and I am riding my bike again with joy. Still, I have frequent reminders--pain here or there, or thoughts of reflection--that tell me it's not over yet. And I wonder what subconscious lessons I have drawn from these experiences. Am I less trusting of myself and others? Will my sense of fear of re-injury and pain hold me back from taking risks--risks that could, ultimately, lead me to something greater than I could imagine now? How do I let go and become fully engaged, both physically and mentally, again?
Originally for 2010 I had signed up for Ironman St. George, excited to race on a course familiar to me after running the marathon there several times. I signed up when I wasn't even back to work after my crash, before I had taken a single pedal stroke on my bike again. After Ironman Arizona in November, I told myself to wait until January 1st to make any decisions. As the new year approached, it became clearer and clearer that I did not want to do this race. My knee injury that bothered me during the marathon at Ironman Arizona was not healing quickly and I did not want to spend another several months playing the "Does it hurt too much to run?" game. I needed a break.
I feel fortunate that I was able to do so many events during the second half of 2009: Death Ride, Barb's Race, Folsom Olympic, 3 road races, Lotoja, and Ironman Arizona. As I wrote before, the Triabetes events in Tempe were amazing and made the struggle getting there 100% worth it. But I feel like I need and want to take a step back from the super endurance events (Ironman and double centuries!) and focus on healing my body and giving my mind a break.
As soon as I made the decision, I was so relieved and happy. After 4 Ironman races in 3 years, I was really caught up in the energy and thrill of the sport; and doing the last two with Triabetes has been a gift. But I have to say, not having that big pressure is exactly what I need right now.
"Taking a break" to me means taking the pressure off any one huge event. I am still training, focusing mostly on cycling this year. I will also continue to swim, because I have really been enjoying it and also because it really helps my upper back and left arm stay loose. And there will be events that I will target; still, I am allowing myself to take things at a slower pace and to appreciate incremental steps of progress.
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
Ironman Arizona Diabetes Details
I thought I would give a description of diabetes-related details for Ironman Arizona for those who may be interested. This is not necessarily the best approach for anyone else or even myself, but is what I have been trying as of late. My strategy in training for past long triathlon events has been to do a lot of record-keeping, especially around key workouts that simulate aspects of the race. This time, for whatever reason, I didn't have the time or energy to be as diligent about that. Also, I was trying to cut back on calories during workouts, so it was a little harder to compare with race day. And furthermore, I really wasn't able to do any long runs so it was hard to simulate the conditions for the marathon.
On Saturday, I pre-programmed my pump for the race the next day, based on my predicted times for each leg of the triathlon. Typically for a race, I will program an increased basal rate before my planned breakfast time in order to help counter my tendency to run high on race morning. For an Ironman, this is typically about 4 hours before the race start. About an hour before the swim start I might drop it a little from normal; I don't need to drop it much because my basal rate is pretty much set to keep me stable during morning exercise. I'll keep it slightly lowered during the first hour of the swim, and then raise it quite a bit about 30-45 minutes before I get out. The reason I do this is because I consistently have a spike in my BG at the start of the bike. I have had races where, within one hour of starting the bike, my BG has gone from upper 100s to over 400, even with eating very little to no calories. I believe this is due to the high level of excitement (and therefore increased adrenalin) that naturally occurs in the transition between the swim and the bike. I'll keep my basal rate raised (say from my normal 0.6 to 0.7 units/hour to 1.0 or more) for the first hour or two of the bike, and then drop it down to a level that has worked for me in training on the bike, given my planned calorie intake. An hour or so before the run, I'll drop it down lower, to a level that has worked during training runs, especially those that had followed a long bike ride. I may also eat a little extra in the last hour of the bike. During the run, I often have to do some trouble-shooting it seems, but try to settle into a good level as soon as possible. After the race and overnight, I set my basal rates back to normal or to slightly reduced levels.
For me, this strategy has worked well, especially if I have done a lot of testing during training to get really comfortable for what rates work well for me. I try to get familiar with the actual numbers, rather than just a percent increase or decrease. Still, it is hard to predict how my body might react to the increased stress and duration of exercise on race day, especially after a week of tapering. I tend to err on the side of letting my BG ride a little higher rather than increase my chances of having a low BG, which is really painful during an Ironman. Although, having high BGs during a race is no picnic either.
Regarding bolusing, I will take my normal breakfast bolus 3.5 hours before the race start to give myself time to correct for post-meal highs, and to give the bolus time to taper off before starting the swim. I am still learning how much I can bolus during an event without crashing later. Correcting for highs on the bike seems easier, and I have more recently learned that I can manage with a couple units of insulin on board without my blood sugar crashing. I get really nervous taking big boluses, even to correct for severely high BG, during exercise. I just hate so much having low BG during a race. It really destroys me, physically and mentally. Although I have also learned that I seem to recover okay if I am patient when I have a low.
Record of my diabetes management during IMAZ 2009
(Thanks to Kevin for his Excel logbook, which can be found here.)
At 3:30 AM, 3.5 hours before the race start, I bolused 4.5 units for my 65-g carb breakfast. About 1.5 hours later, my BG was good at 165, but then started to climb before the start. I was surprised to see it rising up through the 200s and then spike at 303. I skipped my pre-race gel/Gatorade and decided to correct with 0.3 U before getting in the water for the swim start at 7 AM. During the first half of the swim, I felt good, but started to get hungry about an hour in; after some internal debate I ate a gel, which gave me confidence, and finished the swim at 182. I started the bike around 9 AM and was really hungry right away. I ate a few bites a few miles in and before checking my BG again, trusting that my basal rate of 1 U/hr since 8:30 had been enough. Unfortunately, I popped up to 349, so went ahead and bolused 1.4 units. This gradually brought me down to the 180s and then 130s about an hour before the run. I started the marathon at 139 and promptly dropped to 53 in the first 2-3 miles. It took me some time to recover from this and I was shocked at how high I had set my basal rate! What was I thinking? Anyway, I temporarily shut off the pump for 30 minutes and set my basal rate at 0.2 U/hr. This seemed to work for a while but then I had an unexpected, enormous spike in my BG; I think this was the beginning of the third loop. I wondered if the pain was stressing me, causing the high BG? Or probably the slow pace was requiring fewer calories? Did that chicken broth have a lot of calories in it? I took about 2 units but this high was stubborn, and I had to take another unit of insulin. I was over 400 for about an hour. Yuck. I drank lots of water, took some salt tabs to replace depleted electrolytes from the high. I eventually came down and then relied on the cola to keep me from bottoming out. I didn't check right after finishing, but had come up to 242 about 45 minutes after. I bolused for the pizza I ate and went to bed a little hungry, and woke up with a BG of 63 early the next morning. But otherwise, I didn't have any issues with low BG following the race.
Next time, I would keep my increased early morning basal rate until 6:30 AM, rather than 6; or perhaps I would raise it from 0.8 to 0.9 (above my normal of about 0.55 that time of day). For me, it's easier to treat a too-high basal rate than a bolus over-correction. About 30-45 minutes before the swim finish, I would increase my basal rate even higher--maybe to 1.5-2 U/hr--and would keep it there for about an hour on the bike. Or else, I could take a couple units as an extended bolus in T1, which would have the same effect but would be timed a little more precisely with my race. I used to use this method but felt like it was less to think about to pre-program my basal rates. Also, I think it works better for me to have increased insulin on board before I get out of the water. For the run, I could have lowered my basal rate earlier before getting off the bike, and should have lowered it more. It was essentially the same as it would normally be at that time of day, if not higher! I had based this on a level I've used for long training runs in the past but at a different time of day and not after a long ride. I need to keep my wits about me and realize that, if my pace is really slow, I am probably not burning as many calories per hour, so probably will need more insulin. I think my strategy next time might be to drop my basal to something like 0.2 units/hour before the run start and then increase it a little to 0.25 or after an hour or so of running.
I'd like to believe that I can figure it out once and for all and then have perfect insulin and BG levels at every race! But I think, for me, it is more realistic to expect a certain amount of fiddling. There are so many variables, new and old, to consider on race day. I definitely feel that, after several years of experience, I can anticipate a lot of the tricky spots during a race; and, even when things don't go perfectly (which is always the case for me, it seems), I have less fear and anxiety over it all.
**
(Stolen from an earlier post of mine...)
"Basal what?"
For those who are less familiar with diabetes terms, here's a primer. BG refers to blood glucose, which increases with food intake (especially carbs) and stress, and decreases with insulin and, often, exercise. Sometimes exercise can cause the BG to increase, and many other variables affect the rise & fall of BG. Insulin takes the glucose from the blood and helps to shuttle it into fat & muscle cells. Insulin must always be present and can be delivered through injection or insulin pump. I use an insulin pump, which delivers a "basal rate" of insulin throughout the day. I program this depending on my activity level; basal rates also change throughout the day. For me they are highest in the morning and lowest in the afternoon. When I eat a meal, or need to correct a high BG, I take a "bolus" which is basically like an injection except it's done with a pump.
On Saturday, I pre-programmed my pump for the race the next day, based on my predicted times for each leg of the triathlon. Typically for a race, I will program an increased basal rate before my planned breakfast time in order to help counter my tendency to run high on race morning. For an Ironman, this is typically about 4 hours before the race start. About an hour before the swim start I might drop it a little from normal; I don't need to drop it much because my basal rate is pretty much set to keep me stable during morning exercise. I'll keep it slightly lowered during the first hour of the swim, and then raise it quite a bit about 30-45 minutes before I get out. The reason I do this is because I consistently have a spike in my BG at the start of the bike. I have had races where, within one hour of starting the bike, my BG has gone from upper 100s to over 400, even with eating very little to no calories. I believe this is due to the high level of excitement (and therefore increased adrenalin) that naturally occurs in the transition between the swim and the bike. I'll keep my basal rate raised (say from my normal 0.6 to 0.7 units/hour to 1.0 or more) for the first hour or two of the bike, and then drop it down to a level that has worked for me in training on the bike, given my planned calorie intake. An hour or so before the run, I'll drop it down lower, to a level that has worked during training runs, especially those that had followed a long bike ride. I may also eat a little extra in the last hour of the bike. During the run, I often have to do some trouble-shooting it seems, but try to settle into a good level as soon as possible. After the race and overnight, I set my basal rates back to normal or to slightly reduced levels.
For me, this strategy has worked well, especially if I have done a lot of testing during training to get really comfortable for what rates work well for me. I try to get familiar with the actual numbers, rather than just a percent increase or decrease. Still, it is hard to predict how my body might react to the increased stress and duration of exercise on race day, especially after a week of tapering. I tend to err on the side of letting my BG ride a little higher rather than increase my chances of having a low BG, which is really painful during an Ironman. Although, having high BGs during a race is no picnic either.
Regarding bolusing, I will take my normal breakfast bolus 3.5 hours before the race start to give myself time to correct for post-meal highs, and to give the bolus time to taper off before starting the swim. I am still learning how much I can bolus during an event without crashing later. Correcting for highs on the bike seems easier, and I have more recently learned that I can manage with a couple units of insulin on board without my blood sugar crashing. I get really nervous taking big boluses, even to correct for severely high BG, during exercise. I just hate so much having low BG during a race. It really destroys me, physically and mentally. Although I have also learned that I seem to recover okay if I am patient when I have a low.
Record of my diabetes management during IMAZ 2009(Thanks to Kevin for his Excel logbook, which can be found here.)
At 3:30 AM, 3.5 hours before the race start, I bolused 4.5 units for my 65-g carb breakfast. About 1.5 hours later, my BG was good at 165, but then started to climb before the start. I was surprised to see it rising up through the 200s and then spike at 303. I skipped my pre-race gel/Gatorade and decided to correct with 0.3 U before getting in the water for the swim start at 7 AM. During the first half of the swim, I felt good, but started to get hungry about an hour in; after some internal debate I ate a gel, which gave me confidence, and finished the swim at 182. I started the bike around 9 AM and was really hungry right away. I ate a few bites a few miles in and before checking my BG again, trusting that my basal rate of 1 U/hr since 8:30 had been enough. Unfortunately, I popped up to 349, so went ahead and bolused 1.4 units. This gradually brought me down to the 180s and then 130s about an hour before the run. I started the marathon at 139 and promptly dropped to 53 in the first 2-3 miles. It took me some time to recover from this and I was shocked at how high I had set my basal rate! What was I thinking? Anyway, I temporarily shut off the pump for 30 minutes and set my basal rate at 0.2 U/hr. This seemed to work for a while but then I had an unexpected, enormous spike in my BG; I think this was the beginning of the third loop. I wondered if the pain was stressing me, causing the high BG? Or probably the slow pace was requiring fewer calories? Did that chicken broth have a lot of calories in it? I took about 2 units but this high was stubborn, and I had to take another unit of insulin. I was over 400 for about an hour. Yuck. I drank lots of water, took some salt tabs to replace depleted electrolytes from the high. I eventually came down and then relied on the cola to keep me from bottoming out. I didn't check right after finishing, but had come up to 242 about 45 minutes after. I bolused for the pizza I ate and went to bed a little hungry, and woke up with a BG of 63 early the next morning. But otherwise, I didn't have any issues with low BG following the race.
