I finished my last round of hard workouts with a 2.4 mile straight swim Friday, a 5hr 15 min ride on Saturday and a 10 mile run today (which sucked as normal). I have a swim tomorrow before getting a day off Tuesday. Wednesday I have a triple swim/bike/run then get on a plane for Jacksonville for a sales call on my off day. Friday I have another strong workout day followed by a 90 minute deep athletic massage from hell.
Diving in the Keys
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Nearing the End
It is now less than two weeks before the start on Ironman St George. I drive one week from tomorrow to St George to get ready for the event and get acclimated. I really am hoping for warmer weather because I am tired of being cold.
I finished my last round of hard workouts with a 2.4 mile straight swim Friday, a 5hr 15 min ride on Saturday and a 10 mile run today (which sucked as normal). I have a swim tomorrow before getting a day off Tuesday. Wednesday I have a triple swim/bike/run then get on a plane for Jacksonville for a sales call on my off day. Friday I have another strong workout day followed by a 90 minute deep athletic massage from hell.
I finished my last round of hard workouts with a 2.4 mile straight swim Friday, a 5hr 15 min ride on Saturday and a 10 mile run today (which sucked as normal). I have a swim tomorrow before getting a day off Tuesday. Wednesday I have a triple swim/bike/run then get on a plane for Jacksonville for a sales call on my off day. Friday I have another strong workout day followed by a 90 minute deep athletic massage from hell.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Apex Training Weekend Finished - Taper Begins
I will start by saying that I have enjoyed this journey and it has been healing for me. I have met hundreds of new friends in the active diabetic community and am encouraged every day by them. It seems like I meet someone new on every training ride and every swim.
This apex training weekend started on Friday with a 4000 meter straight swim in a pool with my wetsuit on. My buddy, Steve, went with me and did 2000 straight himself. Ironman is a 4000 yd swim so this was approximately 4400 yds. I did it right around 58 minutes and it felt good. I pushed the last 1000 meters. After the swim, a young man swam over and ask me to watch his technique. His name is Sam and is training as a special ops para-swimmer. I LOVE coaching technique and he had good technique but I was able to give him some tips on increasing endurance. That felt really good.
Saturday started at 6:10am for a 114 mile ride on my bike which had 6800 feet of total climbing. I met up with Steve at mile 9 and met up with Joel at mile 28. Steve turned around at mile 34.5 and ended at 69 miles (a new record for him). I told him that I had to run for 30 minutes right after my ride so he promised to do the same and he did it!
Steve, Joel and I met up with a new friend, Stacy, at Steve's turnaround point. She completed Ironman St George last year and gave me some great inside information including a look that could kill when I asked her if she was doing it again. The simple answer was "NO!!!". Joel & I continued on and he veered off to go to his son's track meet and set a new distance record for him at 18 miles. Steve & Joel are both signed up a half Ironman distance triathlon in September.
Once Joel split off, I had to figure out how to get to the base of Lookout Mountain. Fortunately, Stacy caught up with me and she was also going to do the Lookout Mtn climb for the first time and she knew how to get there which was a great help to me. I took a longer break to check BG and eat and Stacy went on up the hill.
This is the mountain that beat me when I moved from Visalia to Golden, CO to attend Colorado School of Mines. A roommate who biked noticed that I also had a bike and asked me to do Lookout Mtn with him. I accepted but should have taken a clue from being exhausted just walking around campus at 6000ft after living at 300ft for 18 years. I started up the mountain with him and got very dizzy after a 1 or so and turned around and went back to the dorm. I never attempted it again until today (28 years later). It felt good to beat it without stopping once. I took all the photos while riding.
This is a view of my college campus in the foreground with the Coors Brewing facility in the background all in Golden, CO.
This view shows how much elevation was gained in just about 1.5 miles
A view from my bike as a hit the snowline
A view from the top!!! Very satisfying
It was an amazingly fun ride. I put in more climbing than the St George course so I felt good until I found out that my teammate, Christian, put in 12,000 ft of climbing the same day. The worst part was that I had to miss my Triabubby, Zyler, test for his Blue Belt in Krav Maga which he passed!
