St. Patty's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day! For an Irish Catholic kid, this always ranks near the top of my favorite annual holidays. Found out over the weekend that my high school, the Fighting Irish of Cathedral, now get this as a school holiday... my, how times have changed. Enjoy the day and keep it a safe one.

After a full weekend of training, I've been fighting off a bug for the past 12 or so hours. A bit of a scratchy throat had me cancel last night's run to make sure I didn't make matters worse, but feeling better this morning. Got in a good 10-mile run on Saturday and felt really good afterwards, which was very encouraging. That gave me the confidence that the shoes have corrected my pronation issue. No flare-up's of knee, so I'm crossing my fingers that all that continues. I'll know more this weekend after I complete the Canyonlands Half Marathon in Moab. Weather looks to be great for the coming weekend out in the high desert (low to mid-70's) and very much looking forward to see how I hold up.

I swam Saturday and Sunday and the swim stroke is beginning to take shape. I'm getting in better distances without the effort of a month ago. Contacted a local coach who teaches the total immersion technique and will be following up on that in the coming days. On Sunday, I got in a two hour ride and was pleased to keep a pace of around 18 miles/hour for the two hour ride. I hear that once we get the new Kestrel's, the aerobars may add a couple of miles an hour to the ride. If that's the case, I'd like to shoot to break six hours on the cycling leg in November. Don't know if that is overly optimistic or not, but time will tell. I'd love to finish the IMAZ in under 12 hours, but that may be biting off more than I can chew... again, training will help determine whether that'll work.

Because of a noticeable difference in insulin sensitivities as training ramps up, I reduced basal rates on Sunday night (from 0.8 units per hour to 0.7 units per hour to start with). Over the first two days, it seems to be working better. I'll have to tweak it a little more, but my BG's don't seem to be dropping constantly like they had before. I had gotten so used to just popping carbs constantly without bolusing that I'm needing to break that habit once again... a good thing. It'll all come together.

For those heading out this afternoon/evening, enjoy a Guinness for me this evening.

Off-Day

Today's my off-day, one that's probably sorely needed. I've gotten in about 10 miles of running since getting back to Denver and have been swimming close to 500m a day (swimming's coming along since DTC). I'll be getting in about 10 miles on Saturday as next weekend is the Canyonlands Half Marathon in Moab. Since getting back from Tucson, I've not really unpacked yet. UPS'd several boxes back including my bike, so time to get that reassembled, get organized and get a chance to walk a clean line thru my home. Before I get to that, a quick trip to REI is needed... dividend checks arrived last week! I didn't realize how much I spent there last year, but they made out on me - doing my best to help the economy recover :). I will say that the TriSports store in Tucson may have become my new favorite retail buying experience over REI (I've never shopped in my life, when I go out to a retail store, I go in to buy - don't know how some people go out and shop :)) My dividend check is healthy enough to purchase a cycling trainer, which is probably a bit late to be buying that with daylight savings now on us, but I figure I'll need it in the fall in Oct and Nov as we lose daylight hours. It'll be nice to hop on that for a few hours later in the evenings. Anyone out there have a Kurt Kinetic Road Machine trainer? If so, let me know your thoughts.

Something I've noticed since last week is my insulin sensitivity is changing rapidly. Last week, involved multiple daily training sessions - which is not something I have the opportunity to do during working hours. We had some great sessions with Dr. Matt on this topic and it's time for some basal adjustments. I've been waking up in the mornings with BG's in the 50's, something that always gives me a little pause due to some past issues I've had with severe hypoglycemic reactions in the mornings. As I continue to increase my base training, I imagine I'll need to continue to adjust the basal rates on my Medtronic pump. I've been addressing the past two weeks by eating more, but it's still not always working. I've never eaten this much in my life. Beginning to work on a plan for how to deal with insulin during my swimming competitions (training hasn't involved being disconnected from my pump for more than a half hour). The Medtronic pump is not water-proof, but I've found out the Animus pump is. I hate to disconnect my pump for maybe 2 hours or more as we wait for the start, then swim before the first transition station. I can probably throw the Medtronic in an AquaPak and tuck it under my wetsuit for Wildflower, Boulder and Ironman Arizona, but I won't have the wetsuit for the warm waters of Hawaii in May and there lies my issue. May explore what it would take to get an Animus pump - please help us out Medtronic! Going to talk to Dr. Matt tomorrow on whether experimenting with a Lantus injection the night before is doable - just don't like that option without considerable testing and I kind of hate to start trying that out... part of the whole reason I converted to a pump a few years ago. If that's needed, I'll figure it out, though.

