I start with the end this time. This morning Mark and I arrived at Aurora Reservoir when it open just before 7am along with all of the ice fishermen (my people). This difference was that Mark and I were not there to fish. We were there to get in 15 miles of running before heading to church. When we started out running, we heard one group of ice fishermen say, "Look at those crazy runners out here this early!". That hurt, that really hurt. I love being called a crazy ice fisherman but not a crazy runner. That is just wrong especially when the offending party is "my people", other ice fishermen on one of my favorite ice fishing lakes that is 10 min from our home. The run was fine but slow and the muscles in my hips were telling me that I had been on my bike for 4 hours the day before and ran for 25 minutes. I ended up going to bed last night at 7:30pm last night because I had to. I just couldn't stay awake any longer. I signed up for three events on Friday, one of which I am very excited for. I signed up for the Lifetime Fitness 1 hr triathlon for March 5th which I am doing with about 4 friends, all of whom are using this as their intro to triathlons. I also signed up for the Rattlesnake Olympic triathlon August 20th and the Harvest Moon 1/2 Ironman distance race of Sept 11th. My friends, Steve and Joel are joining me for both of these events and it will be the first Oly and Half for both of them. What I didn't tell them is that I actually signed up for the Aquabike on Sept 11th which means that I quit after the bike (this is the one I am excited for).
It is crunch time now for training and competition. 97 days of tough training left before Ironman St George and about 62 left before my first 1/2 Ironman in Oceanside, CA.
I have an invitation for everyone. I am inviting YOU to come watch us at Ironman St George. I have 10 rooms reserved at the luxurious Motel 6 which is right next to the 24hr Dennys and strategically located on the race course. The event is Saturday May 7th and if you need to fly into Las Vegas on Friday, I will coordinate getting you to St George (about 90 minutes away). If you drive from Visalia, its about an 8 hour drive, if SoCal, its 4-5 hours and if its the Denver area its a 12 hour drive. I will be there all week prior and leave Sunday afternoon or Monday morning by car. I will also offer to pay for the Friday night stay at the Motel 6 if that will help you decide to come and join us. Transportation from Vegas and 1 night stay at a Motel 6. Who could refuse such an offer? JUST DO IT!!! I need people to jeer, I mean cheer, me on.
Thanks and there are still slots available for the Ironman St George event if you want to do the event with me ;->
Brian Phelps
Diving in the Keys
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
Great Weekend - A Lot of Thoughts
I am sitting in my hotel room getting ready to present to a class of 80 IBMers before flying on to Atlanta tomorrow. I had a long flight to reflect on the weekend and all of the lessons and memories that came from it. The summary is that it was great but it was also confusing and often frantic and not as planned.
First, let me start by rewinding. For some reason, I played a minor part in living through my friends the death of their loved ones. The first was through my friend Mark. He had planned to travel to San Antonio one week ago Thursday to visit his family and basically say, "goodbye", before moving to Africa this summer after he retires from the military. He received a call 5 days or so before his flight with the news that his sister (in San Antonio) died unexpectedly. Through this loss, he regained a brother. He was able to reconnect in a real and meaningful way with his brother, who he had lost contact with for a variety of reasons. Sometimes when God takes something away, we need to see what he might be bringing for us. The second was with a swimming friend that I see a few times each year in Masters swimming. He is a younger guy (around 30) and wanted to go ice fishing and I took him. What I didn't know was that his grandmother, who lived a few hours away, was on her death bed and he decided to fish because that is what his grandmother would have wanted him to do. He texted me while I was at dinner with my wife that his grandmother died while he was fishing and thanked me for one of the best days of his life. I didn't really know how to process that comment. It was a short afternoon (2 hrs) of fishing for me, except that I got skunked for the first time in 3 years and enjoyed getting a chance to start a new streak. My lesson here is to not underestimate your importance to others especially when you invite them into your world.