Now on to Sunday, short and well short (not sweet). I ran 16 miles, two laps around Aurora reservoir. Starting temp 51, ending temp 43. I fought off a low at the beginning. The cold front came through and blew like crazy for 80% of the run and I froze the whole time but I finished. It snowed a bit and then rained a bit and ended with a nice sunset.
This was the hardest weekend and we taper down from this point. I am ready, mentally, to get this thing done.
Thanks
Brian Phelps
This apex training weekend started on Friday with a 4000 meter straight swim in a pool with my wetsuit on. My buddy, Steve, went with me and did 2000 straight himself. Ironman is a 4000 yd swim so this was approximately 4400 yds. I did it right around 58 minutes and it felt good. I pushed the last 1000 meters. After the swim, a young man swam over and ask me to watch his technique. His name is Sam and is training as a special ops para-swimmer. I LOVE coaching technique and he had good technique but I was able to give him some tips on increasing endurance. That felt really good.
Saturday started at 6:10am for a 114 mile ride on my bike which had 6800 feet of total climbing. I met up with Steve at mile 9 and met up with Joel at mile 28. Steve turned around at mile 34.5 and ended at 69 miles (a new record for him). I told him that I had to run for 30 minutes right after my ride so he promised to do the same and he did it!
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| My riding buddies, Steve & Joel |
Once Joel split off, I had to figure out how to get to the base of Lookout Mountain. Fortunately, Stacy caught up with me and she was also going to do the Lookout Mtn climb for the first time and she knew how to get there which was a great help to me. I took a longer break to check BG and eat and Stacy went on up the hill.
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| My tour guide to the base of Lookout Mtn - Stacy |
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| The start of the ride to the top of Lookout Mtn where the signal tower is at the top. 1350 vertical climbing in 5 miles |
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| View of Golden, CO |
This view shows how much elevation was gained in just about 1.5 miles
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| A long way down |
A view from the top!!! Very satisfying
It was an amazingly fun ride. I put in more climbing than the St George course so I felt good until I found out that my teammate, Christian, put in 12,000 ft of climbing the same day. The worst part was that I had to miss my Triabubby, Zyler, test for his Blue Belt in Krav Maga which he passed!
Now on to Sunday, short and well short (not sweet). I ran 16 miles, two laps around Aurora reservoir. Starting temp 51, ending temp 43. I fought off a low at the beginning. The cold front came through and blew like crazy for 80% of the run and I froze the whole time but I finished. It snowed a bit and then rained a bit and ended with a nice sunset.
This was the hardest weekend and we taper down from this point. I am ready, mentally, to get this thing done.
Thanks
Brian Phelps
Monday, April 4, 2011
Spring Break - New Start - Ironman CA Report + SWAT Team
I had a fantastic and tiring week. It started last Friday & Saturday with the Masters State swim meet with my son and daughter. Sunday I ran, went to church and then loaded up and drove to St George on the way to California. Monday morning, I got up early with our son to swim Sand Hollow and check the water temp. Air temp was 40 degrees, the water was calm and 46 degrees. I did swim 1/2 mile and it caused a ice cream-like brain freeze. It also made my feet numb and made walking on rocks very difficult:
We then drove into the San Joaquin valley where I was born and raised and where our son would be starting the next phase of his life. We stayed in Exeter and I got a nice bike ride in on Tuesday with memories flooding my mind from my childhood. This is me on Rocky Hill overlooking my homeland
We finished Tuesday by visiting Sequoia National Park. Wednesday was busy with a 70 minute run and a 30 minute swim in Lake Kaweah. We finished the day playing baseball with family. This is a photo of me with Daniela who is one of my Triabetes cheering squad:
Photo of two more San Joaquin Valley cheerleaders, Brynn & Braelyn:
We left for Oceanside, CA after a stop to have dinner with more family in Bakersfield. Thursday we made it to the beach by Noon in time for me to check in for Ironman California - a 70.3 half. The girls enjoyed boogieboarding and I joined them in the water on Friday.
I had a great meal with two fellow captains and a triabuddy and his Dad at Pelly's.
