Vineman 70.3 Recap

I participated in the Vineman 70.3 yesterday and had a great time. I was pretty nervous going in because of my lack of training over the last two months. That being said, I had a personal best finishing time at the half Ironman distance of 6:48. Wow-am I ever surprised.

I met Holly Pepper on the run course. She is another Triabetes member and Type 1 diabetic. Her husband and father-in-law were also racing. That was really cool and it was nice to talk to her about racing with diabetes...during a race. Talking to her made me realize that I had forgotten to take my Lantus before the race. A minor freak out ensued until I remembered that I had a great swim, a better than expected bike, and my run was going well despite nagging cramps in my quads. All that and I started the run out at 225, which wasn't too bad given the situation. As a result, I did not take any calories in on the run with the exception of Amino Vital and a handful of pretzels. When I finished I was at 160--so not too bad.

Vineman Lessons learned:

--Pay attention to your insulin intake before a race.

--Do not get your front and rear derailleur cables changed right before traveling with your bike and not riding it first. Bad idea.

--Racing with friends is always better than racing by yourself. I traveled to California with eight or nine other athletes from Hawaii. It was great to see their faces throughout the race and see that they were having a good day.

--Finally, maybe rest periods are good? That is a difficult pill to swallow for a Type A triathlete, but I'll do my best.