Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Kona


As friend Peter texted to me last week, "soak it up, you're in Mecca..." I had never been over to the Hawaiian islands, but I got the distinct impression that Kona is a bit different from other areas of our 50th state. From swimming the official IM swim course (see pic) several mornings to riding the Queen K Highway, it quickly became apparent that this is the center of the world for a triathlete. From the heights of Mauna Kea (13,800 feet high) to the depths of Kailua Bay and the dolphins swimming beneath us, it was an amazing experience. Saw snow fields on Mauna Kea and experienced the heat of running and riding thru the lava fields.

Saturday's race performance provided decent improvement from my first tri out at Wildflower 3 weeks earlier. The swim provided 200m visibility to the ocean floor and I was out in 58 minutes. The ride was a rolling one across the Queen K and I managed those 56 miles in about 3.5 hrs. The run was rough... hot, humid, blisters developed early on my heel and ran out of salt tablets too early. To call it a run might be a bit of a stretch, more walking than running. I was out on the run course an hour longer than I should have, but it's always good to get to that finish line. Stuck with my overnight Levimir injection the night before to keep some insulin on board during the swim and reconnected my Medtronic insulin pump coming into T1 after I had exited the water. Turned basal to 65% of normal and consumed about 60g of carbs an hour and tried to consume around 60 oz of water an hour. I held that regimin fairly well thru the ride and felt pretty strong coming into T2. The run quickly deteriorated in the first two miles as I felt increasing discomfort on my heels. I should have stopped a medic and taken a minute or two to bandage them up, but got into the mindset that I didn't have a minute to spare - lesson learned. I should have worn socks I had practiced in rather than buying a new pair a few days before the race. BG's were 97 out of the water, 146 at the midway point on the bike and got up to 210 early in the walk/run before coming down in the 140 range on a few additional checks late in the race. All in all, I think I've got the diabetes management dialed in pretty well for race-day's. I may need to increase the basal rates and consume a little more on the carb side, especially on the run. My nutrition on the run is not where I think it should be - think I'm going too light.

The trip out also provided another opportunity to reach out to the diabetic community. To the Oregon State student I met on Saturday, keep up the good work and stay active... it makes all the difference in the world. Before entering the water on race morning, I had an internist identify himself and ask me about the catheters plugged into my abdomen. When I told him I was a T1 diabetic and I'd connect my insulin pump when I exited the water, he asked me some good questions about how I deal with insulin on race day. Yet another opportunity to educate...

A huge thanks to the entire Carlson clan for the week out there... you all are awesome!! I will not forget making the last turn on the golf course and seeing you run to the ropes to get a high-five coming down the home stretch. Diabetes' marriage with triathlon started out there with Billy 26 years ago and look how far it has come - a remarkable legacy! Bill, let's both get back out there for Kona in October in the years to come! In the meantime, we'll work on getting the Insulindependence Kona office established - we ought to be able to do it for $175 :)

2 comments:

denise said...

Nice Job Sean, that is a amazing picture! Congrats!

Anne Findlay said...

I heard someone say once to fix a problem (like a rock in your shoe, shoelaces that are too tight etc) immediately. I always say that to myself when I'm annoyed and don't want to stop, "Fix it now, fix it now..."

It sounds like you had a great race, despite the blisters. I did that race in '06 and never wanted to swim in the SF Bay again. Hawaii is pretty much all it's cracked up to be, in my opinion!