Thanks for the support!!!

Meant to do this last week, but just wanted to stop and thank everyone who sent me well wishes before the race and congrulatory e-mails/voicemails after the race.  A special thanks to all who followed me live on race day. Sometimes you run out of things to think about during an 11 hour and 43 minute race, so knowing that I had fans with me in spirit made all the difference in the world.  THANK YOU!

IRON Andy

Ironman Coeur d’ Alene Volume #2

“Is DLS an Ironman…Hell Yes!”  Only Lt. Colonel Chris De Los Santos (DLS) and the men and woman of the Vandenberg Air Force Base Logistics Readiness Squad (LRS) will appreciate that reference.   

I met Chris in March of 2007 when we raced together at Ironman California 70.3 (half Ironman)  Chris had been a fan and historian of Ironman for at least ten years.  He had run in a number of marathon’s and in his words “been on the fence” about making the leap to Ironman.  Chris is the commander of a 160 person squadron, married with two young children and spends large amounts of time deployed overseas.  Upon meeting me and hearing my story and my struggle…and subsequently inviting me to Vandenberg AFB to speak to his troops and the rest of the base, Chris was pushed off the fence.  Shortly after meeting me he was inspired to give Ironman a try.  His biggest challenge was being deployed to Kuwait for six months last year, not an ideal situation to train for an Ironman.  He couldn’t ride his bike and was reduced to spin class, and the heat made running difficult.  Low and behold, using me as his inspiration Chris found a way to make it happen.  Earlier this year we competed in Ironman California 70.3 again together, but this past Sunday Chris fulfilled a very long awaited dream of his.  After 13 hours and 24 minutes of pushing himself, he heard the words – “Chris De Los Santos, you are an Ironman.”  I was honored to share the experience with him and proud of the role that “Living Without Limits” played in making his dream come true.  DLS - Hell Yes!  Congrats again Chris.

IRON Andy

11:43 the hard way!

This past week at Ironman Coeur d’ Alene was so jam-packed with events, activities and stories that I would not attempt to squeeze it all into one BLOG entry.  Therefore I will devote today to the race only…my race!  Since my training is light (recovery) and I am not traveling for a few weeks, I will have time to fill in the blanks with multiple BLOG’s over the next few days.

Let’s start by saying the water was COLD!!!  I went for a training swim on Thursday and after about 30 seconds I wanted to stop.  I couldn’t breath and my head, feet and hands felt like they were going to fall off.  Apparently the water was even colder the day before and this was the talk of the week…not only were athletes talking about it but so was the local media.  As a matter of fact, race officials lifted the ban on neoprene swim caps (to be worn under the official race caps we all wear) and booties.  So it was a little troubling, but you can’t do an Ironman without the swim…so I/we just had to suck it up.  Thankfully the Iron God’s were smiling on us because by race morning the water heated up to a balmy 59 degrees.  Still pretty cold, but bearable.  As always, my biggest concern on race morning was getting my blood sugar high enough pre-swim that it would stay high enough to get me through the swim.  This being another 2 loop swim allowed me to have a race volunteer waiting on the beach with my glucose meter and two small bottles of liquid glucose so I could test after loop #1 (thanks Vonnie)  When the race started my blood sugar was 210, after the first loop it was 168.  I downed the two bottles of glucose (30 grams of carbs) and began loop #2.  After the 1 hour 16 minute swim, my blood sugar was 180…perfect.  I entered the change tent for a quick change into my bike gear, downed a gel and jumped on the bike.

