Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Iron-mares...
Today starts another week of big volume training. With the bike being the focus, Coach Dave has me in a zombie-like state yet gaining the necessary confidence to tow the start line. My Iron-mares (Ironman Nightmares) have begun to haunt my sleep. Questions concerning did I bring the right gear, is that really my bike? (A beach cruiser), running in bare feet, are just some of the nightmares. The reality is I encountered a real-life Iron-nightmare in 2006 at the Great Floridian. The residue of the preparation deficits, my lack of mental focus, my physical issues haunt me as I prepare this year. I scares me and motivates me at the same time. My take home lesson is that no matter how great or poorly I prepare, respecting the distance and race is of vital importance. As I work my way into this weeks training, I am keeping thing into perspective. Only 40 more days til race day, respect the 140.6!
Friday, July 25, 2008
Words from Nurse Betty I want to Share
Got an email from Nurse Betty this morning and want to post as real good words for us to remember as Triabetes athletes are all out there training. I am not the most religious person, but highly spiritual and found this refreshing to my soul!
From Nurse Betty:
As I was doing my devotion time this morning, it talked about a cyclist who gets dehydrated. Of course I thought of you on your bike in the tri's and intense training. Thought maybe you'd like this too. Have a good weekend if I don't see you this afternoon.
Toward this end, I give you this tool: a prayer for the thirsty heart. Carry it just as a cyclist carries a water bottle. The prayer outlines four essential fluids for soul hydration: God's work, God's energy, his lordship, and his love. You'll find the prayer easy to remember. Just think of the word W-E-L-L.
Lord, I come thirsty. I come to drink, to receive. I receive your work on the cross and in your resurrection. My sins are pardoned, and my death is defeated. I receive your energy. Empowered by your Holy Spirit, I can do all things through Christ, who gives me strength. I receive your lordship. I belong to you. Nothing comes to me that hasn't passed through you. And I receive your love. Nothing can separate me from your love.
Don't you need regular sips from God's reservoir? I do. I've offered this prayer in countless situations: stressful meetings, dull days, long drives, demanding trips, character-testing decisions. Many times a day I step to the underground spring of God and receive anew his work for my sin and death, the energy of his Spirit, his lordship, and his love.
Drink with me from his bottomless well. You don't have to live with a dehydrated heart.
Receive Christ's work on the cross,the energy of his Spirit,his lordship over your life,his unending, unfailing love. Drink deeply and often. And out of you will flow rivers of living water
From Nurse Betty:
As I was doing my devotion time this morning, it talked about a cyclist who gets dehydrated. Of course I thought of you on your bike in the tri's and intense training. Thought maybe you'd like this too. Have a good weekend if I don't see you this afternoon.
Toward this end, I give you this tool: a prayer for the thirsty heart. Carry it just as a cyclist carries a water bottle. The prayer outlines four essential fluids for soul hydration: God's work, God's energy, his lordship, and his love. You'll find the prayer easy to remember. Just think of the word W-E-L-L.
Lord, I come thirsty. I come to drink, to receive. I receive your work on the cross and in your resurrection. My sins are pardoned, and my death is defeated. I receive your energy. Empowered by your Holy Spirit, I can do all things through Christ, who gives me strength. I receive your lordship. I belong to you. Nothing comes to me that hasn't passed through you. And I receive your love. Nothing can separate me from your love.
Don't you need regular sips from God's reservoir? I do. I've offered this prayer in countless situations: stressful meetings, dull days, long drives, demanding trips, character-testing decisions. Many times a day I step to the underground spring of God and receive anew his work for my sin and death, the energy of his Spirit, his lordship, and his love.
Drink with me from his bottomless well. You don't have to live with a dehydrated heart.
Receive Christ's work on the cross,the energy of his Spirit,his lordship over your life,his unending, unfailing love. Drink deeply and often. And out of you will flow rivers of living water
Sunday, July 20, 2008
The Big Weeks are Upon us
Ah, Ironman training kicked into high gear. Despite all the problems of last weekend, this one was a picture of heat, miles, and more heat, yet a good degree of sucess achieved. With the heat index around 100, took my long 4.5 hour ride to my mini-Moo course, the Columbia Triathlon bike course. Rolling hills, farms, and more rolling hills, along with a bunch of cows. This course is demanding, but nothing like Madison and Dane County is going to be. However, rode the course 3 time (75 miles) and began practicing Ironman pacing and riding strategy. Whe I started, there were a number of cyclist riding. The competitive juices begin to flow. Being passed on the initial climb and beginning of the rollers, I jumped on it only to back off knowing I was only 15 minutes into a 4.5 hour ride! Pacing, fueling and hydration was key to todays sucess. After each loop, stopped by the truck and grabbed fresh bottles. It was hot and tough, but finally felt good about a long ride. Then transitioned into a 30 min transition run after. Blood sugar was a bit high to start 285, but settled nicely to 135 staring the run and in the end, 122.