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Rohto 70.3 Ironman California Race Report:
The day started out with a near disaster in more than one way. We were awoken at 3:55pm by the Carlsbad SWAT team telling us to evacuate our rooms silently and immediately. I explained my situation and they let me grab my bike and race gear. I wasn't going to argue with armed SWAT carrying percussion grenades.
News Feed on Arrest in Room Next to Ours in Oceanside
Note that we found from the Carlsbad PD when we got back to our room after the race:
SWIM: I ate a lot of fruit for breakfast with some yogurt and coffee. PRP was successful. My BG was 140 at the start of the swim and 161 at the end of the swim which I hit with 1 unit of Novalog. I did the 1.2 mile swim in 29 minutes which was 11th out of 307 in my age group. Water was upper 50's. My transition was 8min52sec and I was very careful not to forget anything. I did put on my riding shorts and riding jersey which had my Dexcom receiver, food and insulin. I also had one bottle of Hammer Perpetuem and one bottle of eFuel. I drank a lot of water at transition.
BIKE: It was overcast skies and windy on the ride. My BG's were good and when it got to 151, I gave myself 2 units of Novalog in the thigh. At mile 29 I had some small sore or cramping muscles so I took 4 Advil. I continued to fuel as much as my body would take and finished the last 7 miles with 60 grams of glucose tabs knowing what happens to me on the runs. I was slow on the flats and slight uphills and fast on the steep uphills and downhills. The strong wind hit on almost every downhill which was discouraging. I stayed within myself for the whole bike with an average HR of 132 and a peak of 153. My lactic threshold is 141 which I stayed under except for the steepest of climbs. My time was slow at 3hrs37mins but I felt good and got stronger throughout the bike. This put me at 167 out of 307 in my age bracket. Here are a set of graphs showing my BG, Speed, Elevation and Heart Rate during the ride:
RUN: The run is the run and is my nemesis. I was fairly steady at 13 min miles for awhile with some short stops to stretch my hams and calves. I also walked each aid station where I took water. The base of my middle toe of my left foot became increasingly painful. At mile 9, I had a very enjoyable conversation with another type 1 who asked me how my diabetes was treating me on the day. His name was Jeff and was from the DC area. We are now friends on Facebook - awesome. At mile 11, I had to walk for a longer stretch to get the pressure off of my toe. I actually tweeted my situation. Right after that, I was able to run again and I am very thankful to my friends who later told me that they were praying for me to finish after they learned of my race situation. My "run" was 3hrs 1min. Here are the graphs for my run:
We then drove into the San Joaquin valley where I was born and raised and where our son would be starting the next phase of his life. We stayed in Exeter and I got a nice bike ride in on Tuesday with memories flooding my mind from my childhood. This is me on Rocky Hill overlooking my homeland
We finished Tuesday by visiting Sequoia National Park. Wednesday was busy with a 70 minute run and a 30 minute swim in Lake Kaweah. We finished the day playing baseball with family. This is a photo of me with Daniela who is one of my Triabetes cheering squad:
Photo of two more San Joaquin Valley cheerleaders, Brynn & Braelyn:
We left for Oceanside, CA after a stop to have dinner with more family in Bakersfield. Thursday we made it to the beach by Noon in time for me to check in for Ironman California - a 70.3 half. The girls enjoyed boogieboarding and I joined them in the water on Friday.
I had a great meal with two fellow captains and a triabuddy and his Dad at Pelly's.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rohto 70.3 Ironman California Race Report:
The day started out with a near disaster in more than one way. We were awoken at 3:55pm by the Carlsbad SWAT team telling us to evacuate our rooms silently and immediately. I explained my situation and they let me grab my bike and race gear. I wasn't going to argue with armed SWAT carrying percussion grenades.
News Feed on Arrest in Room Next to Ours in Oceanside
Note that we found from the Carlsbad PD when we got back to our room after the race:
SWIM: I ate a lot of fruit for breakfast with some yogurt and coffee. PRP was successful. My BG was 140 at the start of the swim and 161 at the end of the swim which I hit with 1 unit of Novalog. I did the 1.2 mile swim in 29 minutes which was 11th out of 307 in my age group. Water was upper 50's. My transition was 8min52sec and I was very careful not to forget anything. I did put on my riding shorts and riding jersey which had my Dexcom receiver, food and insulin. I also had one bottle of Hammer Perpetuem and one bottle of eFuel. I drank a lot of water at transition.