Next time, I would keep my increased early morning basal rate until 6:30 AM, rather than 6; or perhaps I would raise it from 0.8 to 0.9 (above my normal of about 0.55 that time of day). For me, it's easier to treat a too-high basal rate than a bolus over-correction. About 30-45 minutes before the swim finish, I would increase my basal rate even higher--maybe to 1.5-2 U/hr--and would keep it there for about an hour on the bike. Or else, I could take a couple units as an extended bolus in T1, which would have the same effect but would be timed a little more precisely with my race. I used to use this method but felt like it was less to think about to pre-program my basal rates. Also, I think it works better for me to have increased insulin on board before I get out of the water. For the run, I could have lowered my basal rate earlier before getting off the bike, and should have lowered it more. It was essentially the same as it would normally be at that time of day, if not higher! I had based this on a level I've used for long training runs in the past but at a different time of day and not after a long ride. I need to keep my wits about me and realize that, if my pace is really slow, I am probably not burning as many calories per hour, so probably will need more insulin. I think my strategy next time might be to drop my basal to something like 0.2 units/hour before the run start and then increase it a little to 0.25 or after an hour or so of running.
I'd like to believe that I can figure it out once and for all and then have perfect insulin and BG levels at every race! But I think, for me, it is more realistic to expect a certain amount of fiddling. There are so many variables, new and old, to consider on race day. I definitely feel that, after several years of experience, I can anticipate a lot of the tricky spots during a race; and, even when things don't go perfectly (which is always the case for me, it seems), I have less fear and anxiety over it all.
**
(Stolen from an earlier post of mine...)
"Basal what?"
For those who are less familiar with diabetes terms, here's a primer. BG refers to blood glucose, which increases with food intake (especially carbs) and stress, and decreases with insulin and, often, exercise. Sometimes exercise can cause the BG to increase, and many other variables affect the rise & fall of BG. Insulin takes the glucose from the blood and helps to shuttle it into fat & muscle cells. Insulin must always be present and can be delivered through injection or insulin pump. I use an insulin pump, which delivers a "basal rate" of insulin throughout the day. I program this depending on my activity level; basal rates also change throughout the day. For me they are highest in the morning and lowest in the afternoon. When I eat a meal, or need to correct a high BG, I take a "bolus" which is basically like an injection except it's done with a pump.
Sunday, December 06, 2009
Triabetes and Ironman Arizona 2009, Part 2
Date: November 22, 2009, 7 AM
Race: Ironman Arizona, Tempe, Arizona (2.4 mi swim, 112 bike, 26.2 run)
Weather: cool, ~50 at the start to mid-70s during the day to cool again by the end.
Teammates present: 15 teammates from Triabetes, a bunch of guys & gals from Team Pacific Bicycle and a whole host of Triabetes friends & family
Goals: to keep focused on finishing and enjoying celebrating the day; to stay comfortable during the swim and bike and to allow myself time as needed in transition; to manage IT band injury so I could finish without causing long-term consequences.
Some races are about shooting for a new personal record (PR) or placing well; others are about making it to the starting line and doing one's best to finish. This race would be the latter.
Before the Start
Since I arrived with fellow teammate Sean at 5 AM, two hours before the start, I had plenty of time to make final preparations. I pumped up my tires, dropped off the special needs bags (which they give back to you midway through the bike and run), and cycled through the portapotty line a couple of times. I felt relaxed and ready to go--it really helps that they have you drop off all your gear the day before. Also, I planned to take a simpler approach to the bike and run this year, and would rely more on the aid stations for my fluids and nutrition. In past races, I have used Perpetuum on the bike, but this time I would just try Gatorade, water, and mix of solid food supplemented with gels etc. as needed. I would shoot for about 200 to 250 calories per hour while on the bike. For the run, I would carry plenty of fast-acting carbs with me, but also knew I could use the PowerGels and other food they were offering if I ran low. I had an extra infusion set inserted and primed the day before, but also had a spare on my bike and in my run special needs bag. I had a meter for the swim start, and another that I would stick in my jersey pocket on the bike and run. I had also thrown in a spare meter in my run transition bag.
Swim
After pulling on my wetsuit, I randomly found a few other Triabetes people; we made our way to the start with the slowly moving crowds. Sarah Jane and Sarah W. had set up a table near the start where we could leave our diabetes gear, and I was able to check my blood glucose (BG) one more time before hopping in the water. Although a bit on the cold side at 62 degrees, the water felt okay compared to swimming in the San Francisco Bay, and I was hoping that the fresh water would be kinder on my neck, since I yet again forgotten to put Body Glide on beforehand. I've seen some pretty bad wetsuit neckline welts before and wondered how long those took to heal. Oh well, it was too late; I just hoped for the best.
I lost everyone by then and just swam toward the start line, which was probably about 200 yards away. I had barely gotten somewhat close when the gun went off; we were underway! I started somewhere in the middle, trying to avoid the right side, where I imagined the more aggressive swimmers would be. Anyway, it was your typical Ironman swim start mayhem for a while but I could tell that we were going at a decent speed, and tried to stay in the pack. With about 2500 people starting, it was a big crowd! Partway down, I just didn't feel like dealing with it and inched out a little. Then the sun came up directly ahead and I couldn't see anything and just sighted off the other swimmers. I hate it when I look over and realize there is NO ONE to my side. I would move left, back to the pack to get some draft and then find myself to the right again. We passed beneath some bridges that I thought were near the turnaround, but I couldn't see the landmarks I had picked out earlier. But suddenly I was at the big red buoy; for the first time ever in a race, I thought, "Wow, it's already time to turn around!" I think having so many swimmers packed together in a somewhat narrow lake made for a stronger current than you might have at Ironman Coeur d'Alene or Wisconsin. Also, the turnaround buoy is not quite halfway through the course. I wondered if I might PR on the swim.
Swimming back, I felt really hungry and debated whether I should stop for a gel. I wasn't sure if I was low or just hungry since I had skipped my pre-race GU (gel), but decided to go ahead just to be safe. Also, if I even suspect that I have low BG, I tend to slow down; and usually when I am swimming, if I think I'm low, I am. But not always. For me, though, feeling hunger pangs is a pretty good indication of falling BG while exercising. I did feel better after the GU, although kicking on my back while eating seemed to disturb my calves and I started to cramp up. I tried to flex my feet and relax my calves, but they totally seized up. Owww! As I floated on my back, trying to relax the cramps, a woman in a kayak asked if I needed help. Hmm, I had sort of prided myself on not needing to stop during an IM swim, but this sounded like a good idea. Another woman who was closer slid up next to me on a surfboard and I grabbed it while trying to stretch out my calves. It took a few minutes but finally they relaxed, and I was able to swim the last half-mile without a problem. The Triabetes table had miraculously moved to the swim exit; I was very grateful for help with a post-swim BG check, which would give me a few extra minutes to make necessary adjustments. Also, it appeared that my neck was not chafed. Yeah!
the swim exit on a calmer day
I ran to get my transition bag, and slipped into the tent to get on my bike gear. I had opted to wear the Triabetes tri shorts and top for the whole race, rather than changing into separate bike and run clothes, so didn't really have that much to do. The volunteers rubbed me down with sunblock, which sort of globbed up on my wet skin. Clearly I wasn't in too much of a hurry, because I stopped in the portapotty to rub it in, probably wiping most of it off! (Yeah I had some weird sunburns the next day.) Eventually, I made it out of T1 and was on the bike. The Kestrel felt light under my feet as I made my way up the ramp, forgetting the rule about not passing anyone there. I saw some Triabetes fans wearing their blue shirts and I was happy!
Bike
My plan for the bike was to pace conservatively so that I could finish this leg without a flare-up of my IT band knee pain. I kept telling myself, "Don't be greedy!" meaning that it was NOT okay to just say, "Forget about the run! I'm going to hammer on the bike!" I have done this before! With such a flat course, I suspected that I might PR while keeping a steady but comfortable pace. Because I only had one water bottle cage on my bike, I planned to drink one bottle of water between each aid station, and would grab some Gatorade at the beginning of each, drink what I could and toss it at the last trash drop. With aid stations every 10 miles, I figured I would be passing one every 30-40 minutes, which would be fine. Actually, I suspected I might drink more, knowing that I had one bottle that should be mostly empty by the next stop. Also, I felt that by forcing myself to slow down a little for the aid stations, I would keep the pace under control better. My goal was to finish, remember? I tried to keep this in mind.
The course was 3 loops and nearly flat. Well, there was a mostly big-chain-rideable uphill on the way out and then the reverse slight downhill on the way back. There was a small short hill near the turnaround just long enough to stretch my legs out a bit. On the first loop out we had a pretty strong headwind, which took me by surprise since there had been NO wind whatsoever the days leading up! But the way down was super fast and fun and wow, that Kestrel is a bullet. I was so happy to see my mom and aunt along the sidelines on the way back, and got a big lift from the Triabetes crowds (as well as other friendly cheerers) at the turnaround for the start of lap two. I was enjoying this and felt strong and comfortable.
The next loop up, there was also some headwind, but on the turnaround there was also headwind. What?? Where did that beautiful tailwind go? Still, it was downhill and I had my goofy aero helmet on, which I actually love after all these years of mocking them, so it wasn't too bad. I stopped for my special needs bag and munched on some food and took a stop at the bathroom and was on my way again. I reminded myself that it was okay to not go crazy and rush through everything. I felt pretty good for the rest of the ride despite one serious flare-up of IT band pain. My physical therapist (PT) told me to swing my knee a little wider if this happened and lo! and behold! it worked. The pain was completely gone after a few minutes. I was happily surprised. Riding in the aero position was not entirely comfortable for me but I hadn't prepared much that way so I wasn't too surprised. I was probably in my aero position for about 50-55% of the time, when it should have been closer to 90-95% given the course.
Even though it was a good ride for me (and a PR of 40 minutes), I was happy to finish up and get off the bike! Immediately after handing a volunteer my bike, my knee started hurting. I walked slowly towards the transition bags as the volunteers pointed me up the hill towards my number. Well, I guess I just had one leg left. A marathon. Maybe if I took my time in transition, my knee would chill out and I could at least get through half the run still running. I finished the bike sometime around 3:30 PM, so would have over 8 1/2 hours to get through 26.2 miles. I felt like I could do this but I really didn't want to be out there that long!
Run
Eventually, after procrastinating as much as I could, I crossed the timing mat to start the run. My plan was to start off at a really conservative pace and just hope I could maintain that for the whole marathon. My knee was hurting a little for the first few miles, but I was relatively comfortably maintaining an 11-12 min/mile pace, which was my target. Around mile 3, I started feeling really spacy and checked my BG, which was in the 50s. I reprogrammed my basal rate, shut off the pump for 30 min, and loaded up on carbs. I decided to wait to start running again until I got above 80. I think Seb passed me here and it was good to see a fellow Triabetes teammate. My BG finally came up and I resumed my slow run. I was happy to see my mom and aunt, who were exactly where they said they would be, at the top of one of the short hills. "This is going to be a long run," I said. I was glad to note that they had some chairs to sit in!
Around mile 5, I decided to walk a little to give my knee a break, which seemed to help. On the second loop, by mile 8, the pain had increased and I was limping quite a bit. Some volunteers tried to help at an aid station by massaging my calf and knee area, but it got even worse after that, and my pace dropped off closer to 14-15 min/mile. I don't know if it was the massage; it probably would have gotten worse anyway. I kept recalculating how long this would take. Four MPH and 18 miles to go? I didn't want to think about it. I had asked my PT before the race whether the pain was something that should alert me to stop. I really wanted to finish; but more important to me was the ability to continue exercising after the race. He said that it could be a few weeks for the recovery, but that it shouldn't cause long-term problems. This was a relief to me as I continued, and although it was painful, I kept the pace below a level that would have caused burning pain. This would have been a show-stopper, whether or not I wanted to continue.
After an eternity I finished the second lap. The Triabetes tent area was amazing and it was so special to run through there. Thanks to my teammate Reid's sons for giving me the extra cheers as I passed through. Thinking about that last lap was a bit discouraging, because my pace was now somewhere between 3-4 MPH and I kept thinking, "I can't believe I am going to be out here for more than 2 hours!" But dang! I still wanted to finish this thing. I felt that physically I could get through it. Mentally, though, it was a struggle. At least, on this last lap, I knew I would be passing through each spot for the last time.
