Meet my Triabuddy: Rachel

Meet Rachel

November 5-7, 2010
This year's Triabuddies aren't just spectators--they'll have the privilege of competing together in a kids triathlon event in Panama City, Florida! During the first four months of the program, the Triabuddies will work with their mentors to prepare for one of the following distances (varies depending on age):
100 yard pool swim, 3 mile bike, 1/2 mile run
200 yard pool swim, 6 mile bike, 1 mile run
The KidsTri2 Triathlon is scheduled on the weekend following the Triabetes Captains Training Camp, so parents and mentors will all be there to cheer on their Triabuddies. Also in town is the Ironman Florida Triathlon, so everyone will have the opportunity to be inspired and see what the Triabetes Captains are preparing for.

Rachel on the bike trainer! Spin, Rachel, Spin!

I am very excited to tell you about my Triabuddy Rachel Hoffner!  Rachel is 10 years old and lives in a suburb of Cleveland, OH. I was fortunate to meet Rachel for the first time on October 2nd, at my triathlon club - CTC's - fall picnic.  Rachel is a charming, bright and beautiful girl! I liked her instantly! She has a lovely smile and her eyes sparkle when she smiles!

How I found Rachel is a cool story in itself. The deadline for the Triabuddy had come and gone, and I was unable to fine a local match. It was looking like I would be matched with someone from the southwest, which would have been fine, but I was bummed at not having a local match.

Shortly after the Rev3 Full distance triathlon I did, a fellow CTC'er  - Jack Carney, Jr. - posted about me on a thread on our club message board. It was very flattering and I was touched by the gesture and acknowledgment.  A few CTC's who didn't know me personally, but had seen my posts, chimed in and reached out. I met 3 members who had close ties with diabetes.  On of our triathletes, who I knew only in name, Ed Slovenkay, reached out and told me his step-daughter, Rachel, was showing interest in tackling a kid's triathlon. When I saw this, I became really excited that this may be a great opportunity to find a Triabuddy. I connected with Ed very quickly and shared the program details with him.  He and Rachel's mom, Jodi, seemed very interested ... but would RACHEL be interested???  I contacted my program directors and they assured me we could get them in, even though the deadline had passed.  Ed and I spoke on the phone, and I was getting very excited about this! After we talked, Jodi and Ed spoke with Rachel and, YES, she's absolutely in!!  Woo hoo!!!

We planned to meet for the first time at the CTC picnic. I had my kids there - Kevin, 6 yrs., Jaime, 9 yrs., and Samantha, 11 yrs.  They were as excited as I was I think! My girls bonded instantly with Rachel too!  I enjoyed getting to know more about Rachel. She was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2008. We talked shop for a bit, and how frustrating it can be to do everything "right", yet still end up with disturbing highs and scary lows.  I also enjoyed getting to know Ed and Jodi.  Jodi is an elementary school teacher, and has become quite knowledgeable in all things diabetes!  I showed them my new Dexcom and talked about the pros of a CGM, as I've been experiencing for the past 10 weeks.
Ed is a veteran Ironman, having done IMKY in 2009 and Rev3 full in 2010. By the way, not only is Ed an Ironman, he's GOOD!  Like, REALLY good - fast!!! I knew that Rachel would have a GREAT resource in Ed in preparing for her triathlon, and in adopting fitness as a valuable tool in managing her diabetes.  I know someday that will be more clear to her :)  Ed and Jodi - your support of Rachel is simply AMAZING!!

So, what does being my Triabuddy mean?  Well I'll tell you!  November 1st I will head to Panama City, FL for "diabetes camp" - InsulinDependence University - where I'll meet the other Triabetes Captains for a week of learning, training, bonding.  I'm thrilled about this opportunity!  Ironically, I am signed up to do IMFL on November 6th!  I was signed up before I was chosen as a Triabetes Captain. I honestly thought that my prohibit me from being selected, but it did not.

