Beautiful Weather with just a touch of wind and good/normal blood sugar met me at the starting coral in Ontario, CA. While driving out to the race I did take 6 units of Novolin to get the insulin working. The drive out was an hour and I started eating 1/2 hour before I arrived. With an hour of insulin activity and bloodsugar on the way up I had a good opportunity to charge fast in the race without a bloodsugar mishap.
First race was 45 minutes after I arrived. Warmed up on the turbo trainer gentley for 20 minutes. It's so funny how some of the guys are almost killing themselves in warm-up on the trainers. Some will ride more than a 1/2 hour to warm-up. I suspect they are a little tired at the start but to each his own.
In the category 4/5 race, most of the racers are out their for themselves and have little faith. When there is a break in the peloton or someone jumps out there in front and tries to take off, there isn't a group of 5 or more who want to work together to follow and escape the main group. SO FUNNY. I would jump on with one or two people but nobody else. You usually need more guys to make a strong escape from the main group. Until I move up in category to the 3's, I think it will be mostly up to me and a good sprint at the end to win 4/5's to place in the standings.
Placed 12th out of 50 guys in this first race. In perfect position just off the outside riding in 6th with a terrific drive/sprint line the sprint was on and then the middle guys started to slow on the front. Just then the door closed with the sides enclosing on me like a giant envelope of sprinters. This isn't the first time this has happened.
The second race of the day with 30+ age group category 4/5. This race is a little faster with younger dudes of 30+ who are propbably more dedicated to training. At least it felt that way. The corners are fast and fun. The new CANNONDALE SYSTEM SIX bike is a riot to ride. I can go through the corners with every ounce of speed I can put in and just glide past 5 or 6 guys because the front end is so steady and predictable. Riding this bike so fast is like I was in video game at an arcade. And the sprints, I can't tell if the frame flexes or not. Stable and very fast. WOW, what an advantage I seem to have with this ride. Thank you Bill Riedel of CANNONDALE.
I won one of the premiums on a sprint challenge, the crowd caught us back, and with 4 laps to go it was difficult to catch my wind for the final sprint. Finished only, but winning a premium was fun none the less. Thank you One Touch by Lifescan, for the opportunity to represent you in SoCal racing, Insulindependence and Triabetes.org, SPIBelt, Vitalyte, Polar Hear Rate Monitors, Joker Media, Andiamo Productions, PURE Fit Bars, and the others who have helped make this season a success for me. God Bless you all.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Friday, June 20, 2008
YouTube - Bill Carlson, World's First Diabetic Ironman
YouTube - Bill Carlson, World's First Diabetic Ironman
ABC Wide World of Sports telecast 1983 Hawaiian Ironman Triathlon
with Terry Blair and Al Michaels, 8 minutes
ABC Wide World of Sports telecast 1983 Hawaiian Ironman Triathlon
with Terry Blair and Al Michaels, 8 minutes
YouTube - Triabetes Promo 2
YouTube - Triabetes Promo 2
Three minute trailer overview of the Triabetes Documentray Project,
Andiamo Productions, Spring, 2008
Three minute trailer overview of the Triabetes Documentray Project,
Andiamo Productions, Spring, 2008
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Wildflower Triathlon, May 3, 2008
Stage Place was Lake San Antonio outside of Paso Robles in Central California. I have raced this event many times and one year came in 5th overall, back in the old days. This year would definitely be different due to unanticipated fatique from the prvious weekend at the La Jolla 1/2 Marathon.
Stayed with Anne Findley and her Tri-friends from San Francisco and Peter Nerothin from the Insulindependence Headquarters. The camping was cool with thousands of very fit campers, great food all over the place, and good sleep brought on with my new Thermorest pad in the tent.
Woke the morninng of the race with good blood sugar value 100. Race start wasn't until 8:00am so I had to time the food intake and insulin correctly. I have it worked out that I eat 50 minutes before the event and take 4 units of regular in a none weight bearing muscle structure like the abdomen.