I was really happy to see a few faces from last year out there, including Aaron Perry, who was giving big cheers out in the boonies of the run course (yeah!) and Dave Shack, who was close to the Triabetes tent area. I commented to Dave how I had thought many times of his "power-walking in biking shorts" comment that made it to the documentary. Dave had made it through with a lot of walking and massive blisters on the bottoms of his feet! I guess I could muddle through another 5 miles. (But, still, ugh!!!) Thanks, too, to Ray Ibsen of Andiamo who walked with me a bit, his camera in hand. (Ray, you must have a really strong right arm.) A week of traveling had caught up with Elisa, so she had gone to bed; but she was still in my mind as I made my way around.
Crossing one of the bridges, Reid and Sean caught up with me, and we walked together for a while. It was so nice to be together, and I was happy to see that they were doing well. Soon enough, Denise came motoring on through like the Energizer bunny, and Reid and Sean decided to pick it up for the end. I tried to run a little here and there; it didn't seem to really help my pace all that much. But the end was in sight. After hearing Mike Reiley announcing other finishers for hours, it would soon be my turn. I discovered I had a little juice left and picked it up (relatively speaking!) for mile 25, and then dropped my pace by about 3 min/mile for mile 26. The crowds had all moved to the finish line, except for Nate Heintzman and teammate Jerry Nairn, a happy sight in the solitude of that last mile.
Entering the finish area was maybe one of the best experiences I have had, ever. I saw so many people who are so dear to me, and others whom I hadn't met but who were sincerely cheering me on. I think this is a huge part of what makes these events so special. Not to be too sappy, but there is a genuine sense of caring, love and happiness and as my dad once said, it is a "celebration of humanity." Doing an Ironman is a self-inflicted challenge and some may wonder, "Why do it?" But what you do when you participate in an event like this is to teach yourself on a physical, emotional, and mental level that you are capable of pushing through something that may seem too difficult to bear. I tried to take it slow and just enjoy celebrating this finish, and immediately knew that it had been worth it all, not just that day but over the whole year and many years prior.
Thank you to everyone who participated in the weekend, both in Arizona and remotely in other locations. And thank you to my Triabuddy Elisa; I am totally serious when I say I wouldn't have made it to the start without her implicit support. Also I am very grateful to Kristin McGrath from Colorado Premiere Training; she enthusiastically and patiently coached me through my recovery and a complicated race schedule.
I hope to see Triabetes continue to grow so that more and more athletes with diabetes feel supported in their fitness goals, whether racing an Ironman or training for their first 5k run. For me, it has been a gift that makes it worth struggling with diabetes all these years. I am grateful to those who have supported Triabetes through volunteering, donations and sponsorships, making all of this possible. Thank you!
Race: Ironman Arizona, Tempe, Arizona (2.4 mi swim, 112 bike, 26.2 run)
Weather: cool, ~50 at the start to mid-70s during the day to cool again by the end.
Teammates present: 15 teammates from Triabetes, a bunch of guys & gals from Team Pacific Bicycle and a whole host of Triabetes friends & family
Goals: to keep focused on finishing and enjoying celebrating the day; to stay comfortable during the swim and bike and to allow myself time as needed in transition; to manage IT band injury so I could finish without causing long-term consequences.
Some races are about shooting for a new personal record (PR) or placing well; others are about making it to the starting line and doing one's best to finish. This race would be the latter.
Before the Start
Since I arrived with fellow teammate Sean at 5 AM, two hours before the start, I had plenty of time to make final preparations. I pumped up my tires, dropped off the special needs bags (which they give back to you midway through the bike and run), and cycled through the portapotty line a couple of times. I felt relaxed and ready to go--it really helps that they have you drop off all your gear the day before. Also, I planned to take a simpler approach to the bike and run this year, and would rely more on the aid stations for my fluids and nutrition. In past races, I have used Perpetuum on the bike, but this time I would just try Gatorade, water, and mix of solid food supplemented with gels etc. as needed. I would shoot for about 200 to 250 calories per hour while on the bike. For the run, I would carry plenty of fast-acting carbs with me, but also knew I could use the PowerGels and other food they were offering if I ran low. I had an extra infusion set inserted and primed the day before, but also had a spare on my bike and in my run special needs bag. I had a meter for the swim start, and another that I would stick in my jersey pocket on the bike and run. I had also thrown in a spare meter in my run transition bag.
Swim
After pulling on my wetsuit, I randomly found a few other Triabetes people; we made our way to the start with the slowly moving crowds. Sarah Jane and Sarah W. had set up a table near the start where we could leave our diabetes gear, and I was able to check my blood glucose (BG) one more time before hopping in the water. Although a bit on the cold side at 62 degrees, the water felt okay compared to swimming in the San Francisco Bay, and I was hoping that the fresh water would be kinder on my neck, since I yet again forgotten to put Body Glide on beforehand. I've seen some pretty bad wetsuit neckline welts before and wondered how long those took to heal. Oh well, it was too late; I just hoped for the best.
I lost everyone by then and just swam toward the start line, which was probably about 200 yards away. I had barely gotten somewhat close when the gun went off; we were underway! I started somewhere in the middle, trying to avoid the right side, where I imagined the more aggressive swimmers would be. Anyway, it was your typical Ironman swim start mayhem for a while but I could tell that we were going at a decent speed, and tried to stay in the pack. With about 2500 people starting, it was a big crowd! Partway down, I just didn't feel like dealing with it and inched out a little. Then the sun came up directly ahead and I couldn't see anything and just sighted off the other swimmers. I hate it when I look over and realize there is NO ONE to my side. I would move left, back to the pack to get some draft and then find myself to the right again. We passed beneath some bridges that I thought were near the turnaround, but I couldn't see the landmarks I had picked out earlier. But suddenly I was at the big red buoy; for the first time ever in a race, I thought, "Wow, it's already time to turn around!" I think having so many swimmers packed together in a somewhat narrow lake made for a stronger current than you might have at Ironman Coeur d'Alene or Wisconsin. Also, the turnaround buoy is not quite halfway through the course. I wondered if I might PR on the swim.
Swimming back, I felt really hungry and debated whether I should stop for a gel. I wasn't sure if I was low or just hungry since I had skipped my pre-race GU (gel), but decided to go ahead just to be safe. Also, if I even suspect that I have low BG, I tend to slow down; and usually when I am swimming, if I think I'm low, I am. But not always. For me, though, feeling hunger pangs is a pretty good indication of falling BG while exercising. I did feel better after the GU, although kicking on my back while eating seemed to disturb my calves and I started to cramp up. I tried to flex my feet and relax my calves, but they totally seized up. Owww! As I floated on my back, trying to relax the cramps, a woman in a kayak asked if I needed help. Hmm, I had sort of prided myself on not needing to stop during an IM swim, but this sounded like a good idea. Another woman who was closer slid up next to me on a surfboard and I grabbed it while trying to stretch out my calves. It took a few minutes but finally they relaxed, and I was able to swim the last half-mile without a problem. The Triabetes table had miraculously moved to the swim exit; I was very grateful for help with a post-swim BG check, which would give me a few extra minutes to make necessary adjustments. Also, it appeared that my neck was not chafed. Yeah!
the swim exit on a calmer dayI ran to get my transition bag, and slipped into the tent to get on my bike gear. I had opted to wear the Triabetes tri shorts and top for the whole race, rather than changing into separate bike and run clothes, so didn't really have that much to do. The volunteers rubbed me down with sunblock, which sort of globbed up on my wet skin. Clearly I wasn't in too much of a hurry, because I stopped in the portapotty to rub it in, probably wiping most of it off! (Yeah I had some weird sunburns the next day.) Eventually, I made it out of T1 and was on the bike. The Kestrel felt light under my feet as I made my way up the ramp, forgetting the rule about not passing anyone there. I saw some Triabetes fans wearing their blue shirts and I was happy!
Bike
My plan for the bike was to pace conservatively so that I could finish this leg without a flare-up of my IT band knee pain. I kept telling myself, "Don't be greedy!" meaning that it was NOT okay to just say, "Forget about the run! I'm going to hammer on the bike!" I have done this before! With such a flat course, I suspected that I might PR while keeping a steady but comfortable pace. Because I only had one water bottle cage on my bike, I planned to drink one bottle of water between each aid station, and would grab some Gatorade at the beginning of each, drink what I could and toss it at the last trash drop. With aid stations every 10 miles, I figured I would be passing one every 30-40 minutes, which would be fine. Actually, I suspected I might drink more, knowing that I had one bottle that should be mostly empty by the next stop. Also, I felt that by forcing myself to slow down a little for the aid stations, I would keep the pace under control better. My goal was to finish, remember? I tried to keep this in mind.
The course was 3 loops and nearly flat. Well, there was a mostly big-chain-rideable uphill on the way out and then the reverse slight downhill on the way back. There was a small short hill near the turnaround just long enough to stretch my legs out a bit. On the first loop out we had a pretty strong headwind, which took me by surprise since there had been NO wind whatsoever the days leading up! But the way down was super fast and fun and wow, that Kestrel is a bullet. I was so happy to see my mom and aunt along the sidelines on the way back, and got a big lift from the Triabetes crowds (as well as other friendly cheerers) at the turnaround for the start of lap two. I was enjoying this and felt strong and comfortable.
The next loop up, there was also some headwind, but on the turnaround there was also headwind. What?? Where did that beautiful tailwind go? Still, it was downhill and I had my goofy aero helmet on, which I actually love after all these years of mocking them, so it wasn't too bad. I stopped for my special needs bag and munched on some food and took a stop at the bathroom and was on my way again. I reminded myself that it was okay to not go crazy and rush through everything. I felt pretty good for the rest of the ride despite one serious flare-up of IT band pain. My physical therapist (PT) told me to swing my knee a little wider if this happened and lo! and behold! it worked. The pain was completely gone after a few minutes. I was happily surprised. Riding in the aero position was not entirely comfortable for me but I hadn't prepared much that way so I wasn't too surprised. I was probably in my aero position for about 50-55% of the time, when it should have been closer to 90-95% given the course.
Even though it was a good ride for me (and a PR of 40 minutes), I was happy to finish up and get off the bike! Immediately after handing a volunteer my bike, my knee started hurting. I walked slowly towards the transition bags as the volunteers pointed me up the hill towards my number. Well, I guess I just had one leg left. A marathon. Maybe if I took my time in transition, my knee would chill out and I could at least get through half the run still running. I finished the bike sometime around 3:30 PM, so would have over 8 1/2 hours to get through 26.2 miles. I felt like I could do this but I really didn't want to be out there that long!
Run
Eventually, after procrastinating as much as I could, I crossed the timing mat to start the run. My plan was to start off at a really conservative pace and just hope I could maintain that for the whole marathon. My knee was hurting a little for the first few miles, but I was relatively comfortably maintaining an 11-12 min/mile pace, which was my target. Around mile 3, I started feeling really spacy and checked my BG, which was in the 50s. I reprogrammed my basal rate, shut off the pump for 30 min, and loaded up on carbs. I decided to wait to start running again until I got above 80. I think Seb passed me here and it was good to see a fellow Triabetes teammate. My BG finally came up and I resumed my slow run. I was happy to see my mom and aunt, who were exactly where they said they would be, at the top of one of the short hills. "This is going to be a long run," I said. I was glad to note that they had some chairs to sit in!
Around mile 5, I decided to walk a little to give my knee a break, which seemed to help. On the second loop, by mile 8, the pain had increased and I was limping quite a bit. Some volunteers tried to help at an aid station by massaging my calf and knee area, but it got even worse after that, and my pace dropped off closer to 14-15 min/mile. I don't know if it was the massage; it probably would have gotten worse anyway. I kept recalculating how long this would take. Four MPH and 18 miles to go? I didn't want to think about it. I had asked my PT before the race whether the pain was something that should alert me to stop. I really wanted to finish; but more important to me was the ability to continue exercising after the race. He said that it could be a few weeks for the recovery, but that it shouldn't cause long-term problems. This was a relief to me as I continued, and although it was painful, I kept the pace below a level that would have caused burning pain. This would have been a show-stopper, whether or not I wanted to continue.
After an eternity I finished the second lap. The Triabetes tent area was amazing and it was so special to run through there. Thanks to my teammate Reid's sons for giving me the extra cheers as I passed through. Thinking about that last lap was a bit discouraging, because my pace was now somewhere between 3-4 MPH and I kept thinking, "I can't believe I am going to be out here for more than 2 hours!" But dang! I still wanted to finish this thing. I felt that physically I could get through it. Mentally, though, it was a struggle. At least, on this last lap, I knew I would be passing through each spot for the last time.