Last November I decided to try to get in to IMFL, as did a friend of mine from high school - Tom (Guy) Avalon.  He and I talked, and thought it would be fun to do this "together".  Tom lives in Switzerland with his wife Erin. He's done IMFL before, and was ready to tackle it again. I figured I'd be relatively trained with having Rev3 in September, so why not? So, being naive about the sign-up process for these Ironman events, I figured I'd sign up after work. It was a Sunday and I was working in a vet clinic. I had planned to sign up after my shift.  I got a call from Tom at noon - are you trying to sign up??  No, I'm working, I'll do it this evening.  Um, no you won't! These spots sell out in an hour!  What???   So, I called Ted at home and asked him to give it a try and sign me up if he could get in.  In a few moments I got an email from Tom - he'd gotten in, but - bummer - it's closed out.  The next second I get an email: Registration Confirmation! Ted had gotten me in just under the wire!

When I'm in Florida for IDu, I will have the huge advantage of having a fantastic support group present! I am both excited and nervous. I'm sure you can understand that, right? Clearly, I want to have a good race, and I'll love having so much support, but it's also scary in the sense that I'll have people watching my race day - yikes!!!  But, I'll buck up and focus on the POSITIVE energy I'll get from such support, and push away that scary side that makes me nervous - it's time to channel that support into something that will inspire and motivate me to have the best race I can have!  Peter Nerothin, ID's President, asked my my ETA for finishing so he could have the Captains there to support me.  I'll put it out here as well: For my first IM, Rev3, my primary goal was to FINISH the distance and have a good race, no nutritional disasters, no blood sugar disasters, no injury.  All went well - aside from the salt tabs and subsequent swelling - and I had a respectable race. I learned A LOT in that race and can use that going forward.

So, my goal for IMFL is to go under 14 hrs. It's a doable goal! It can happen.  I know that on the swim, alone, I lost AT LEAST 15 minutes with the goggle debacle.  Now I'm armed with some great goggles, and ready to chop down that swim time!  I'm sure I can find some time on the bike, too.  The run will be my biggest challenge, but I'm ready. I'll be armed with salt tabs and shoes larger to accommodate the swelling.  I'll try to dig deep and hang on.  I think I can do it!!  It will be an amazing day, I'm sure.  :)  I'm also happy that this IM is on a Saturday - wish they all were :/  Here that WTC?? Make more Saturday IM's!

Sunday, November 7th, I will be very excited to watch Rachel, as she competes in her own triathlon!! It will be her first and I know how nervous she'll be.  I hope to help her face this with excitement and positive thoughts, to enjoy it, and see what amazing things she can accomplish!  I hope she'll have a super time, and consider doing another one! :) The biggest goal is to help Rachel realize that she does not need to be limited by diabetes, but that she can do whatever she wants to! By managing her health and staying fit, she can lead a full, active, healthy life.  Rachel and I have talked a bit about how it stinks to have diabetes, but, those were the cards we've been dealt, and we will not let it hold us back from leading a full and happy life!!  I'm so proud of Rachel for tackling this challenge!! :)  In May, she will be there for me, as I tackle the scary challenge that is Ironman St. George - the scariest of all IM's!! But I'm doing all I can to prepare myself, physically and mentally, for that challenge.  I'm happy to have my Triabuddy there as inspiration!

So, that's my big new! Very exciting!!  I'm so blessed to have such a fulfilling life ... I cherish it all. I am grateful for the experiences, the challenges, the successes, and even the stumbling blocks ... they teach me something every. single. time.

If you haven't donated to my fundraising campaign, please consider doing that now!  Every donation helps me get closer to my goal of raising $4000 for my diabetes charity. Please know that this money is not going toward my race, but will be used solely for the charity, which runs programs - education, fitness and recreation - for people with diabetes. You can support me with a donation HERE.

Peace out, Peeps!
<3 Tiffany (an admitted abuser of the exclamation point!!)

Ironman St. George 2010 Race Report - Kevin Berg

      Below is a Race Report sent to me by my friend Tom, who will be joining me as I tackle IMFL in a few weeks.  He found Mr. Berg's RR in his club archives and forwarded it to me. Since I'm tackling IMSG in May 2011 with my Triabetes Team Captains, the added insight is helpful. We were there, as volunteers for an aid station, and witnessed the event in all of it's terrifying glory :)  I'm sure I'm not alone in feeling frightened about our journey May 7, 2011 ... however, like the scary journey with type 1 diabetes, we will simply prepare, mentally and physically, for the challenges ahead and keep doing the best we can, one moment at a time.  While at one time this would have terrified me, and it still does to some degree, I now feel ready to tackle this scary beast and arise victorious! I hope my comrades feel the same. WE CAN DO THIS!!!

