Head down...

I'm wondering if any of the Triabetes captains have worked on the new swim techniques we picked up from Celeste at Diabetes Training Camp. I've been in the pool twice a week since camp and I think it's mostly hit and miss so far. As soon as I think I'm getting the hip rotation and arm extension, I catch myself thrashing in the water too much or over-rotating. But overall I think I'm getting somewhere.

What seems to be working for me is the stroke count drill and forcing myself to swim "quietly". I read in one of the Triathlete magazines that everything about the swim stroke is supposed to be "pretty", so I try to keep that as a reference point. Needless to say whatever I'm producing in the pool isn't anywhere near pretty yet.

Does anyone have any good drills or workouts that they'd like to share? For me what works is speed drills. I read somewhere that when you swim fast, you are more or less forced to swim with better technique so I always try to put lots of speed drills into my training.

I've been snooping around online forums reading up on the swim at Ironman Wisconsin - trying to get a sense of where best to start in a field of 2500 swimmers. Carlene found an old commercial online that cracked me right up - I guess that's what I have to look forward to in a few months.

Triathlon song... who knew???

A bit of a strange music video by the finnish band Vink. Filmed with a budget of 170 eur. Directed by Taiteilija Loman. Filmed&Edited by Jussi Suomilammi www.vinkrock.com, www.myspace.com/vinkrock

A+B+C isn't always followed by D

One of the frustrating things we talked about at Diabetes Training Camp was that doing the exact same things (same food, same insulin, same exercise) doesn't always give you the same results. It's just one of the things that you have to constantly be prepared for and adjusting as you go along. Before I left for camp I was checking my BG before I ate and 2 hours after... on average around 5 times a day. Now I check 8-10 times a day and with a heavy workout even more often. I probably checked it six times just on that one bike ride up Mt. Lemmon. 

Dr. Matt talked about it at camp -  see the trend and be patient, wait a little bit before you react to the number you see on the glucose monitor. (unless it's drastically low or high)  One day at camp after a fairly arduous bike ride and a hefty dinner, I checked 40 minutes after I finished eating and my BG was 7.2 (130), then I checked again 30 minutes later and it was 11.8 (212). So normally at this point I might take a small correction bolus, but knowing that the workout might still be part of the whole equation, I waited a little bit longer without doing anything and after the class (60 more minutes later) I was 6.4 (115). Patience was the key.

Last week when I started my base training, after a light half hour bike ride followed by a light half hour run I didn't think the workout was hard enough for me to use my usual recovery meal dosage 1 unit per 25g carbs and I used 1:20 (without exercise my normal dosage is 1:15). When I checked after the recovery meal my BG was 3.6 (65), which by some standards is not really low, but definitely below the 4.0 (70) required for optimal brain functions. So obviously the workout that day did have more of an effect and I probably should have stuck to my usual recovery meal dosage. A+B+C isn't always followed by D.

Climbing Mt. Lemmon

Reading Kevin's latest blog post (one of the 2009 Triabetes captains) made me think back to that awesome ride up Mount Lemmon - and the unique experience as a diabetic.

I have many different memories coming down from that climb. I was very upbeat, considering I hadn't eaten breakfast and had no bolus on board. I rode for seven hours and survived on gels and energy drinks. Shortly after the climb started I teamed up with Mark, another captain, and we stayed together until just past the halfway point. He wanted to get back to Trifest, so he headed back down. Luckily the Fluid truck was also offering gels, because I had underestimated my needs and was running short (big thanks to the Fluid guys!)

After I split with Mark, it was all about solitude and loneliness. The climb was longer and longer and my average speed was lower and lower - I wasn't sure if there was anyone else left from Triabetes ahead of me.... but I just kept going. Eventually I caught up with a group of riders which was nice for the company, but then I had to stop and check my blood and off they rode into the distance. I knew I must be getting close to the summit and my BG readings were good so that kept me confident and motivated to keep going.

In the end it was all worth it. Coming from one of the flattest geographic areas in Canada (where the largest hill is a highway overpass), it was a great boost of confidence knowing I could complete that ride to the summit.

Doing those two rides with Nicole Freedman at Diabetes Training Camp earlier in the week at Gate's Pass gave me the foundation that allowed me to get up Mount Lemmon.

My BG numbers were between 5.3 (95) and 8.2 (147) throughout the day. I didn't have a real meal until later that night when Art and I went to a local Mexican restaurant  - after a quick shopping spree at Trisports.

The day would have ended perfectly, had I not left my lantus, bolus and meter at FedEx. We stopped there later in the evening so I could ship my bike back home.... and it wasn't until I returned to the hotel that I realized I was missing all my supplies. Many thanks to Art for driving me back to FedEx - which luckily was open 24 hours.

Speaking of Mt. Lemmon, I read something interesting on another bike blog...."Lance Armstrong in his winter training months in preparation for Tour de France rented a cabin on the top of Mt Lemmon and would climb up the mountain to top off a long day's ride."

I guess if it was good training for Lance, it should help me at Ironman Wisconsin.

Wearing o' the green

  

So... when the weatherman said it was going to be warm today I didn't really put a lot of thought into it, I was just so excited to start riding to work again.  It's only 11 km for me to get there, but it's been so darn cold and snowy this winter, I haven't been riding outdoors since late fall. (except for that warm weak in Tucson)

I got everything ready last night and set my alarm a few minutes earlier to allow enough time... woke up, jumped on the bike and off I went.

Holy Leprechaun... I forgot one thing!  The weatherman was right, it eventually did warm up to 19 degrees (66F), but one small detail... I left for work at 4:30am.... it was COLD!!!!!!

Luckily I had thrown my hat in my pocket at the last minute, but boy was I unprepared. For Christmas this year I got all kinds of handy dandy warm weather bike gear -today would have been an opportunity to use it. I was so cold biking to work... it was like climbing Mt. Lemmon all over again.

So.... I'll be on my bike again early tomorrow, but this time better prepared. I've already put the toe warmers on my shoes & I'll be dressed in a lot more layers, with my arm warmers and gloves.  Guess I should also be paying more attention to the frost on the grass...

life after camp goes on

Back into real life, trying to keep myself busy to smooth the transition into the world after camp. I did some indoor running and swimming combos - trying to work on some newly learned swim techniques (hip rotating, head down, skating etc.). I don't know if it's working for me yet.

It seems that I need more carbs throughout my workouts - more than ever before. If I start at about 100 (5.5) I need at least 60g of carbs through 1.5 hour workout to prevent lows. I guess it's part of the ever-changing glucose/insulin relationship.

Carlene (wife) found a great link on runtri.com last night that details IM Wisconsin (Moo?).  It's got lots of tips throughout the course. We read through it and it really got me pumped.

It was also great reading Rick Crawford's article (thanks for the link Art)

back from camp

Wife: So how was camp?

Saci: Being surrounded with people who are either diabetic themselves or who understand it so intensely...  The education you're getting is on two levels - the research classes and workshops - and the stories shared amongst the group - the highs, the lows, the motivation to keep going. And then there is all the coaching and training with such high level coaches, who are so down to earth and so approachable. Oh, and the laughter - boy did we laugh a lot. Some of those guys were real characters - some might not be appropriate for a blog post (Sebastian & Bill). It truly was an amazing week!

Wife: So you're definitely going back next year?

Saci: (huge smile)