I was really happy to see a few faces from last year out there, including Aaron Perry, who was giving big cheers out in the boonies of the run course (yeah!) and Dave Shack, who was close to the Triabetes tent area. I commented to Dave how I had thought many times of his "power-walking in biking shorts" comment that made it to the documentary. Dave had made it through with a lot of walking and massive blisters on the bottoms of his feet! I guess I could muddle through another 5 miles. (But, still, ugh!!!) Thanks, too, to Ray Ibsen of Andiamo who walked with me a bit, his camera in hand. (Ray, you must have a really strong right arm.) A week of traveling had caught up with Elisa, so she had gone to bed; but she was still in my mind as I made my way around.
Crossing one of the bridges, Reid and Sean caught up with me, and we walked together for a while. It was so nice to be together, and I was happy to see that they were doing well. Soon enough, Denise came motoring on through like the Energizer bunny, and Reid and Sean decided to pick it up for the end. I tried to run a little here and there; it didn't seem to really help my pace all that much. But the end was in sight. After hearing Mike Reiley announcing other finishers for hours, it would soon be my turn. I discovered I had a little juice left and picked it up (relatively speaking!) for mile 25, and then dropped my pace by about 3 min/mile for mile 26. The crowds had all moved to the finish line, except for Nate Heintzman and teammate Jerry Nairn, a happy sight in the solitude of that last mile.
Entering the finish area was maybe one of the best experiences I have had, ever. I saw so many people who are so dear to me, and others whom I hadn't met but who were sincerely cheering me on. I think this is a huge part of what makes these events so special. Not to be too sappy, but there is a genuine sense of caring, love and happiness and as my dad once said, it is a "celebration of humanity." Doing an Ironman is a self-inflicted challenge and some may wonder, "Why do it?" But what you do when you participate in an event like this is to teach yourself on a physical, emotional, and mental level that you are capable of pushing through something that may seem too difficult to bear. I tried to take it slow and just enjoy celebrating this finish, and immediately knew that it had been worth it all, not just that day but over the whole year and many years prior.
Thank you to everyone who participated in the weekend, both in Arizona and remotely in other locations. And thank you to my Triabuddy Elisa; I am totally serious when I say I wouldn't have made it to the start without her implicit support. Also I am very grateful to Kristin McGrath from Colorado Premiere Training; she enthusiastically and patiently coached me through my recovery and a complicated race schedule.
I hope to see Triabetes continue to grow so that more and more athletes with diabetes feel supported in their fitness goals, whether racing an Ironman or training for their first 5k run. For me, it has been a gift that makes it worth struggling with diabetes all these years. I am grateful to those who have supported Triabetes through volunteering, donations and sponsorships, making all of this possible. Thank you!
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Ironman Arizona...Here It Comes
This year has been one with many unexpected challenges, and I have never gone into a race with this much uncertainty. Because of a nagging IT band injury, I haven't been able to train as much as I would normally have done, especially with regards to running. As a result, I spent more time swimming; not only has this helped me to improve my stroke, but also I have come to enjoy swimming much more. Although my swim time probably won't be faster than last year, I am happy to be back to my pre-crash state (more or less). Because I have basically spent this whole year rehabbing, I do not want to set myself back in a major way. While some pain is to be expected in an Ironman, I am hoping I can know the line between enduring to the finish and risking permanent harm. At Lotoja in September, the left side of my back and shoulder became quite weak and my IT band really started to hurt after 150 miles or so. It might have been wise to stop at that point. Lately, I've been able to ride without pain most of the time and run without pain for about an hour. I feel that I should be okay on the bike, and we'll just have to see about the run. I know that seeing many friendly faces will buoy me along the way, and that I am not the only one who has faced extra challenges training this year.
But, more importantly, I am looking forward to once again being in the community of amazing people involved with Triabetes, from last year and this year. And maybe some new people will discover us and join us for future adventures. I can't wait to see the documentary and to meet up with my Triabuddy Elisa, and to visit with Ray & Nella (her parents). Their dedication in filming and producing this documentary is unrivaled and I know I share the gratitude of many for their efforts. Saturday is a celebration and Sunday will be a time to enjoy having so many friends and family members on the course while I enjoy my little "catered workout" in Arizona.
But, more importantly, I am looking forward to once again being in the community of amazing people involved with Triabetes, from last year and this year. And maybe some new people will discover us and join us for future adventures. I can't wait to see the documentary and to meet up with my Triabuddy Elisa, and to visit with Ray & Nella (her parents). Their dedication in filming and producing this documentary is unrivaled and I know I share the gratitude of many for their efforts. Saturday is a celebration and Sunday will be a time to enjoy having so many friends and family members on the course while I enjoy my little "catered workout" in Arizona.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Blood Sugar Wrangling
For those who don't live with diabetes, here are some reminders:
basal rate = background insulin, usually fast-acting, delivered 24/7 by an insulin pump
bolus = equivalent of an injection of insulin, usually rapid-acting
CGM = continuous glucose monitor, which gives glucose readings every 1 to 5 minutes
BG = blood glucose, measured by a BG meter; aka "blood sugar." Normal is 70 to ~120 depending on various conditions. BG is affected by insulin concentration, stress, exercise, food, illness,...
insulin = hormone that facilitates movement of BG from blood to cells; fast-acting insulin starts working fairly quickly, peaks in about an hour or so, and sticks around for 3-4+ hours (for me). Exercise makes insulin much, much more potent.
The other night, I woke up around 1 AM feeling weak and hungry, as if I had low blood sugar. I checked and it was okay at 100. Not sure if my BG was rising or falling, since I am not, sadly, using a CGM right now, I ate half of a gel--about 10-15 g carbs--and went back to sleep. When I checked again before starting a morning swim, I was startled to see 279 on the meter. If anything, I have been waking up low in the morning recently since I significantly increased my basal rates. I was about to hop in the pool and figured leaving my basal rate at 100%, instead of reducing by 20-30%, plus skipping a pre-exercise snack, would help knock it down. Although I might typically give a little insulin to get things started, I decided to forgo it because of my elevated basal rate. I started my swim with a big set of 50's and felt thirsty and lethargic. I kept going, realizing that some days are better than others for a variety of reasons; still, I was having to work really hard to make intervals that were manageable the week before. After 45 minutes, I checked my BG, which had risen to a sticky 316. Ugh! No wonder I felt horrible. I gave a 1.2-unit bolus, drank some more water, and got back in the pool. A little disconcerted, I checked again about 20 minutes later and saw that I had already fallen to 262, and following my swim I had settled down to 122. There were many moments during the first half of this swim where I wanted to call it a day. While I am obviously a big fan of exercise, I do it for health benefits and for my enjoyment; it is not required to be an act of heroics! But sometimes, it sort of feels that way. Once I could see that my blood sugar was falling, I felt comfortable from past experience that things would improve. Throughout the day, I still felt off, and wonder if my probable prolonged overnight high BG had taken a toll.
My blood sugars were pretty oscillatory for the day and I had a late lunch/snack around 4 PM, requiring about 6 units of insulin, which is a lot considering my daily insulin is anywhere from 20 to 35 units. I was supposed to run after work, but had not been looking forward to it during the day. With my IT band troubles as of late, I haven't been able to really enjoy running, with each run ending in pain and frustration. Maybe I subconsciously ate late so I could use a massive bolus-on-board as an excuse? It's possible. For some reason, though, taking a lot of insulin made me feel a little better and I started to think that maybe I would run after all. So, about 45 minutes before I started running, I knocked my basal rate down by 90%, meaning I was basically taking little to no insulin. I didn't really think this would work, but had plenty of back-up GU handy. At 6:30, I started my run; I decided to run on the track in case I had to bail early. My BG was at about 120 and I decided I would just run and see how it fared. I just didn't want to eat more calories if I could help it. About 30 minutes into it, I had that sudden realization, "I'm low." I was at 74 and ate one gel and kept going. My blood sugar came back up nicely and I was able to finish my 50-minute run without any BG or IT band catastrophes.
In retrospect, it would have worked better to take a little insulin before my swim, and check partway through. If I needed to eat at that point, I could have. Also, during my run, I felt like it was likely that I would drop, so it might have been better to eat before I got started, rather than waiting until I was low. (Well, in the first place, it would have been better to not take 6 units of insulin that close to exercise.) In both cases, I was motivated by trying to avoid eating extra calories. I had to eat the calories anyway for the run, and getting my BG down sooner during my swim would have led to a more productive, healthier workout. And I was definitely hungry in the pool, so being able to eat a gel might have helped me swim stronger.
In the end, I was happy that I was able to get through both workouts, although the mental struggle in getting through them (and even starting them) was tough. I do love exercise, but that doesn't mean I love every workout. Anyway, Ironman Arizona is coming up quickly and at this point, each workout is key and will make a difference in how I feel race day. I am hoping that a little pain now will make race day a little less painful; I'd like to keep my focus on the wonderful experience of racing with my Triabetes team and watching out for my Triabuddy Elisa and other friends and family along the course!
Note: We're still short of our fundraising goal for the Triabetes documentary. Please click on the widget to the right or go here to donate a few bucks if you can. You can donate anonymously if you want by putting in an anonymous name on the first page. Note that Crazy Sea Lion has done just that.
basal rate = background insulin, usually fast-acting, delivered 24/7 by an insulin pump
bolus = equivalent of an injection of insulin, usually rapid-acting
CGM = continuous glucose monitor, which gives glucose readings every 1 to 5 minutes
BG = blood glucose, measured by a BG meter; aka "blood sugar." Normal is 70 to ~120 depending on various conditions. BG is affected by insulin concentration, stress, exercise, food, illness,...
insulin = hormone that facilitates movement of BG from blood to cells; fast-acting insulin starts working fairly quickly, peaks in about an hour or so, and sticks around for 3-4+ hours (for me). Exercise makes insulin much, much more potent.
The other night, I woke up around 1 AM feeling weak and hungry, as if I had low blood sugar. I checked and it was okay at 100. Not sure if my BG was rising or falling, since I am not, sadly, using a CGM right now, I ate half of a gel--about 10-15 g carbs--and went back to sleep. When I checked again before starting a morning swim, I was startled to see 279 on the meter. If anything, I have been waking up low in the morning recently since I significantly increased my basal rates. I was about to hop in the pool and figured leaving my basal rate at 100%, instead of reducing by 20-30%, plus skipping a pre-exercise snack, would help knock it down. Although I might typically give a little insulin to get things started, I decided to forgo it because of my elevated basal rate. I started my swim with a big set of 50's and felt thirsty and lethargic. I kept going, realizing that some days are better than others for a variety of reasons; still, I was having to work really hard to make intervals that were manageable the week before. After 45 minutes, I checked my BG, which had risen to a sticky 316. Ugh! No wonder I felt horrible. I gave a 1.2-unit bolus, drank some more water, and got back in the pool. A little disconcerted, I checked again about 20 minutes later and saw that I had already fallen to 262, and following my swim I had settled down to 122. There were many moments during the first half of this swim where I wanted to call it a day. While I am obviously a big fan of exercise, I do it for health benefits and for my enjoyment; it is not required to be an act of heroics! But sometimes, it sort of feels that way. Once I could see that my blood sugar was falling, I felt comfortable from past experience that things would improve. Throughout the day, I still felt off, and wonder if my probable prolonged overnight high BG had taken a toll.
My blood sugars were pretty oscillatory for the day and I had a late lunch/snack around 4 PM, requiring about 6 units of insulin, which is a lot considering my daily insulin is anywhere from 20 to 35 units. I was supposed to run after work, but had not been looking forward to it during the day. With my IT band troubles as of late, I haven't been able to really enjoy running, with each run ending in pain and frustration. Maybe I subconsciously ate late so I could use a massive bolus-on-board as an excuse? It's possible. For some reason, though, taking a lot of insulin made me feel a little better and I started to think that maybe I would run after all. So, about 45 minutes before I started running, I knocked my basal rate down by 90%, meaning I was basically taking little to no insulin. I didn't really think this would work, but had plenty of back-up GU handy. At 6:30, I started my run; I decided to run on the track in case I had to bail early. My BG was at about 120 and I decided I would just run and see how it fared. I just didn't want to eat more calories if I could help it. About 30 minutes into it, I had that sudden realization, "I'm low." I was at 74 and ate one gel and kept going. My blood sugar came back up nicely and I was able to finish my 50-minute run without any BG or IT band catastrophes.