Enjoy!
Tiffany



Kevin Berg
Race:    IM St. George - My Take
Distance:    Ironman
Race Date:    05/01/10
Submit Date:    05/07/10
Ironman St. George 2010 Race Report – My take

Kevin Berg

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness;..… we were all going directly to Heaven, we were all going the other way." - Dickens.

I’ve been holding off on my little race report because not only because I needed to let this past weekend settle in my head a bit, but also holding off in an attempt to sort through all of the conflicting information and buzz I’ve read and heard.

Of course, I’m not one to judge, since this was my first full distance triathlon, but there seemed to be a very emotional component to this race. Perhaps the Dickens quote is a little overly dramatic, but his words of events in contradiction somehow seem appropriate. The race seemed full of contradictions.

The chatter around the water cooler at the finish was that this one was a bitch. A tougher course than most expected. The typical comment was, “I was 45 minutes to 1 hour over my PR - but I’m really happy with my time!” I heard two fast and experienced triathletes actually say that this race should require pre-qualification to enter. Time will tell if we will be honored with finishing The Toughest Ironman. I happened to notice that there is still entry available for 2011, as of the date of this posting.

But, the course also elicited comments of being one of the most beautiful and enjoyable.

2360 athletes were signed up as of April 14. WTC says they generally expect a 10% attrition rate by starting time. The official comment at the awards ceremony on Sunday was that there was a 15% DNF rate – 2nd highest of any race to-date. It appears that only 1634 people crossed the finish line in time. That means 726 people were MIA, the largest no-start and/or DNF of any race I can find statistics on.

Another interesting stat is that this race had approximately 760 First-timers. Maybe not too surprising since it was a new race that many could get into with having to pony-up $1550 for the Community Foundation entry fees due to sold-out races elsewhere. Also not too surprising, since WTC did not release any course information until 3 weeks after sign-up started, so many of us paid our fees only to find ourselves saying later, “what the heck have I gotten myself into!” Humm - I don’t think this was an oversight on WTC’s part. It was also within driving distance of many western metro areas, making it accessible to more people.

The winning Pro, Austrian Michael Weiss, crossed the line with an 8:40:08. A fairly middle-of-the-road wining time for Pros in other IM events. But, the average of the rest of the top 5 Male Pros was approximately 8:54:00 - much longer than the other tough IM courses, thus ranking it 4th behind Kona, Wisconsin and Lanzarote.

The weather forecast right up to race day was forbidding, but apparently typical for that time of year. Cold, rainy and lots of wind. Yet the weather on race day was near perfect. 51 degrees at 6:30 am, light wind, scattered clouds. The high of the day was 69-72, depending upon were you were on the course. The winds did kick up around 1:00pm, registering between 8 – 25 mph after 1:00pm, with gusts of up to 41 mph recorded in the back canyons. Riders on the second loop later in the day were brutalized by gusts.

One thing is certain. If the weather had been the seasonally expected standard, this race might have been a disaster. Any more wind, or even worse, heat would have decimated the athletes. As it was, WTC brass and all 2011 participants should be burning their tubulars, chanting, and sacrificing virgins while praying for similar conditions for next year.

The water, which Utah Parks had stated was 61 degrees one week earlier, was 54 degrees at the starting gun. At least 50 people had to be pulled from the water during the swim because of the cold. More dropped out in T1, unable to continue due to hypothermia or related maladies.

The bike course was a 22 mile roll into town from Sand Hollow State Park, and then two 44 miles loops. And it was gorgeous scenery. Decent roads, wide shoulders, mesas, a light breeze in the morning, a nice roll though the suburban areas with tons of spectators from mile 20-30, and then into the canyons from mile 30-68 including the fantastic final 9 mile 35-45 mph downhill back to town. Lather, rinse, repeat.

