Week #’s 13-14, by the numbers:

20.2 miles run on the road. 6.6 miles on the treadmill. 133.8 miles on the bike, 3 time on the trainer, and 5,916 yards (2.5 hours) in the pool.

I had no two/day workout days. A lot of rest days.

Average Blood Glucose: 134

No significant pattern of low blood glucose.

No significant pattern of high blood glucose.

Comments about training for the past two weeks:

I feel like I have found a balance between training, work and family life.  I am not getting 2/days in, but I feel I am getting stronger, faster and am able to go longer.  It’s a good spot to be in, with that balance.

Barge Bustin’ – Let’s Make it a Race Boat:

I never thought that when my daughter started swimming a couple of years ago that I would be in the pool training for Ironman…..

For the last eight weeks, I have fought the water.  Every stroke was a struggle, every breath I had to fight for.

But then, this week, it was almost like I was a swimmer.  Not a meathead, or a sinking ship, but a swimmer.

I changed my basal rates two weeks ago and I’m not chasing low blood glucose levels.  It’s not perfect, but its getting close.  There’s been some bumps along the way, but its close.  My average blood glucose level was up, but not a lot.  However, I have not been chasing low blood glucose levels and I have had more energy.

You sink, or you swim.  It’s not always perfect, sometimes gasping for breathe, but sometimes, you get just enough that you can get into a rhythm.  And then one length turns into two.  The flip turn temporary slows you down, but back at it down the lane.

Managing Type 1 Diabetes is not a sprint.  It is not easy, but by taking one step at a time, one stroke at a time, managing gets easier and you get down the lane.

Week #’s 9-12, by the numbers:

51.3 miles run on the road. 15 miles on the treadmill. 86.8 miles on the bike, 0 time on the trainer, and 3:10 hours in the pool.

I had no two/day workout days. A lot of rest days.

Average Blood Glucose: 114

No significant pattern of low blood glucose.

No significant pattern of high blood glucose.

Comments about training for the past four weeks:

I spent my training over the past month getting in quality vs quantity.  My knee had hurt in January, from what appears to be either a quad weakness, arch drop in my foot on the bike, or both.  So, I spent the time getting in quality workouts, allowing for proper recovery, stretching and foam roller.

I have to admit, too, that my focus has dropped off.  Sore knee, “bad” A1c, and the variability in winter training…..all exposes any lack of focus/drive and impairs consistency.  Time to get it back, though.  Shooting for a 1/2 marathon PR at the April Fools 1/2 in April, and my first 1/2 distance tri in May.

I also started swimming……my only comment is that this barge needs some “reshaping”.

Every 3 Month Anxiety & The “Bad” A1c:

Every 3 months, those with T1D get blood work done to analyze for their “A1c”.  This is more formally known as the Hemaglobin A1c and is essentially a long-term blood glucose test.  This is what it looks like:

So, the results showed this:  Hemoglobin A1c: 7.2%

And I was livid!

Imagine my surprise when my last A1c was a 6.5% and my average numbers for the last 90 days show an average blood glucose of 118.

I had worked too hard for this!

Once the blood work is complete, then I, and those with T1D visit their Endocrine…..and this is where the anxiety starts.  “What’s my A1c?  How’s my endo going to react?  What changes is he/she going to make?”  These are all legitimate questions that run through our heads…..questions about how we are going to be judged…..

What we, the T1D community, don’t do, is use the numbers as tools.  I heard this this past weekend at a Riding on Insulin Camp, “No number is a bad number, we need the number to decide what to do.”

Endo’s, parents, and those with T1D, have a hard time remembering this…..however, it is important to keep the right mindset.  Making good choices without judging…..

So, what do my numbers tell me?  There are enough BG readings above the 140 level that have impacted my A1c.  The trick over the next 90 days will be to lower the number of outliers without increasing the amount of low blood glucose I experience.

It is only through the proper mindset that I will succeed in my triathlon goals.

The numbers are a tool to my success.

So, I’ll keep “tri-ing” and use the tools I have to improve.