BIKE: It was overcast skies and windy on the ride. My BG's were good and when it got to 151, I gave myself 2 units of Novalog in the thigh. At mile 29 I had some small sore or cramping muscles so I took 4 Advil. I continued to fuel as much as my body would take and finished the last 7 miles with 60 grams of glucose tabs knowing what happens to me on the runs. I was slow on the flats and slight uphills and fast on the steep uphills and downhills. The strong wind hit on almost every downhill which was discouraging. I stayed within myself for the whole bike with an average HR of 132 and a peak of 153. My lactic threshold is 141 which I stayed under except for the steepest of climbs. My time was slow at 3hrs37mins but I felt good and got stronger throughout the bike. This put me at 167 out of 307 in my age bracket. Here are a set of graphs showing my BG, Speed, Elevation and Heart Rate during the ride:
RUN: The run is the run and is my nemesis. I was fairly steady at 13 min miles for awhile with some short stops to stretch my hams and calves. I also walked each aid station where I took water. The base of my middle toe of my left foot became increasingly painful. At mile 9, I had a very enjoyable conversation with another type 1 who asked me how my diabetes was treating me on the day. His name was Jeff and was from the DC area. We are now friends on Facebook - awesome. At mile 11, I had to walk for a longer stretch to get the pressure off of my toe. I actually tweeted my situation. Right after that, I was able to run again and I am very thankful to my friends who later told me that they were praying for me to finish after they learned of my race situation. My "run" was 3hrs 1min. Here are the graphs for my run:
Overall, I finished with a time of 7hrs 22 min which was 204 out of 307 with 1hr 8min left until the cutoff. I have a great deal of respect for these long races. I really concentrated on fueling and my BG's. I nailed both. My biggest threat, once again, was my feet. If I take my result, double it and add 1 hour, that would put me at a finish of 16 hours at Ironman St George with only one hour to spare for a finish. I have to fix my toe sensitivity before Ironman St George.
As we were packing up to leave, a man named Craig pulled up with a bike on his Jeep. I assumed he was in the race. He asked me how the race went and told me that he was a part of the SWAT operation that morning. We had a great conversation and he asked for my contact info to follow our team's progress through Ironman St George. Our group then got in the van and drove to St George for the night. The next morning I swam the lake again and measured the temp. It was mid 80's in St George all week and it was very windy churning the water. I measured a water temp of 55 and it was noticeably warmer. The rangers said that the water was already warmer than last year's Ironman. We then drove home to Denver.
Thanks
Brian Phelps
My Finishing Medal and a T-Shirt I bought at Sand Hollow Reservoir in St George, Utah
Friday, March 25, 2011
Excitement is Building - Running Out of Time
The competition is fun and the training isn't. My training is peaking and my competition schedule is in full gear. I got the whole week of training in this week although I compressed some workouts into the same day to allow me to compete in the Colorado State Masters state championship meet that started today.
Let's start with the training. The bike and the swim feel great and the run is a killer with my feet and blood glucose (BG) levels. I don't think that I can run any farther than 14 miles in training without risking my feet. I should be fine at St George because I don't have to walk for a week after that event. In addition, my BG's are crashing with every run. Last Sunday, I tried to run 18 miles and only made just over 10 and was very frustrated.
This process of crashing has taught me how to fuel and walk. It has also helped me, once again, mentally reset to finishing Ironman St George - period. It appears that I can average a 15min/mile pace if I am correcting a low with a walk/run combo. I think that the BG drops are directly associated with the fact that all aspects of training are peaking with April 9th being the toughest weekend.