In retrospect, it would have worked better to take a little insulin before my swim, and check partway through. If I needed to eat at that point, I could have. Also, during my run, I felt like it was likely that I would drop, so it might have been better to eat before I got started, rather than waiting until I was low. (Well, in the first place, it would have been better to not take 6 units of insulin that close to exercise.) In both cases, I was motivated by trying to avoid eating extra calories. I had to eat the calories anyway for the run, and getting my BG down sooner during my swim would have led to a more productive, healthier workout. And I was definitely hungry in the pool, so being able to eat a gel might have helped me swim stronger.
In the end, I was happy that I was able to get through both workouts, although the mental struggle in getting through them (and even starting them) was tough. I do love exercise, but that doesn't mean I love every workout. Anyway, Ironman Arizona is coming up quickly and at this point, each workout is key and will make a difference in how I feel race day. I am hoping that a little pain now will make race day a little less painful; I'd like to keep my focus on the wonderful experience of racing with my Triabetes team and watching out for my Triabuddy Elisa and other friends and family along the course!
Note: We're still short of our fundraising goal for the Triabetes documentary. Please click on the widget to the right or go here to donate a few bucks if you can. You can donate anonymously if you want by putting in an anonymous name on the first page. Note that Crazy Sea Lion has done just that.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Back to Triathlon
In the past couple weeks, I've done my first triathlon races since Ironman Wisconsin last September. The first was Barb's Race, which is up in Sonoma on the Vineman course; the second was last weekend at the Folsom Olympic Distance Triathlon up at Natoma Lake in Folsom, CA. For both I took a relaxed approach and just wanted to test my body. I would say that they both went well, although I didn't break any records. The highlight of both was probably the bike leg, which I always seem to enjoy the most. My time for Barb's (a half-iron distance) was 6:18 or so, and my time for Folsom was 3:05. For both, and especially Folsom, I had slower swim times than I expected; I think that I really need to warm up more and dare to push myself harder on the swim. Also, I tend to lose focus in the open water and need to work on that. My bike legs for both races felt strong although I had some issues with my tri bike towards the end of Barb's, which prompted me to just go with the road bike for Folsom. So, I probably lost some time there. But I'm fine with that for now. When I got to the run at Barb's, I thought, "Now is when the suffering really begins!" But then I considered why I was out there. Was it to be miserable? Or did I actually enjoy this sport? I knew I wouldn't PR that day and decided to give myself a break and just run at a more comfortable pace. I tried to keep it steady but relaxed and did enjoy the run. For Folsom, though, I decided I would try to keep the pace up for the relatively short 10k distance. It was hot but not unbearable and the hilly course was a good challenge.
For both races, I had high BG issues. In particular, for Folsom, I could not get my BG below 300 for most of the race, despite taking a lot of insulin and not eating anything before and until the last few miles of the bike. I think I ate breakfast (only 25 g carbs, though) too close to the race start (about 90 min) and, although I bolused and had increased my basal rate about 0.2 U/hr higher than normal, I popped up to 350 before the swim. By the end of the swim, with my basal at about 0.3 U/hr higher than normal, I was down to 300 and stayed there despite another bolus. My guess is that the intensity of the shorter race caused a greater adrenalin response? I hadn't done an Olympic distance event since 2006 before Folsom.
For Barb's, I really cranked up my basal rate for the second half of the swim and into the bike. This seemed to work pretty well, since I only went up to the low 200's, vs. higher which has happened frequently in the past. I really need to lay on the insulin in the beginning part of tri's! And, I need to force myself to get up earlier to eat breakfast.
I had a great time visiting with friends at both events and was very pleased to meet 2 of the Northern Cal Triabetes members and another who had come up from Southern Cal to race on Saturday! I am the local team captain and am hoping to get more members in Nor Cal/Tahoe area to do periodic training events and races together. So if you know someone who might be interested in being a part of Triabetes, spread the word. There are local teams forming all across the US/Canada and I'm sure we'd be happy to expand out of that region as well.
For both races, I had high BG issues. In particular, for Folsom, I could not get my BG below 300 for most of the race, despite taking a lot of insulin and not eating anything before and until the last few miles of the bike. I think I ate breakfast (only 25 g carbs, though) too close to the race start (about 90 min) and, although I bolused and had increased my basal rate about 0.2 U/hr higher than normal, I popped up to 350 before the swim. By the end of the swim, with my basal at about 0.3 U/hr higher than normal, I was down to 300 and stayed there despite another bolus. My guess is that the intensity of the shorter race caused a greater adrenalin response? I hadn't done an Olympic distance event since 2006 before Folsom.
For Barb's, I really cranked up my basal rate for the second half of the swim and into the bike. This seemed to work pretty well, since I only went up to the low 200's, vs. higher which has happened frequently in the past. I really need to lay on the insulin in the beginning part of tri's! And, I need to force myself to get up earlier to eat breakfast.
I had a great time visiting with friends at both events and was very pleased to meet 2 of the Northern Cal Triabetes members and another who had come up from Southern Cal to race on Saturday! I am the local team captain and am hoping to get more members in Nor Cal/Tahoe area to do periodic training events and races together. So if you know someone who might be interested in being a part of Triabetes, spread the word. There are local teams forming all across the US/Canada and I'm sure we'd be happy to expand out of that region as well.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Wildflower v.6
Lake San Antonio, CAEarlier this month marked the 6th year I have made the trek down to Lake San Antonio for the infamous Wildflower Triathlon. The first year, I was a spectator, and swore to myself, as I inched along my chair to stay out of the 100+ degree heat, that I would never do the Long Course (half-ironman distance). That was the first triathlon I had ever seen and I really had no intention of signing up for one myself at that point. I thought that there was no sport I could ever love besides running. And even though I did enjoy getting out on my mountain bike from time to time, the swimming was a deal-breaker. At the age of 7 or 8, when I was taking swimming lessons at the local high school pool, I was doing backstroke when my instructor called out, "That's terrible!" Assuming he was addressing me, I was so afraid that I hid out in the locker room for the next several lessons and never really got back into it.
So it was a huge step for me in many ways to arrive again at Wildflower in 2005 to race in the Olympic-distance event. I had taken swimming lessons, bought a bike, and gotten used to clip-in pedals. The swim was mayhem as usual, the bike felt insanely hilly, and the run up the last hill brought me to tears; but a day or so later, I couldn't wait to sign up for my next event. Four years since then, here is my race report of my 6th Wildflower race event.
***
Last-minute, I found a team that needed a cyclist for the annual Wildflower Long Course Triathlon. The course is a very hilly one, starting out with big rollers for the first 15-18 miles, then long mild grades for another 10-15 miles, then some easy stuff before the really big climbs begin. It is a beautiful place to ride, with little traffic, and lots of wildflowers out this year. Everyone camps, and as we pulled into camp, I saw a 4-foot snake slithering towards someone's tent. I made sure to keep mine zipped up!
The weather was very rainy on Friday, but cleared up by Saturday morning, which was a huge relief. My start was at 10:20 AM, after our relay team swimmer finished. There were a couple of relay cyclists out there on trainers--an unusual scene at a triathlon--getting ready for the big legs of their relays. These guys were out to win. For our team and others that I noticed, there was a jovial mood--we were pretty happy to just worry about one event for a change. Anyway, the course starts out with a couple of easy miles before the first big climb, which is significant. Since the relays start last, there were few people on the course by the time I started. My goal was to see people ahead of me and pick them off one by one. (Although I kept telling myself, "I am not racing!") At one point a gal tried to pass and it got my competitive juices flowing and I took off. (Triathlon does not allow drafting, for good reason, since it is a serious safety hazard unless you are trained. If you are passed completely, you have to drop back 4 bike lengths.) I was careful about drinking and keeping my nutrition going, and making sure my blood sugar was in a good zone. I descended in the drops and am feeling a lot more comfortable doing this. Actually, now I feel much more glued to the road in the drops vs. holding the hoods.
There was a nice tailwind on the flatter section of the ride, and I tried to take advantage of this bonus. (Usually there is a headwind in this section!) I felt strong and was so so so so happy to be out there. The worst hill of the day up Naciamento Lake Rd. ("Nasty Grade") was okay and I just plugged along, happy to have my compact gearing. The descent is a long sweeping curve and I felt solid but was shocked when a truck+trailer blew by me from the left about 2 feet away. But no harm done. It was another moment I was glad I was in my drops.
I was able to feel good through the finish & my stamina has improved somewhat. My collarbone felt good and my lower back held up. The next couple days I was achy in my lower back and arms, but felt more or less recovered after a few days. My time was about 30 minutes slower than last year, which I am trying to not worry about too much, all considered.
On the diabetes front, things went well. I took my full bolus, as well as full symlin dose, about 3 1/2 hours before I started. My BGs were in the upper 100's before the start, when I got hungry and munched on half of a granola bar. I ate it a bit too early and so had to correct with 0.5 U and I upped my basal a little for a half-hour. My BG's were a bit on the high side to begin with, but came down nicely. I had one reading in the 80's but nothing too serious. Basals were as follows
9:00 AM 0.5
10:00 AM 0.65
(10:15 AM race start)
10:30 AM 0.5
12:45 PM 0.35
1:00 PM 0.22
2:15 PM 0.32 (race over).
I didn't bolus during the ride and ate about 150 calories per hour, or one GU + some gatorade about every hour. I didn't have a swim before or a run afterward, so didn't feel the need to eat a ton.
***
It was great to be there with Triabetes team captain Sean McKendry, who successfully completed his first triathlon in the Long Course event. Just to add some perspective, many people consider this race to be one of the hardest triathlons out there and say that, in effort, it could be considered a 2/3-ironman distance event. It is tough. Way to go, Sean! And he ended it with a rock-star BG of 130.
Sean's out there swimming somewhereTuesday, September 02, 2008
Ironman Wisconsin Count-Down
As I recover from a whirlwind work trip to Sapporo, Japan, I am already preparing to fly out to Madison for this weekend's big event. I am excited, and nervous, wondering how my last week of travel will affect my performance on Sunday. My blood sugars are slowly re-adjusting to the 16-hour time difference here and will be challenged by yet another 2-hour time change tomorrow. I am in taper mode and have bumped up the rates; still, I have noticed especially that my overnight basal rates are killing me with low BG and my afternoon BG's are too high. Get back with the program, body! We're not in Japan anymore! I am hopeful that this will not cause big problems, but I feel like making it through the swim on Sunday may be a bit of a guessing game, and that makes me nervous. Once I'm out of the water, I will be very relieved, especially if I can manage to keep my BG's <250 during the first couple hours of the ride. That would be a unique IM experience for me. I do have some careful records from before and during IMCDA and some more recent workout records to help guide me, and feel like my nutrition/hydration approach from IMCDA should also work well this time around.
For those interested, very cool Triabetes "IronFan" T-shirts are available from Michelle Alswager. Check out her blog for more details. We are also trying to put together some live tracking in addition to that available on ironman.live. Check out triabetes.org or the "Triabetes 2008" group on facebook for more information! (You can also join the facebook group if you'd like updates.)
For those interested, very cool Triabetes "IronFan" T-shirts are available from Michelle Alswager. Check out her blog for more details. We are also trying to put together some live tracking in addition to that available on ironman.live. Check out triabetes.org or the "Triabetes 2008" group on facebook for more information! (You can also join the facebook group if you'd like updates.)
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Vineman 70.3 or maybe 70.8
A couple weeks ago I did the Vineman 70.3 race up in Sonoma County. This course is nearly identical to Barb's Race, which was my first half-IM distance event in 2005. I did Vineman 70.3 in 2006 on a hot, difficult day, and came in much slower than my Barb's Race time of 6:01. So, this year, I was wondering, would I beat that time? Could I come in under 6 hours? The race was exactly 4 weeks after IMCDA and I thought it would also be a good test to see if I'd recovered.I've had to keep my basal rates lower after IMCDA even though I am about 5 pounds heavier right now. I don't get it but that's how it is sometimes. So planning out insulin for the race was a bit of a guessing game. I decided to really amp up my swim/early bike basal rate, from 0.9 to 1.3 U/hr. I was going to take care of that bike spike once and for all! A couple hours before the run, I would lower it to a level I though would keep me steady. After reviewing my IMCDA basal levels, I settled on a rate of 0.2 U/hr.
We were staying close to the start, so, on race morning, I meandered to the transition area about an hour before my wave went off. Soon enough I was swimming, not sighting too well, but happy to come out of the water with a few minutes' improvement over most of my 2007 swims. I hopped on the bike and, after about 15 minutes, checked my blood: 155. Great! I felt good and was happy to have some overcast skies. I noticed that neither my cadence or speed were getting picked up. That meant I would not have mileage either. I decided to just go by heart rate, targeting heart rate zone 3 for the bike and run.