Ok, on to the weekend. The weekend started out Friday with a swim workout with Zyler and Jen. That was followed by memories that were made at the race banquet Friday evening where Zyler and Ashlee were presented as Heros of the Carlsbad Marathon and Peter was presented the highest honor with the Spirit of Joshua award.
Peter had a very meaningful point in his acceptance speech. He told of the time in the Spring of 2008 when his was scheduled to do an ocean swim with his triathlon club. He slept through 3 alarms and didn't make it to the swim. Out of the 9 that did show up, 8 came out of the water alive and Dave Martins was killed by a Great White shark. 24 hours later, Dave's son was swimming in the exact spot where his Dad was killed to prove that the shark was not going to beat him also. To this day, Peter is terrified of sharks but refusing to quit swimming and surfing in that same water. The lesson here is that there are no guarantees in life and that you must face your fears in order to live.
Friday after the banquet, I drove back to San Diego about 45 minutes to pick up my friend Mark who joined us for the weekend and left right after work. He still came even though his sister had died just 2 weeks earlier. That means a lot to me. He made me pay for it though. We ended up going to bed at 12:30am and then getting up at 4:30am (4 hrs later) so I could drive him back to San Diego to see a fishing boat come in that had been out for 16 days. He made me promise that I would go on a 10 day fishing trip with him in October of 2012 when he visits back from Africa.
After dropping off Mark, I drove back 45 minutes to run with Zyler in the Kids Mile at Legoland. After the race, I took everyone to the beach to join our group for surfing and coffee. After that, I went back to San Diego to pick up Mark and join everyone on the beach. I didn't surf, but I enjoyed swimming and taking photos of our diabetic surfers.
I think that I was doing a little too much because at this point on Saturday my brain was gone, gone, gone. Pam and Mark were really watching me closely because I was not myself and couldn't think (at all). We dropped Zyler and his Mom off at Legoland and Pam, Mark and I went back to the beach where Mark ran, I worked on my speech for that night and Pam enjoyed the warmth and sunshine. We then went to the Insulindependence banquet where I was also looking forward to seeing my brother for the first time in quite awhile. Zyler and I gave a speech to the crowd of about 150 diabetics/family/friends before they raced and volunteered the next morning in the Carlsbad half and full marathon. I have to give presentations all the time including tomorrow morning. I was nervous for this one though. It mixed my life with my family with my faith, with my friends and with my training. This was almost too much for me to process. That might be why my blood sugar crashed as soon as I arrived at the event. Zyler enjoyed watching me shove an entire tube of glucotabs into my mouth at once. I would like you to listen to the speech on YouTube and I have included a link to it here. I think it is about 10 minutes in length.
Zyler & Me Giving a Speech to Diabetic Runners
That evening was really amazing because I got to meet people that I have been "friends" with on Facebook. I also was very happy to see my brother arrive. We went to bed around 10:30pm that night but needed to get up a little while later to help a bit when Zyler had a persistent low that neither he nor his Mom could turn. We got it turned but the next morning I found out that it came back and that it was a very long night for Zyler and his Mom.
Sunday Morning was Race Morning: My brother drove the volunteers to their station and that left me and Mark in the room to prep for the race. I celebrated the day reading out of the Daily Bread for me and Mark and I really enjoyed that time. We had a VIP Parking Pass - THANK YOU Hero Zyler! We had no traffic and parked right by the start line where we relaxed in the car with the heater on for 45 minutes before getting out and joining the crowd. I am proud to announce a very successful PRP (as opposed to Mark's 12 mile MRP incident). I had a good and uneventful race. The weather was perfect and the course was beautiful. My blood sugars started high, around 230, because I could not calm my nerves and my liver was dumping sugar into me. This was the first race, ever, that I carried insulin with me. I ended the race at 65 and level. One less unit of insulin at the turnaround and I think that I would have measured it perfectly. The rise at the end was after I had eaten quite a bit after the race.