Okay, on to more fun. I raced the 1650 yd freestyle today at the State meet with our son. I was pleased with my time of 20min48sec even those it didn't make the national cut at around 20min flat. I would never enter a distance event at nationals but I would have liked to make the cut. Tomorrow I am in sprint races and my son and oldest daughter are also in the meet. I think that we are all hoping to challenge for one victory each in our age groups. I am in 4 individual event and our kids are in 3 each. After the meet I get to get on the bike trainer until bedtime (hopefully the 7 hrs scheduled). I will then wake up early and run 14 miles before church. After church we head to California with an overnight stay in St George, Utah where I will swim the lake Monday morning in my wetsuit. Our son is moving to California on this trip and we will be leaving him and a car there. After some time with family and friends, I will be doing my first 1/2 Ironman at the Rohto Ironman California. I am Bib# 2354 and am in swim wave #20 starting at 7:39am Pacific. You should be able to go to the following link to track me during the race:
Rohto Ironman California Link
I then have 5 more weeks of training before competing at Ironman St George. You really need to watch this 30 second promo video of Ironman St George 2011. It was quite enlightening for me ;->.
30 second Promo for Ironman St George 2011
Thanks and follow me next Saturday at Ironman California
Brian Phelps
Let's start with the training. The bike and the swim feel great and the run is a killer with my feet and blood glucose (BG) levels. I don't think that I can run any farther than 14 miles in training without risking my feet. I should be fine at St George because I don't have to walk for a week after that event. In addition, my BG's are crashing with every run. Last Sunday, I tried to run 18 miles and only made just over 10 and was very frustrated.
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| My starting BG was about 150 and it immediately crashed to the mid 30's and then leveled to mid 40's |
Okay, on to more fun. I raced the 1650 yd freestyle today at the State meet with our son. I was pleased with my time of 20min48sec even those it didn't make the national cut at around 20min flat. I would never enter a distance event at nationals but I would have liked to make the cut. Tomorrow I am in sprint races and my son and oldest daughter are also in the meet. I think that we are all hoping to challenge for one victory each in our age groups. I am in 4 individual event and our kids are in 3 each. After the meet I get to get on the bike trainer until bedtime (hopefully the 7 hrs scheduled). I will then wake up early and run 14 miles before church. After church we head to California with an overnight stay in St George, Utah where I will swim the lake Monday morning in my wetsuit. Our son is moving to California on this trip and we will be leaving him and a car there. After some time with family and friends, I will be doing my first 1/2 Ironman at the Rohto Ironman California. I am Bib# 2354 and am in swim wave #20 starting at 7:39am Pacific. You should be able to go to the following link to track me during the race:
Rohto Ironman California Link
I then have 5 more weeks of training before competing at Ironman St George. You really need to watch this 30 second promo video of Ironman St George 2011. It was quite enlightening for me ;->.
30 second Promo for Ironman St George 2011
Thanks and follow me next Saturday at Ironman California
Brian Phelps
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Ups & Downs
By far, the up of the weekend was Zyler's Rockin Fundraiser at Buffalo Rose in Golden, CO on Saturday. It was an amazing event that was spearheaded by Zyler's Mom. It was great to see John and Maureen, the Masar's, the Zartun's and the Doyle's again. This fundraiser along with some recent donations and a couple of promised donations, this should put him over his goal.
Being in Golden reminded me of an old nemesis that I am going to attack on April 9th. Pictured below is Lookout Mtn and you should be able to see the switchback road that goes up the Mtn. That road beat me when I first arrived at Colorado School of Mines in Golden in 1983. In 2011, I am going up that Mtn and back down without stopping. That will be symbolic for me. BTW, the "M" is for Mines as in Colorado School of Mines.
My weekend workouts were less than stellar. I had 6+ hours of sitting on the bike seat on an indoor trainer Saturday morning and I never really engaged mentally. Today, Sunday, I ran after church and immediately hit my low of the weekend within 2 miles. I felt low when I was at 120 and steady so I started to correct what I knew was coming. Sure enough, next was 102 and dropping then 78 and dropping then 57 double arrow down, 55 double arrow down, 41 double arrow down and finally off the chart low (somewhere below 39) for awhile. This all occurred within 10 minutes. The net result was a shortened run of about 10 miles (supposed to be 18) in a time that looked like a walking pace. At least the weekend ended with a family dinner celebrating my wife's birthday.
Thanks and I am looking forward to more competition and the peak and then taper off of the training.