I tested a bit later and was surprised to see my BG climbing fast, again. Hmmm. I thought my 1.3 basal would have taken care of this. I checked again a bit later and it was still rising merrily into the 300's so I took a small bolus to knock it down a bit. I backed off on the calories but still did drink a little Perpetuum because I was getting hungry. Around mile 25 or so, I pulled out my meter to test and somehow dropped my velcro-laden lancet. I kept riding. There was no way I was going to stop to get it. Bah! I kept riding some more and then my reasonable mind reminded me that I still had a long way to go, and that my BG's were not stabilized yet. I grudgingly peeled off to the left to turn and look for it. I had a nice comment from one of the riders, who called out, "Once isn't good enough for you?" I had words for him but muttered something and rode past the spot where I had dropped it. I slowly rode back up the road, eying the ground for a gray lancet with red velcro. I couldn't find it. Well that was time well spent! Oh well. I figured I could test by just squeezing my fingers hard enough to make them bleed. I usually bleed from a couple spots when I test, anyway! (The problem is, I don't seem to bleed from multiple spots unless I prick a new one!) I was able to test one more time and then just went by feel and past experience. I figured I would start to come down, and assumed this was the case when I started to feel better.
I had no idea of my mileage or average speed, but was familiar enough with the course to think that I might be able to break 3 hours. For most of the ride, I felt good and was enjoying riding on familiar ground. My heart rate was on target and the weather was pleasant. After the one big climb at Chalk Hill, I knew the end was in sight. I kept pushing through the end and was happy to see 2:59 on my watch. Fun! I was glad my little lost lancet incident hadn't pushed me over the edge.
Once on the run, I discovered my BGs were not only high but rising from my end-of-ride food fest. I had finished off the Perpetuum and eaten another 25 g of carbs in anticipation of my usual drop at the beginning of the run. I had also lowered my basal rate a bit earlier and a bit lower than I did in Coeur d'Alene. All of these factors, as well as not being able to test, contributed to another spike over 300. I waited a bit to see if it would fall; it didn't and I took another small bolus. After several additional miles, it seemed to be settling around 250 and I decided to leave it there. I felt so much better not being on the brink of a bad low all the time and it gave me energy and confidence to push the pace a bit. My heart rate was theoretically in zone 2 so I guess I could have pushed even harder; still, it felt like the right effort-level for the distance and conditions. I guess it would have been good to nudge the BG to somewhere below 200 but I was stable, felt good and, with an hour to go, just left it alone.
Although it got a bit warmer when the sun broke through, I tried to hold my pace; I didn't have to do 2 loops, after all! (That was the theme of the day: only one loop for each leg! yay!) I was pretty excited to see that I would likely be able to finish in under 6 hours, and pushed the pace through the finish, for a finishing half-marathon time of 1:57 and a total time of 5:56. And the cool part was that my average heart rate was 165 compared to 178 three years ago with a time that was 5 minutes slower. Yay for progress! And it was a great relief to realize that, unlike last year, my recovery was going well, and that I would be able to continue to train well for IM Wisconsin. And speaking of IM Wisconsin, I can't wait for that race, where I will not only have spare lancets but spare meters out on the course. Fantastic! In the meantime, I think I'll try some string as a back-up to velcro.
Friday, July 18, 2008
A Few Ramblings...
Good luck to everyone racing in Lake Placid this weekend! Ed Liebowitz will be doing his first Ironman. Go Ed!! I also have a slew of friends from San Francisco racing; many of them helped me to get started with triathlon in the first place, and a couple even came to cheer on Jill and myself this past June in Coeur d'Alene. Good luck! Some race numbers to keep an eye on: 2550, 1377, 683, 286, 598, 2108, 859, 254, 416, and 341! I hope I didn't miss anyone. And if you have a chance to come across #683, check out his calves--they're legendary! You can follow the action live on Sunday at ironman.com.
I'll be catching the race in the afternoon after I do the Vineman 70.3 race up in Sonoma County. I was on the waiting list and got off so I am in! I've raced the course twice before and done many training rides up there, so it will be a familiar route for me. Sunday will be four weeks post IMCDA so the race will be a good test on how my recovery is going. I feel pretty good other than the fact that my weight bounced up several pounds within days of Ironman and has been fluctuating a lot since then. My first 80-mile ride was pretty painful but I felt pretty decent riding 90 last weekend with a short run after. I am starting to think that I have recovered after all; because of my experience last year, I had been sort of expecting a sudden disintegration in energy and motivation at any moment! Having the motivation to race with my Triabetes teammates in September has been very helpful this time around.
And if you are riding in Sausalito in the next few weeks, be careful at the intersections and crosswalks. The police there have nothing better to do than to conduct stings to ticket cyclists who don't stop for pedestrians at crosswalks. I had heard about this before and stopped quickly at a crosswalk when I saw a pedestrian on the other side of the road put one foot onto the road. The guy riding behind me a little bit (and to the side) continued through and was given a ticket. I hope they do stings for cars, too.
I'll be catching the race in the afternoon after I do the Vineman 70.3 race up in Sonoma County. I was on the waiting list and got off so I am in! I've raced the course twice before and done many training rides up there, so it will be a familiar route for me. Sunday will be four weeks post IMCDA so the race will be a good test on how my recovery is going. I feel pretty good other than the fact that my weight bounced up several pounds within days of Ironman and has been fluctuating a lot since then. My first 80-mile ride was pretty painful but I felt pretty decent riding 90 last weekend with a short run after. I am starting to think that I have recovered after all; because of my experience last year, I had been sort of expecting a sudden disintegration in energy and motivation at any moment! Having the motivation to race with my Triabetes teammates in September has been very helpful this time around.
And if you are riding in Sausalito in the next few weeks, be careful at the intersections and crosswalks. The police there have nothing better to do than to conduct stings to ticket cyclists who don't stop for pedestrians at crosswalks. I had heard about this before and stopped quickly at a crosswalk when I saw a pedestrian on the other side of the road put one foot onto the road. The guy riding behind me a little bit (and to the side) continued through and was given a ticket. I hope they do stings for cars, too.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Ironman Coeur d'Alene 2008 Race Report
(Note: this race report includes some details on diabetes management but I will write up another summary with more details and data, as well as pictures!) Glossary below is for those not familiar with diabetes lingo:
Late Saturday afternoon, I had a light dinner and headed back to the motel. I had finished packing my special needs bags and was ready for bed. Unfortunately, sleep would not come easily. I really wanted to have a working Dexcom sensor for the race, and the current one, which I had inserted a few days prior, was not calibrating well. I didn't want to reset it because I would have to wake up around 11 PM to calibrate, and I knew once I was awake it would be tough to fall asleep again. But it wasn't working and so I decided to reset it. I woke up later to calibrate and then again at 1 AM to check and see if it was working. No. I decided to get out of bed and put in a new sensor. So a couple hours after that, I got up to calibrate and then tried to sleep for a few minutes. I think I got about 3-4 hours sleep max. But, I did have a working Dexcom at least. I tried to comfort myself knowing I had slept less before marathons.
Race Day
Around 3:45 AM, I got out of bed and ate my breakfast of oatmeal, banana, peanut butter and a cup of soy milk. My basal rates were pretty high from my taper and I was happy to see that I never had a big pre-race spike from breakfast. Soon enough, we were all down at the race start, getting body-marked and doing last-minute things with our bikes and transition and special needs bags. The sky was mostly clear and the temperatures were pleasant. The only hitch in the forecast was for possible thunderstorms during the swim. I wondered how the swim director would handle that one. About 15 minutes before the start, my friend Jill and I made our way to the swim timing mats--it was crowded! I was a little anxious about getting to the beach before the gun went off, but we barely made it with about 4 minutes to spare. We headed over to the left, where I started last year, and stood for just a few moments until the canon blasted right in front of us. I guess it was time to start!
Where's the fire (or should I say "shark"), people?
The first lap of the swim was pretty rough. I tried to take the line near the buoys to avoid getting stuck far on the outside, but there was not a smooth line to be found. People seemed to be swimming frantically; perhaps because I held back a little at the start I was in a clump of more nervous swimmers? I'm not sure but it was pretty much impossible to get a rhythm going. And the corners were especially bad. My suggestion to race officials would be to emphasize swim etiquette at the Friday night athlete meeting. We hear a lot about cycling rules but the anonymity of the swim seems to lead to some pretty rude behavior--outright shoving and dunking are not uncommon! Who are you people who do that?
Hopping out of the water I looked for my friend who would help me to test my blood sugar between laps. There he was! I tested at 149, ate a GU and hopped back in for my second lap. My time after the first lap was about 48 minutes, faster than my Wildflower time by one minute and 2 minutes ahead of last year. I was happy with that but, more so, I was happy to see my BG was pretty much perfect. I was confident that I would not get low on the 2nd lap, and relaxed a bit. A few buoys in, though, my right bicep/shoulder injury flared up and it was painful throughout the rest of the swim. I was a little disappointed that I couldn't use my right arm fully but it seemed to slow me down by only a few minutes. I was very happy to see a time of 1:42 coming out of the water--a 13-minute improvement over last year.
And regarding the water temperature of the lake, it was nearly 60 degrees the morning of the race, and was not an issue for me. I did not wear the aqua socks or booties and actually felt a little warm when the sun came out during the swim. I did wear my nice Tyr black insulated cap under the pink cap, and that kept me comfortable. I'm glad I spent some time acclimating in the Bay and Lake Cd'A beforehand, though.
A ride through Kootenai County
The wet suit strippers did their job and I found myself preparing for the bike. My BG was a bit above 200, a little on the high side--I guess I should have left my basal a little higher. This year, I decided to wear the same thing for the swim and bike since I finally had some great tri shorts that were suitable for a long course triathlon. Thanks Team Pacific Bicycle! I grabbed my bike and made my way, pretty happy to be on the ride before 9 AM this year.
My goal for the ride was to keep it easy and to keep my heart rate around 150 bpm or less. It was tough those first few miles to stay below 160 bpm but I was pretty disciplined about slowing down; although what I really wanted to do was blast by a lot of people and catch up to the faster swimmers. I hate being left behind! One fun thing about being a slower swimmer is that I don't get passed by too many people on the bike, except for the random guy who, by his aero helmet and bike, seems to be in the wrong spot. The bike course is beautiful and I enjoyed the scenery more this year than last, perhaps because I was less anxious throughout the day. The only warm area was near the first section of rollers by Hayden Lake, and then we did have some moderate headwinds on the ride back to town. It was hard to complain too much since those headwinds were pretty nice tailwinds on the way out.
I can't remember why I waited so long to check my blood sugar on the first lap, but when I did, I was surprised to see a reading of 306. "Shoot! I thought I was going to have perfect blood sugar!" After such a great swim, I was hoping for perfect BG day! I did not get anxious but took a 0.5 U bolus and started drinking a bit more water. Since I recognized this as a pattern, I did not get concerned that I was having insulin or pump problems and knew it would come down if I just took some extra insulin. The BG continued to rise over the next 45-60 minutes--meanwhile, I continued to hydrate with water, took one salt tablet and bolused another 0.8 U insulin. The Dexcom showed that the rise was tapering off, and once I saw a plateau in BG (2 readings of 390), I resumed drinking my Perpetuum (4 scoops + 4 scoops electrolyte powder) and started eating the bananas offered at the aid stations. I had to stop a few times to use the portapotties because of all the water plus the high BG, but was not too worried about it. I was happy to see my BG settle down to 157 after a couple hours and the Dexcom showed that it was pretty stable.
I felt great going into the second lap and ate all of my pretzels (but nothing else) from my special needs bag around mile 65. Riding back through town, I was trying to pass a slower rider who wouldn't move over to the right. He kept blocking me as we went around the corner and up the hill to Government Blvd. I took the hill a little fast and my heart rate was probably up because right after that, I started to feel pretty bad. It was as if my body was saying, "No you don't!" Unfortunately, that happened to be where my parents and another friend were waiting. I tried to muster a cheery "Hi" but thought they might be worried. I was barely moving and started to think about how unlikely it was that I could continue like this. How could I possibly finish the ride and then run a marathon? I was feeling some cognitive disconnect and a bit dizzy and thought my BG might be low, but it was a healthy 127. Hmm. I looked down at my odometer and saw "75" and then it struck me. "So this is that 80-mile thing that can happen on the bike." Last year, a sports psychologist, Jim Taylor, had spoken with our group about mental strategies for an ironman. In particular, he had noted that many people hit a point of mental fatigue around 80 miles on the bike. At that point, the day is starting to wear on you a bit, yet there is still a long way to go. Since the symptoms felt so similar to low blood sugar, I decided to eat a bit more and to just keep the pace low. For the next hour or so, whenever I pushed my heart rate above 152, the dizziness and spacey feeling would return, so I just kept things mellow for awhile. This meant going up the hills really slowly but I had promised myself not to worry about pace, especially on the bike. Eventually, I started feeling stronger again and for the last 20 miles of the ride, felt great.
