1st Race of the season

The Motor City Triathlon.....this was the first tri ever on Belle Isle in Detroit. Thank you to my friend Janet who gave my cell number to my friend Matt, I now I have ride...not to mention someone to hang with. Great guy! Calm and cool...which kept me calm and cool. Good vibe!

Can you beleive I swam in the Detroit River?? What the......H E double hockey sticks. COLD! I chose not to wear the wetsuit...I can choke down that cold water for 500 meters..right? And choke it down I did. I got caught behind some slow swimmers and never got into my groove. Then the bouy we were to go around got caught in the current and we all turned before we got to it....what a mess! Wore my stupid sunglasses to the beach...no time to take them back to T1. Stupid! Thanks to my friend Dana who was there to cheer us on, I quickly handed them off to her, and she quickly handed them back in the chute to transition.

T1 was smooth sailing...that's one nice thing about no wetsuit...quick transitions. I had to stuff everything into a small bag because they will transport all our stuff to the finish/T2. I hate 2 transition areas. This race company loves to do that. I'm sure it has more to do with logistics, but I still hate it! Tested my blood sugar...256! Hows that for a short adrenealin rush/effort? Frustrating when you start a race at 110. I decided not to correct...I thought it would come down during the bike...we'll see.

I found legs!!! The bike was flat and fast. I took full advantage of having those legs and cranked it out. My average pace was 20mph. It all felt good so I tried to concentrate on my race and not to the people passing me. Great views of Detroit from the Island...but tried not to look to much...need to concentrate! Flew into T2 with Dana screaming I rode like Lance!:) Great cheerleader! At this point blood sugars came down slightly...210. Better, but......still did nothing. I figured the run was only going to be around 30 min., so by the time the insulin would catch up with me I would be done.

The run was tough. I haven't been running much because of injuries, so this was way slow for me. But only had a few women pass me, and a lot of men. Fell into a groove by the time I hit the trail section of the run. As I was approching the finish there was a women in front of me who was 35.(ages are marked on calf) NO WAY was she going to beat me to the finish! ABSOLUTELY no way!!! So I lit the fires and so did she...she tanked and I passed! She said "great finish" to me at the end...and I said"you're age motivated me"...and she smiled. Whatever works for ya, right? Blood sugars still 200 range. I ate pretzels and pb crackers and lots more water. Gave about half the amount of insulin for all of it.

We waited around for finish times...waited way too long. Matt had to get home, so I felt bad staying. They posted times and we quickly left. I've just checked online for results and here they are....please note where Nancy is! #2 agegroup!!!

2  194 Nancy Eastman  37                     S-13:51  Pace-2:47 
                                           T1-3:05   
                                           B-38:05  Pace-19.5 
                                           T2-1:38   
                                           R-32:54  Pace-10:08   Finish-1:29:32 

23rd/74 women

So that's that! I wish I could have had a better showing for the swim and run...but I'll take that 2nd agegroup finish! My best finish to date. Remember this is only the first race...we've got many more to come! Oh, and blood sugars came back down and have been low all day now. Bolusing less for each meal too. Going to lower my basal rate tonight. I'm getting hooked up to a continuous glucose monitor, to test it out, tomorrow. It would have been perfect for today! Hope they let me finance it, if I like it!

Race time!

The first race of the season is upon me this weekend. Fresh from my camp I'm ready to tackle the Motor City Triathlon...the first one on Belle Isle in Detroit. Just doing the sprint...don't want to mess up that ankle again...must take it easy. Those Olympic one's will come soon enough! My friend and inspiration, Tony, is my biggest cheerleader! He has a feeling about this one for me. I hope he's right. But I'm out there to have fun, and I will for sure have that! Stay tuned!