Brian Phelps
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| Zyler's Parents who really pulled off an amazing fundraiser |
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| A view from above of the fundraiser |
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| Zyler and me at the fundraiser |
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| Lookout Mountain |
Thanks and I am looking forward to more competition and the peak and then taper off of the training.
Brian Phelps
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
5 Guns Down and 1 Put Away
I had a fantastic weekend in Northern California this past weekend. I was able to deal with 5 starting guns in a Masters swim meet in Palo Alto and was pleased with how I handled the 1000 freestyle which was my most focused race to manage my pace and my adrenaline. This meet was an excuse to have a reunion of high school swimming friends from Visalia, California. We have a team/support group named the Visalia VFibs and our caps have a logo showing a heart beat going to a flatline ;-> We thought that we might lose one of our teammates in the 1000 when he looked like he wasn't going to make it. He has now agreed to do a 1/2 Ironman with me in 2012 and drop 45lbs - that makes me VERY happy.
Before the meet ever started, I read an email on my Blackberry informing me that a gun had been put away. I have been attending Al Anon which is for friends and family members of chemically dependent people. I have been the primary contact for "a friend" that put himself in a 30 day in-patient rehab in October and is now finishing up at a Sober Living facility after 6 months which he decided to go to. I am also the primary legal contact during this process. Before I ever raced on Saturday, I read an email from a lawyer regarding my friend's legal issue. The incident occurred 18 months ago and had yet to be indicted by a Grand Jury. Technically he has been out on bond this whole time. The incident did occur and was a stupid act while under the influence (no one was hurt and it did not involve a car), nevertheless it did occur and had serious ramifications. The lawyer simply said that he had talked to the prosecutor and she was going to refuse to go forward with the charges and that the charges would be dropped. This was huge for him and our family. I talk weekly with my friend and he just wanted to face the judge and take the consequences as opposed to waiting indefinitely especially since he was about to get a fresh start as he finishes up at Sober Living. As a Christian, the best example that I can think of is Christ dying to pay the penalty for my sins which I deserve to be punished for but instead Christ paid my penalty. I was absolutely amazed. One of the Al Anon official slogans is "Let Go & Let God". It is meant to address the fact that many of us, like me, desire to control the uncontrollable. It suggests that we need to release it to God.
As I was reading the email and explaining what had just happened to my childhood friends who were at the meet with me, a gentleman came up to me and asked if I was Brian Phelps. He introduced himself to me and he is a relative that I have never met in person. He saw that I was going to be in a meet (on Facebook) and took the chance to come to the meet and find me. Thanks for making the effort Gary!
Later in the day, another gentleman saw my Triabetes jacket and introduced himself to me as the Executive Director of the American Diabetes Association in Northern California. He was competing in the meet himself.
Finally, I had the great opportunity to meet Melissa Warren in person. She works for VSP (Vision Service Plan) and sponsors Team Type 1 and my brother as they make an impact in the diabetic community. Melissa's husband is a Type 1 himself.
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| Start of 1000 yd Freestyle |
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| The Visalia VFibs Winnings |
Before the meet ever started, I read an email on my Blackberry informing me that a gun had been put away. I have been attending Al Anon which is for friends and family members of chemically dependent people. I have been the primary contact for "a friend" that put himself in a 30 day in-patient rehab in October and is now finishing up at a Sober Living facility after 6 months which he decided to go to. I am also the primary legal contact during this process. Before I ever raced on Saturday, I read an email from a lawyer regarding my friend's legal issue. The incident occurred 18 months ago and had yet to be indicted by a Grand Jury. Technically he has been out on bond this whole time. The incident did occur and was a stupid act while under the influence (no one was hurt and it did not involve a car), nevertheless it did occur and had serious ramifications. The lawyer simply said that he had talked to the prosecutor and she was going to refuse to go forward with the charges and that the charges would be dropped. This was huge for him and our family. I talk weekly with my friend and he just wanted to face the judge and take the consequences as opposed to waiting indefinitely especially since he was about to get a fresh start as he finishes up at Sober Living. As a Christian, the best example that I can think of is Christ dying to pay the penalty for my sins which I deserve to be punished for but instead Christ paid my penalty. I was absolutely amazed. One of the Al Anon official slogans is "Let Go & Let God". It is meant to address the fact that many of us, like me, desire to control the uncontrollable. It suggests that we need to release it to God.
