Monday, June 16, 2008

. . . And Now for Something Completely Different:
The Triathlon

Lots going on here in the land of Lyrehca.

Probably the biggest thing I can report right now is that I'm training for a triathlon.

Believe me, this is not typical behavior.

My favorite activity is lying in bed, or in a hammock, in front of the air conditioner. Reading. And eating. And guzzling diet Coke.

So training for a triathlon is something out of my comfort zone.

But I thought, years ago, that doing a mini-triathlon would be something cool to say I've done. Maybe it would be a good way to take off the baby weight. At least training would make me commit to regular exercise.

A friend mentioned in March that the registration for this particular triathlon, which is comprised of all women athletes and is a reasonable half-mile swim, a 12-mile bike ride, and a 2.8-mile run (or walk), was coming up.

I scoured the event's website. I emailed the coach of a local team to figure out if I was crazy to think about doing this event.

"I'm fat, close to forty, pretty out of shape from having a baby a year ago, and oh yes, a type 1 diabetic. Can you handle someone like me?"

She insisted she could.

I met with my endocrinologist and an exercise physiologist who works with diabetics to get their opinions. They both gave me their blessing.

So now I'm swimming, biking, and running and walking on a regular basis. I think a lot about childcare so I can train and not worry about my son. The actual event is at the end of July.

And oy, I am thinking about blood sugars. And insulin doses. And insulin stacking. And reducing insulin. And how to treat the many more lows that I'm having. And what to eat before a workout. Or the highs after my workouts. Or the lows six hours after my workouts.

It's a bit like trying to get pregnant with type 1.

Join me for the ride, won't you?

9 comments:

Scott K. Johnson said...

Way to go!

I look forward to reading about everything!

George said...

Wow that is awesome!
You are my inspiration.

Nicole P said...

Hey there - Good to see you "back" - can you send me an email with information about this event? This has been on my to-do list too, for awhile... Thank you!!! Nicole

Shannon said...

Congrats!!! Good luck and have fun! Finishing the race will be the most exhilarating and rewarding experience.

I can't wait to hear more about the training and the actual race.

Anonymous said...

Awesome!

Anonymous said...

Good luck! And please keep us posted with updates.

Laurie said...

Yay! You're back, and you're training now-so exciting! Good luck working out the details, and keep up posted on how it's going!

docgrumbles said...

Good luck!

Kevin said...

Sounds great.

Nice to have an event to motivate you. The extent of my exercise is biking to work 2-3 times per week. I've been doing this off-and-on for 2 years now and I still struggle with the effects of exercise on my blood sugars.

I keep telling myself the wonky blood sugars are worth the benefits I get from the exercise (and I actually believe it, too, which is nice).