I'm super-psyched to have the opportunity to be able to train with the coaching services of Colorado Premier Training (http://www.coloradopremiertraining.com/) leading up to Ironman. Huge thanks to Dr. Matt and Rick Crawford for getting this set up for the Triabetes team. It's even better for me since some of their facilities and coaches are right on the Front Range here in Colorado. Look forward to getting rolling with that and setting up a formal training plan.

All for now, off to REI.

Tucson

Ever feel like an idiot when you miss something obvious? For the past few nights, I've been trying to figure out what my password is to get signed back into my own blog (oh, the numerous passwords to access anything anymore... ridiculous). Obviously, I overcame the issues and got in.

My first week of March was spent in Tucson and it was one of the great weeks of my life. For those of you who are diabetic, I encourage you to make a commitment to get to a Diabetes Training Camp (www.diabetestrainingcamp.com). For those of you who are not, well, you've got all the benefits of living without this disease :) I had the good fortune to make it to my second camp, this time around with my Triabetes teammates. Words don't do the experience down there justice, you've got to be there to grasp it. I could go on and on about everything that went on down there, but I'll try and summarize a few of the highlights. Sometimes I've got to ask myself if I ever believed I'd have the opportunity to get coaching from a few former members of the Olympic team, a former coach of Lance Armstrong (see his article at http://www.velonews.com/article/89008/training-with-type-1-diabetic-athletes-has-taught-coach) and so many other influential mentors. They were all so down to earth and an absolute joy to spend time with. DTC is the dream of Dr. Matt Corcoran - a doctor, a friend, someone we need more of our population to be like. As a friend of mine once indicated, he's the first doctor who didn't speak at him - Dr. Matt spoke with him. I believe medicine needs to be a collaborative effort between the patient and the doctor and nobody embodies that better than Dr. Matt. He's a pioneer in actively charting a new course in the treatment of diabetes by promoting a healthy lifestyle upfront to ward off the complications. The Triabetes team is privileged to have him as our team physician.

Days typically started at 6AM and ended close to 10PM, so between training sessions, lectures on nutrition, sports psychology and diabetes management, one-on-one consults with coaches and staff of DTC on anything and everything, it was a ton packed into a short week. One of my favorite sessions was the cycle skills session where we worked our way from picking up water bottles off the road to pushing/pulling a teammate to effectively a roller derby on our bikes. As coach Nicole Freedman said, we're going to have to get used to being bumped and elbowed in these races. With the competitive instinct of a group of triathletes, it got pretty intense. Somehow, I always had Reid, the former rugby player, coming at me! I won a few and lost a few :)

We also had the opportunity to get over to the U of A for VO2 testing. This is where they hook you up to heart monitors and a breathing tube while cycling to measure max heart rate and your max oxygen uptake. The results of my test confirmed for me that I've got little athletic DNA :)

We're fortunate to have a great team of sponsors, many of whom we had the opportunity to meet with throughout the course of the week. The great team at TriSports, who put on the TriFest Expo over the weekend was awesome, the team from Fluid, Thorlo, Spibelt, Kestrel, and Polar that we met with were first class and terrific ambassadors for the message our team is aiming to spread.

Last but certainly not least, a special shout out to Denise, Kevin and Grant who labored up the 6,000 feet and the wind and the cold to the summit of Mt. Lemon last Friday. You're all rock stars!

9 months and counting...

