June 17, 2009
Kathy

(I was finally able to log into our email and found Kathy's long lost blog post from June 6...sorry Kathy:))

I've a few WILD experiences over that past month that I'd like to share:

First of all, I participated in the first of a series of five events called an Aquathon. It consists of a 1000 meter swim followed by a 5K run (http://www.fleetfeetmadison.com/aquathon or check it out on You Tube). Although I am grateful for the open water swim practice, I didn't love swimming in a Madison WI lake at the end of May. ("I don't love it" is a phrase my 3 year old niece says instead of "I don't like." She is such a diplomatic little girl.) As I mentioned on the recent call, I'm sure I swam way over 1000 meters with all the zig-zagging I was doing. Sighting the very large orange cones is definitely NOT a strength of mine. My feet were so cold and numb for the first mile of the run, but I'm sort of getting used to running with the numb feet thing; this happens after I get off my bike and try to run too. Diabetes wise things turned out okay. I set a temp basal for 70% about 45 min before the start; disconnected the pump during the swim; and hooked back up during the run back to 70% basal. I was around 120 mg/dL at the start, ate 15 g carbs (fruit snacks), was 150 at the transition, ended the run around 70. Overall, it was a great first event of the season and I had tons of fun.

Secondly, I got of new bike! I'm taking forever to get my blog out this month because I wanted to share my news with pictures. Many of you knew my previous road bike, "The Purple Gremlin," has now been converted to a very fast commuter bike (now that I have a job amenable to this mode of transportation). It is very strange to get used to a brand new set of wheels, I never realized how comfortable I am on the Gremlin. Now I'll have to set up a camp-simulated obstacle course with all of Nicole's shenanigans to get used to my new, yet-to-be-named bike. I am taking ideas for the name, by the way.

And finally, a little story to help remind us all of why we are doing all this. After my swim workout last week, I met a woman who was inquiring about the laminated Triathlon Skills workout sheet I had with my stuff. She, too, was training for her first triathlon. As most of my conversations these days eventually lead to Team WILD, this one was no exception. It turns out she has a sister also has type 1 diabetes, and that she would tell her about the team and website. This is the very interaction that is so inspiring and why we are doing all this hard work. If you are reading this (sorry, I forgot your name), you inspire us.

As always, happy training!
Kathy