Swim was all over the place with my direction going L and R, back and forth. I just could not get on the right set of toes to pull me straight through the swim course. 30 min swim. Once finally in I had a fast transition and left the transition area with none other than an old buddy of mine Dean Harper who I raced with in the early and mid 1980's. Now that his his kids have grown up abit and the law practice is going well he is back at the Tri-scene again for the last 8 years. Dean is still an awesome athlete as he was in the 1980's.
Once on the bike for 10 miles, I could feel last weekend's effort in my legs; fatique--yuck! Those legs were stale and the mojo was no-mo. 56 mile ride went pretty slow, 2:52. The wind was not too bad. The air was quite dry like where I live and the replacement water at aid stations on the course was sparse. Dehydration was the theme for the day.
The run 13.1 mile was 1:57, quite slow considering I had just had a training 1/2 marathon of 1:36 the weekend before. Total 5:24, 18th /300 age groupers, and I was way back from the leaders in my group. Shucks, 22 years ago at this race I performed an hour faster on the same course.
There is an art to training hard and resting correctly before one of these big races. I just feel this fire inside me that says just go fast, on the steeps, and long. It is hard to relearn those basic principles of resting well before a big effort. Hopefully I will be able to control myself a little better for other big efforts I make later this year. Training races are different, just train/race right through them.
Once finished the blood was low, 69 mg/dl, and I really didn't realize it. The heat on the run surely played a few tricks on my senses. I should take a meter with me on those long runs even though I feel like I have a handle on the sense of LBS.
It's fun to be in great shape again. Cheers, BC
Stayed with Anne Findley and her Tri-friends from San Francisco and Peter Nerothin from the Insulindependence Headquarters. The camping was cool with thousands of very fit campers, great food all over the place, and good sleep brought on with my new Thermorest pad in the tent.
Woke the morninng of the race with good blood sugar value 100. Race start wasn't until 8:00am so I had to time the food intake and insulin correctly. I have it worked out that I eat 50 minutes before the event and take 4 units of regular in a none weight bearing muscle structure like the abdomen.
Swim was all over the place with my direction going L and R, back and forth. I just could not get on the right set of toes to pull me straight through the swim course. 30 min swim. Once finally in I had a fast transition and left the transition area with none other than an old buddy of mine Dean Harper who I raced with in the early and mid 1980's. Now that his his kids have grown up abit and the law practice is going well he is back at the Tri-scene again for the last 8 years. Dean is still an awesome athlete as he was in the 1980's.
Once on the bike for 10 miles, I could feel last weekend's effort in my legs; fatique--yuck! Those legs were stale and the mojo was no-mo. 56 mile ride went pretty slow, 2:52. The wind was not too bad. The air was quite dry like where I live and the replacement water at aid stations on the course was sparse. Dehydration was the theme for the day.
The run 13.1 mile was 1:57, quite slow considering I had just had a training 1/2 marathon of 1:36 the weekend before. Total 5:24, 18th /300 age groupers, and I was way back from the leaders in my group. Shucks, 22 years ago at this race I performed an hour faster on the same course.
There is an art to training hard and resting correctly before one of these big races. I just feel this fire inside me that says just go fast, on the steeps, and long. It is hard to relearn those basic principles of resting well before a big effort. Hopefully I will be able to control myself a little better for other big efforts I make later this year. Training races are different, just train/race right through them.
Once finished the blood was low, 69 mg/dl, and I really didn't realize it. The heat on the run surely played a few tricks on my senses. I should take a meter with me on those long runs even though I feel like I have a handle on the sense of LBS.
It's fun to be in great shape again. Cheers, BC
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Just a Training Run in La Jolla? April 27, 2008
Yes and here we go again for another beautiful run in paradise. Living in the North County San Diego area for 4 years in the 1980's and early 1990's was at that point in my life one of the best decisions I had ever made. But I live in the desert now, 2 hours from La Jolla, California.
Suzanne and I came down early in the afternoon before the race to check in for Sunday's La Jolla 1/2 Marathon starting at the Del Mar Fairgrounds and finishing in La Jolla. This is really a big event brining in nearly 5,000 athletes but the organization is really grass roots without too much stuff going on at the expo the day before. Seeing old friends, eating some great food, watching the blood sugar the day before the race, and trying not to get too excited were the tasks at hand during the check in.
