I’m terribly delayed in posting this recap, but I wanted to log it as an athletic milestone so better late than never is the philosophy of the day. At the end of March, I completed my first triathlon. The distance was just shy of a sprint distance—400 meters swimming, 11 miles on the bike and 2.6 miles running. I picked the Tiger Tri in Auburn for my first attempt, mostly because Auburn is one of my favorite places in the world. It was perfect.
I was most anxious about the swim because I only started swimming in January. It’s been a slow process of improvement, hence the nervousness. The swim on gameday was great. I wasn’t fast, but I was faster than I anticipated, and I didn’t have to stop and rest as I originally anticipated. I felt good and strong, and the swim went great. My blood sugar was hovering in the 120-140 range prior to the start. About half an hour before, I spiked to 170 and bolused a small correction of insulin. Ten minutes before jumping in the pool, I ate a Huma. My training plan was going perfectly.
Climbing out of the pool, I ran to my bike. I tested and saw a 334 staring back at me. I didn’t believe it so I tested again and saw a similarly high number. My routine was flawless, so it had to be adrenaline. There wasn’t another possibility. I didn’t correct because I knew I’d be riding hard and adrenaline spikes don’t stay up. They tend to fall back quickly. My CGM was useless, claiming I was a steady 130 on the bike. The ride was tougher than I expected physically, though the course was super easy. I tried not to get discouraged as I rode.
I jumped off my bike and started running toward the transition area. I immediately felt the urge to throw up. I tested and saw a 414 on my meter. No wonder I was nauseated. At this point, I sat down and contemplated not finishing the race. At home, I’d never run (or do any cardio) at that number. It’s dangerous. But this was gameday. This was what I’d prepared and trained for, so do I quit? I decided to keep going and deal with the consequences of the high blood sugar later. I knew I’d run the course in 20-25 minutes so I went ahead and gave a steep correction bolus. As soon as I started running, I thought I was going to hurl. Every step, every stride, I was miserable. So I did what any runner would do and found ways to distract myself. Selfies across Auburn’s campus. Ha.
So as I ran/walked, I entertained myself with photos of me running past Bo Jackson, Cam Newton and Pat Sullivan. Along College Street in front of my beloved Samford Hall. Running past the new Oaks at Toomer’s Corner. And past the beautiful Plainsman Park and Jordan-Hare Stadium. I crossed the finish line smiling and with a blood sugar of 270.
The tri was fun, despite the diabetes disaster. Looking back, I tend to spike at the beginning of races and organized rides, so next time, I’ll adjust for the adrenaline in the hopes of eliminating the massive spikes. As with most things endurance-related, it’s an experiment in finding what works best.
I will admit, however, that even though I enjoyed myself, I walked away incredibly angry. My times were slow and that was likely one of the worst runs of my life. I planned to make up the slow swim time on the bike, and that didn’t happen either. I was angry at diabetes. I’d trained and planned and worked so hard to have a great system in place, and then BAM, it doesn’t cooperate. I never spike in training, and this was completely out-of-the-blue. That’s the part that frustrates me… putting in the work and the time to figure out a plan, only for it to collapse when it matters most. I don’t get upset with diabetes often, but this was one of those days for me.
I walked away angry, but motivated. I want to work harder and finding a plan and harder in my training. I was empowered to raise more money for research so the next generation of athletes won’t have to deal with this complication. Research is the key to that happening, and it’s why I do what I do for JDRF year after year.
I enjoyed the tri and I hope to do more. I’d like to complete a few more sprint distance tris this year, and maybe look at something more in-depth next summer. Back to the drawing board and the training room…