The thing that got to most people were the false flats. A subtle and sinister 1%-3% grade for the majority of the mileage ate riders up by the second lap, with most people seeing a 15-20 minute time loss from loop 1 to loop 2. There were 3 fairly short but strenuous climbs on the loops, culminating in a 1 mile 400’ switchback climb that started at 6%-8% and peaked at 12%. I saw a lot of people walking their bikes on these grades, even on the first loop. Our partial course pre-rides in October and March had us calculating about 5500’ of ascent. My Garmin data on race day for the full ride, adjusted for local elevation, showed 6,100’. It ain’t Silverman Full, but it’s more than enough. At T2, people got off their bikes anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour over their projected ride times. I did not hear as single person say that they nailed the bike at their goal time, or under it.

The run course, with 2400’ of total climb, was heartbreaking and breathtaking. At many times, it looked more like a community Walk-A-Thon than and Ironman Marathon. The 2.5 mile uphill straight out of T2 up Main and Diagonal, which ranged from 2% – 5%, made it difficult to get into stride. And the right turn on Red Hills Parkway was a ½ mile uphill of 8%-10% that really had you dreading another 23 miles. There is simply not a flat spot on this run. Two small 2/10th mile lollipop detours that were apparently needed to add some mileage were just plain irritating by the second loop. If I never have to climb the two 50-75 yard 12% grades – four times - to get to the St. George Elks Lodge again, it will be too soon.

At one point on the second run loop, about mile 20, I was staring up at the worst offending hill on Red Hills Parkway, a 1/3rd mile stretch topping at 11%-12%. There were probably 150 runners in sight, and for a brief period of about 30 seconds, not a single person was running - Uphill or Down! Red Hills Parkway is on the top of a plateau overlooking old town St. George, so running along this section is quite a sight. It is so high, that you can watch the aircraft at the nearby regional airport actually land below you.

The only positive to the run course besides the scenery is that it has an epic finish. The final 2 miles that was killing your stride twice on the way out, has now become a pretty nice downhill to the finish, assuming you have anything left in your legs.

As far as St. George itself was concerned, the town seemed to embrace the event with open arms (and open cash registers). Probably no surprise when a town of approximately 70,000 sees 10,000 visitors with higher-than-average disposable income drop in for 3-5 days. WTC certainly helped by locking up all the room-nights within 20 miles, and then essentially requiring a Wednesday night stay with their registration scheduling, adding a lot of revenue to the hotel take. The only thing that the townsfolk might complain about is the lack of liquor consumption by this crowd. Restaurant tabs were probably much lower than average, but hey, this is Utah. A place that allows you to have multiple wives, but no liquor stores? Go figure.

But people were very friendly, helpful, and generally interested and engaged. No irritated car honking, no complaints about the closed roads, lot’s of spectators that stayed throughout the day at places in town. Again, since I have no prior experience with other events, I can’t judge. But I’d be interested to see how this stacks up to, say Canada, which has a reputation of being a really tri-friendly town with huge local support.

Regarding logistics, the typical comments were that this was an extremely well run event, particularly for an inaugural race. Race Director Paul Huddle, of Roch/Huddle fame, who helped design the course and event for WTC, is to be congratulated on running a well-chain lubricated machine. Volunteers were fantastic and energetic, gears bags were where they should be, special needs bags were where they should be, and actually able to be recovered later.

And Huddle should in turn thank the tri-gods for the weather blessings, because if things had turned ugly during this first time event, we might have found his carbon-riddled body hanging from a yardarm in Town Square. Any point-to-point course race has all the ingredients for a real mess, but transportation, transitions, course and road markings, etc. were well executed.

There was the usual Thursday night athletes meeting, which I attended, and the Friday night dinner and Sunday closing, which I did not. So, no commentary on these.

The Expo was fairly simple, with about 40% of the floor space devoted to Ford, and the rest taken up by the usual supplement vendors and various and sundry gear manufactures. And of course, the Ironman branded mattress display. I think I heard the very energetic bed salesman make claims of dropping 40-50 seconds off your 10K times if you rested upon one of his magically restorative pillow tops with the M-Dot logos embroidered in.

