This past week's training plan was heavy on the swim...I have a feeling that last week's group swim gave Coach Hendrix a good view of my swimming prowess...like a stone. This week called for 6100 yrds (actually meters since the pool was long course) with with sprints and drills. Some light running this week with one track session including 4 x 600 sprints at 80% effort. It was great to get back to the track for some sprint work. Spent 2 1/2 hours on the bike with some sprint workouts and hill climbs. A good training week with no glucose control issues.

I awoke Sunday morning at 5:00 am for the Baldwin Park Triathlon and my BS was 49. I consumed a bowl of Kashi GoLean Crunch with Blueberries and skim milk. Drank some coffee on the way to the race. I picked up my race packet and was in transition by 6:40 am. The race was to start at 7:30 am. This was a sprint race including a 750 meter swim, 13.5 mile bike and 2.5 mile run. I checked my glucose around 7:00 am just prior to my warm up swim..it was now 203. I thought about consuming some additional carbs to give me a buffer but decided against it opting rather to eat a Hammer Gel when I first got on the bike. The bike was also equipped with HEED hydration. I had a great swim, felt very comfortable and fast in the water. I started out on the bike and immediately ate a Gel..Banana...one of my favorite flavors and began drinking HEED. The bike course included 5 loops around Lake Baldwin. The roads were narrow and there were many cyclists on the course creating some difficulty with maintaining speed while negotiating around slower riders, many of whom just refused to Stay Right. On your left!...On your left!...On your left!!...so on and so forth ad infinitim. The course was technical due the number of people and some sharp turns...I saw two crashes, but fast nonetheless and fun. As I left T2 I was first in my age group to start the run...Oh yeah Baby! Within about the first 1/4 mile I was passed by someone in my age group (Bastard!)...and then about 1/2 mile into the run passed by a second in my age group (Double Bastard!!)...try as I might I just could not catch them. I ended up taking 3rd place....a good morning. At the end of the race my BS was 153. I ate a banana and had some Vitamin Water...checked my glucose before the award ceremony at 10:30 am and it had fallen to 78...went to Starbucks after the award ceremony for an iced coffee and an apple fritter....Oh Yeahhh.

This past training week was hampered by late afternoon lightning and thunderstorms. Got caught two days in a row while both swimming and biking. Nonetheless, I managed to get in most of my scheduled workouts. We also had a group training day with the Fab 5 on Saturday. We met at Lake Minneola for a group swim working on entrance and exit drills, sighting, and in-water starts. We swam and drilled for about 1500 yrds and then went for a group bike around the lake, through the Palisades, down Cherry Lake road to Wilson Lake Road where we did two 6 mile time trial sprints before returning for a group pancake breakfast. Ya gotta try Hammer Gel (Rasberry) on your pancakes instead of syrup...delicious..and the complex maltodextrins are much better for you than the simple sugars in the syrup..really..it's also good on cottage cheese....I'm not kidding.

Late Saturday afternoon several members of the Fab 5 went to Epic Cycles for our bike fit. The bike fit entailed being measured...arms, torso, inseam, etc., on a bike fit apparatus and weighed....and...of course, the consumption of several glasses of Spanish vino tinto. A bike fit just isn't a bike fit without some wine! They also took foot measurements and plugged all that into a computer program that will assist they guys at Epic to make changes, if necessary, to our bikes to better utilize the proper muscles to get the most power to the cranks and drive the bike more efficiently. Because I was racing the next day, my actual bike fit will take place at a later time. We were concerned that if significant changes were made to my positioning on the bike I would feel uncomfortable during the race. The old adage not to make any significant changes right before a race applies here.

On Sunday, I did the UCF Sprint Triathlon. 1/4 mile swim, 8 mile bike and 3 mile run. I awoke at 4:45 am, checked my glucose and it was 40...very low. Ate some Go Lean Kashi granola with soy milk and left for the race. On the way, I ate one Publix mini cream cake with coffee...yummy. Unfortunately, it was a bit too much...when I checked my glucose 15 min. before the race it had climbed to 303...ouch..a bit high. I normally like to start a race with a blood sugar somewhere close to 230. I had prepared a bottle of Cytomax for the bike but due to high blood glucose...was afraid to drink it. I didn't want my glucose climbing higher and was not really confident that the race would bring my BS down to a reasonable level. So...I drank nothing on the bike and grabbed some water at the first and second water stations on the run. I finished in 56:08, good enough to take 2nd place in my age group. Checked my BS after the race and it had dropped down to 101. My race effort was enough to lower my BS by over 200 points without the need for insulin in less than one hour. Now....where is that food tent? Nothing like ice cold sweet and ripe watermelon after a race. I had a couple of slices and a small bag of potato chips while waiting for the award ceremony. By the time I returned home my BS was 78...and I still had not taken an insulin injection...Ahhh, the benefit of exercise. 

As part of Epic's Fab 5, this week I had a gait and strike analysis performed at Fleet Feet in Altamonte Springs and had my VO2 Max tested at Zenery in Winter Garden. The gait analysis is very cool. They have a video at the back of the tread mill which videos your feet, ankles and calf as you run. They will play back the video in slow motion and analyze your strke for any biomechanical issues lke supronation and pronation. The folks at Fleet Feet will then fit you with the proper shoes and, if necessary, inserts. I am a neutral runner with mild supronation. They put me in the Mizuno Inspire 4 with blue SuperFeet inserts. They feel great. I recommend the gait and strike analysis for anyone experiencing foot or leg pain while running...it can really help.

