Monday morning I wrote my blog post from a beauitful beach front rental house in the Outer Banks. Darden has a tradition for the graduating class to spend a week in OBX each year as our final send off before we re-enter the real world. Gone are the days of late night drinking and acting far younger than our age would indiciate as we go back to the professional world. So beach week as the tradition is called is the last chance we have as MBA students to let our immaturity shine! But I started the week with a melancholoy attitude, I was bummed out that my run on Sunday didn't go super well and was pretty nervous about all the lows I had been fighting off.
Monday, right after my blog post I set out for my run in OBX. The first thing I noticed was FLAT GROUND! I wouldn't have to face any of C'Villes rolling terrain, I could just sit back and focus on my stirde - just what I needed. 1 hour and 28 minutes later my 10 miles were up and I was feeling great. For 4 miles I ran in zone 2 at an 8:48 pace and then cranked out 4 miles in zone 3 - 4a at an 8:24 pace with a 2 mile cool down - some of my speed had returned and my blood sugar stayed mostly stable throughout the run.
After the run I continued to fight off pesky lows; I decided to reduce my basal rate to 80% for a 15 hour period and that seemed to help keep my blood sugars above 70. Also, when my friends went out to another houses' party that night I decided to stay in and go to sleep early like the old man I am! Thankfully I finally had a full nights sleep and woke feeling refreshed.
The next day I had a killer 6 X 500 swim on tap. A few of my housemates joined me at the local Y as I swam away. My swim felt fantastic, I entered the water with a blood sugar of 198, tested after my 4th 500 with a stable bs of 161 and then finished up strong - the 80% basal rate seemed to be doing the trick. With that knowledge I adjusted my basal rates to try and stabalize my blood sugars further. With the Dexcom I'll be able to refine my hourly basal rate further, but the past two days my blood sugars have been more stable than they had been at any point over the last 3 weeks.
Wednesday was the big test, a 2 hour bike with 2, 20 minute time trials followed by an hour run. I fueld up as per Eric's instructions throughout the day on Tuesday as each of my classmates were shocked by the amount of food I'm able to consume. I think each of them asked me how many calories I consume per day, and when they would respond with "I wish I could eat like that," my retort was - actually eating kind of becomes a full time job so it's not as much fun as it sounds. Although eating ice cream and still lossing weight is pretty cool.
So Thursday I woke up early and set out for a rainy bike ride. I freaking crushed the time trials! I covered 40 miles in 1 hour, 54 minutes; the first 20 minute time trial had an average pace of 25 mph and the second of 22 mph (into the wind). Better yet my blood sugars were right at 205 when I finished the bike portion of my workout so I could safely go out for a brick! I downed some water, got some confused looks from my friends and was off.
The run was mixed intervals, 8, 30 second max efforts and 4, 4 minute build intervals. At no point during the run did I feel fatigued and my last 4 minute build was my fastest. I was able to maintain a sub 8 pace for each of the 4 minute builds and my heart rate stayed lower than expected throughout. Honestly, this run was the first time since before Oceanside where I felt like I could run again. I'm not sure if my basal rates have been screwed up since then or what but holding a 7:45 pace with a moderate effort felt amazing.
The plan was to leave right after the brick workout for an 80 mile ride today, but then I remembered that my classmates and the time I spent at Darden is way more important than one workout. I texted Coach E and asked him if I could switch my 80 mile ride to a 2 hour trainer session today so I could spend one last night with the Darden crew. He of course said that was totally cool, so right after that text I grabbed a Bahama Mamma at our beach party and enjoyed some more time in the sun with individuals who I've gotten to know like family over the past 2 years. My friends were psyched that I stayed and spending one extra night, waking up a bit hung over put my mind at ease and let me relax a little bit as I was starting to stress about the race a bit too much. Now it's time to hop on the trainer!
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