Lots of Ironman apparel, of course, most of which you can get on the Ironman website (or new retail store!). But the local IMSG event-only branded stuff could only be purchased at the Expo and went quickly. I walked away about $300 lighter, so that all my tri-buddies, my car mechanic, my bike mechanic, my dry cleaner, and anyone else who sees me roll, walk or drive will know what I was doing on May 1, 2010.

Registration had long but fast lines, and apparently a new wrinkle in body marking. You received a little cloth cut-out with your race number in your package, which allowed to stand in another line to have your number air-brush painted on your arms, and then yet another opportunity to stand in yet another line to have your age air-brush painted on your calf. People seemed to think this was far superior to getting the magic marker or rubber stamp treatment at 4:30 am on Saturday morning. I was able to scrub off the race numbers, but I’m keeping the 53 on my calf for a while.

Athlete and spectator transportation had all the earmarks of a disaster-in-the-making, but all ran smoothly. The parking and all roads at Sand Hollow Reservoir were completely closed to spectator and athlete parking, even 3 miles away. Athlete buses ran from downtown to T1 from 4:30 – 5:30 am. Spectators were not allowed on athlete buses, and had to drive to the local fair grounds for bus transport to T1 from 5:30 – 6:30 am. This generally worked OK, but the bummer was that spectators were not allowed to leave until 9:30, and there was a lot of standing around after T1 cleared out.

Men’s T1. Ugly. Not enough space and chairs, dim lighting, well-intentioned but clueless volunteers. Wetsuit strippers seemed dazed, probably due to the fact that people coming out of the water were moving like Gumby and unable to function. After dragging myself out of mid-50 degree water, that last time I recall needing that much help undressing and dressing myself was after a particularly festive fraternity party at the U of M in 1978. When your hands are too numb to grasp and your brain in safe-reboot mode, you really need a little assistance. Some complained of being left to fend for themselves with no assistance. I was on my own for about 6 minutes, and felt like a stroke victim. My 12 minute T1 was testament. WTC needs to double the space and put volunteers with some race experience on the front lines.

Tip O’ The Day: You know those really stupid looking full-hood neoprene caps that divers use in cold water? The ones that cover your whole head and shoulders and tuck under your wetsuit and make you look like a Jacques Cousteau geek? Buy one. Now. Keep it handy. Trust me on this. I went into the water looking like an idiot, and came out toasty warm looking like a genius.

Porta Potties. Major issue. I don’t have to have 20 years of race experience to tell you that 32 stalls for 2000 hyper-hydrated athletes ain’t gonna do it. I can only assume that there was some sort of local Mormon city ordinance against more facilities, because any race director knows that 32 stalls is barely enough for a local sprint, much less an Ironman that is situated squarely in the middle of nowhere. I also hope that when the local park officials go to inspect the grounds afterwards to make their report to the city council, someone can convince them that all the droppings they find were from a roving herd of moose.

On a personal note, I’m overcoming mild first-timer depression, which is apparently a fairly common but rarely talked about post-race condition that has you sitting at home and asking your self – now what do I do? I’ve been in almost constant motion and mode for 6 months. And now - nothing. My friends say I need to rest and recover. Do nothing. Sleep. Drink. Work into my fat pants. I feel like I should maybe do a little swimming, running and biking. Just a little. I mean, 15 – 20 hours a week is not that much, if I take it real easy. Maybe tag along with Holgers group or something easy like that.

I’m also waiting for the emotional high. The part where I can’t get the fecal-eating grin off my face, but that never came for me like it does for some others. The life changing event that didn’t change my life. But that’s OK, because the quiet satisfaction is down in there. And I am starting to grin once in a while, now that I am less tired. I'll probably even order a photo or two (dozen).

I missed my 12:20 goal time by 40 minutes, with a 13:00:29 finish. I missed a sub-13 hour IM by 29 friggin’ seconds. 29 seconds to be able to say I did a 12 hour IM. Do you know how many places there are to pick up 29 seconds in a 13 hours race? I do. I know every damn spot. I’m sure it’s the same feeling for the person that did 9:00:29 or the one that did 16:00:29, but it sure is a pisser. But I did rank higher in my age group than I had hoped for, so that is some salvation.