Sunday was a good day as well. Despite being equally as hot as Saturday, I started off the morning with Coach Dave and his Master's Swim group. Getting some stroke refinements and initially feeling like crap in the water. I managed to get some excellent swim practice in. As always, Coach Dave has a tendency to ground me and keep things real and is genuine in his interest in his athletes. Then off to the run. Ran 2.5 hours today on a very challenging trail course. Once again, blood sugar a bit high to star 260, but settled in and ended at 165. I think dehydration played a part in today's highs. Nevertheless, the first long weekend in the bag!
Sunday was a good day as well. Despite being equally as hot as Saturday, I started off the morning with Coach Dave and his Master's Swim group. Getting some stroke refinements and initially feeling like crap in the water. I managed to get some excellent swim practice in. As always, Coach Dave has a tendency to ground me and keep things real and is genuine in his interest in his athletes. Then off to the run. Ran 2.5 hours today on a very challenging trail course. Once again, blood sugar a bit high to star 260, but settled in and ended at 165. I think dehydration played a part in today's highs. Nevertheless, the first long weekend in the bag!
Monday, July 14, 2008
Rage Bolus, Darth Velo- Jedi Penguin
I know that it is early as on my typical blogging schedule I have been one post per 2 week period. Densie, Bri and Tommy are in Boston visiting Denise's family, more importantly spending time with Denise's mom. That leaves me with time to work, train, and blog.
Saturday was an interesting day. After a week of blood sugar stability, Saturday hit me with a right to the jaw. After dropping Denise and the kids off at the airport, I felt my sugar drop and drop fast. Hit a local McDonalds, very healthy and got some OJ and hotcakes bolused my normal carb to insulin rate, knowing that I would be riding soon. After dropping out at 55, my BS hit 300 and was climbing according to my CGM, crap hit a bolus and a rage one at that not taking into account the ride I chose to do was very challenging. Came home and mounted my new steed, Darth Velo- Jedi Penguin, my new Cervelo P2C. I got the frame earlier in the week and built it, and worked out my fit. I will write more about her in my next blog with pictures of it. So after a small snack, ht the road. At 3 hours 15 minutes in, I hit the wall. As I was on a very fast descent, I began to feel another bad low coming on. My CGM's inner crystal burst for some reason and like a dumb ass, I forgot my glucose meter. A low was coming! A low it was as I struggled weaving off of the road and finally stopping as I had a moment of clarity and began to fuel up. After a few gels, pretzels and shotbloks, clarity came back. I actually lost some time despite being conscious. Scared the crap out of me! At that point I took the path of least resistance to get home. Suspended pump and rode an additional 10 miles slowly, I got in and my sugar was only at 90... Take home lesson is Don't rage bolus when going out on a 3 to 4 hour ride. Don't stray for original plan, meaning when I eat before a long endurance workout, I typically cut back meal bolus to 85% of normal. And, always bring my back up meter One thing is for sure, I learned a valuable lesson, I can be a dumb ass diabetic, and I know my new ride know the way home!
Saturday was an interesting day. After a week of blood sugar stability, Saturday hit me with a right to the jaw. After dropping Denise and the kids off at the airport, I felt my sugar drop and drop fast. Hit a local McDonalds, very healthy and got some OJ and hotcakes bolused my normal carb to insulin rate, knowing that I would be riding soon. After dropping out at 55, my BS hit 300 and was climbing according to my CGM, crap hit a bolus and a rage one at that not taking into account the ride I chose to do was very challenging. Came home and mounted my new steed, Darth Velo- Jedi Penguin, my new Cervelo P2C. I got the frame earlier in the week and built it, and worked out my fit. I will write more about her in my next blog with pictures of it. So after a small snack, ht the road. At 3 hours 15 minutes in, I hit the wall. As I was on a very fast descent, I began to feel another bad low coming on. My CGM's inner crystal burst for some reason and like a dumb ass, I forgot my glucose meter. A low was coming! A low it was as I struggled weaving off of the road and finally stopping as I had a moment of clarity and began to fuel up. After a few gels, pretzels and shotbloks, clarity came back. I actually lost some time despite being conscious. Scared the crap out of me! At that point I took the path of least resistance to get home. Suspended pump and rode an additional 10 miles slowly, I got in and my sugar was only at 90... Take home lesson is Don't rage bolus when going out on a 3 to 4 hour ride. Don't stray for original plan, meaning when I eat before a long endurance workout, I typically cut back meal bolus to 85% of normal. And, always bring my back up meter One thing is for sure, I learned a valuable lesson, I can be a dumb ass diabetic, and I know my new ride know the way home!
