Cairns Ironman 70.3 Race Report

Ironman 70.3 is tough! I have developed confidence in my ability to race Olympic Distance tris without holding back. Ironman 70.3, at more than double the distance, requires some respect and judgement of how much to keep in the tank for later in the race. More about that later.

I woke up on race morning feeling pretty good. The kids had slept well, which helped! My blood glucose level (BGL) was a little high but nothing to be concerned about. I was pretty happy with it considering the extra carbs I had been consuming.

I had a quick breakfast with an insulin bolus reduced to 60%. (I didn't want a hypo during the swim!)

I went through my checklist to make sure I had everything I needed for the race.

Following the bike setup in transition, was a critical step. I had to disconnect my Insulin pump and convince the officials (again!) that I needed access to my transition bag (which is normally forbidden) to leave the pump there. I had to get the timing right - leave it late enough to minimise my time disconnected from the pump, but not too late that I missed my race start. That step went to plan but it really helped to have tracked down the transition manager the previous day to pre-arrange my special access.

There was no opportunity for swim warm up as they only let us off the pier about two minutes before my age-group wave start. So before I knew it, I was in my wetsuit and off and swimming. The Cairns swim is probably the best course I have swum on. Calm, open, ocean swim, with views of the mountains over one shoulder. It was easy to stay on course on a long rectangular course. I exited the water in about 33mins, which I knew would have me placed well in the top half of my age group and started the long run back up the pier to transition. My family spotted me from the crowd and gave me a cheer as I ran past.

Things get a bit hectic in the transition tent, but I tried to stay calm. I got out of my wetsuit, tested my blood sugar (a bit high now - over 9), reconnected my pump, turned the continuous glucose monitor (CGM) back on and pulled on my long sleeve HypoActive bike jersey (lots of UV protection) and helmet.

I jumped on my bike and quickly got in my shoes and up to speed. The roads were still wet so I had to take it easy on some treacherous corners. Then the roads started to become long, straight and flat with a tailwind. I tried to hold back a bit, but I was easily getting over 40kph. I was overtaking lots of other cyclists who had started in earlier waves or swum faster than me.

Every 10kms or so, I reached down, unclipped my pump from my tri shorts, and had a quick glance which gave me an indication of what my BGL was doing. This is a really useful feature, as the alternative involves stopping to do a proper finger stick test.

Early in the bike, my BGL climbed above 13. This is starting to get pretty high and was probably due to being disconnected from the pump for just over an hour for the swim leg. Lack of insulin = high BGL. I considered giving a correction bolus, but instead, had confidence that just 10km without electrolytes or food would see it come back. That plan worked well and I was soon able to resume my sports drink/gel/bar feast at 40kph!

After leaving Cairns, the bike course went through some sugar cane fields before following the spectacular coastline towards Port Douglas. The course started to get hillier and more technical here and I paid for my earlier efforts. This was especially evident when I reached the turnaround and fought my way back against the headwind on the exposed coastal road.

I was happy to reach T2, as I was over trying to hold the time trial position for 90km.

Another quick transition, test my blood sugar and pull on my running shoes and hat.

I started the run back along the road following the sugar cane fields. I was passing a few people while others were overtaking me. I felt like I was struggling and running slow, but my times at the 2km and 4km markers showed I was actually going a bit quicker than my 5min per km target. I was hurting though. Even backing off the pace didn't delay the little bargaining game that started in my head - okay, run to that signpost then you can walk for a bit!

Some other competitors noticed the Insulin pump clipped on my Tri shorts and complimented me on tackling the event with Type 1. It helped to get that kind of respect out on the course.

Around 6km into the run my BGL had dropped quite a bit, so I started gulping down High5 gels and the electrolyte drinks and cola that they handed out at the drink stations.

At about 16km down, when I was walking along, my sister Kylie came towards me. Kylie had hired a mountain bike to cover more of the course as she wanted to support me, brother-in-law Brad and about 30 athletes from her Darwin Tri Club. She wanted to take a photo to send with a message to supporters at the finish line, so I decided I better get running again.

I ran as much as I could, but my legs were cramping so there were stretches where I had to walk.