Peter and Nate from Insulindependence.org joined us for some good pasta and drink during the expo dinner. And while we were sitting there having a few good laughs, Suzanne had to point out a most beautiful FJ Cruiser Toyota, one I had not seen before. Little did I know she had determined I was going to be an owner of one of these Trail Teams special edition FJ's in the next couple of weeks. Wow was I stoked about getting one of those bad boys. I haven't had it in the air yet but running the FJ in the dunes where we live in the desert is sure a great time.
Back to the race: I started out with a 120 blood sugar in the morning. Bought a grand slam breakfast at Denny's and started eating it 50 minutes befoe the race. Joined with a 4 unit regular shot and starting the race with a 185 blood sugar was right on the mark.
I ran this race as a training run because the next weekend was Wildflower 1/2 Ironman Triathlon so I had to make this just a paced out tempo run. During the week I kept the hard efforts under control because of the race the previous weekend. This was really a smart move but for me this is usually hard to do. I love to put in hard efforts but on tired legs the efforts don't amount to too much gain. Where's the line on gains and efforts put in to make gains is my forever asked question. How hard, how frequently, how much? What a toil this is in getting faster.
I ran the 13.1 mile race in 1:36 finishing 12th in age group which had 300 runners, 79th overall, 1:31 won the age group, and I was just cruising without too hard of an effort. If I had really pushed it I would have won the age group putting in 30 to 40 seconds per mile faster time. It's fun to be in great shape and not have that diabetes bite you in the legs during hard pacing.
Finishing this hilly course and feeling well was awesome fun. But, later the next weekend there would be some fatique in the legs I had not counted on at Wildflower. Oh well! Life must go on.
Cheers, Mr. Bill
Suzanne and I came down early in the afternoon before the race to check in for Sunday's La Jolla 1/2 Marathon starting at the Del Mar Fairgrounds and finishing in La Jolla. This is really a big event brining in nearly 5,000 athletes but the organization is really grass roots without too much stuff going on at the expo the day before. Seeing old friends, eating some great food, watching the blood sugar the day before the race, and trying not to get too excited were the tasks at hand during the check in.
Peter and Nate from Insulindependence.org joined us for some good pasta and drink during the expo dinner. And while we were sitting there having a few good laughs, Suzanne had to point out a most beautiful FJ Cruiser Toyota, one I had not seen before. Little did I know she had determined I was going to be an owner of one of these Trail Teams special edition FJ's in the next couple of weeks. Wow was I stoked about getting one of those bad boys. I haven't had it in the air yet but running the FJ in the dunes where we live in the desert is sure a great time.
Back to the race: I started out with a 120 blood sugar in the morning. Bought a grand slam breakfast at Denny's and started eating it 50 minutes befoe the race. Joined with a 4 unit regular shot and starting the race with a 185 blood sugar was right on the mark.
I ran this race as a training run because the next weekend was Wildflower 1/2 Ironman Triathlon so I had to make this just a paced out tempo run. During the week I kept the hard efforts under control because of the race the previous weekend. This was really a smart move but for me this is usually hard to do. I love to put in hard efforts but on tired legs the efforts don't amount to too much gain. Where's the line on gains and efforts put in to make gains is my forever asked question. How hard, how frequently, how much? What a toil this is in getting faster.
I ran the 13.1 mile race in 1:36 finishing 12th in age group which had 300 runners, 79th overall, 1:31 won the age group, and I was just cruising without too hard of an effort. If I had really pushed it I would have won the age group putting in 30 to 40 seconds per mile faster time. It's fun to be in great shape and not have that diabetes bite you in the legs during hard pacing.
Finishing this hilly course and feeling well was awesome fun. But, later the next weekend there would be some fatique in the legs I had not counted on at Wildflower. Oh well! Life must go on.
Cheers, Mr. Bill
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Winning again after all those years!