VO2 Max was tested at Zenergy in Winter Garden. They hook you up to a machine with a face mask that you breathe into and a HR monitor while riding a stationary bike. They slowly increase your cadence and bike tension to increase your HR and breathing. The test lasts about 15 minutes and at the end you are giving it everything you've got and feeling like your heart will explode. The computer then measures your cardio strength by analyzing your Aerobic Threshold, Anaerobic Threshold, Heart Rate, and VO2 Max. My peak VO2 Max was 55.6 and HR Max was 161 bpm. This is considered a superior fitness level for my age. One issue for me was that I began burn protein, rather than fat, when my HR crossed 90 bpm. Apparently, this is not efficient..it is better to burn fats for a longer period before you start to burn protein. If you burn protein too early you start to produce lactate and lose endurance. It is uncertain whether this situation is the result of my metaholic disorder (diabetes), or has more to do with nutrition or training issues.

I've been following the training plan developed for me by Team Hendrix. Yesterday called for a 25 mile bike on hills, followed by 2000 meter swim, and because I missed my run the previous day, I also ran for 30 mins. and then did a series of strides, lunges, butt kicks and knee lifts. I did make my first mistake during training...I forgot to take my glucose test kit with me when I started on the bike. By the time I realized it, I was already 10 miles out. That morning by BS was 212. I had injected 4 units of Humalog and ate a large bowl of Cherrios with a banana and peach. I took Heed sports drink with me on the bike. When you don't have your test kit...you're flying blind. When you experience a performance issue, you are never certain whether it is due to a glucose issue or something else. Anyway, I rode to Sugarloaf and did a series of repeats and felt pretty good. I then rode to the NTC to do my swim workout. Prior to the swim I ate an energy bar by Odwalla, swam 4 x 500s breathing every 3rd, then 4th, then 5th stroke each 50 meters. I then rode home and tested my BS which was 64, a bit hypoglycemic. I ate lunch, relaxed for a bit and then tested my BS again before the run. My BS was now 168. I ran down the trail and 19 minutes out began to feel hypo. I stopped and checked my glucose (I now had my test kit in my fanny pack) and it was 50. It had fallen from 168 to 50 in just 19 minutes. I ate an AccelGel, about 100 calories and pressed on to the finish. Tomorrow I run 1 hour and then bike for 1 hour.

   Well, this is my first blog entry as part of Epic Cycles Fab 5. First, a brief introduction. As indicated in my profile, I am an insulin dependent diabetic triathlete on insulin for the past 24 years. I've been training and racing triathlon for about 11 years and participate in Sprint, Xterra, Olympic and 1/2 Iron distance races. I participate in 10 - 14 races each season. I've also raced several adventure races including 6 and 12 hour events. The adventure races normally include kayaking, trail running, orienteering, mountain biking and other obstacles. I competed in the Escape from Alcatraz triathlon in San Francisco on June 8th along with my 11 year old daughter (the youngest female to ever complete the race). I'm excited about participating as part of the Fab 5 training for the Great Floridian 1/2 Iron race in October and hope to use my blog entries to inform readers, hopefully other insulin dependent diabetic athletes including kids diagnosed with the disorder and their parents, about the health benefits of triathlon training and racing and how endurance sports like triathlon can assist the insulin dependent diabetic patient in better managing glucose levels.

This blog will also cover the many challenges that face the insulin dependent athlete, i.e., exercise induced hypoglycemia, hyperglycemia, and how to train and race safely and stay competitive with non diabetic athletes. This blog will consistently promote the view that with focus, organization, and diligence insulin diabetic athletes can live normal productive lives and compete at the highest levels in athletic competition while honestly discussing the various pitfalls and mistakes that are often made in preparation, nutrition, and insulin dosage before and during training and athletic competition. For insulin dependent diabetic athletes (IDDA) and their parents who may be viewing this blog, it's important to know my specific insulin regimen because different regimens will produce different results. I'm on a regimen of "intensive insulin therapy". I take a combination of Humulog, Humulin N, and Lantus Insulins. I take 30 units of Lantus before bed, an injection of Humulog before each meal and an injection of Humulog and 8 units of Humulin N before my evening meal. I vary my Humulog dosages based  upon my Blood Glucose (BG) readings. I take between 4 and 5 injections daily and test my BG levels about 6 times each day depending on my level of exercise and other factors like illness, delayed meals, etc. The most important safety factor for the IDDA is to check BG before, during, and after exercise to prevent hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). Hypoglycemia will cause performance to decline rapidly and if not treated with consumption of carbohydrates can cause fatigue, dizziness and eventual loss of consciousness. The number of times BG needs to be checked during exercise will depend on the athlete's sensitivity to exercise induced hypoglycemia. If sensitivity and hypoglycemia awareness is lacking BG will need to be checked a periodic intervals.

This afternoon, my training plan includes a one hour bike at a moderate pace averaging about 18 mph, followed by swimming 1700 meters (long course) including various drills. As always, the most important preparation for training is checking blood glucose levels. Prior to the bike my BG was 220. I need my glucose level to be higher than normal when I begin exercise because exercise will lower blood glucose. While biking I carry a fanny pack with a small glucose test kit and carbohydrate gel packs. I rode about 19 miles and when finished checked my glucose which had now fallen to 94. While this is a normal reading, I still needed to swim 1700 meters and had to increase my glucose level. I consumed one GU gel pack, about 120 calories and took a bottle of CytoMax with me to the pool. I drank about 3/4 bottle during my swim workout. At the conclusion of the swim, my glucose was 124. I suffered no Hypoglycemic events during this training day. Tomorrow I'm scheduled for VO2 Max testing at 5:30 pm and then a short run workout.