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Ironman Isolation
It has been a while since last post. However, Ironman and life keeps me quite busy. I have been working with some challenges associated with diabetes with extremes both high and low. Working with Dr. Matt to get some sense to what I can be doing different in my management regime and hoping to work this in to my routine.
What really hit me today as I rode my 2 hour ride before work was the notion of Ironman Isolation. I basically train alone, but find this to be an appealing part of the experience. Race day is a social event, however it is the athlete who must push his or her body across the 140.6 miles to the finish. During my ride this morning I reflected on how things on the family front have stabilized, how despite the blood sugar issues I am feeling trained and getting stronger, and what I need to do in the next 60 days to get prepared. As a result, I will be climbing again this Saturday and trying to build some confidence in handling hills!
What really hit me today as I rode my 2 hour ride before work was the notion of Ironman Isolation. I basically train alone, but find this to be an appealing part of the experience. Race day is a social event, however it is the athlete who must push his or her body across the 140.6 miles to the finish. During my ride this morning I reflected on how things on the family front have stabilized, how despite the blood sugar issues I am feeling trained and getting stronger, and what I need to do in the next 60 days to get prepared. As a result, I will be climbing again this Saturday and trying to build some confidence in handling hills!
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Training for Ironman
It has been a while since I last posted. After Eagleman, I have settled into my routine of Ironman Prep, more the isolation training phase. During most of my Ironman training sessions I workout alone and begin to move inward taking inventory on how I am adapting to the increased workloads, focus on quality of the workout, and begin identifying trends and devising plans to hurdle those obstacles that arise during racing. After consultation with Coach Dave, we are moving at a nice clip and I believe have a solid training plan for the next few weeks. I am feeling pretty good in the water as many of my workouts now are focused on time spent and quality of the swim as opposed to repeats etc, which are part of the Vasa workouts. On the bike, I feel I have made significant progress over last year. On my long rides, at 3 and 3.5 hours now (50-60miles), I am continuing to use a 23-11 on climbs to continue to build leg strength. On race day, I will be using either 25-12 or 27-12, as I want to keep legs fresh for the marathon. My runs have been of better quality since Eagleman. Typically on my quality day doing intervals, I am pushing much harder within limits and focused on more sustained interval efforts. Long runs have fallen into place nicely as I am able to recover on Mondays and hit it again on Tuesday. This I hope will lead to a more successful marathon experience this September. In the upcoming weeks, I will begin more focused on longer efforts and begin the real work phase of Ironman training.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Eagleman 70.3
Another one in the books- I appreciate the folks writing about this and realize during this race, there is a lot to be thankful for! While racing, I try to remain focused and keep moving forward. On days like Eagleman 70.3, that was all I was able to do, but thankful that I was able to race. As I have posted before, I keep many of my thoughts to myself, but this experience with our group has allowed me to feel comfortable sharing some of the deepest recess of my feeble mind. On Sunday, as I said my pre-swim prayer, I was thankful to God to allow me to tow the start line and the rest was just icing on the cake. Not to mention that I was honored to have Ray and Mike Hannon from the doc crew to share in this experience.
The Swim was in the Choptank River and the water was "black" as the call it the Blackwater Refuge area. I began my temp bolus at 2 hours prior to the swim, at a basal rate of 70% (.91) my normal rate (1.3). I swam conservatively especially coming back home fighting the current, but felt solid and ready to bike. At 45 minutes a bit off where I would have liked, but nonetheless, satisfactory. Blood Sugar start of swim 210, exit at 180
The Bike was a winding 56 mile traverse through the Blackwater Refuse and surrounding towns. Flat, Fast, windy, and HOT. I kept a conservative pace and fueled according to my plan at 1 hour 30 minutes to start, and every 45 minutes to follow which consisted of mini pretzels followed by Gatorade and Vitalyte depending on the bottle I grabbed. Took in some Clif ShotBloks at mile 35 of the bike as blood sugar began to go below the 120 mark I set to "stay at". The winds hit at mile 30 and varied from 10 to 30mph, but blew in very hot air. Finished respectable and blood sugar was t 135 to finish.