What an awesome feeling to get a win in my home town's triathlon. Yyowzzzaaa! The Toyota Desert Triathlon at Lake Cahuilla, La Quinta, California is where the race was held this morning.
When we woke up this morning the wind was howling out here in the desert by the Bermuda Dunes airport where we live. The thought of sleeping in and forgettng about doing the race crossed my mind and I just rolled over and waited for the clock radio to try me again. Sure, the guilt set in after the second alarm so I lunged out of bed and hopped right to it.
Breakfast made and brought in togo boxes. I loaded up the bikes and kids into Suzanne's van and we were off to the races. I picked up my Mom to bring her to the races. She was plenty fired up to go and cheer us on after so many other races where she had missed out. It's great to have your parents at your races.
When Mom and I arrived at the lake the water was primo! If we had the water ski boat I would be barefooting it for sure. And the wind didn't come up at all during the 3/4 mile swim. The bike was a different story.
Made a quick transition, no tea party at this race in the transition area. The bike was perfectly adjusted finally, bars in an ideal position for my back. The back didn't get tired at all and no pain, finally. On the down wind stretches with wind at my back I must have been rocking it 30 mph or better. I could hunker down on that bike and spin that 53x14 gear so smoothly like a hot knife going thru butter and no ache in the legs at all. Only one guy passed me after dueling with him for 8 miles and he was all over that bike; not smooth or efficient, I knew I would see him later on the run so have fun dude and win the bike course.
When the run starts for me I get really fired up. Let the horses run, get on the hunt and get'um back (those guys that put forth too much on the bike with those tired legs.) I must have run down 4 guys in my age group. When going into the last 1/2 mile of the run I looked back and couldn't see anyone who looked like they were interested in taking away what I was just about ready to achieve.
All the training, riding in the night after work, going to the pool at 5:00am, and working some good runs in the middle of my work days was all worth it. When you climb up on top of that first place stage beside the second and third place finishers all that discomfort goes away. Hard work, you bet. Adrenalin burn during the race, a real high when all is right.
Next weekend is the LaJolla 1/2 Marathon and the following weekend is the Wildflower 1/2 Ironman, an old favorite of mine. Can't wait for another dose of good diabetes management and good pacing. Let the horses run!
Cheers,
Mr. Bill
When we woke up this morning the wind was howling out here in the desert by the Bermuda Dunes airport where we live. The thought of sleeping in and forgettng about doing the race crossed my mind and I just rolled over and waited for the clock radio to try me again. Sure, the guilt set in after the second alarm so I lunged out of bed and hopped right to it.
Breakfast made and brought in togo boxes. I loaded up the bikes and kids into Suzanne's van and we were off to the races. I picked up my Mom to bring her to the races. She was plenty fired up to go and cheer us on after so many other races where she had missed out. It's great to have your parents at your races.
When Mom and I arrived at the lake the water was primo! If we had the water ski boat I would be barefooting it for sure. And the wind didn't come up at all during the 3/4 mile swim. The bike was a different story.
Made a quick transition, no tea party at this race in the transition area. The bike was perfectly adjusted finally, bars in an ideal position for my back. The back didn't get tired at all and no pain, finally. On the down wind stretches with wind at my back I must have been rocking it 30 mph or better. I could hunker down on that bike and spin that 53x14 gear so smoothly like a hot knife going thru butter and no ache in the legs at all. Only one guy passed me after dueling with him for 8 miles and he was all over that bike; not smooth or efficient, I knew I would see him later on the run so have fun dude and win the bike course.
When the run starts for me I get really fired up. Let the horses run, get on the hunt and get'um back (those guys that put forth too much on the bike with those tired legs.) I must have run down 4 guys in my age group. When going into the last 1/2 mile of the run I looked back and couldn't see anyone who looked like they were interested in taking away what I was just about ready to achieve.
All the training, riding in the night after work, going to the pool at 5:00am, and working some good runs in the middle of my work days was all worth it. When you climb up on top of that first place stage beside the second and third place finishers all that discomfort goes away. Hard work, you bet. Adrenalin burn during the race, a real high when all is right.
