One More Under the Belt

Another race morning came upon me! I woke up with a blood sugar of 136, and this perfectionist accepts it as a good number for a race day. (And yes to all my diabetic friends out there...I would normally correct a 136, that's how anal I am!) The same ol nerves and anticipation are coming on while I'm eating my usual pre-race breakfast. Although the nerves are not as present as they have been in the past and I'm just plain excited to race. I made a big pot of coffee for my loving husband who is not quite up yet. (Early bird and night owl....a match made in heaven!) Brent and Jim can't understand why triathlons have to be so early....why not a more respectable hour? But Shannon and I still drag them.

I finish getting all my gear together and we head out the door at 5:30am. After getting a bit lost in the early morning darkness we made it to the park. I check in, get my goody bag and head back to the car for my gear. Brent and Jim are now joking around on how to jockey for a good position to see us.

Shannon got her stuff all set up super fast, and I just take forever......remember...perfectionist!I checked my blood sugar and it's 215. Obviously not a number I would like. I increase my basal rate and wait it out. At this point Shannon has realized that the swim will be cold...and decides to look at the wetsuits the "bike store" under the tent. Great price on a 2XU sleeveless one and fits great. SOLD! Risky move on race day...but I'm the one with those hangups, not Shannon. Now we want to get in the water to test it out right? I do one last check on the bg, and it's down to 174....better, but not what I wanted to see. I think I bolused a very small amount then took the pump off and headed to the start.



The water was fine...love wearing the wetsuit...if only taking it off were easier! The men go off first, and the women follow 1 min. later. I fall into my rhythm pretty early. The bright sunlight made it hard to sight the buoys, but I managed fine.


I'm the one taking the earplugs out

As I exit the water my mind goes to the bike and the routine I use for transition. I get the wetsuit off and check the bg, and it's 168. Now this makes me happy. A very small change after a race effort swim. I consider that success! I finish transition, hop on my bike and I'm off!

This bike course surprised me. I rode a part of it for the Tour de Cure back in June, and I don't remember some of those hills. Geezzzz! I still managed a bike speed of 18-19mph. My legs are burning near the end of the 12.5 miles, and now I'm starting to imagine the run on legs that feel like 2 bricks!



I arrived in transition and the blood sugars are up to 229. Yep...I knew that was coming. I think I corrected a little again. (I really should write that down huh?) This run should be interesting to say the least. I head out to the cheers of the husbands and....BAM....the run starts with a short but steep hill. Can you say anaerobic?? Like I wasn't already! The run course was 2 loops and I decide to ease into it with the first loop.....I gotta get those legs loosened up! By the time the 2nd loop came I felt way better...but still not "there" yet and don't feel like I will be.....until I see the finish line through the trees....AND the women in front of me with the age of 38 on her calf! Now I don't need to tell you what happened next do I? Yes, I found that "something" that I needed to push me to the line, and get my race face on. I caught...I passed...I finished 5th out of 25 in my agegroup.



I looked around for the boys and found them with their chairs and cameras in hand. I check the blood sugars once again and I see a 249....another climb, but not too bad. I say not too bad...but really....I'm unhappy with it. I tried to forget about it and enjoy the finish! I head on back to the finish line to wait for Shannon. Strong finish for her! She looked great! But I'll tell you we both agreed that the run hard.....grass/paved path. The grass was the tough part...not even a trail.

I tried to see if they posted any finish times...but no go. I had pancakes on the mind and didn't want to wait! Shannon and I quickly changed in the Element and made our way out of the park! Always love replenishing those glycogen stores!!

Did I kick stress in the butt today???? I think I did...at least I'm kicking it down one block at a time. I will say that I didn't think about any of it while I was racing. I plan on knocking a few more blocks down on Sept. 16th...the last race of my season!

Next up...Sept. 16th