There is also sadness, because I lost some close friends during the race. My toenails and I had become very attached over the years, but somewhere in the middle of it all, 3 of them decided that I was simply not being supportive enough and that they were in an abusive relationship, and they decided to leave. I blame myself, and I’ll miss them.

I think the depression is wearing off a bit. My wife is helping, because every time she picks up the phone, she is telling someone else, “Yeah, we were out of town last weekend. Kevin did an Ironman!”She then proceeds to rewind the entire event for the obviously very tolerant listener. I think she is more proud of it than I am, but her enthusiasm drags me into the good feelings with her, and I love her for it and for her support.

I caught myself glancing at next year’s IM schedule. I have NO interest in doing another one, mind you. But Canada is August 27, and if I happened to be sitting at my computer around midnight the day before registration opens, maybe...

Tuesdays

Checking in ... Tuesdays are set up to be a great workout day for me! In theory, I love it!! Sometimes on Tuesday morning, when the alarm goes off and it's time to get moving, maybe then, not so much :)  It's easy to say "nah, I'm going to sleep in" ... but so far, so good!! I'm holding 100% since becoming a Lifetime Fitness member.

This morning I headed out for LTF with a plan to do spin class then swim 2000 meters in the pool, before heading over to Lakeland to teach Pharmacology - and today, delivering the bad news that 98% of them bombed my quiz.  It's never fun to face these guys with that kind of news.  So, I was hoping to start off with a great workout to get me in a good mood for my own class.  I started spinning 30 minutes before class. I was feeling good and then ... Dexcom started going nuts! My BG was plummeting and it was all over the place beeping and vibrating. I've been getting a good number of lows lately so I was prepared with a Clif bar. I snarfed it down, and now it was just a WAIT issue. I continued to spin and started getting very, very irritable. I knew why. I knew what was going on. I tried to just focus on something else. Next my Dexcom is telling me I'm under 55. 50. 45. 40. then just: LOW!!!!   Sweet mother of God would the damn carbs kick in already!!!! 

Then class was starting to fill with people arriving to set their bikes up before class.  One chick sashays in, decked out in spandex, and proceeds to MOVE THE BIKE, despite having stickers all over the place saying DO NOT MOVE BIKE.   She then sees me looking unhappy and asks, "am I in your way?" Uh, yes. You moved directly into my view of the screen. Well, she didn't like that answer.  And remember, I'm hypo-crabby here, so I'm grateful that I was able to show enough civility, and remain calm. I wonder, why ask me if you're obstructing my view when you have no real interest in the answer to that question??  She proceeds to adjust her bike, leaving it in the spot she moved it to, and I decided NOT to utter a profanity at her, but to calmly change bikes. Good God, let this BG come back into a normal zone!!  I'm ready to kick spandex-girl's ass all over the place!!!

Fortunately, class started and I was distracted, but this would be a hill workout and I nearly passed out before the BG's returned to a normal range. That was BRUTAL!!  Honestly, I was afraid to stop ... class had started and I feared if I got off the bike and sat down that I would pass out. I just kept trying to focus, drink water and wait for those 44 grams of carbs to do their thing!  And eventually they did. It was a good 90 minute aerobic workout though.

Next I headed to the pool and swam 2000 meters. That was pretty uneventful and felt really good. So, workout done, and on to class. I grabbed a snack and made up a batch of Generation UCAN recovery drink to have after the workout.

After class I headed over to my quarterly endo appointment. I was happy to report the news of my new ironman status to Dr. M and the staff.  :)  Then I addressed the dreaded weight gain I'm encountering since starting insulin. Dr. M had a great idea and I'll be trying Symlin injections at meal time to try to combat the weight gain.  If I tolerate it, and it does the job holding my BG down after meals, I may be able to decrease, or  discontinue, the Apidra. That would be good!! We'll see.

