July 13, 2010
Yesterday I participated in the Boulder Peak triathlon for the second time. Last year, this was my first Olympic-distance triathlon, and thus an automatic PR (personal record). I’m happy to say that yesterday I also PR’d at this distance.Last year’s race was kind of a disaster, blood-sugar-wise. This was the race where my meter read over 500 in T2 (after the bike), and I wasn’t sure if I should do the run or go to the medical tent. I’m even happier to note that yesterday’s race did NOT repeat this pattern, and that the various strategies I worked out with the medical team later last season are serving me well now. Was my blood sugar perfect? No way, even with the meticulous babysitting. However, it was MUCH better than last year.
Woke up (blood sugar 116) and had breakfast at 4:10am (3 hours pre-race) and took a 70% bolus of insulin for it. Headed over to the Reservoir, got all checked in, set up, and warmed up. At 1 hour pre-race my blood sugar was 226 (surprising; usually on race days I’m in the 70s at this point) and I programmed my pump to give me a 75% basal rate for the next many hours (changed this later in the bike).
The swim: I got punched in the nose on this swim. Now, this doesn’t really seem feasible, given that people do not swim with their hands in fists. So maybe I was just clipped really hard in the nose by an open hand as my racemate was stroking. Anyway, it hurt. I took 10min off my swim time from last year (to be fair, everyone was saying last year that the swim course was long). My pump was on the special needs table just out of the swim, so I grabbed it as I was taking off the top of my wetsuit. Blood sugar just before disconnecting: 241. Didn’t eat. Blood sugar in T1: 205.
T1: Boy howdy, I’m still slow at transitions. And I practiced! I had my whole race strategy typed out in a Ziploc on my towel so I could just program my pump by reading what to do. Nevertheless, I took a long time. Ate a GU. Took a 75% bolus of insulin for the GU, and a 150% bolus over 60 minutes of the basal (background) insulin that I’d missed by being disconnected from the pump.
The bike: This time I vowed to stop twice on the bike and check my blood sugar. There’s a killer hill (92% grade – okay, maybe I’m exaggerating. A lot) about 6 miles in, and I stopped before that because my continuous glucose monitor was alarming the pump that I was over 300, even though it lied and I was really 193 at the time. Ate two Fig Newtons. Anyway, I made it up the killer hill on Olde Stage then down the other side, past the bear crossing (a racer hit a bear in the middle of this race a few years ago. Yes, really) and back down to the flat(ish) part of the course. Checked my blood sugar again. 231. Changed my basal insulin to 50% to continue until the end of the race, since I’ve had problems with lows on the run in the past. Ate a Fig Newton, and a couple of salt tablets. Unfortunately, a race official had come up on his motorcycle to ask if I was alright at that moment, so I stuffed the Fig Newton (has to be chewed) and the salt tablets (has to be swallowed with water) in at the same time. Oops. At least one salt tablet fell out of my mouth while I was telling him I was fine. How graceful.
I continued on with the bike, noting that it looked like I was slower than last year. Here I said that the bike was my focus for the season, and I’m getting slower? Can’t blame the race course – it’s exactly the same. Same bike. Did an impressive taper leading up to this race. Eh, meh. Ate another Fig Newton at 1:30 into the bike. Soldiered on, periodically hearing the whOOp whOOp whOOp of race wheels as speedier types zoomed past me. The biking part of a triathlon really is fun, even if I’m not getting faster.
T2: I did not feel like crap, which is a stark contrast to this point in the race last year! Blood sugar 167. Ate a GU.
The run: Running in a triathlon is very very different from just running. You’re tired before you start. A lot of fast people are doing some walking and looking utterly defeated. You’ll hit a place of fatigue where you don’t know if your blood sugar’s tanking or not. It’s weird out there. I started this run with a plan to walk for a minute after 9 minutes of running, and I was delighted to be able to execute that plan for the whole 6.2 miles. It was sunny and hot, but I only had to run for 9 minutes at a time, which is easy peasy, right? Blood sugar at the turnaround: 177. Ate a Fig Newton. Made it back to the finish line, where they announced my name and called me a stellar example of athleticism. Or maybe they just announced my name – I was a little out of it by then.
Blood sugar: 133
My final time was 15 minutes faster than last year. I still have plenty of 15-minute increments that would have to be lopped off that time before I’d be considered fast, but I’ll take it!
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