Final thoughts

I've had a lot of time to think about my "vacation".....and coming back to reality...is just that, reality. Was that the real world I was in for 5 glorious days? An altered sense of the real world maybe, but it was true, and it was honest. For those glorious 5 days I had a chance to meet some amazing people. All with a story. For as much as people say I inspire them, these new friends totally inspired me. Not just with the athletics, but with the kind of people they are. Dedicated, focused, caring and willing to share....which I admit I had a hard time with at first. Feeling...and still feeling...that I don't have "that" story that they all seem to have, I was hesitant to tell how I came to my diagnosis. Which seems like nothing. Just a little blip in my medically challenged world. Still everyone has some kind of tale to tell, don't they? I've never been to any kind of support group, but this was probably close to that. Like minded people, with all the same fears and experiences with diabetes.

Matt is no exception to this. He shared as much as the rest of us...and thank you for taking those 9 units of insulin so early in your career! Is that what makes him so dedicated? The sweating through a hospital bed with a low blood sugar? If that's what did it, then I'm glad you needed the $250 dollars for your rent!

I wonder how the coaching staff came to Stroke, Spin, Stride camp. Truly amazing wealths of knowledge. My head is still spinning with all I learned. My training will be over the top now! They surely didn't know what they were getting into. As one of the non-diabetic staff members...and no names here....we are not handicap! I'm sure that's really what some people think, but we all honestly got a huge laugh out of that comment! They got a crash course in diabetes biology, and the everyday ins and outs of exercising with the disease. Hopefully they all have a different view of the disease and the people with it.

I can't help but go back to how I came to the camp and how I left. Quite a surprise to me. I'm not sure if anyone else feels the same, but I'm changed. I hope it lasts. Everytime I feel it slip from my memory I will email my new friends and get some it back.

Going home already?!

Another L O N G drive home. This time worse....not much sleep this week, but all worth it! I'm going to sleep for 24 hrs. now, then I'll try to recap. Finding the words will be tough. I hate to fall back on "you had to be there", so I'll try hard!
Nighty night!

Final day

Today we got to pick what we wanted to work on. I chose to swim and have some transition practice. REALLY wanted to bike with Nicole, but they were going to be gone a few hours and I felt something was clicking with the swim and wanted to keep that going. That was a hard decision. The swim went great. Unfourtunatly I didn't have time to see the last video with it all put together, but it certainly felt a little more smooth and effortless.

Super duper mini tri...and mean VERY mini tri. One lap in the pool, one lap in parking lot, and out to a tree and back. Very fun, we all had our compeitive hats on. All out efforts. This turned out to be great transition practice. I learned to place things differently in my transition area. Try a better way. Seeing as I test my blood sugars at T1 and T2, time is only a small factor as that takes some time. But I guess you always look for ways to be faster. We did it 2 times with a rest in between of course. I think my fastest time was 3-4 min. My memory is failing from lack of sleep. But that gives you an idea on how short it was...or as I prefer how crazy fast I was! All the coaches went next. Incredible to watch them! Rick blew it away. No surprise to me. Nicole got a few penalties for wearing her bike shoes in the pool, and then running in them after the bike. Ok, really no penalties....but it was a hoot to watch. She is one funny chick! Everyone was laughing. I'll try to post some photos soon. I forgot my card reader at home.

Warm and fuzzy time! All the goodbyes and such. The last debrief of camp....we now call it the depantsing. I think I just made up that word...is it a real one? Everyone had a chance to talk about their time here. I was getting the sense that most of us loved the commoradory...which happened pretty quick. I attribute that to my new friend Mari with her very personal story at the beginning of camp. That gave us all license to open up. I mean if she could talk about her diabetes struggle and cancer...why can't we talk about our "stuff" too. Everyone has a story, with our without diabetes, and there are some huge, incredible ones among the 25 people here.

I came here thinking I would be getting some great training, an did. I came here thinking I would meet like minded people, and did. I came here for more diabetes knowledge, and did. What I didn't expect was the emotional aspect of it all. What was I thinking? Was I blind? Of course there would be emotions involved. 25 T1 diabetics in a room, with the passion for exercise and knowledge.....and don't forget motivation, and most of all spirit! Lot's of energy in that room this week, and I'm bringing it all back with me. Our little diabetes bubble may have burst today as we all leave, but we've created a bond at the inaugural Stroke, Spin, Stride camp. To all my T1 friends out there...sign up fast next year. It will be the time of your life!