My first 100 mile bike ride was memorable as the temperature hit 105 degrees….and I was doing the ride on a mountain bike (which is much harder to use than a regular road bike.) On the ride, I met a number of people who had been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. One of them was also a top notch athlete who had completed the Ford Ironman World Championships and other Ironman events. The conversation began after I watched him take a glucose reading and give himself a Novopen injection all while pedaling at 25 miles per hour. For the Hawaii Ironman, he would check his glucose during the swim at the boat that represented half-way into the 2.4 mile swim. He could manage the 112 mile bike ride quite easily and did well while doing the marathon. I was very impressed with his accomplishments and his ability to maintain his diabetes control in such ridiculously strenuous conditions. I will be thinking about his achievements during the race on October 10.
Yesterday was a good training day as part of an Ironman Camp. We swam for about a hour in the ocean and the conditions were perfect, especially as there was not the crush of 1600 swimmers all breaking out together at the start. It promises to be a free for all. One veteran describes it as being inside of a washing machine and another very strong swimmer thought ” I am drowning.” The practice swim felt very good, with the salt water providing even more buoyancy that lake swimming, which I am more familiar with. On the swim, the water is so clear that one can see the fish and corral going by, another big difference over a lake swim. For my next practice swim, I plan to swim out to a platform where they serve coffee!
Later that day, we did a one hour practice run through what is called the Energy Lab. The location is in the middle of a lava rock, desert area and, naturally, it was hot!
During the classroom sessions, various stories came out about the participants. One woman cracked three ribs on a fall in a previous triathlon and still finished first. Another was competing in Hawaii despite having recent surgery on an ovarian tumor. During the swim, one person went by me who was missing his right hand and his lower left leg. A coach shared his story of completing multiple marathons and full Ironman events. He was then hit by a car on a training ride, had to have brain surgery; at one point they thought he wouldn’t make it. He was told after getting through that critical period that he would never be able to run marathons or do triathlons again. He completed his first marathon a few months later and a full Ironman one month after that. Other stories included a woman recovering from a car /car accident that had her in a hospital bed for two months and one man who recently lost 120 pounds over a twelve month period.
Today we did a forty mile ride that started 20 mile from the turn around for the bike leg in the town of Hawi, one of the more difficult parts of the ride. As I mentioned in a previous blog, the winds can be really insane. A few days ago, the gusts were so bad that my car was being buffeted and moved around the road. I can’t imagine what it was like on a bike that day. One of the pros who was helping out at the Lifesport Ironman camp showed us pictures form that day with bikes leaning way, way over in the wind.
Today, the ride to Hawi was tame by comparison. The winds were mostly steady, until after making the turn at Hawi and heading back. The winds shift so often is Hawaii that it is not uncommon to have a headwind on most all of the course, but his time we enjoyed a nice tail wind. Then the cross wind gusts started – which was not fun at all as we were confined to a very narrow shoulder. One woman made a miraculous recovery after being pushed off the shoulder and into some gravel. I have to admit the gusts for me were pretty hairy. And yet they were considered to be moderate! At least for the race we will have the use of the road and not just the shoulder.
The common theme is one of overcoming adversity. What I continue to be amazed about is how well people who happen to have Type 1 diabetes deal with adversity ever day and in a manner much better than I ever could. An Ironman may be tough to do, but dealing with Type 1 diabetes is way tougher.
I dedicate this race to all of those in the Type 1 diabetes family. On race day, look for Bib Number 455 and follow my progess on October 10 at www.ironman.com.
-Mark
Mark Fischer-Colbrie is set to compete in the Ford Ironman World Championship on Saturday, October 10, 2009, on the Big Island of Kona, Hawaii and he is simultaneously raising money for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). Fischer-Colbrie is one of 1,800 world athletes who will via for the title of Ironman earned by completing 2.4-miles of ocean swimming, 112-miles of biking, and a 26.2-mile marathon run through challenging lava-covered terrain in less than 17 hours. A self described former ‘couch-potato’, Fischer-Colbrie decided to use the event to raise awareness of type 1 diabetes by raising funds for JDRF through the Janus Charity Challenge. Janus makes an additional $10,000 contribution to the charity of the top Ironman World Championship fund raiser. Mark hopes to earn the contribution for JDRF in addition to what he is able to raise. Follow this link to Mark’s personal web page to help him in his efforts to support Janis Charity Challenge. The money goes to a great cause JDRF, with the ability to help people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes as well as potential others with autoimmune diseases.