Riding back into the transition area was a joy, even though I had 26.2 miles of running ahead of me. I like to run and felt ready to go. Plus, I was glad to ditch the bike for awhile. Expecting a slower time on the bike than last year, I was surprised to see a time of 6:58 on my watch. Great!
A lakeside run
Coming out of transition, I saw a group of friends who were there to cheer on Jill and me. They were cheering enthusiastically and I was happy to see them and so I returned with a vigorous cheer. A few slow steps into the run, though, I thought, "Hmm, maybe I could have toned it down just a bit there?" But, well, we owe a lot to those spectators who run around all day to keep us going, no? It wasn't too hard to smile when I saw my friends and family along the course; I had usually been looking forward to seeing them for miles.
My pace for the first few miles was okay, but it started to taper off a bit and I was having to eat a lot to keep my BGs above 80. During the first half-marathon, I had one (measured) dip below 80 and would periodically get it above 100. I kept adjusting my basal rate downward, but avoided shutting off the pump entirely, which had led to some problems last year. Still, last year I shut the pump down for three hours and it probably would have been helpful to just shut it off for 30 minutes when I was continuously below 100.
After the halfway mark, I ditched my Vitalyte bottle and decided to do cola and 1 GU per hour. Either I wasn't taking enough cola in, or else it wasn't being absorbed as well as the Vitalyte, because I had a sudden drop in my BG to 66 around mile 17 or 18. I had noticed my heart rate falling and pace dropping off but hadn't caught the falling BG. I ate a GU and started drinking Gatorade and shut down my pump for 30 minutes. I noticed at the 20 mile mark that it might be possible for me to break 14 hours if I could increase my pace a bit. But looking at my splits, I was getting slower and I decided to not worry about it. I hit the big hill of the course for the second and last time, and decided to walk it, noting that my walking pace was about the same as my running! Bummer! Anyway once I hit the turnaround, I resumed running. I was on the home stretch now. Only about 5 miles to go!
The weather was still pleasant with some overcast skies, if I remember, and I was happy to be running in the light. One spectator said, "You are going to see a beautiful sunset!" and I remember thinking, "Not if I can help it." I secretly wanted to finish before they handed out the glowsticks this time. But would it be possible at my 12 min/mi pace? I hit the 21-mile mark right at 8 PM, which would make finishing before 9 pretty tight. I didn't take a split again until mile 23 but was surprised to see 20:42 on my watch. That was about 10:20 per mile or nearly 2 minutes faster per mile than I had been going. Hmm, maybe I could make it after all! I noticed on the Dexcom that my BG had risen and was starting to plateau. I would have to race my BG to the finish, I thought. "We'll see if I can finish before it drops!" I kept drinking some gatorade and cola but didn't eat any more food for the remainder of the run. The next splits were 10:09 and 9:57 and I saw that I was going to make it. I was feeling strong and felt some pain but was not suffering too much. People were happy to see a happy runner and cheered me enthusiastically those last few miles. I rounded the last corner and had my own few moments of being a super star since I was pretty much alone for the home stretch. The finish at Coeur d'Alene is amazing and I waved my pump, UltraMini and Dexcom in the air in victory! Yay! The last 1.2 miles I finished at about a 10 min/mi pace although according to my Polar I was running at a 7:36 pace at my fastest. (Thanks Duane for making us do a time trial at mile 21 of our 22-mile run!) I had finished the marathon in 4:55, slower than I had hoped for but 27 minutes faster than last year.
My finishing time was 13:52:19, 50 minutes faster than last year. Splits were as follows:
A celebration of humanity
Visiting with my parents the next morning, I asked if they enjoyed the Ironman experience. My mom had come last year but this was my dad's first time at any triathlon, let alone an Ironman. My dad suggested that the whole experience was a "celebration of humanity." After reflecting on that, I agree that the Ironman is indeed a celebration of what is possible for the human body and spirit; the coming together of family, friends and volunteers to make the day possible is an act of love. It is so uplifting to see spectators cheering on not only their own loved ones but other athletes who need some encouragement. And there are moments between athletes, little words of encouragement and assurance, that touch the spirit and remind us that we are all in this together.
Thank you
Thank you to all my friends and family supporting me on the course, online, through phone calls and emails and words of encouragement throughout my training. I was lucky to again be coached by Duane Franks and Dorette Sommer of Trifiniti and to have the added and much-needed expertise this year from Matt Corcoran and his staff at the Diabetes Training Camp. It was a big victory to me this year when I passed the aid station on the run where I had to stop for some time last year. Also thank you to my teammates from Triabetes and Team Pacific Bicycle, as well as my co-workers, whose support buoyed me along my way.
Now it's time to start thinking about September. After my experience this year in Cd'A I cannot wait to race IM Wisconsin with our Triabetes team. (Um, well don't take that too literally.) It will be amazing.
- BG, blood glucose, blood sugar: the amount of glucose in the blood; in someone without diabetes, this is usually around 90-100 mg/dL;
- BG meter (UltraMini): device to measure blood glucose, requires a drop of blood
- Insulin pump: insulin delivery pump, used instead of injections; does not replace BG testing; I use an Animas pump which is waterproof, enabling me to wear it during the swim;
- Dexcom: continuous glucose sensor, measures glucose subcutaneously, must be calibrated to a BG meter, does not always match up perfectly with BG but can be particularly useful to spot rising or falling glucose
- Basal rate: the amount of insulin being infused at a constant rate from the insulin pump, usually varies with activity and time of day
- Bolus: like an injection of insulin only through the pump, programmed manually
- Insulin: hormone made by the pancreas, missing in people with type 1 diabetes; insulin allows glucose to move from blood into muscle and fat cells and causes a decrease in blood glucose concentration; carbohydrates cause an increase in blood glucose concentration and exercise has variable effects depending on the concentration of insulin and glucose in the blood.
Late Saturday afternoon, I had a light dinner and headed back to the motel. I had finished packing my special needs bags and was ready for bed. Unfortunately, sleep would not come easily. I really wanted to have a working Dexcom sensor for the race, and the current one, which I had inserted a few days prior, was not calibrating well. I didn't want to reset it because I would have to wake up around 11 PM to calibrate, and I knew once I was awake it would be tough to fall asleep again. But it wasn't working and so I decided to reset it. I woke up later to calibrate and then again at 1 AM to check and see if it was working. No. I decided to get out of bed and put in a new sensor. So a couple hours after that, I got up to calibrate and then tried to sleep for a few minutes. I think I got about 3-4 hours sleep max. But, I did have a working Dexcom at least. I tried to comfort myself knowing I had slept less before marathons.
Race Day
Around 3:45 AM, I got out of bed and ate my breakfast of oatmeal, banana, peanut butter and a cup of soy milk. My basal rates were pretty high from my taper and I was happy to see that I never had a big pre-race spike from breakfast. Soon enough, we were all down at the race start, getting body-marked and doing last-minute things with our bikes and transition and special needs bags. The sky was mostly clear and the temperatures were pleasant. The only hitch in the forecast was for possible thunderstorms during the swim. I wondered how the swim director would handle that one. About 15 minutes before the start, my friend Jill and I made our way to the swim timing mats--it was crowded! I was a little anxious about getting to the beach before the gun went off, but we barely made it with about 4 minutes to spare. We headed over to the left, where I started last year, and stood for just a few moments until the canon blasted right in front of us. I guess it was time to start!
Where's the fire (or should I say "shark"), people?
The first lap of the swim was pretty rough. I tried to take the line near the buoys to avoid getting stuck far on the outside, but there was not a smooth line to be found. People seemed to be swimming frantically; perhaps because I held back a little at the start I was in a clump of more nervous swimmers? I'm not sure but it was pretty much impossible to get a rhythm going. And the corners were especially bad. My suggestion to race officials would be to emphasize swim etiquette at the Friday night athlete meeting. We hear a lot about cycling rules but the anonymity of the swim seems to lead to some pretty rude behavior--outright shoving and dunking are not uncommon! Who are you people who do that?
Hopping out of the water I looked for my friend who would help me to test my blood sugar between laps. There he was! I tested at 149, ate a GU and hopped back in for my second lap. My time after the first lap was about 48 minutes, faster than my Wildflower time by one minute and 2 minutes ahead of last year. I was happy with that but, more so, I was happy to see my BG was pretty much perfect. I was confident that I would not get low on the 2nd lap, and relaxed a bit. A few buoys in, though, my right bicep/shoulder injury flared up and it was painful throughout the rest of the swim. I was a little disappointed that I couldn't use my right arm fully but it seemed to slow me down by only a few minutes. I was very happy to see a time of 1:42 coming out of the water--a 13-minute improvement over last year.
And regarding the water temperature of the lake, it was nearly 60 degrees the morning of the race, and was not an issue for me. I did not wear the aqua socks or booties and actually felt a little warm when the sun came out during the swim. I did wear my nice Tyr black insulated cap under the pink cap, and that kept me comfortable. I'm glad I spent some time acclimating in the Bay and Lake Cd'A beforehand, though.
A ride through Kootenai County
The wet suit strippers did their job and I found myself preparing for the bike. My BG was a bit above 200, a little on the high side--I guess I should have left my basal a little higher. This year, I decided to wear the same thing for the swim and bike since I finally had some great tri shorts that were suitable for a long course triathlon. Thanks Team Pacific Bicycle! I grabbed my bike and made my way, pretty happy to be on the ride before 9 AM this year.
My goal for the ride was to keep it easy and to keep my heart rate around 150 bpm or less. It was tough those first few miles to stay below 160 bpm but I was pretty disciplined about slowing down; although what I really wanted to do was blast by a lot of people and catch up to the faster swimmers. I hate being left behind! One fun thing about being a slower swimmer is that I don't get passed by too many people on the bike, except for the random guy who, by his aero helmet and bike, seems to be in the wrong spot. The bike course is beautiful and I enjoyed the scenery more this year than last, perhaps because I was less anxious throughout the day. The only warm area was near the first section of rollers by Hayden Lake, and then we did have some moderate headwinds on the ride back to town. It was hard to complain too much since those headwinds were pretty nice tailwinds on the way out.
I can't remember why I waited so long to check my blood sugar on the first lap, but when I did, I was surprised to see a reading of 306. "Shoot! I thought I was going to have perfect blood sugar!" After such a great swim, I was hoping for perfect BG day! I did not get anxious but took a 0.5 U bolus and started drinking a bit more water. Since I recognized this as a pattern, I did not get concerned that I was having insulin or pump problems and knew it would come down if I just took some extra insulin. The BG continued to rise over the next 45-60 minutes--meanwhile, I continued to hydrate with water, took one salt tablet and bolused another 0.8 U insulin. The Dexcom showed that the rise was tapering off, and once I saw a plateau in BG (2 readings of 390), I resumed drinking my Perpetuum (4 scoops + 4 scoops electrolyte powder) and started eating the bananas offered at the aid stations. I had to stop a few times to use the portapotties because of all the water plus the high BG, but was not too worried about it. I was happy to see my BG settle down to 157 after a couple hours and the Dexcom showed that it was pretty stable.
I felt great going into the second lap and ate all of my pretzels (but nothing else) from my special needs bag around mile 65. Riding back through town, I was trying to pass a slower rider who wouldn't move over to the right. He kept blocking me as we went around the corner and up the hill to Government Blvd. I took the hill a little fast and my heart rate was probably up because right after that, I started to feel pretty bad. It was as if my body was saying, "No you don't!" Unfortunately, that happened to be where my parents and another friend were waiting. I tried to muster a cheery "Hi" but thought they might be worried. I was barely moving and started to think about how unlikely it was that I could continue like this. How could I possibly finish the ride and then run a marathon? I was feeling some cognitive disconnect and a bit dizzy and thought my BG might be low, but it was a healthy 127. Hmm. I looked down at my odometer and saw "75" and then it struck me. "So this is that 80-mile thing that can happen on the bike." Last year, a sports psychologist, Jim Taylor, had spoken with our group about mental strategies for an ironman. In particular, he had noted that many people hit a point of mental fatigue around 80 miles on the bike. At that point, the day is starting to wear on you a bit, yet there is still a long way to go. Since the symptoms felt so similar to low blood sugar, I decided to eat a bit more and to just keep the pace low. For the next hour or so, whenever I pushed my heart rate above 152, the dizziness and spacey feeling would return, so I just kept things mellow for awhile. This meant going up the hills really slowly but I had promised myself not to worry about pace, especially on the bike. Eventually, I started feeling stronger again and for the last 20 miles of the ride, felt great.