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| Words to Live By |
As I was reading the email and explaining what had just happened to my childhood friends who were at the meet with me, a gentleman came up to me and asked if I was Brian Phelps. He introduced himself to me and he is a relative that I have never met in person. He saw that I was going to be in a meet (on Facebook) and took the chance to come to the meet and find me. Thanks for making the effort Gary!
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| Me with my relative, Gary |
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| The Visalia VFib Crew |
Later in the day, another gentleman saw my Triabetes jacket and introduced himself to me as the Executive Director of the American Diabetes Association in Northern California. He was competing in the meet himself.
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| Executive Director of the ADA |
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| My buddy, Eric with Melissa Warren and Myself |
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Go Time - Legs Shaved - Adenaline Training
Let me summarize the last two weeks first by saying that it was a good in most aspects of training, work, emotions, family and spiritually. I haven't admitted to that in, maybe, years. I am typing this blog from the trainer of the bike because I was supposed to ride easy for 6hrs 30min today followed by a 30 min brick run (simulation of bike to run triathlon transition). Instead, I am about an hour into my easy ride trying to get the lactic acid out of my thighs while fighting a bit of a low BG (59 right now and dropping). I am not doing 6 hours and not going to brick into a run BECAUSE I did a one hour indoor triathlon today where I trained mentally to deal with the adrenaline rush and to have fun with my wife and 4 friends who did their first triathlon today. I dealt with the adrenaline better than ever but couldn't turn off the competitive switch and stayed above my lactic/anaerobic threshold for the entire hour (not good).
Last night I was a bit late getting to bed because I shaved my legs and will keep them shaved until after Ironman St George. It is a safety factor for outdoor bike riding (hair rips flesh out when it rubs on asphalt) and it is a perceived speed advantage for swim meets. I now have 5 races in 4 cities in 10 weeks with the last one being Ironman St George.
I will start with last weekend. Last weekend was fantastic! I got to spend time with three diabetic kids and some of their parental units. I got up last Saturday at 3:30am to get my bike ride in so that I could take the crew ice fishing at 10am. It was great fun and enjoyed the time after fishing as well. The kids and one of our kids played Wii and had a cake making adventure that ended up with an amazing tasting result. I got up at 4am Sunday to run for 3.5 hrs before church. After church we went to John Moore's home to visit with him and his wife Maurine, who is now 20 weeks pregnant with twins. On a side note, I now believe that it is easier to be a diabetic than to be the parent of a diabetic.
I received the highlight of the week in a message that I received on Facebook. I will include the quote because it means a lot to me but I have removed the names:
"I wanted to share a break through with you. Last night my kid was 66 right before dinner, instead of giving him juice, then not bolusing for all his dinner, I had him take 1 glucose tablet and bolus for his entire dinner. That night my kid went to bed at 135 and woke up this am at 135! No over correcting and 300’s after dinner. Yay us!"
Its stuff like this that will get me to the starting line and finish line of Ironman!!!
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Last Monday I tried to work out but the weekend caught up with me and I could only manage 1600 yds in the pool. Tuesday was much better and I felt great on a 90 minute bike ride. Wednesday I swam 3000 yds with my wetsuit in an indoor pool (had to get the feel of it again) and I ran 7 miles with most being sprint training on a track. Sprint is kind of an oxymoron when talking about me running. The REAL runner among the captains is Jenny Crandell as she proved in the Arizona Ragnar Relay. She claims that she is strongest in the swim but she proved her running skills and I will now refer to her as a "runner". Thursday was an adventure as I went for a scheduled "nice and easy" 3.5 hr ride. I planned a 72 mile ride (BIG math error) and timed it just as a cold front blew in with 30 mph winds. It was an okay ride and my wife picked me up at the 57 mile mark of the ride with hot chocolate because I was frozen. THANK YOU HONEY! Friday was an easy 2200 yd swim with friends. I also found out that I need to travel to New York in a week for a sales call so I will try to connect with my New York Betes while I am there. Its really fun getting to see people in person again. I got to do that today at the American Diabetes Association Expo in Denver where I got to listen to and talk with Carla Cox (genius nutritionist out of Montana) and got to see many friends. I also met about a dozen new friends many of whom I hope to connect with regularly. The last person I met said that he loved the Triabetes concept but that he was a Masters swimmer in Aurora, CO (me too!). I opened up with my frustration that at the big swim meets of Master swimming like the State championship meet with 600 people, you know statistically there should be at least 30 diabetics but I have never spotted one. We have to figure out how to change this. I know that runners and swimmers don't normally get along but its time to reach across the aisle and embrace our common challenges and mission ;->!
