Well, I've been training hard and following the coaching plan with some interruption due to weather conditions, lightning and rain.
Did the Jacksonville XTERRA race on Sunday, July 27th. Had some glucose issues. The race included a 1/2 mile ocean swim, 13 mile off road single track mountain bike, and a 3 mile off road run. I awoke at 5:45 am with a fasting BS of 44. Drank some orange juice and went down for breakfast at the hotel. Made a waffle with some jam and had coffee. Drove to the transition area and got set up. Checked glucose about 45 min before race start and it had climbed to 300. The swim was just gorgeous, very flat w/ the sun rising over the horizon and water temp about 77 degrees. Two large dolphin were swimming and playing not far from the swim course....very cool. I exited the water in 16 mins., a good swim for me and started the long run up the beach and across the boardwalk. I had left my trail shoes and socks at the end of the boardwalk because of the long run on pavement to transition. I got my shoes on and was off. Had a pretty good transition and began the bike course. The bike course was 3 loops. I had ridden the course on Saturday and had crashed twice. The bike course was fast and mostly flat, there were a number of switch backs, sharp turns and lots of roots. I only crashed once during the bike leg on loop two. Hit a soft bit of sand at a turn and just slipped out went down left and slid into a tree head first....love my helmet. The biggest problem for me on the bike was keeping my hands on the bars. I sweat profusely and my hands are always wet and slippery, even with riding gloves. This requires me to grab the bars really tight and creates much numbness in the hands and fingers and puts strain on the forearms.
After completing loop two, I stopped to check my glucose which had now risen to 367...not good. I had my insulin and a syringe with me in my fanny pack and took an injection of two units of Humalog. I continued on and transitioned from the bike to run with little difficulty but felt really drained. I continued on for about the first mile and realized I was not right. I stopped and checked my glucose again and it had fallen all the way to 86. I now had to start eating to raise my sugar level. I consumed a Hammer Gel and each aid station drank some gatorade. Just couldn't seem to get my legs going and started feeling sorry for myself "This damned disease..if I didn't have it I'd be at the very top of my age group, probably a Master...why can't I get my glucose under control...it just isn't fair....I'd be better than these people passing me...Yada, yada, ya".....those thoughts are such bullshit! I started thinking of a poster I saw...you know one of those posters with eagles flying aroung or people climbing mountains or sailing with inspirational sayings below the pictures. This one said..."Courage is not always a roar....sometimes it's the quiet voice at the end of the day saying 'I'll try again tomorrow'"....and so it is...I'll do better next time.
I've got business in Oregon next week and found an Olympic distance race outside Portland. I've rented a bike and plan on doing the race...after, of course, visiting the Willamette Valley and doing some wine tasting. Life is good....if you know how to live it!
This was a good training week with lots of quality training time. The only training issues were weather related. Most of my training is done after work in the afternoons. This time of year is difficult due to numerous thunder and lightning storms. Notwithstanding the weather, I was able to accomplish the majority of my training as scheduled although I did need to move a swim.
Sunday July 13th was the Heartland Sprint Triathlon in Sebring, Florida. I awoke at 4:30 am and my BS was a very low 48. I consumed a yogurt and peach and hit the road. My plan was to drink some coffee during the ride and eat a Creme Cake...my favorite prerace food. I drank the coffee and ate the Creme Cake during the 1:20 ride south to Sebring. Got my race packet and checked my bike into transition around 6:50 am. Checked my BS which was now 218. My plan was to start the race and then consume one gel on the bike and drink HEED for hydration. The distance was a 1/4 mile swim, 14 mile bike and 3.1 mile run. This is a great race..well organized and fun. The post race activities alone make the race worth doing. After the race there are plenty of hot dogs, hamburgers, chips, and lots of beer...Oh Yeah....and comradrie. The course is flat and fast. Due to the sever drought conditions the lake was very low and shallow at the start and end...alot of water running in and out of the lake. The run from the lake to T1 was long through sand and a bit up hill. The bike was flat and fast and very open..not technical. It began to rain slightly about 12 miles into the bike. The run was also flat and fast although it began to rain pretty hard with lots of deep pools of water...a nice part of this run course is when it takes you around a nice 400 meter track at mile 1.75. I had a good race...finishing in 1:12:58...good enough for 4th in my age group. When I finished the race my BS was 83...perfect for a hamburger and beer...or two....or three. Hey, we do this so we can drink beer without feeling guilty....right?!
This was a tuff training week...the workouts were hard and made more difficult due to work issues....I was in trial Monday thru Wednesday....in the office early and leaving late. The trial ended Wednesday so I took Thursday off for a well deserved long 4 day weekend.
Got up early Thursday morning for a long 2 1/2 hour bike ride. My glucose was 49 when I got up. I ate a bowl of Kashi GoLean with skim milk and a peach and nectarine. I had eaten this once last week when my glucose was low before a bike ride and held me well enough. This day would be different. I finished my set of drills on the bike, checked my BS which had climbed to 353. Not good. I have no idea why my body acted differently this day then last week with regard to my BS response to the same basic meal. I had no insulin with me so I thought about going home for a shot but then decided to keep going hoping the exercise would bring it down. I did some hill work up sugarloaf and across buckhill. When I returned home my BS has dropped to 208. Still high but reasonable since I was going to the NTC for my swim workout. I brought with me a Hammer Gel and bottle of CytoMax to drink at the pool. I swam 2000 meters (Long course) and started to feel a little funky about 1500 meters into the swim. I ate the Hammer Gel, finished the CytoMax and completed my workout. My BS after the swim was 83. I rode my bike back home, took 4 units of Humulog and went to Chick fil A for lunch.
Friday's workout called for a 1:10 run and a 1:10 bike. I decided to run the clay roads south of Lake Louisa Rd. When I got up my BS was 254 so I could eat nothing before the run. On the run I had my Fuel Belt with water and one container with HEED and brought 3 Hammer Gels. About 25 minutes into the run I started to feel like I was getting Hypo but thought since I only had 10 more minutes to go to the turn around, I'd keep pushing and stop at the turn around and check my glucose. This was a mistake. When I stopped, my BS had dropped to 37. I finished the container of HEED and ate a Hammer Gel...but I had waited too long. The run back was brutal...I don't know whether the low BS was hampering my muscle strength or whether my mind was just telling my body to shut down...either way it was not good. The lesson to be learned here is at the first sign or feeling of low BS...do something about it....eat immediately...do not wait. If you wait too long and BS drops too low....it takes way too long to get your performance back....in a race this will drop you to the back of the pack. This is a difficult lesson...this has happened to me before...and still, I come up with reasons to not take immediate steps to correct what I feel is low BS. I have now vowed that in the future...I will take immediate action...no matter what.
Finished the week's training session with a group brick on Sunday which started with a 2 hour bike followed by a 30 minute run. This was difficult..the bike pace was fast and I had little left in my tank for the run...the run...those who saw me would say shuffle...was not fun. I'm thinking I need a break...maybe I'll take tomorrow off.