The bike is the most critical part of the day from a nutrition and blood sugar perspective.  My nutrition plan, one that is practiced over and over and you DO NOT deviate from on race day, had me taking in carbs every 20 minutes…about 25-30 grams each time.  Normally I will see a slight rise in blood sugar in the early part of the bike, sometimes as high as 250, but then I normally settle in between 150 - 200.  The goal here is to get enough nutrition to bike for 6 hours, but you are also “filling the tank” for the marathon.  At the first 20 minute interval, I tested my blood and was 290…a little high but I didn’t panic.  I took in some carbs and kept peddling.  20 minutes later I tested and my BG was 330…uh oh!  I was faced with the dilemma of skipping a “meal” (if you can call what I eat every 20 minutes on the bike a “meal”) or giving myself a little insulin to bring my BG down.  The problem with the latter is that I never have to give myself insulin during long training rides and races.  Also, there is no real precedent, so I didn’t know how much to give and too much could cause my BG to crash.  Not wanting to deviate from my nutrition plan I gave myself a very small bolus of 1/2 unit.  At the top of the hour when it was time to test and eat again, my BG was 390.  Now real panic set in…and I got the feeling that is was going to be a long day.  Again not wanting to skip a meal I gave myself 1 more unit of insulin.  To put things in perspective, if I needed to correct a 390 with insulin while I was at rest (not going 20 mph on a bike) I would probably need about 3 units of insulin.  The next 20 minute interval had me at 230, so I felt a little better, but still feared that I gave myself too much insulin.  At the 2 hour mark I had real reason for panic…my BG was 100!  Way too low, especially since I had about 4 hours of biking to do before the marathon.  The real problem is that since my nutrition plan is designed to MAINTAIN my blood sugar, not raise it…I was not prepared for this new challenge.  The only thing I could do to raise my BG was start taking in A LOT of Gatorade at aid stations.  I honestly didn’t think I would be able to bring my sugar up enough and was prepared for at very least having to take about an hour rest to bring my sugar up, or worst case scenario not being able to finish.  Low and behold I was able to keep my sugar in the 140-150 range for the remainder of the bike…not as high as I would like but enough to start running.

Now to the run…26.2 miles.  With a 1:16 swim and a 6:00 bike, I was realistically in reach of beating my PR of 11:20.  I was thrilled about this not only because of the issues I was having on the bike, but because the course at Coeur d’ Alene is much tougher than Florida where I did my PR (personal record).  I felt very strong on the run and was clipping off sub 9:00 minute miles for the first few miles.  I was able to settle in to a good rhythm and my blood sugar settled in at about 150.  At mile 8 I reached back into my fanny pack to grab my glucoese meter and it wasn’t there…must have fallen out and I didn’t hear it hit the ground (although hearing it smash on the ground wouldn’t have helped much)  “Houston, we have a problem!”  The only other meter I had on the course was sitting in the bento box on my bike.  I decided to once again deviate from my nutrition plan and I turned off my pump…figuring I would error on the high side if anything.  I also started drinking Gatorade and cola at EVERY aid station.  Usually I stick to water.  Running blind like this, not knowing what my blood sugar is, is unsettling.  My legs felt like I could have pushed it, certainly capable of beating 11:20, but I opted to stick to the pace I was running.  At mile 17 there was an ambulance at the aid station, I had a medic test my blood and it was 160 ish…not too bad.  I kept the same pace and was back at the same aid station on the way back at mile 24.5.  The medic who was at the ambulance this time could not find the glucose meter, so this “pit-stop” took 5 minutes.  My blood sugar was 100, definitely low but when you are 1 mile out from crossing that finish line…enough said. 

I kicked it into high gear, and when I made the turn onto Sherman Ave. for the 1/4 mile or so stretch to the finish (in my opinion the coolest finish chute I have seen) and could see the finish line and hear Mike Reilly bringing people in…I could hardly contain my emotions.  From a fitness perspective I felt amazing - legs felt great, very little to no nausea, etc…but with all the blood sugar issues I had all day, at one point not knowing if  I was going to finish…this was the most excited I have been yet to finish a race.  I was actually sprinting the last 1/4 mile until I got too close to the guy in front of me.  You don’t want to share the finish with anyone so to slow down I started doing a serpentine, high fiving spectators on both sides of the barriers. 

