August 5, 2008
Nancy

Diabetes is a lot of things to me...it' doesn't mean a lot of things...it IS a lot of things. It's a drive for success. It's' a struggle to keep up. It's a passion for strength. It's a fire underneath me. It has taught me to be more flexible. All of this has never been more true than now...during my 1st 1/2 Ironman.

I had everything in place. Race plan with nutrition, race plan with blood sugars and insulin...all had been going perfect. I never once anticipated the race actually changing. The waters of Lake Michigan were as rough as I have ever seen them...and I lived here all my life! The swells were 3-6 ft. and the lifeguards couldn't even launch the kayaks. It was a serious issue if the support crew couldn't even see an arm up in the air for help. After waiting for 20 minutes in line at a porta-john, I heard over the loud speaker that the swim was canceled. Canceled??? What??? What the heck have I been training for? Certainly not a duathlon, or another long brick workout. But that's exactly what they did, turned it into a duathlon. 2 mile run, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run. Standard procedure I guess. My heart was just sinking with sadness as I walked back to the transition area. At this point I start to think about my race plan with my insulin. All is shot!! I have to think on the fly. What was I going to do? I'll tell you what I didn't do was quit!!

But just like diabetes, triathlon can be very unpredictable. You have to roll with the punches and accept what's handed to you. The triathlon gods looked down on me that day and decided to teach me a lesson or two. Patience, which I don't have much of. Acceptance, which is hard when you are a competitive person. They modified the course and started with a 2 mile run. Pure chaos at the start!! 2000 people on a very narrow road. Go with the flow Nancy. 2 miles and 18 minutes later I'm at my bike in the transition area.

The 56 mile bike went really well! Very solid, and I was very relaxed. My blood sugars were perfect and it was a beautiful day. What more can someone ask for? Dare I say uneventful, but it kind of was. By the time I got into transition again my blood sugar was 93. Perfect for everyday, but I wished it was higher. I mean, I do have to run 13.1 miles still! I gobbled down a Powergel as I ran through the chute to the start of the run. My husband was there taking tons of photos and cheering me on, and believe it or not I was all smiles. Almost like I forgot that I didn't swim. I suppose I was just focused on the task at hand, which was finishing a half marathon.

This is where it gets painful. Literally! Leg cramps like I have never had before. They started around mile 9 or 10. Somewhere out on the course there was a little Ziploc bag with my Enduorlytes (electrolyte replacement capsules)in it. I'm not sure how it flew out of my back jersey pocket, but it did, and now I'm suffering because of it. I drank more Gatorade, and took in more gels to compensate, and that worked for awhile. By the time I got to the finish chute I had been reduced to walking for 3 minutes, and running until I cramped up. There was not a thought in my mind about not finishing....I was going to finish running!! I stopped to do a quick rub on the calf, and then ran my way to the finish. I always envisioned what that would look like...raising my arms up with a huge smile, and maybe even a tear. Not today. I crossed the line with a little pain, some heartache, and a lot of relief.

So many analogies, but they really do parallel.....diabetes and triathlon. I never really realized it until now. My blood sugars cause me a lot of anxiety, pain, heartache, and even relief! I can even say joy too! Triathlon does the exact same thing for me.

Here's to another year of training...but I'll be doing it with Team WILD!!