Riding back into the transition area was a joy, even though I had 26.2 miles of running ahead of me. I like to run and felt ready to go. Plus, I was glad to ditch the bike for awhile. Expecting a slower time on the bike than last year, I was surprised to see a time of 6:58 on my watch. Great!
A lakeside run
Coming out of transition, I saw a group of friends who were there to cheer on Jill and me. They were cheering enthusiastically and I was happy to see them and so I returned with a vigorous cheer. A few slow steps into the run, though, I thought, "Hmm, maybe I could have toned it down just a bit there?" But, well, we owe a lot to those spectators who run around all day to keep us going, no? It wasn't too hard to smile when I saw my friends and family along the course; I had usually been looking forward to seeing them for miles.
My pace for the first few miles was okay, but it started to taper off a bit and I was having to eat a lot to keep my BGs above 80. During the first half-marathon, I had one (measured) dip below 80 and would periodically get it above 100. I kept adjusting my basal rate downward, but avoided shutting off the pump entirely, which had led to some problems last year. Still, last year I shut the pump down for three hours and it probably would have been helpful to just shut it off for 30 minutes when I was continuously below 100.
After the halfway mark, I ditched my Vitalyte bottle and decided to do cola and 1 GU per hour. Either I wasn't taking enough cola in, or else it wasn't being absorbed as well as the Vitalyte, because I had a sudden drop in my BG to 66 around mile 17 or 18. I had noticed my heart rate falling and pace dropping off but hadn't caught the falling BG. I ate a GU and started drinking Gatorade and shut down my pump for 30 minutes. I noticed at the 20 mile mark that it might be possible for me to break 14 hours if I could increase my pace a bit. But looking at my splits, I was getting slower and I decided to not worry about it. I hit the big hill of the course for the second and last time, and decided to walk it, noting that my walking pace was about the same as my running! Bummer! Anyway once I hit the turnaround, I resumed running. I was on the home stretch now. Only about 5 miles to go!
The weather was still pleasant with some overcast skies, if I remember, and I was happy to be running in the light. One spectator said, "You are going to see a beautiful sunset!" and I remember thinking, "Not if I can help it." I secretly wanted to finish before they handed out the glowsticks this time. But would it be possible at my 12 min/mi pace? I hit the 21-mile mark right at 8 PM, which would make finishing before 9 pretty tight. I didn't take a split again until mile 23 but was surprised to see 20:42 on my watch. That was about 10:20 per mile or nearly 2 minutes faster per mile than I had been going. Hmm, maybe I could make it after all! I noticed on the Dexcom that my BG had risen and was starting to plateau. I would have to race my BG to the finish, I thought. "We'll see if I can finish before it drops!" I kept drinking some gatorade and cola but didn't eat any more food for the remainder of the run. The next splits were 10:09 and 9:57 and I saw that I was going to make it. I was feeling strong and felt some pain but was not suffering too much. People were happy to see a happy runner and cheered me enthusiastically those last few miles. I rounded the last corner and had my own few moments of being a super star since I was pretty much alone for the home stretch. The finish at Coeur d'Alene is amazing and I waved my pump, UltraMini and Dexcom in the air in victory! Yay! The last 1.2 miles I finished at about a 10 min/mi pace although according to my Polar I was running at a 7:36 pace at my fastest. (Thanks Duane for making us do a time trial at mile 21 of our 22-mile run!) I had finished the marathon in 4:55, slower than I had hoped for but 27 minutes faster than last year.
My finishing time was 13:52:19, 50 minutes faster than last year. Splits were as follows:
- swim: 1:42:42
- T1: 8:48
- bike: 6:58:10
- T2: 7:04
- run: 4:55:37
A celebration of humanity
Visiting with my parents the next morning, I asked if they enjoyed the Ironman experience. My mom had come last year but this was my dad's first time at any triathlon, let alone an Ironman. My dad suggested that the whole experience was a "celebration of humanity." After reflecting on that, I agree that the Ironman is indeed a celebration of what is possible for the human body and spirit; the coming together of family, friends and volunteers to make the day possible is an act of love. It is so uplifting to see spectators cheering on not only their own loved ones but other athletes who need some encouragement. And there are moments between athletes, little words of encouragement and assurance, that touch the spirit and remind us that we are all in this together.
Thank you
Thank you to all my friends and family supporting me on the course, online, through phone calls and emails and words of encouragement throughout my training. I was lucky to again be coached by Duane Franks and Dorette Sommer of Trifiniti and to have the added and much-needed expertise this year from Matt Corcoran and his staff at the Diabetes Training Camp. It was a big victory to me this year when I passed the aid station on the run where I had to stop for some time last year. Also thank you to my teammates from Triabetes and Team Pacific Bicycle, as well as my co-workers, whose support buoyed me along my way.
Now it's time to start thinking about September. After my experience this year in Cd'A I cannot wait to race IM Wisconsin with our Triabetes team. (Um, well don't take that too literally.) It will be amazing.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Happy in Coeur d'Alene
Thank you to all those who were supporting me in Coeur d'Alene and virtually through the Ironman website. I had a great experience Sunday and learned a lot of valuable lessons that will help me in Wisconsin. I improved my time from last year by 50 minutes for a PR of 13:52:19, and felt incredibly better at the finish line. The time came off in all legs of the race, including (I am happy to report) the transition times! I took 12 minutes off the swim, 5 minutes off the bike and about 28 minutes off the run. Weather was pretty much perfect race day and the water warmed up to nearly 60 degrees for the swim. My BG's weren't perfect but were much better than last year not only during but also before and after the race. For the swim, I was happy to see a BG of 149 after the first lap. As usual for me, my BG popped up the first couple hours of the bike, but I was able to recover smoothly. During the run, I struggled to keep my BG above 80 to 90 and felt much better after shutting off the pump for a half hour towards the end. Once my BG rose a bit and I made the last turnaround, I was able to pick up the pace for the last six miles, and finished the race smiling and happy. So far the recovery has been good--I am more sore than last year but feel less beat up. Anticipating a change in insulin needs, I have boosted my basals by quite a bit and am doing pretty well. More details and pictures will follow as soon as I get a bit more rest!
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Water Warming Up in Lake Coeur d'Alene
A day of warm sunshine has helped Lake Coeur d'Alene to warm up a bit, and my swim this morning was pleasant. Either I am acclimating or else the water is definitely much warmer than Aquatic Park. I felt comfortable and had just a little regret that I was only supposed to go out for 8 minutes. The course is a 2-loop rectangle, with 9 buoys out and 9 buoys back. I'm trying to figure out a strategy that will help me pass the time, similar to a structured pool workout (vs. swimming a million laps for an hour). Maybe I will think of the way out as a 1-buoy warmup then 2 sets of 4 out, a crossover set, and then 2 sets of 4 on the way back + beach finish. Then repeat. Mentally I get in this mode where the swim seems to last forever! I think it's partly because it's hard to really mark distance out there unlike on the bike or running.
Okay, time to get my bike + transition bags ready! I call this T0 and it tends to be a lengthy "transition" for me!
Okay, time to get my bike + transition bags ready! I call this T0 and it tends to be a lengthy "transition" for me!
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Preparing for the Swim
The water temperature at Lake Coeur d'Alene, which was in the 60's last year, has barely budged above 51 lately, and it probably won't warm up all that much before June 22. NA Sports sent out an announcement regarding the temperature: as long as the water temp is below 60 degrees F race day, wet suits will be required. And they are allowing swimmers to wear aqua socks/booties. Now for the "real" swimmers out there, this will just prove once again that triathletes are wimps! I've seen the annoyed looks from swimmers sans wet suits at those triathletes clogging up the buoy line at Aquatic Park!I've been trying to get in some solid time in the Bay and had a brief recurrence of mild SIPE on Monday, which has only served to increase my nerves for the event. If I have trouble with SIPE during the race, my race will be over. But last year I had no problems and I believe that, if I am well rested, I should be okay. At least I hope so! I've solicited swimmer extraordinaire Jen Alexander for some cold water swimming tips and I will be taking her advice (among other helpful suggestions) to wear an extra cap during the swim and also some sort of cap during the bike, and to stay very warm before the start.
By the way, I'm a big fan of the USGS for providing such great info!
Friday, June 06, 2008
Aquatic Park Swim
As a quick note, I swam at Aquatic Park yesterday morning. I hadn't been in the Bay for quite some time and the cold water was really a shock. The temperature was somewhere around 55, and the water temperature yesterday at Lake Coeur d'Alene was 53-54. There were more swimmers than usual there in preparation for Sunday's Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon. I also noticed, for the first time at Aquatic Park, small jellyfish washed up on the beach, as well as some blubbing their way through the water. No one seemed to be complaining about them so I just hopped in. After getting out, I noticed a seal swimming around a bit. He disappeared under the water when a group of swimmers approached...
Big Swim
Today's workout was about 2.4 miles (actually 4200 yards)--the same distance as for Ironman. I woke up this morning at 80, ate some Luna Moons (24g) before and one chocolate GU (20g) midway through the swim. BG 15 minutes after finishing was 124. I think I may have been low before I ate the GU but I didn't want to get out of the pool to check. I felt okay, a little tired, but got through it. I plan to eat a GU midway through the swim at Coeur d'Alene, since it is a 2-lap course. My basal rate this morning was 0.9 one hour before and throughout the swim. This will probably be a good rate for the race, especially since I will be both more rested and anxious.
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Weight Fluctuations with High Intensity Exercise
I have noticed a consistent pattern for my weight, which is this: after intense and/or long workouts or races, I usually see an increase. This was true for this past weekend--yesterday morning, my weight was up by 2 pounds. The longer the workout/event, the more likely it seems that my weight will increase. Sometimes the weight comes off but sometimes not and currently I am stuck in this weekly two- to 4-pound fluctuation. It is a source of frustration to me because it seems like exercising 20 hours per week should make weight loss relatively easy. And seriously, after spending 11 hours exercising in 2 days, don't you think I would weigh less the next day, not 2 pounds more? Since my exercise load has increased, it has also become more difficult to lose weight. I think part of the explanation is more hypoglycemia but that can't explain it all. I try to take solace in knowing that my body is incredibly efficient and doesn't waste a single calorie...
...And 18 More
As the finale workout for our last peak week of training for Ironman Coeur d'Alene, I ran 18 miles early Sunday morning, about 14 hours after winding up our 124-mile ride. One of my favorite running spots in the Bay Area is Sawyer Camp Trail, which runs alongside Crystal Springs Reservoir. It is not uncommon to see deer along the trail, blue jays flying from tree to tree, and rabbits hopping out of the way. I felt surprisingly good and refreshed for the run--it must have been that sushi and miso soup the night before! I was pretty happy with the BG's as well. I fiddled around a lot with my basal rates, and would watch the resulting pattern with the Dexcom. Clearly there is a delay between a basal rate change and a change in blood glucose, but I was running for a long time! On the Dexcom, my BG's varied from about 125 to 148 while I was eating pretty steadily, 250-300 calories per hour. One of my revelations this weekend is that, even if I come in with a basal rate that is too high, it won't affect me for more than an hour or so. This is not the same for boluses, however, which seem to last with me for many hours.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
123.6 Miles
Today we rode from San Francisco, around Tiburon, to Nicasio and towards the lighthouse at Point Reyes and back. The weather was cool and cloudy at first but sunshine broke through for the second half of the ride. I initially felt weak from low BG's last night and especially this morning before the ride, but I felt stronger after about an hour. I used the basal rates shown in the chart and decreased them throughout the ride. I was consistently eating about 300 calories per hour with a slight increase towards the end of the ride. Most interesting to me was how steady my BG was right around 80-100 despite the changing basal rates. And for the second half of the ride, the Dexcom was completely flat. It didn't seem to matter whether I ate something small (chocolate GU at 20 g) or big (40 g of honey fruit snacks). It was almost as if my body wanted to stay right there! But there is a more likely explanation, of course. Initially, when my basal rates were a bit higher (0.7-0.9) I was rising a bit after each snack and then falling again. But when my basal rate was lower at 0.5 for the second half, I stayed pretty steady after eating. So it appears that the glucose entering my blood from the gut was leaving at about the exact same rate there.The basal rates were a touch too high initially and need some adjusting; however, I want to make sure I don't start off high, since it seems to make things much more difficult to manage overall.
The ride was a great confidence-booster for Ironman Coeur d'Alene, which is approaching quickly!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)