Crossing the finish line at an Ironman (now my third time) is like no other feeling in the world.  There is so much hard work and sacrifice that goes into training for this race.  Also, to know that regardless of your fitness level something like a bad nutrition plan could end your day is certainly troubling.  And in my case - knowing that I nailed my training and nailed my nutrition…but diabetes related issues almost ended my day, made for a very proud and emotional finish!!!  Also, if you read my BLOG last week, you would realize that I hit all three of my race goals: 1) Finishing  2) Sub 12 hours 3) Avoiding the medical tent (I did go to the medical tent to test my blood after the race, but that doesn’t count

Stay tuned for more great stories from Ironman Coeur d’ Alene 2008…and anyone wondering how my friend Lt. Colonel Chris De Los Santos did in his first Ironman, you will just have to wait.

 IRON Andy

Goal setting time again…

First off, Happy Fathers Day to all the Dad’s out there.  Next, with Ironman Coeur d’ Alene (Idaho) now 5 days away it’s time for me to throw some goals out there.  When I make my goals public it provides me with a little self-induced peer pressure.  So here they are:

Goal #1 - This Sunday my first goal is to finish the race.  That might seem like an easy one, but with any Ironman it is never a foregone conclusion that ANYONE will finish…anything can happen out there and crossing the finish line in 17 hours or less is always an amazing accomplishment.

Goal #2 - My last and best Ironman time to date is 11:20.  I did that last November at Ironman Florida.  I would like to say my goal is to improve upon that time but, just like finishing is never a given, you can’t expect to improve your time at each successive race.  All the IM courses are different, some harder than others.  You also have to consider the “elements” on race day - the heat, is it raining, is the water choppy, etc.  With that being said, the course in Idaho will be tougher than the course in Florida.  The watery should be rougher, the bike course will have more hills (Florida was flat) and the run course will be more challenging (Florida was flatter than flat).  SO…My goal is to be under 12 hours…but if I am having a good day and the 11:20 mark is in sight…I will try my best to beat that time.

Goal #3 - To avoid the medical tent.  This may also seem like an obvious one, but it seems after each of the races I have done (full iron and half iron) more times than not I am in the medical tent.  This has never been diabetes related but always hydration related.  “Nailing” just the right amount of hydration for a race of this length is a challenge.  Couple that with the elements of the day and how hard I push myself…dehydration to some degree always seems to be a factor. 

So, finish the race, finish under 12 hours, and avoid the medical tent…seems easy enough!  You can follow this Sunday’s race at www.ironmanlive.com using the athlete tracker.  Simply search for the Ironmna Coeur d’ Alene race and type in my name - Andy Holder.

Wish me luck - IRON Andy

Ironman Margaritaville

I have no idea, really, as to what kind of shape Jimmy Buffet is in.  For all I know he may be  training for Ironman 70.3 in St. Croix.  But I use him as an example because Jimmy Buffet has made his fame singing about the lifestyle I just witnessed for the past few days…and it was painful to “witness.”

My wife and I just returned from four days in Costa Rica on a trip with her company.  The timing of this trip has positives and negatives.  The positive was it afforded me the opportunity to get a few open water/wetsuit swims in prior to my race.  This is a welcome and necessary diversion from lap swimming in the YMCA pool.   I was also able to relax (something that doesn’t happen too often) and spend some time visualizing the race and getting mentally prepared.  The negative to the timing of the trip was that I watched a lot of people do what you do when you are in paradise, do what Jimmy Buffet is always singing about…swim up to a bar and drink Corona, Pina Colada’s, Mango Tango’s and Marguerita’s…all very tasty and refreshing, but not exactly on the menu for a person two weeks out from an Ironman.  I often have people ask me what difference would a few drinks make in a race that is weeks away.  Physically, probably no difference at all.  But mentally, for me it could mean all the difference in the world.  When I go in to a race like an Ironman, I am pretty confident that my training has been sufficient and I will have the lungs and the legs to get to the finish line.  But there are always curve balls that get thrown at you, especially when you have diabetes.  The only way to handle these curves balls is to have the mental toughness to handle anything…even things you were not expecting.  This is the essence of Ironman!  I will be glad I passed up on the cocktails when I am digging deep within myself for some mental toughness next week…because I have to tell you, passing up a Pina Colada or a Marguerita in a beautiful pool when it’s 90 degrees out and there is Reggae music playing in the background…takes a great deal of discipline and mental toughness.  I doubt Jimmy Buffet could ever do that