My time was 2hrs 15min. Nothing record breaking but it was steady and it felt good. My feet loved the orthodics and the Newton running shoes.
Sunday afternoon I took Zyler and his Mom to the airport to fly home. After that, I really enjoyed going to the home of one of my 1st cousins, Dean and his wife, Trish. Roger, Pam and Mark also went. Roger and Dean were good friends as kids and I probably hadn't seen Dean in 37 years because I was pretty young the last time that Dean had seen me. Sunday night was an excellent night of sleep.
Monday was a big day for my brother because it wasn't just his 64th birthday but his daughter, Marisa, also gave birth this morning to his grandson, Jedidiah, who will now share his birthday with him.
Roger, Pam and Mark went to the beach one last time while I went to the pool to get a workout in. It was then off to the airport where everyone went home except me. That is why I am now in Dallas ready to start a short work week. I really enjoyed the sunset on the flight from San Diego to Dallas.
Thanks and sorry for the longest blog entry ever
Brian
First, let me start by rewinding. For some reason, I played a minor part in living through my friends the death of their loved ones. The first was through my friend Mark. He had planned to travel to San Antonio one week ago Thursday to visit his family and basically say, "goodbye", before moving to Africa this summer after he retires from the military. He received a call 5 days or so before his flight with the news that his sister (in San Antonio) died unexpectedly. Through this loss, he regained a brother. He was able to reconnect in a real and meaningful way with his brother, who he had lost contact with for a variety of reasons. Sometimes when God takes something away, we need to see what he might be bringing for us. The second was with a swimming friend that I see a few times each year in Masters swimming. He is a younger guy (around 30) and wanted to go ice fishing and I took him. What I didn't know was that his grandmother, who lived a few hours away, was on her death bed and he decided to fish because that is what his grandmother would have wanted him to do. He texted me while I was at dinner with my wife that his grandmother died while he was fishing and thanked me for one of the best days of his life. I didn't really know how to process that comment. It was a short afternoon (2 hrs) of fishing for me, except that I got skunked for the first time in 3 years and enjoyed getting a chance to start a new streak. My lesson here is to not underestimate your importance to others especially when you invite them into your world.
Ok, on to the weekend. The weekend started out Friday with a swim workout with Zyler and Jen. That was followed by memories that were made at the race banquet Friday evening where Zyler and Ashlee were presented as Heros of the Carlsbad Marathon and Peter was presented the highest honor with the Spirit of Joshua award.
 |
| Me with Zyler in front of his award poster |
 |
| Zyler with Peter in front of his award poster |
Peter had a very meaningful point in his acceptance speech. He told of the time in the Spring of 2008 when his was scheduled to do an ocean swim with his triathlon club. He slept through 3 alarms and didn't make it to the swim. Out of the 9 that did show up, 8 came out of the water alive and Dave Martins was killed by a Great White shark. 24 hours later, Dave's son was swimming in the exact spot where his Dad was killed to prove that the shark was not going to beat him also. To this day, Peter is terrified of sharks but refusing to quit swimming and surfing in that same water. The lesson here is that there are no guarantees in life and that you must face your fears in order to live.
Friday after the banquet, I drove back to San Diego about 45 minutes to pick up my friend Mark who joined us for the weekend and left right after work. He still came even though his sister had died just 2 weeks earlier. That means a lot to me. He made me pay for it though. We ended up going to bed at 12:30am and then getting up at 4:30am (4 hrs later) so I could drive him back to San Diego to see a fishing boat come in that had been out for 16 days. He made me promise that I would go on a 10 day fishing trip with him in October of 2012 when he visits back from Africa.
 |
| Mark with a few of the smaller Yellowfin Tuna that were caught on the 16 day boat |
After dropping off Mark, I drove back 45 minutes to run with Zyler in the Kids Mile at Legoland. After the race, I took everyone to the beach to join our group for surfing and coffee. After that, I went back to San Diego to pick up Mark and join everyone on the beach. I didn't surf, but I enjoyed swimming and taking photos of our diabetic surfers.