Next weekend is the LaJolla 1/2 Marathon and the following weekend is the Wildflower 1/2 Ironman, an old favorite of mine. Can't wait for another dose of good diabetes management and good pacing. Let the horses run!
Cheers,
Mr. Bill
Friday, April 4, 2008
Triathlon #1 for 2008, Oceanside Ironman 70.3
Shucks. It feels just like yesterday when I was training and racing full time being back in the triathlon scene. This event is absolutely first class in every way. All aid stations, hundreds if not thousands of volunteers, perfectly marked course that was well policed, fabulous event.
My goal was to run my own race with as few errors as possible. With everything working as planned I should have finished top ten but it came out as 20th place out of 154 in my age group, 5:12, with tenth place 9 minute up. The winner came in 20 minutes in front of me. Probably not his first triathlon race in 17 years, huh?
Blood sugar was 110 when I got up in the morning so I knew things had to be going my way. Suzanne and the children and their two cousins were at the race for the start in that cold 54 degree water in Oceanside Harbor. Folks thought I was a little different eating my Dennies Grand Slam breakfast 50 minutes before the race but I needed to do this to get the bloodsugar rise and timing correct.
When the gun went off for my age group I sprinted out with the lead guys so that I would not get swum over and that seems to work well. 31 minutes was a slow swim time but considering the badly bruised/fractured L rib #5, I felt okay with the performance.
I had a good run up to the transition spot but then came error #1; no triathlon type of cycling shoes. I stopped to get the socks on to protect the feet and struggled to get the jersey on; 4:00 transition--tooooo slow.
The bike course was awesome! A big section of the course I had ridden hundreds of times when I lived in North County San Diego so I knew it well. The back was feeling well for the first 10 miles, riding a consistant, relaxed, relatively fast pace. Only a few crazies went by on the bike but that was fine, I would probably see them later on the run.
Error #2; The bars are still too low and the spine started talking to me. I had to sit up numerous times to stretch out that sore back and this cost me some time. More work to do to get the Cannondale Slice set up correctly. Incycle in San Dimas has been a terrific shop to do business with and they will assist in getting the bike set up.
Error #3; Gatorade given to me on the course sure tasted great but the concentration clogged the gut and I could not pass the juice for at least 50 minutes. Dehydration on the way, oooppsie. I had a plan and broke the plan when I reached out for the Gatorade. My fault.
The back hills in Camp Pendleton were steeper than I had thought and could have used a 27 to spin the hills versus using the 23. I keep thinking I am 28 years old versus the elderly gent I have become. New cog set to be used on these hilly courses in coming races. With the back and food problem I was probably down 12 minutes.
Once I got back on the water and foods I had planned for the race I started feeling better although I knew I was behind schedule on the hydration. Run next.
Transition was fast, under 2 minutes, and the outfit worked great. Incycle sponsored me with cycling shorts and jersey that felt just fine to run in although this race was the first time I had run in that garb. Don't do this for the first time like I did. I just got lucky and it all worked.
My SPI belt was handily left on my dresser at home, bummer! I had to do some funky things with those jersey numbers so they would not get torn but it worked. Running at 6:40 pace for the first mile was probably a little much but the legs felt great. Transition practice is the right thing to do. I passed 6 or 7 guys in my age group during the run, a plan well worked. But in the last 2 miles I started dragging, a few stars and tunneling is no fun but still running what I felt was a good pace. The it happened. Another 45-49 age grouper came by me. I nearly fell over, HA! Where did that guy come from?
I passed one more dude in the last mile and finished strong. I love racing these triathlons!
To do's.
1. Slip ties for the running shoe laces.
2. Fix the bike position
3. Check the bike course profile, get a 12-27 cog set if needed for the hills.
4. Triathlon bike shoes that are seemless on the inside- no socks inside.
5. Aero helmet?
6. Bring the SPI belt for the number attachment
Love that racing and the blood sugar at the end of the race was 94 mg/dl, Bulls-Eye. I took 4 units of regular Novolin, diabetes was not a factor in this event.