IRON Andy

Phoenix Magazine

If any of my BLOG readers live in, or are traveling through the Phoenix area this month…pick up a copy of Phoenix Magazine - I am in the June issue!  Other than that, I just completed my last long training run (3 1/2 hours) and have one last long bike (6 hours) before I begin my three week taper leading up to Ironman Coeur d’ Alene.  My body is looking forward to “winding down.”  Happy June!

IRON Andy

If only I could fly, volume #2

I must make an editorial comment to my BLOG from yesterday.  No sooner than 5 minutes after I posted the BLOG yesterday I sat down to have dinner with my wife and two sons.  Once again I heard the comparison to Spiderman in terms of what my 5 year old could do and what my 3 1/2 year old could do…fortunately they were not comparing me to Spiderman.  “Little brother” was telling “big brother” that he could not do something but of course Spiderman could…at which time “big brother” said, that doesn’t make any sense because Spiderman is just a cartoon!  Happy Day…maybe he does know the difference between real strength and cartoon strength.  But that still doesn’t change the fact that I can’t fly.  This morning I gave them each their very own Iron Andy coloring book, so Daddy’s is a hero again…at least for a few hours.

IRON Andy

If only I could fly!

As a general rule of thumb my two sons compare strength to what Spiderman can do. In other words, if the topic of “how strong Daddy is” ever comes up around my house I am usually compared to Spiderman…and in most cases I lose that battle.  That’s OK, I have come to accept the fact  they cannot yet make the distinction between real strength and cartoon strength.  However, the other day my wife was trying to lift something that was too heavy for her.  She said, “I’ll ask Daddy to lift it, he’s an Ironman and can do anything” (tongue in cheek of course).  Well, you would think that everything I have accomplished over the past two years would carry some weight in the eyes of my sons…I mean, there is now an Iron Andy coloring book for Pete’s sake… how many of their classmates can make that claim about their Dad?  Well, when my wife said “Daddy can do anything, he’s an Ironman,” my five year old son said, and I quote “Yeah, but he can’t fly!”  Can you belive that?  I guess teaching myself to fly can’t be any harder than teaching myself to swim and thankfully I have yet to be compared to Aquaman. 

So I have yet another challenge to overcome in order to keep pace with the “Justice League.”  If these two kids only knew what I go through to make them proud of their Dad :)

IRON Andy

The last long one…

Yesterday’s rain has forced me to push my last long pre-Ironman workout to today…so if anyone needs to reach me during the next 7-8 hours I’ll be busy riding (6 1/2 hours) then running (1 hour)…then hopefully going to bed early :)  Sorry for the short BLOG this week.

 IRON Andy

Fifth Third Bank - River Bank Run

This past weekend I was in Grand Rapids Michigan racing in the Fifth Third River Bank Run - 25k (that’s 15 1/2 miles for those of you who are “Metric System Challenged”)  The trip started Wednesday evening with a speaking engagement for a diabetes support group.  Then on Friday morning I appeared on an NPR radio show. 

I enjoyed the race, weather was beautiful although a little cold in the morning.  I ran hard, averaging about a 7:30 min/mile with a finishing time of 1:57.  At mile 9 I dropped my blood glucose monitor and it shattered on the ground, so I was not able to test my blood for the last 6 miles.  As it turned out this was not an issue…thankfully!  I was joined in the race by colleagues from AmerisourceBergen - Andy, Brian and Brian’s son (who won his age group and came in 10th place overall.)  Thanks guys for representing Team Living Without Limits.

This week will be my highest volume training week leading up to Ironman Coeur d’ Alene.  My long workouts are a 3 hour run today and a 7 hour bike/1 hour run brick later in the week.  It certainly is “crunch time.”

Talk to you next week - IRON Andy