 |
| Blair surfing off the beach in Carlsbad |
I think that I was doing a little too much because at this point on Saturday my brain was gone, gone, gone. Pam and Mark were really watching me closely because I was not myself and couldn't think (at all). We dropped Zyler and his Mom off at Legoland and Pam, Mark and I went back to the beach where Mark ran, I worked on my speech for that night and Pam enjoyed the warmth and sunshine. We then went to the Insulindependence banquet where I was also looking forward to seeing my brother for the first time in quite awhile. Zyler and I gave a speech to the crowd of about 150 diabetics/family/friends before they raced and volunteered the next morning in the Carlsbad half and full marathon. I have to give presentations all the time including tomorrow morning. I was nervous for this one though. It mixed my life with my family with my faith, with my friends and with my training. This was almost too much for me to process. That might be why my blood sugar crashed as soon as I arrived at the event. Zyler enjoyed watching me shove an entire tube of glucotabs into my mouth at once. I would like you to listen to the speech on YouTube and I have included a link to it here. I think it is about 10 minutes in length.
Zyler & Me Giving a Speech to Diabetic Runners
That evening was really amazing because I got to meet people that I have been "friends" with on Facebook. I also was very happy to see my brother arrive. We went to bed around 10:30pm that night but needed to get up a little while later to help a bit when Zyler had a persistent low that neither he nor his Mom could turn. We got it turned but the next morning I found out that it came back and that it was a very long night for Zyler and his Mom.
Sunday Morning was Race Morning: My brother drove the volunteers to their station and that left me and Mark in the room to prep for the race. I celebrated the day reading out of the Daily Bread for me and Mark and I really enjoyed that time. We had a VIP Parking Pass - THANK YOU Hero Zyler! We had no traffic and parked right by the start line where we relaxed in the car with the heater on for 45 minutes before getting out and joining the crowd. I am proud to announce a very successful PRP (as opposed to Mark's 12 mile MRP incident). I had a good and uneventful race. The weather was perfect and the course was beautiful. My blood sugars started high, around 230, because I could not calm my nerves and my liver was dumping sugar into me. This was the first race, ever, that I carried insulin with me. I ended the race at 65 and level. One less unit of insulin at the turnaround and I think that I would have measured it perfectly. The rise at the end was after I had eaten quite a bit after the race.
 |
| Dexcom CGM showing race blood sugars. Started at 230 and ended level at 65. |
My time was 2hrs 15min. Nothing record breaking but it was steady and it felt good. My feet loved the orthodics and the Newton running shoes.
 | ||
| Me between mile 9 and mile 10 of the race showing insulin needle and CGM |
Monday was a big day for my brother because it wasn't just his 64th birthday but his daughter, Marisa, also gave birth this morning to his grandson, Jedidiah, who will now share his birthday with him.
 |
| Jedidiah born today |
Roger, Pam and Mark went to the beach one last time while I went to the pool to get a workout in. It was then off to the airport where everyone went home except me. That is why I am now in Dallas ready to start a short work week. I really enjoyed the sunset on the flight from San Diego to Dallas.
Thanks and sorry for the longest blog entry ever
Brian
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Leavin On a Jet Plane
Tomorrow I leave to join a diabetic convergence on the Carlsbad Marathon near San Diego. Weather is supposed to be beautiful with highs in the 70's and lows in the low 40's for the 4 days we are going to be there. I am looking forward to this. Joining me will be my wife, my Triabuddy ,Zyler, and his Mom along with my friend, Mark. Also driving down from Ojai will be my brother, Roger.