The Run was NOT fun. With freshly blacktopped roads and a heat index over 110, it started ok, as I was keeping a nice pace for the first 4 miles. Between mile 4 and 5, I began feeling the heat effects and began slowing as I felt my brain beginning to boil. I began running for 10 minutes followed by 2 minutes of walking and walking through the aid stations, which were great! At the half way point, I employed Survival Mode. Get to the finish by putting 1 foot in from of the other. Started the final trek with a 5 minute run, if you want to call it that, followed by 2 minutes of walking. At each aid station, I was taking cups of ice and filling the front and back of my jersey with it an pouring ice water over me as I walked slowly through it. My heart rate was effected by the heat as I was not able to bring it below 175 despite walking. I was feeling the effects of dehydration. Of note I suspended my pump at mile 5, as at that point, what I was eating and drinking was not staying down and my Blood sugar was at 100. The final mile approached, and all I could think about is finishing and getting back to Denise, Bri and Tommy. I visualised Bri's priceless smile, Tommy's uplifting laugh, and my wife, well that is nobody's business! And got there!
The aftermath,was interesting as I finished with a blood sugar of 82, pump suspended, and Ray got a good shot of my CGM, only to have the bottom fall out about 5 minutes later where I dropped and went to medical. I typically don't feel too low at 61 and not concerned but this one concerned me as it was gonna be one of those lows. The medical staff was exceptional! Amazingly as Ray and I were talking a random person came up and asked about what softset I was using that could endure the heat and sweat. As she spoke, she pulled her pump out and said, Well, mine just came out and I wondered what would work better." Diabetics are coming out of hiding. What a way to finish a tough day!
The after-aftermath- I was pleasantly surprised to find a congratulatory, "Chop-ped" poster on my door at work. Nurse Betty done it again with her kindness and prayers to help me through another one of those races. As a friend, she constantly asks me about my blood sugar management and keeps me on point with my health and aids me with her spiritual guidance! It is this type of support is what the story is about!
The Swim was in the Choptank River and the water was "black" as the call it the Blackwater Refuge area. I began my temp bolus at 2 hours prior to the swim, at a basal rate of 70% (.91) my normal rate (1.3). I swam conservatively especially coming back home fighting the current, but felt solid and ready to bike. At 45 minutes a bit off where I would have liked, but nonetheless, satisfactory. Blood Sugar start of swim 210, exit at 180
The Bike was a winding 56 mile traverse through the Blackwater Refuse and surrounding towns. Flat, Fast, windy, and HOT. I kept a conservative pace and fueled according to my plan at 1 hour 30 minutes to start, and every 45 minutes to follow which consisted of mini pretzels followed by Gatorade and Vitalyte depending on the bottle I grabbed. Took in some Clif ShotBloks at mile 35 of the bike as blood sugar began to go below the 120 mark I set to "stay at". The winds hit at mile 30 and varied from 10 to 30mph, but blew in very hot air. Finished respectable and blood sugar was t 135 to finish.
The Run was NOT fun. With freshly blacktopped roads and a heat index over 110, it started ok, as I was keeping a nice pace for the first 4 miles. Between mile 4 and 5, I began feeling the heat effects and began slowing as I felt my brain beginning to boil. I began running for 10 minutes followed by 2 minutes of walking and walking through the aid stations, which were great! At the half way point, I employed Survival Mode. Get to the finish by putting 1 foot in from of the other. Started the final trek with a 5 minute run, if you want to call it that, followed by 2 minutes of walking. At each aid station, I was taking cups of ice and filling the front and back of my jersey with it an pouring ice water over me as I walked slowly through it. My heart rate was effected by the heat as I was not able to bring it below 175 despite walking. I was feeling the effects of dehydration. Of note I suspended my pump at mile 5, as at that point, what I was eating and drinking was not staying down and my Blood sugar was at 100. The final mile approached, and all I could think about is finishing and getting back to Denise, Bri and Tommy. I visualised Bri's priceless smile, Tommy's uplifting laugh, and my wife, well that is nobody's business! And got there!
The aftermath,was interesting as I finished with a blood sugar of 82, pump suspended, and Ray got a good shot of my CGM, only to have the bottom fall out about 5 minutes later where I dropped and went to medical. I typically don't feel too low at 61 and not concerned but this one concerned me as it was gonna be one of those lows. The medical staff was exceptional! Amazingly as Ray and I were talking a random person came up and asked about what softset I was using that could endure the heat and sweat. As she spoke, she pulled her pump out and said, Well, mine just came out and I wondered what would work better." Diabetics are coming out of hiding. What a way to finish a tough day!
The after-aftermath- I was pleasantly surprised to find a congratulatory, "Chop-ped" poster on my door at work. Nurse Betty done it again with her kindness and prayers to help me through another one of those races. As a friend, she constantly asks me about my blood sugar management and keeps me on point with my health and aids me with her spiritual guidance! It is this type of support is what the story is about!
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