Cheers to Anne Findley of the Team Triabetes for her successful finish. And those kids with Suzanne, I could not have been blessed more. I love those guys.
The next entry will be about my 120 mile training ride I did today. Ever hear about dirt naps?
A enduring life. Ain't it great?
My goal was to run my own race with as few errors as possible. With everything working as planned I should have finished top ten but it came out as 20th place out of 154 in my age group, 5:12, with tenth place 9 minute up. The winner came in 20 minutes in front of me. Probably not his first triathlon race in 17 years, huh?
Blood sugar was 110 when I got up in the morning so I knew things had to be going my way. Suzanne and the children and their two cousins were at the race for the start in that cold 54 degree water in Oceanside Harbor. Folks thought I was a little different eating my Dennies Grand Slam breakfast 50 minutes before the race but I needed to do this to get the bloodsugar rise and timing correct.
When the gun went off for my age group I sprinted out with the lead guys so that I would not get swum over and that seems to work well. 31 minutes was a slow swim time but considering the badly bruised/fractured L rib #5, I felt okay with the performance.
I had a good run up to the transition spot but then came error #1; no triathlon type of cycling shoes. I stopped to get the socks on to protect the feet and struggled to get the jersey on; 4:00 transition--tooooo slow.
The bike course was awesome! A big section of the course I had ridden hundreds of times when I lived in North County San Diego so I knew it well. The back was feeling well for the first 10 miles, riding a consistant, relaxed, relatively fast pace. Only a few crazies went by on the bike but that was fine, I would probably see them later on the run.
Error #2; The bars are still too low and the spine started talking to me. I had to sit up numerous times to stretch out that sore back and this cost me some time. More work to do to get the Cannondale Slice set up correctly. Incycle in San Dimas has been a terrific shop to do business with and they will assist in getting the bike set up.
Error #3; Gatorade given to me on the course sure tasted great but the concentration clogged the gut and I could not pass the juice for at least 50 minutes. Dehydration on the way, oooppsie. I had a plan and broke the plan when I reached out for the Gatorade. My fault.
The back hills in Camp Pendleton were steeper than I had thought and could have used a 27 to spin the hills versus using the 23. I keep thinking I am 28 years old versus the elderly gent I have become. New cog set to be used on these hilly courses in coming races. With the back and food problem I was probably down 12 minutes.
Once I got back on the water and foods I had planned for the race I started feeling better although I knew I was behind schedule on the hydration. Run next.
Transition was fast, under 2 minutes, and the outfit worked great. Incycle sponsored me with cycling shorts and jersey that felt just fine to run in although this race was the first time I had run in that garb. Don't do this for the first time like I did. I just got lucky and it all worked.
My SPI belt was handily left on my dresser at home, bummer! I had to do some funky things with those jersey numbers so they would not get torn but it worked. Running at 6:40 pace for the first mile was probably a little much but the legs felt great. Transition practice is the right thing to do. I passed 6 or 7 guys in my age group during the run, a plan well worked. But in the last 2 miles I started dragging, a few stars and tunneling is no fun but still running what I felt was a good pace. The it happened. Another 45-49 age grouper came by me. I nearly fell over, HA! Where did that guy come from?
I passed one more dude in the last mile and finished strong. I love racing these triathlons!
To do's.
1. Slip ties for the running shoe laces.
2. Fix the bike position
3. Check the bike course profile, get a 12-27 cog set if needed for the hills.
4. Triathlon bike shoes that are seemless on the inside- no socks inside.
5. Aero helmet?
6. Bring the SPI belt for the number attachment
Love that racing and the blood sugar at the end of the race was 94 mg/dl, Bulls-Eye. I took 4 units of regular Novolin, diabetes was not a factor in this event.
Cheers to Anne Findley of the Team Triabetes for her successful finish. And those kids with Suzanne, I could not have been blessed more. I love those guys.
The next entry will be about my 120 mile training ride I did today. Ever hear about dirt naps?
A enduring life. Ain't it great?
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