So, feeling better after Tuesday's workout ... hoping that this carries me out of my slump and I can continue the week with a strong build as I continue to train for Ironman Florida Nov. 6.  I'll be heading to Panama City, FL on Nov. 1 and meeting the other Triabetes Captains for diabetes camp - or InsulinDependence University (IDU) for the week before the race.  More on that in another post ... when I will be sharing some very good news!!! Watch for it :)

Peace out!
Tiffany

Slump

Well, it's been three weeks since the Rev3 Full ... and it feels like it's been 3 months! I took 2 full weeks off, not by choice, but to let my feet heal. I figured that since this was the condition my body was in, that the 2 weeks would be beneficial ... and maybe it was in some ways. But, in other ways, I'm now 1 week into my "return to training" and I'm just struggling with motivation right now.  I had a good workout on Tuesday - a great spin class then 1000 meters in the pool. I plan to repeat that every Tuesday (but probably up the distance to 2000 meters).  So, I was feeling like that's the push I needed to get back into working out regularly.  But it wasn't.   I struggled all week.  Good intentions. Full workout schedule planned ... just couldn't seem to execute. I missed some great running days and I really have no excuse.  One day I actually started out - got 1 mile out and then felt so blah that I ejected. I had Jaime riding her bike with me.  My gut was a little off ... not typical for me, and it really wasn't an excuse to quit, but I used it.

On Thursday night I awoke SOPPING WET ... not sure what that was about.  Any of my diabetes peeps, does this happen to you with night time hypoglycemia?  I was low ... I need to go back and check my Dexcom and see if that explains it.  I was in a haze and I just changed and went back to bed ... moving to Ted's side b/c my side was soaked.  Yuck, I know. 

Friday I had big plans ... but again petered out. Saturday I had a bit of back arthritis, but nothing that would ever keep me from running.  On the way home from the CTC picnic my neck was a little sore ... uh oh, that happens when I have a fever.  I took my temp and I was 100.8 ... I usually run 97.5.  Took some Aleve and napped for almost 3 hrs. Got up, had dinner and went to bed at 9 pm - EXHAUSTED. Totally disproportionate with my day. Eh, maybe I had a little virus??  Who knows. But that doesn't explain my mental slump.

Ted made a good point yesterday when we were talking: I've been working toward Sept. 12, 2010 for ONE FULL YEAR!!!  That was always the carrot and even with little ebbs and flows, I was able to not miss more than 3 or 4 days tops. Now that it's over, I think I'm in that post-race funk many talk about.  Well, that's just not going to work because I have Columbus Marathon in 2 weeks and IMFL in a month!!!  I cannot afford to lose too much base and, I can only "rest" so much before I'll lose my fitness.

After a good night's sleep I vowed to turn it around this week, starting today. So, I went out and did my base run of 7 miles.  The first half I was tight and a bit winded, but then I started to feel better and on the return route I decided to push myself out of my comfort zone and move my HR up to zone 2. I managed a good pace on the way back, negative splitting by 1:18, into the wind!  I'm feeling better now.  I need to keep on my training plan this week and turn this slump around so I'm building for IMFL.  I'm not too terribly concerned about my Columbus Marathon - I'm using it as a training run and it'll be good, bad or medium - it is what it is.  I can handle it.  After the salt/toe debacle, I've ordered 2 pairs of shoes 1/2 size larger so I will likely run in those (with the option of swapping them half way if needed).  My friend, Elizabeth, is going to run the half and she suggested I move down to the half. I could, but I think I really need a full marathon right now.  I'm healthy and uninjured so it would do wonders to catapult me into the bigger training series.  So, I'm probably going to stick with the full unless something changes.

I'm getting a new rear wheel so I can put my old tire on it and use it on the trainer now that weather is so challenging. Time to break out the trainer and the dreadmill! :)

I got a lot of flack for my very full race calendar, but I'll tell you, it kept me focused on the training. I think this period is one of the biggest slumps I've had since beginning triathlons.  I need to keep up the training so I can have a successful IMFL in November.  Then I'll take a week off and refocus on some other things, like P90X, lifting and stroke improvement for a bit. I can begin the build for IMSG in the late winter/early spring.  I know once IMFL is over I'll be ready for a few weeks to call "off season" :)

I have some other GREAT NEWS ... I'll save it for another post very soon.
Peace out peep!
Tiffany