Next Friday I fly to the Bay area for a swim meet with friends. I entered my times from last year to get in the fast heats but I am sure that I won't hit them because I am not concentrated on swimming like I usually am. Again, I wanted the faster heats to work on my adrenaline control even though I probably won't be as fast as I want to be.
Thanks and sorry for the long Blog (off the bike now and BG is 106 and rising)
Brian Phelps
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| Our Pastor Joel finishing up his first triathlon |
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| Shaved left calf |
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| Zyler and our daughter Megan - part of the cake-making crew - Ashlee took the photo |
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| Ice Fishing Betes |
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| Ashlee with a live minnow that she let go still alive |
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| The whole ice fishing crew |
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| John & Maureen Moore (recently voted "Nicest Couple in the World") with Zyler and Ashlee and the Twins about halfway to their day of birth |
I received the highlight of the week in a message that I received on Facebook. I will include the quote because it means a lot to me but I have removed the names:
"I wanted to share a break through with you. Last night my kid was 66 right before dinner, instead of giving him juice, then not bolusing for all his dinner, I had him take 1 glucose tablet and bolus for his entire dinner. That night my kid went to bed at 135 and woke up this am at 135! No over correcting and 300’s after dinner. Yay us!"
Its stuff like this that will get me to the starting line and finish line of Ironman!!!
-----------
Last Monday I tried to work out but the weekend caught up with me and I could only manage 1600 yds in the pool. Tuesday was much better and I felt great on a 90 minute bike ride. Wednesday I swam 3000 yds with my wetsuit in an indoor pool (had to get the feel of it again) and I ran 7 miles with most being sprint training on a track. Sprint is kind of an oxymoron when talking about me running. The REAL runner among the captains is Jenny Crandell as she proved in the Arizona Ragnar Relay. She claims that she is strongest in the swim but she proved her running skills and I will now refer to her as a "runner". Thursday was an adventure as I went for a scheduled "nice and easy" 3.5 hr ride. I planned a 72 mile ride (BIG math error) and timed it just as a cold front blew in with 30 mph winds. It was an okay ride and my wife picked me up at the 57 mile mark of the ride with hot chocolate because I was frozen. THANK YOU HONEY! Friday was an easy 2200 yd swim with friends. I also found out that I need to travel to New York in a week for a sales call so I will try to connect with my New York Betes while I am there. Its really fun getting to see people in person again. I got to do that today at the American Diabetes Association Expo in Denver where I got to listen to and talk with Carla Cox (genius nutritionist out of Montana) and got to see many friends. I also met about a dozen new friends many of whom I hope to connect with regularly. The last person I met said that he loved the Triabetes concept but that he was a Masters swimmer in Aurora, CO (me too!). I opened up with my frustration that at the big swim meets of Master swimming like the State championship meet with 600 people, you know statistically there should be at least 30 diabetics but I have never spotted one. We have to figure out how to change this. I know that runners and swimmers don't normally get along but its time to reach across the aisle and embrace our common challenges and mission ;->!
Next Friday I fly to the Bay area for a swim meet with friends. I entered my times from last year to get in the fast heats but I am sure that I won't hit them because I am not concentrated on swimming like I usually am. Again, I wanted the faster heats to work on my adrenaline control even though I probably won't be as fast as I want to be.
Thanks and sorry for the long Blog (off the bike now and BG is 106 and rising)
Brian Phelps
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