I bought a Dexcom!

After using the Medtronic Guardian RT at the Boston Marathon and during the Honu Ironman 70.3 (half-ironman) triathlon this year, I felt pretty sad to be without my own continuous glucose monitoring system (CGMS). Medtronic's CGMS won't be available in the U.S. until "sometime early near year," and who knows what that really means. Abbott has a system that is still under FDA review. Dexcom currently has a system available for purchase in the United States: the Dexcom STS. A careful review of all three would probably have been the most prudent choice, but I just don't want to wait any longer! The cost is expensive: to buy the device itself was $400 (sale price--it's normally $800), plus another $35 for each 3-day sensor. So, if I used the CGMS continually, it would cost me about $350/month! Yikes! Yikes again! I imagine that I will use it for a few days each week until the insurances realize how valuable this technology is, and decide to chip in a few bucks. Let's hope that's not too far off.

I spoke with a few people about the Dexcom, and have received some good reviews, as well as some mixed reviews. I think, at this point, all reviews of CGMS's are somewhat mixed, because they simply aren't yet as accurate as regular blood glucose meters. However, I believe that the glucose trend info that does seem to be pretty reliable with the CGMS, coupled with regular BG measurements, will provide a tremendous benefit in my ability to regulate my diabetes.

An Inconvenient Truth

I saw the movie, An Inconvenient Truth, over the weekend. I had resisted seeing it because the thought of listening to Al Gore lecture was not that appealing to me. Although I did find the obvious self-promotional bits annoying, I am glad that I saw it, and feel motivated to make some changes and work for changes to fight against rising CO2 levels. The data presented in the film seems quite convincing. There are two points that I especially continue to reflect on: 1) for some reason, the media has presented the causes or the reality of global warming as a controversy, which left me wondering whether the mainstream scientific community was unanimous on the issue, and 2) that fighting global warming was somewhat hopeless. On the contrary to both points, there is basically no doubt within the mainstream scientific community that the planet is warming in an unprecedented fashion (at least within the last 50 million years--see National Geographic article), and that the warming and cooling of the planet in the past (and present) has been correlated with CO2 levels in the atmosphere. Secondly, there are things that can be done, especially in the United States, given that we produce 30% of the CO2 released into the atmosphere every year. Action needs to occur now, though.

I would recommend that everyone puts his or her political leanings aside, and goes to see the movie or read the book. Check out climatecrisis.net to get more information.

Coeur d'Alene

After doing a bunch of Olympic distance triathlons and two half-Ironman distance races, I decided to bite the bullet and enter Ironman Coeur d'Alene next year. Race day is June 24, 2007, which gives me about 11 months to train. I have great respect for this event and know it will require dedication and intelligent training. Maybe I will periodically post some updates on my training here. So far my plan is to spend the next several months improving my swim technique and continuing to build a strong base.

Lactic Acid Is Your Friend?

A friend sent me two links to articles describing recent research suggesting that lactic acid, the much-aligned molecule among athletes, is actually used as fuel by the muscle cells. Previously, it was preached that at a certain point, the "lactate threhold," the body started producing too much lactic acid, resulting in a significant decline in athletic performance. To quote the Berkeley article, this research suggests that

• muscle cells use carbohydrates anaerobically for energy, producing lactate as a byproduct, but then burn the lactate with oxygen to create far more energy. The first process, called the glycolytic pathway, dominates during normal exertion, and the lactate seeps out of the muscle cells into the blood to be used elsewhere. During intense exercise, however, the second ramps up to oxidatively remove the rapidly accumulating lactate and create more energy.

• Training helps people get rid of the lactic acid before it can build to the point where it causes muscle fatigue, and at the cellular level, Brooks said, training means growing the mitochondria in muscle cells. The mitochondria - often called the powerhouse of the cell - is where lactate is burned for energy.

I think these are interesting articles because there has been so much hype about "lactic acid thresholds" and there are even tests that supposedly measure this level. It appears that what we may actually be measuring is muscle cell mitochondrial density.