Zyler Zartun - A Hero of the Carlsbad Marathon
This time last year I was traveling to Las Vegas for a Master's swim meet and I fully intended to do the same this year but my buddies and my brother could not make it. I will wait for the weekend to conclude but I have a feeling that this was the right choice. Even though I am a swimmer and compete as a "normal" swimmer, I don't have the opportunity yet to make an impact on other diabetics in the pool. The other swimmers only know that I specialize in the sprint butterfly and sprint backstroke. They have no clue that I am diabetic and I have no clue if there are any other diabetics at the meet (other than my brother). Participating in this diabetic community event in Carlsbad is going to be special.
After celebrating my brother's birthday on Monday, I will travel to Dallas for work Tuesday morning and then travel on to Atlanta until next Thursday when I get to come back home. What that means is that I "worked" on my bike trainer for almost 4 hours today since I won't be back on the bike for a full week.
Thanks and its off to sunny Southern California for a few days
Brian Phelps
Friday, January 14, 2011
It was the Best of Times and the Worst of Times
I land from Toronto at home last night and get a text from our son saying that he needed to talk to me. I pulled over and called expecting the worst. It was an incredibly emotionally and uplifting conversation because he know what I was going through. No one knows me like Michael does. He encouraged me in ways he will never know. If I finish Ironman, I am going to look for him, hug him and cry my eyes out. He is in the documentary that was just published about my adventure and that is very emotional because he was interviewed before he checked himself into a rehab facility and is now is a much better place.
Brian Phelps - Triabetes Captain 2010/2011
Today started with a lot of work and then I ran for lunch 8 miles around the lake. The 8 mile run around the lake was very enjoyable but slow 1hr 27min. Went back home and got stuff done. I was about to eat dinner and then I saw my portion of the Triabetes filming show up by email. I was half way through it and my wife came in and said my elderly neighbors needed me there now to deal with their grand kid who they are raising. They were afraid he was going to attack them (this kid has a record of arrests and drugs). I was fired up and dealt with the situation without touching him. I then went to swim in a very angry mood. Needless to say my nice easy 4100 yds was done fairly quickly. I honestly tried to go easy for my timed 2000 yds but I kept picking up the pace because it felt good and I felt the anger leaving me. I was expecting about 30 min but I did it in just over 26 minutes. Blah blah blah, quit whining and look at my run time above ;->.
It can't believe I am saying this, but I am looking forward to my 4hr 15min ride tomorrow morning before I go ice fishing at a local lake. Mind numbing exercise is becoming enjoyable now.
Thanks and please donate an obscene amount of money to my Triabuddy, Zyler, as he leads out and inspires other diabetics to dominate their disease just like he is doing.
Donate to Zyler and Impact the Lifes of Diabetics
Brian Phelps
Brian Phelps - Triabetes Captain 2010/2011
Today started with a lot of work and then I ran for lunch 8 miles around the lake. The 8 mile run around the lake was very enjoyable but slow 1hr 27min. Went back home and got stuff done. I was about to eat dinner and then I saw my portion of the Triabetes filming show up by email. I was half way through it and my wife came in and said my elderly neighbors needed me there now to deal with their grand kid who they are raising. They were afraid he was going to attack them (this kid has a record of arrests and drugs). I was fired up and dealt with the situation without touching him. I then went to swim in a very angry mood. Needless to say my nice easy 4100 yds was done fairly quickly. I honestly tried to go easy for my timed 2000 yds but I kept picking up the pace because it felt good and I felt the anger leaving me. I was expecting about 30 min but I did it in just over 26 minutes. Blah blah blah, quit whining and look at my run time above ;->.
It can't believe I am saying this, but I am looking forward to my 4hr 15min ride tomorrow morning before I go ice fishing at a local lake. Mind numbing exercise is becoming enjoyable now.
Thanks and please donate an obscene amount of money to my Triabuddy, Zyler, as he leads out and inspires other diabetics to dominate their disease just like he is doing.
