July 21, 2009
Lorrie

My second triathlon of the season is now in the record books. On July 19, 2009, my alarm awoke me at 3:45am. Who the heck gets up that early—a hardcore triathlete of course? Well, at least I have all of the triathlon gear to make me look hardcore, but hardcore I’m not. It’s crazy, so my parents think, but somehow I think it’s kind of fun, at least that’s what I thought before I looked up my results. I was disappointed in my overall time. I really thought I did better than my overall time reflected.

As I was looking over my times, I reflected back on each step of the way. Here’s what I recall:

• Bed at 8:00pm the night before event. Awoke at 10:00pm and took 9 units of Levimer. Set temp basal on pump to 0% for 10 hours.

• Up out of bed at 3:45am. Checked BG level (157). Dressed and ate a bowl of Special K with blueberries cereal. Had a bit more than the suggested serving. Bolused for 33 grams.

• Off to race at 4:30am.

• 6:00am transition site setup. 6:30am Checked BG level (151). Ate 23 grams of carbs, but entered only 19 grams in pump.

• 6:30am left pump in transition. (Note: temp basal was still at 0% because Levimer was in action).

• 7:30am swim starts. Lake water was freezing 58 degrees. YIKES! Half mile swim. A few minutes into the swim, I felt this blow to the side of my head. I say to myself, what the heck, as I catch my goggles before they hit the water. Close call, I think to myself, as I regain my composure and put my goggles back on. I’m sure the woman who hit me didn’t mean to, but I still give her the evil eye. After the stampede is through, I settle into my swim and complete the swim portion in 12:29. I was very happy with this. (Note: I do remember reading somewhere to put the goggle straps under the swim cap to help prevent them from flying off if you get hit. I think I’ll do that for the next event).

• Transition was slow due to stripping off wetsuit, rewetting feet to get sand off, putting on socks and shoes, helmet, glasses, and most importantly taking care of all the diabetes related stuff: Reconnecting pump and sensor, finding lost sensor, checking blood and bolusing for the 257 that appeared on my meter after the swim. My temp basal was complete and running at normal basal rate. I decided not to set a temp basal because the event wasn’t that long and my BG level was in the mid 200s. This took 7:44.

• The first and last 1.5 miles of the bike was on a terrible road. The race official told us to be careful during this portion of road because there were lots of potholes. I rode this portion carefully for fear of getting a flat. Once on the main highway portion, there were two loops to complete. On the first loop, I felt great. Speed was averaging 18 to 20 miles per hour. I was in my aero bar position and legs were cranking. Just before I started my second loop, I started to feel extremely tired. I wondered if my BG level was dropping quickly. I glanced at my sensor, which read 200. Hmmmm, what’s wrong? I reached for some Chomps and ate three or four. I don’t remember exactly. Throughout the second loop, I started doubting my abilities. I struggled through the remainder of the bike and completed the 13.2 mile course in 48:22. I didn’t feel good about the ride.

• I didn’t bother checking my BG level prior to the 4 mile run. I wanted to hustle to make up lost time on the bike. My transition time was about 3.30. I started feeling good about a mile into the run. My first mile was a bit slow and calves had a bit of cramping, but once I got through the first mile, I started to pick up some momentum. I did walk through the three water stations, which was my plan. I usually don’t hydrate enough and wanted to make sure I did. I completed the run in 42:17. This was a bit slower than my usual 10 minute mile, but I was okay with it.

• Overall event time was 1:54:20. BG level 131.

So, now that I’ve reflected on my times, what have I learned? First, I probably didn’t have enough fuel on board at the start. I figured the event wasn’t a long one, so I didn’t need a lot of fuel. I may have been wrong and bonked during the cycling portion. I’ve also learned not to be so hard on myself. I was telling my mom about the event, explaining each portion and how it works. She’s not an athlete and knows nothing about sports. In fact, she used to tell me to score a touchdown before each of my high school basketball games. She came to every game and cheered when a basket was made, even if it was the other team making the basket. My dad would have to tell her she was cheering for the wrong team. She would just say, well isn’t it good for the person who scored? My dad would say yes for them it is. My mom would say, then I’m going to cheer. Anyway, I told my mom that I was disappointed in my overall time. In her wisdom, she said did you score a touchdown? I said, I guess I did.