Yes, indeed, only nine months of training left. To some it may seem like a ton of time, to others not much. Learning quickly all the planning that needs to go into this venture. Travel, logistics, insulin, test strips, backup insulin, backup test strips, adjusting basal rates, tri equipment challenges, diabetic equipment challenges, etc, etc, it can all add up without the right attitude. But hey, I wouldn't have started this journey if I didn't know I could finish it.

Planning right now for a week in Tucson where the Triabetes captains will be gathering in early March for a week of training, medical testing and working with friends at TriSports (www.trisports.com). On the immediate calendar in terms of preparation are the Canyonlands Half Marathon on Mar 21 (Moab), Wildflower Triathlon on May 2 (central California) and the HonuHalf Ironman on May 30 (Kona, HI). I've also recently registered for the JDRF Ride to Cure Diabetes in Killington, VT in August and the Tour de Cure here in Colorado also in August. Many other events on the calendar or under consideration, so hope to see many out there as the next year rolls on.

Any young diabetics out there?

Back by popular demand are the most adventurous kids on the planet: Triabuddies (formerly known as the Insulindependence IronKiDz) Fifteen lucky kids (ages 9-12) will be selected to travel to the American Southwest this November for a trip that will surely change their lives. Under the guidance of certified wilderness guides and experienced diabetes mentors, the Triabuddies will embark on a 3-day sail- and kayaking journey to the Channel Islands off the California Coast. They’ll work as a team to prove to themselves that they have what it takes to overcome diabetes in the face of adversity.

On November 19, the Triabuddies will reach Santa Barbara, then voyage to Phoenix to meet their designated training buddy from the Triabetes team. Each of the Triabuddies will have worked with one of athletes over the course of the summer as they trained for the 2009 Arizona Ironman.

On Sunday, the day of the Ironman, the Triabuddies will use the diabetes management skills they obtained on their adventure to help their training buddy cross the finish line. Together, they’ll continue to make history as a part of the Triabetes project.

See this site for more info and a video presentation for a preview of this outstanding experience...

www.triabetes.org/triabuddies.php

Weekend update

Noticed a few weeks ago, that my IM ticker fell under 300 days, Nov 22 will be here before I know it!

Good weekend had here. I awoke Saturday morning and got in an 8-mile run on a beautiful 50-degree morning... pain free for the first time in months. I had gotten in a short run of 2.5 miles earlier in the week which was my first since Carlsbad as my knees had been bothering me for several days. I've got to give a shout out to my local shoe store, Active Imprints, in Boulder. I run in the Newton's (http://www.newtonrunning.com/) and had been experiencing worsening pain in my knees, like somebody was stabbing me with a knife between the patella and the fibula. It would kick in after about 4 miles and get worse as my runs wore on. For the 24 hours following runs, it could be pretty painful. Teammate Bill Carlson diagnosed a few issues while I was down in San Diego for Carlsbad (thanks to Pete for the photo along the PCH in Carlsbad here) and one thing I needed was more support due to some pronation problems. I took my Newton Gravity's back to Active Imprints last week to explain my issues and they simply swapped out my Gravity's for a new pair of Newton Motion's... and my Gravity's had about 150 miles on them. Honestly, I was planning to just buy a new pair. Thanks for earning a lifelong customer! After running on the Motion's, I've felt great and completely pain free. Thanks to Bill and the new shoes, I'm now looking forward to building my base miles to the 26.2 miles I'll need for IM. Next run event on the calendar is the Canyonlands Half Marathon in Moab in mid-March.

Also need to give a shout out to Sarah for getting me up to Red Rocks (the 8th wonder of the world - google U2's 1983 Sunday Bloody Sunday video if you've not seen it before) last weekend. It's a great local training venue, along with the world's best concert site. There's an 80-year old guy who trains a group a couple of times a month up there. He puts together a 1-hr interval training workout running the steps, some core work, etc... and does it himself too! This 80-year old kicked my butt, quite an inspiring guy!