The links are:
Berkeley Article
New York Times Article

Swim start at the Wildflower Triathlon, 2006

and they're off!,
originally uploaded by annetics.

This is one of the early waves of the Wildflower Triathlon, long course, starting in the morning on May 6, 2006. The water at Lake San Antonio was the highest it has been in anyone's recent memory and was also pleasantly warm.

Wildflower Triathlon, Long Course 2006

and another shot of the long course...,
originally uploaded by annetics.

Last weekend, I went down to compete in the Wildflower triathlons. Saturday, I did the bike leg in a relay for the long course, which turned out to be quite challenging. I had a bit of difficultly with my blood sugars around mile 30, which really sapped my energy for the rest of the hilly ride. But I finally made it in a slow time of 3:51. After that sad performance, I decided to go ahead and race the next day in the Olympic course, which went much better. I managed to keep my blood sugars stable throughout the race and even enjoyed myself a bit. I had decided not to worry too much about my time and just enjoy the day.
This picture shows the transition area of the long course race. You can see the swim course as well; competitors race in a clockwise direction around the buoys. It is farther than it looks!

Snow!

After checking the forecast early this morning, I felt confident that going on a bike ride would be relatively safe; i.e., the forecast didn't call for constant rain but only intermittent showers. I headed out on my favorite quick ride, up through Sausalito and around the Tiburon peninsula. This ride is known as the "Paradise Loop" and is a regular ride for many cyclists in San Francisco. It was a bit chilly--about 40 degrees when I left. The most exciting part of the ride was when I was coming around on the Sausalito Bike Path, and looked up to see a white dusting of snow on Mount Tam and a nearby peak! We have been experiencing a pretty significant cold spell here in the Bay Area, and today we even have the snow to prove it. I'm sure anyone from Alaska or any other snowy state would laugh at me about getting excited about a little snow, but it is very unusual for us here! And even though I spent the first 28 or so years of my life living with snowy winters, I quickly adapted to the moderate climate here and complain about the cold when it's below 50, like any proper Californian.

I've included a picture from my phone camera, which doesn't really show the snow very well, if at all! I forgot to take the snow-filter off I guess.

Oh, and by the way, it didn't rain and for most of my ride, the sun was shining. It was chilly, though!

Snowslide, Utah County, Utah

Snowslide,
originally uploaded by annetics.

My dad and I drove down to Ephraim today to pick up my grandparents. On our way home, we passed by the old Thistle mudslide from 1983. This slide created a dam which caused the flooding of the town of Thistle under 50 feet of water, more or less. Homes, roads and the railroad tracks were all damaged. Here it is on January 1, 2006, covered in snow. The tracks have been moved to higher ground, but the homes have not been rebuilt. Rooftops covering mud-buried homes are still visible in some places.

Snow report: Alta

I went skiing again at Alta today, and the conditions were much improved. Today was sunny & warm without any noticeable wind. Also, the snow conditions were better; most runs were packed powder with plenty of loose, soft snow. Also, there was fresh powder to be found in the bowls, which were opened today after being closed yesterday. I could still hear the gunshots being fired for avalanche control, and could see where they had brought down some small avalanches yesterday.

I did go through one of the gates off of Supreme (East Devil's Castle I think) and found myself in a precarious position. I unwittingly followed some tracks that led to a rocky ledge (i.e., cliff!) and had to remove my skis, turn them around, climb back onto them after sinking in the powder, and then ski down along a ridge into a thick clump of pine trees. I was wishing I had a helmet! After picking my way through a chute, I was out in the open, and enjoyed making new tracks in the powdery hills. I was relieved to pop back out onto the main trail.

Wasatch Mountains from Alta Ski Resort

Utah je lepo!,
originally uploaded by annetics.

I went skiing at Alta today, and took this shot from the top of Sugarloaf lift. It was windy at the ridges, but otherwise a sunny and warm day on the slopes.