As I neared the finish line, I spotted my family cheering amongst the crowd. Then I turned the U-turn into the finish chute and ran the final 100m, crossing the line with a 2:05 run and 5:24 overall.

Although I'm a little disappointed that my run leg didn't live up to my expectations, I'm happy with race overall. I did the training I wanted to do. I had fantastic support from my wife, family and friends. On race day, my diabetes management went without a hitch, I had a good swim, a great ride and just fell a bit short of being able to deliver the run I wanted. That's pretty close to the perfect race!

I also have to say, any blemish in my race performance had nothing to do with being diabetic. Provided you practice your diabetes management in training and plan ahead for the event, diabetes will not slow you down. Anything is possible!

Thank you to everyone who has followed my journey. I hope you got something out of it. If you are planning to attempt a similar event, I'm happy to field any questions.

Race time!

The planning, preparation and training is complete. My bike is racked and my goggles, wetsuit, running shoes and the rest of my race gear is ready for the early start tomorrow morning.

My biggest pre-race concern has been addressed. My insulin pump will need to be disconnected just before the swim. I have arranged access to the swim-to-cycle transition bag (which is not usually allowed) so that I can minimize my time without insulin delivery.

I'm really looking forward to the race. I've planned out the training required and completed most of the sessions I wanted to. I've trialled my diabetes management along the way so that I can be confident (as much as possible) that I know what to do in the race.

Race day will be a massive buzz. As well as my race, my brother-in-law Brad is tackling his first full Ironman. My sister Kylie is here supporting us and a large contingent from her Darwin Tri Club. I've also bumped into plenty of other Brisbane triathletes from the various clubs I've trained with who've made the journey up to Cairns.

The biggest highlight though is having my wife and kids here to watch. They have put up with me disappearing for many hours of training each weekend for the past three months. I hope they enjoy the day and it will be good to repay their patience when I get to spend a whole week with them on our post-race holiday!

Now it's time to try get a good night's sleep, to be ready to do what I need to do tomorrow.

Trust the training you've "banked"

Training for a long course triathlon takes a lot of dedication and focus. Having a coordinated training plan in place from the start and sticking to it is critical. But what happens when you can't stick to it?

I've just had a disrupted week or so of training. First an unscheduled weekend away to visit family. There was no option to take a bike and little opportunity for other training.

Then when we returned home, I juggled a busy week at work, my wife's birthday and a few of us in the family developing our first sniffly colds of the winter. Of course with all this going on, training has to take a back seat.

The important thing to do in this situation is to be flexible and ride the busy period out. I fit in an unscheduled solo lunchtime swim one day because I knew I wouldn't make it to a couple of my usual squad swims. I also found an opportunity to swim with my mum's masters swim group while I was out of town.

The other tactic to employ is mental. Think back to all the sessions you have done in earlier weeks and reassure yourself that the key training sessions are in the bank. Your body will no doubt enjoy the break and come back stronger.

As a diabetic, be extra vigilant with your BGLs. You will probably find you will need to increase your basal insulin after missing a long ride and long run.

Race practice

If you're training for a big event, the benefits of race practice cannot be understated. Okay. I realise that's hardly a new or radical theory, but I'll explain why I believe it's important, especially for diabetics.

Race practice is helpful in taking away some of the unknowns for the big race day. Some of the race day variables to solve revolve around nutrition, including what to eat before the race and what food and drinks work for you during the race. Another dilemma is what pace you can maintain throughout the race, which is more challenging in multisport events such as triathlon or adventure racing where you may have stronger and weaker legs to consider.

There are a number of ways to gain race practice. You may find a low key local race to get the true race experience. You can hold back a little to make sure you can keep training on the following days without needing a whole week to recover. You can use these events to trial your eating plan or to see how fast you can go. They also act as good practice to ensure you have a complete checklist of equipment to take on your 'real' race day.

Another way I like to prepare for a big race is to simulate racing in a training session. This is a cheaper method and also won't take up your whole day. If training for a triathlon, find a pool that has a good cycle time trial course nearby and somewhere to run. It's a bonus if the pool is safe and friendly enough for you to leave bikes lying around while you do the swim and run legs. The cycle circuit needs to be traffic friendly so you can get into a rhythm without taking risks.