Zyler is traveling with his Mom to San Diego next weekend for the Carlsbad marathon. He is running in the Kid's Mile. What is SUPER COOL is that Zyler was selected as a "Hero of the Marathon" out of 9000 runners and will be treated as a VIP along with his Mom. He will be presented an award at a VIP dinner Friday evening and will be speaking in front of 200 other diabetics on Saturday night. Zyler, YOU ROCK!!!
Donate to Zyler and Impact the Lifes of Diabetics
Brian Phelps
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Its a New Year Transition
It is now 2011 and I am transitioning back from no routine to routine and from fishing to work and training. I have read several blogs of peers and their struggles that they are facing with motivation and discipline. I will just say, "me too". I have thoroughly enjoyed my break by fishing with friends and connecting with my new diabetic friends like Will, John, Zyler and Madi. We celebrated last night with Madi as her Mom had a birthday, I got to go to a Nuggets and Broncos game with Zyler and I got to ice fish with Will. Although I still haven't met John in person, I am looking forward to meeting him after his next break from school. Reality struck as one of my teammates (Thanks Christian ;->) reminded me that I have a 1/2 marathon to run in 2 weeks, my first half Ironman Tri in 2.5 months and my first and last full Ironman Tri in 3.5 months. The "suggested" workouts are now 2-4 hrs in duration each day and I will have to train smart. In addition, work is now in full gear and I have 4 requests for me to travel.
I am currently sitting here on the couch on a Saturday morning watching fishing shows and dreaming of the Florida Keys. I broke away mentally long enough to get some work done, write this blog and start thinking about my 3hr+ bike ride. I think that I will time the ride to coincide with an NFL playoff game. I am expecting my motivation to hit high gear in two weeks with I travel with my wife, my friend (Mark) and my Triabuddy, Zyler, and his Mom to Carlsbad (San Diego) to run a 1/2 marathon with a couple hundred other diabetics. This will opportunity to meet and get to know the real Type 1 diabetic endurance athletes from across the country. My brother, Roger who is also a Type 1, will be driving down Saturday evening to meet up with us. I am also THRILLED to pre-announce that my Triabuddy, Zyler, has been selected as a "Hero of the Race". There are 9000 runners and Zyler will be one of about 10 "Heros" that will be treated as VIPs. He was selected as a hero for taking life head-on as a Type 1 diabetic. I am so proud and will probably be in tears as he is presented at the banquet on Friday evening of the race weekend.
Finally, I had a lot of time to reflect as I spent a few days with a friend from California. He came out to have an adventure with me on the ice. That occurred and we also had some good talks. He has walked a road that I have also been on but probably didn't realize. It was a great time of getting perspective and ponder the guidance. Thanks Scott.
Let's Ride!
Brian Phelps
I am currently sitting here on the couch on a Saturday morning watching fishing shows and dreaming of the Florida Keys. I broke away mentally long enough to get some work done, write this blog and start thinking about my 3hr+ bike ride. I think that I will time the ride to coincide with an NFL playoff game. I am expecting my motivation to hit high gear in two weeks with I travel with my wife, my friend (Mark) and my Triabuddy, Zyler, and his Mom to Carlsbad (San Diego) to run a 1/2 marathon with a couple hundred other diabetics. This will opportunity to meet and get to know the real Type 1 diabetic endurance athletes from across the country. My brother, Roger who is also a Type 1, will be driving down Saturday evening to meet up with us. I am also THRILLED to pre-announce that my Triabuddy, Zyler, has been selected as a "Hero of the Race". There are 9000 runners and Zyler will be one of about 10 "Heros" that will be treated as VIPs. He was selected as a hero for taking life head-on as a Type 1 diabetic. I am so proud and will probably be in tears as he is presented at the banquet on Friday evening of the race weekend.
Finally, I had a lot of time to reflect as I spent a few days with a friend from California. He came out to have an adventure with me on the ice. That occurred and we also had some good talks. He has walked a road that I have also been on but probably didn't realize. It was a great time of getting perspective and ponder the guidance. Thanks Scott.
Let's Ride!
Brian Phelps
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