Spent a few hours this past week getting measurements taken for the new Kestrel Air Foil Pro SL Special Edition TT bikes our team is being outfitted with. Never imagined I'd be seated on an $8K plus bike. Special thanks to Tri Sports, Kestrel and Steve over at Wheat Ridge Cyclery for taking care of my fitting needs and taking an interest in the Triabetes program. Amazing the good people I've had the good fortune of coming across thus far. Last night, had the opportunity to get up to Breckenridge to see an old friend from the Diabetes Training Camp last September. She was up there with a bunch of Animas reps and had the opportunity to hang out with the group for the evening and this morning (after trying to hide my Medtronic pump all night :)) Ran into all kinds of folks as we name dropped Triabetes teammate names they knew and discussed the Triabetes program, which they all knew well. Great to hear all the good wishes they passed on - thanks to any of you up there who read this!

I'll be blogging again soon (probably tomorrow) about the Triabuddies program, formerly the Ironkidz program. It deserves its own segment, and program details are now out. See http://www.triabetes.org/triabuddies.php for a preview and details. This experience is going to be awesome!!

Carlsbad

After a negligent month of January blogging, time to get back on the horse. What a terrific weekend I enjoyed down in San Diego at the Insulindependence world HQ (aka Nate and Pete"s house). 30+ ID supporters and friends showed up in sunny San Diego to run the Carlsbad Marathon and Half. I ran my first ever organized run in the Half. Weather was terrific to run in, the course along Pacific Coast Highway was so much different than those corn fields of Indiana I grew up in and I finished in 2:06, 6 minutes off my desired pace. My 9:37 pace should prove adequate for Ironman in November if I can keep that up. I plan to improve it. Other than some recurring knee pain that began to worsen around mile 10, my wind was very good. I feel as though I could have run the marathon if not for the leg problems. Got some great advice from "Dr." Bill Carlson that I hope to institute and avoid some of these knee issues I have been experiencing. That IT band is a pain... in more ways than one :) In the training leading up to Carlsbad, I had only gotten up to 8 miles and a couple of miles of that was walking due to the knees. So, I was pretty pleased to finish off the Half... no doubt in my mind what the training at altitude does. In training, I will typically stop every 45 minutes to test blood sugars. I abandoned that practice and just kept running on Sunday. I was a bit concerned as my pre-race BG was 96, too low for me as I always drop precipitously in the first hour. I reduced my basals an hour and half before the 7:30 start to 55% of normal. With the 96, i downed a Clif Bar and 2 bags of Sport Beans about 10 minutes before the start. The course was an out and back down PCH. At the halfway point, I felt pretty good and decided to just keep running, had to enjoy the waves crashing along the coast next to me. I gulped down water at every other Aid Station (each mile). Around mile 10, I definitely started to weaken as we ran up a hill. I began to feel like BG might be dropping, so popped a Gu gel in and grabbed a couple of orange slices at an Aid Station. As I climbed this hill, the knees began to bother me so I began walking for a bit. Somewhere around mile 11, I hear a "Hey McKendry" and get a tap on the shoulder from behind. Nero is passing me with the 3:30 pace group from the marathon... way to go Pete on the PR! That gave me enough to get back into stride and run the last 2+ miles in. Upon crossing the finish line, BG was spot on at 103. For my first serious long run, it came off pretty well. Monday and Tuesday were a struggle to walk around, but Wednesday has brought back some flexibility and I should be ready to get back on the trail by the weekend.

The run was of course surrounded by some good times at IDHQ. I was priveleged to meet folks from Boston to Minnesota to Tampa to San Diego, Steve Parker from the 2008 Triabetes team, Ryan Maloney and his family from the IronKidz program and some awesome and genuine good company. Got out Sat morning with the surfers and enjoyed an hour or two on the beach, enjoyed some time at the ID booth at the expo on Sat afternoon, and had some great food and a drinks Sat and Sun.

Need to find Nate a wetsuit... surfing in 55 degree water in swim trunks for an hour is not natural, dude :) I am still cold after watching that!

Looking forward to the next event on the schedule, the Canyonlands Half Marathon in mid-March. Until then, I need to start spending many more hours in the water. I am like dropping a rock in the water right now, but I will get that fixed!