I like to use the same circuit a few times throughout a training plan, so I can compare how I am going and see my progression as I get closer to race day.

As a diabetic, race practice helps to balance another variable - my insulin doses - with my effort level and nutrition intake. As I'm about to undertake my longest race since my diabetes diagnosis, I can only use past races as a bit of a guide and I'm using longer training sessions to try to take away some of the unknowns.

This morning's training session involved full race distance cycle on my race bike with my planned race day nutrition on board and wearing my race clothes. I followed it with a short run but carried exactly what I plan to carry on race day (a blood glucose monitor and two small bottles to carry gels). I wanted to make sure everything would sit okay in my pockets while I ran.

Training is going to plan so far, but I can see it's about to get crazy at work, so it is going to be a challenge to keep fitting in lunch time swim squad.

Training groups

It's been awhile between posts - I've been busy at work, training hard and making the adjustments necessary to get the most out of my insulin pump. All this doesn't leave much time for blogging!

This week I wanted to talk about my training groups. I try to get a balance between coached, solo and informal group training and I find that works for me.

I've started swimming with one of the state's top swim coaches who happens to run one of the most successful triathlon squads. Swimming is the discipline that benefits most from technique and efficiency improvements in a triathlon and there is no better way to get those improvements than in a swim squad.

Once a week I run with a running group lead by a running coach. This session is all about building leg speed and strength and, more importantly, learning pace judgment!

I do the rest of my running on my own, which is great practice  for race day when it is ultimately up to you to provide the motivation and focus to have a great race.

I also like to do my cycle efforts on my own to practice self discipline and motivation.

And finally, my favourite sessions, my long rides and some of my long runs are generally with a group of good friends without a coach. It's much easier putting in the long miles if you are having a good time with friends with similar motivation to you.

Also, my thoughts on the diabetes implications. It's always good to have training companions to help you out if your blood sugars start to dive. Make sure your training buddies recognise the signs of a hypo and they know what to do.

For solo training sessions, ensure you are disciplined with testing your BGL and always carry extra fast acting carbs. I find energy gels are good because they will last if you don't need to use them. (Unlike a mixed sport drink).

Insulin pump

After almost three years of using multiple daily injections (MDI) to deliver my insulin, I've updated to insulin pump technology. The pump should provide a bit more flexibility in my doses but the biggest benefit is that the doses can be more targeted and will hopefully help me minimise my 'departures' from the blood sugar target zone. This will help to minimize my chances of getting the nasty complications that result from this terrible disease.

One week into pump therapy and things are going really well. Still some fine tuning to go to get the insulin to carb ratio right and also to have the correct background 'basal' rate throughout the day.

The disruption to training was minimal thanks to some good progress in getting through the fine tuning.  I didn't expect to launch straight back into heavy training but due to good progress, I was able to get out for a 100km ride and 30min run this morning. My settings on the pump worked well. I tried a temporary reduction of my basal rate to 60% of normal for 12 hours and that seemed to do the trick. I did learn the hard way that I also need reduce my post ride mealtime insulin 'boluses' further to avoid some of the low blood sugar (hypos) I had this afternoon. 

During the week I had to endure a 'skip-meal' basal test, which involved waking up and not eating ANYTHING until midday. That was torture! But what it was able to prove was that as my blood sugar level didn't rise or fall during the morning, my basal rate must be pretty close to right for that period. I'll have to do some more of these over the coming weeks, skipping other meals to confirm I have the basal rates correct throughout the day.

I'm looking forward to another solid week of training and maybe two good training sessions squeezed in somewhere over the Easter weekend.

Week 1 training

I've completed the first week of my Cairns Ironman 70.3 training. I generally keep in good shape but my training has been more relaxed recently. As a result, I'm really feeling the extra volume and intensity in my training. On Sunday, I completed a long, wet ride to Mt Nebo of over 100km and followed it up with a 30 minute run. I'll be looking to some more sessions like that to build the endurance I need for the race.

Another focus for this week has been the preparation for a change in my diabetes management. This week I'll be going in to hospital to switch over from four+ daily insulin injections, to an insulin pump which should provide more targeted and flexible delivery of insulin when my body needs it. It's going to be a steep learning curve though!