{"id":10296,"date":"2010-09-12T05:47:58","date_gmt":"2010-09-12T09:47:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=10296"},"modified":"2015-12-27T15:41:59","modified_gmt":"2015-12-27T20:41:59","slug":"its-almost-tri-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=10296","title":{"rendered":"It’s Almost Tri Time"},"content":{"rendered":"

This morning marks two weeks until the Black Diamond Multi-Sport Weekend here in the Seattle area.\u00a0 I decided to participate in this sprint triathlon about two months ago, after attending the Sports and Diabetes Group Northwest<\/a> summer workshop.\u00a0 I was so inspired by the people I met that evening and so determined to overcome my own feelings of fear<\/a> that I jumped on my computer and found the infamous Course Description page.\u00a0 After reading and rereading the paragraphs of euphonious terminology describing the planned course, I was committed.<\/p>\n

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Encouraging words from fellow type 1s + \u201cquiet country roads\u201d = Emily is convinced she can do a sprint triathlon<\/p>\n

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It probably goes without saying, but I have never done a sprint triathlon before.\u00a0 Or any other kind of triathlon.\u00a0 I have run one 5k<\/a>\u2026 about two years ago\u2026 after training for months with my brother\u2026 and finished somewhere around 44 minutes.\u00a0 \u00a0Running, you see, had not been a regular part of my life until pretty recently, and biking played an even smaller role.\u00a0 Swimming, however, has been more of a staple.\u00a0 Everyone told me, \u201cIf you can swim, you can train for a triathlon.\u201d\u00a0 So, here I am.<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a><\/dt>\n
Editing an earlier draft of this post before heading out for a run<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n

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When I ran the 5k with my brother, we had three goals:\u00a0 to run the entire time; to finish; and to have fun.\u00a0 I have the exact same goals going into this race and I\u2019m feeling more confident than ever that I can actually do this.\u00a0 My times have gotten faster and faster and I\u2019m feeling pretty secure with each separate segment of the triathlon.\u00a0 I still feel nervous when I try to imagine doing the three full segments back to back, but triathlon veterans assure me that race-day adrenaline kicks in and you get it done.\u00a0 Perhaps I\u2019ll have to take long bathroom breaks during the transitions.<\/p>\n

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Here\u2019s the breakdown:<\/p>\n

1)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Swim .5 miles in a very cold lake<\/p>\n

2)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Run down a trail to the \u201ctransition zone\u201d (giant bike rack)<\/p>\n

3)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Ride 11 miles\u2019 worth of quiet country roads on my coworker\u2019s bike<\/p>\n

4)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Run the bike back into the \u201ctransition zone\u201d<\/p>\n

5)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Run 2.8 miles<\/p>\n

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Don\u2019t worry; I still have two weeks left to train.\u00a0 Everything will be fine.<\/p>\n

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You may have noticed that I\u2019ve written plenty about the triathlon conditions and very little about my own diabetes conditions.\u00a0 That\u2019s because I just don\u2019t know<\/em>.\u00a0 When I first started training two months ago, I printed off a training guide<\/a> that I found online (and have grown to l-o-v-e).\u00a0 I\u2019ve followed it almost exactly with hopes of monitoring my blood sugar every step of the way until I arrived at the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow:\u00a0 a perfect plan for how to treat my diabetes on the day of the race.\u00a0 Well, it seems the diabetes leprechauns are just as crafty as their unaffected peers, because I come before you with no such plan.\u00a0 \u00a0I have read all of Michael Aviad\u2019s blog<\/a>, I have kept reasonably good data on my \u201cbefore\u201d and \u201cafter\u201d work-out numbers, I have asked my few type 1 friends for their strategies, and yet I still find myself reaching frantically for glucose tablets or regretting the high-carb meal I had hours before a run.<\/p>\n

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My short list of conclusions:<\/p>\n

–Swimming drops me low (drop of at least 60 points after 15-minute sprint)<\/p>\n

–Biking does almost nothing (unless after swimming, when my body is still trying to recover)<\/p>\n

–Running does nothing some days and drops me up to 30 points other days (with relatively similar conditions and no obvious explanation)<\/p>\n

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With all of my researching, though, this state of confusion appears to be par for the course.\u00a0 Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disorder that affects each person differently, and differently each day.\u00a0 Or hour.\u00a0 Or athletic activity.\u00a0 I will use my short list to make some basic preparations, and then have tons of back-up.\u00a0 I\u2019ll be sporting my new Medical ID bracelet, I\u2019ll be testing at all possible pauses, I\u2019ll be popping glucose tablets, and I\u2019ll be sprinting toward the finish line food tent.<\/p>\n

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By the way\u2026 \u00a0New running shoes two weeks before a race:\u00a0 good idea or bad idea?<\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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