So since I have returned from camp I have been without the FreeStyle Navigator. If you are unaware the Navigator is a continuous glucose monitor that lasts for 5 days. It measures your glucose levels constantly and sends the reading to a little monitor that you can easily carry with you on training rides or doing whatever you do. For me, it has been one of the most helpful training tools that we have been allowed to use with being on Team Type 1. But because of technically difficulties with insurance companies I have been left without sensors. Most do not cover such lavish diabetes management tools which is truly stupid in my opinion. In the long run it can help prevent complications!!! So when they are chopping off my foot & paying to get me a really nice seeing eye dog I'm totally pulling the, "I told you so" card! Well honestly, by that time they will probably have dropped me as a customer & then I'll just be without insurance and really bitter...
Any how hopefully Abbott, the makers of the FreeStlye Navigator hook us up soon with sensors. With all the training I have been doing and spending all last night not being able to sleep because I kept having to eat Dex 4 glucose after spending yesterday in the mountains, I realize without it what a great training tool it is on and off the bike!
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Training Time!
So just returned from the 2009 Team Type 1 training camp out in Santa Barbara & Buellton, CA area. It was a blast. The first photo is the view from our hotel balcony. We were really spoiled!
Next is a picture by Team Sports photographer Marco Quezada.
The first 3 days of camp were full on with sponsor commitments. We did a whole day of media training followed by a few days of video & photo shoots. It was exhausting! If only shammy time really was training time.. because I would seriously have three 9 hr days in a row! It was a lot of riding back & forth, stop & go. The next photo is a view of the beach where we had our last photo shoot... I love that view.
The next photo is a bit blurry. (I forgot my digital camera and was left with my blackberry to document the trip) It is of the 2009 kit. Personally, I think they make us look like Buzz Lightyear which is pretty rad. To infinity & beyond!
After the first few days of camp that consisted of all the meetings & what not it was actually time to start training. I was absolutely creaking the first few rides with the team. I guess long days of standing around, being not well rested & eating lots of food that tasted good but not good for you was not the best way to prepare. It was so great to meet all the girls finally & get to see everyone in action. It was pretty impressive to see how strong everyone is. I really think it's going to be a great year of racing. I know that I am going to be learning heaps with all the experience of the girls on the team.
After the 2nd day of training a few of the riders were invited to a school in Solvang, CA to speak to students about the team & what it is like being a bicycle racer. The host cities of the TOC are doing a program where they teach the children in school about bicycle safety and invite some of the teams to come visit. It was really fun. I love hanging around kids. They always say the funniest things & are so creative. After our presentation we signed Amgen Tour of California pamphlets for all the kids. I loved Solvang! You can really tell everyone in the community is very excited about having an event like the tour coming through. A family even invited the womens team to there home one night during camp where we had a traditional danish dinner of ableskivers. They are basically pancake puff balls that tasted like sugary goodness! I know it's hard to spot me because the lack of height difference, but here is a photo...
So after a few hard days of riding we were all lucky enough get massages by our new soigneur Avery May. She is awesome! This winter she went to Thailand & learned Thai massage. It's real crazy.. she uses her feet a lot. At first I was like, "whoa nelly!" but it works really well & felt great.
So I am back in Athens where it's a bit chilly & rainy... tad bit of a change from the beautiful weather in CA.. but I am focused & ready to start buckling down & preparing for the season. It's going to be a long year of learning lots!!
Saturday, January 17, 2009
While I was out on a 2.5hr training ride I realized I am not meant to do certain things in life. Those things include...
- doing training routes/races where the words "hill, mountain, or climb" are used in the description
- eating heaps of cake
- training on days where the high is 30 degrees
Upon my arrival back home, I pealed the layers of lycra off as quickly as possible & jumped into the shower. My ice cold feet started singing in pain as they were doused in hot water.. it was then I realized I need to HTFU.. I used to think I was somewhat tough & good at suffering... Nope. Florida sure did spoil me! Although the weather has taken a turn for the worse the last few days I am truly enjoying Athens. The training is good, the people are nice.
I sure am looking forward to being in Santa Barbara on Thursday though... Pictures from camp to follow :)
- doing training routes/races where the words "hill, mountain, or climb" are used in the description
- eating heaps of cake
- training on days where the high is 30 degrees
Upon my arrival back home, I pealed the layers of lycra off as quickly as possible & jumped into the shower. My ice cold feet started singing in pain as they were doused in hot water.. it was then I realized I need to HTFU.. I used to think I was somewhat tough & good at suffering... Nope. Florida sure did spoil me! Although the weather has taken a turn for the worse the last few days I am truly enjoying Athens. The training is good, the people are nice.
I sure am looking forward to being in Santa Barbara on Thursday though... Pictures from camp to follow :)
Friday, January 2, 2009
Team Type 1 2009
Happy New Year! The TT1 website is currently evolving...
It's a work in progress but checkout a few of the new links on the webpage. Take note of the Triteam, TT2 & the WOMENS PRO TEAM :)
www.teamtype1.org
It's a work in progress but checkout a few of the new links on the webpage. Take note of the Triteam, TT2 & the WOMENS PRO TEAM :)
www.teamtype1.org
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Monthly Update
Okay.. I have figured out my 2009 New Year's Resolution.. update my blog more than once every 5 weeks! I really should share more about training and management because lately I have had a lot of inquires about how I do it.
What's been going on...
Well I just returned from 8 days of warm & sunny training in Southern California. Oh boy was I spoiled being able to ride in that weather! I stayed 25 miles Northeast of San Diego in Poway, CA. A little town in the mountains. Only about 50 min ride to the coast & 5 min's from some climbs.
Two of Team Type 1's sponsors were nice enough to put me up for the duration in exchange for a little bit of work. No a bad deal! Dex 4, rapid acting glucose that raises your bloodsugar quickly & Sanofi Aventis, the makers of Apidra & Lantus insulin's were really great out there! For Sanofi, I did an afternoon program at the Scripps Hospital in La Jolla, CA where I met with physicians and patients and told them about TT1 & being an athlete with Type 1. For Dex 4, I went to the Take Control of Your Diabetes (TCOYD) in San Diego, CA where it was a big expo & conference for physicians & patients about being more proactive in diabetes management. It was mostly Type 2 diabetics (not a surprise since of the 24 million Americans with Diabetes, 3 million have Type 1 & the rest Type 2/Gestational) that I met. It was a great time and hopefully inspired some Type 2's to get out and be more active.
I just finished off my first block of base and enjoyed an easy week of training for the Thanksgiving Holiday. It's good to be back training lots again. I am always so surprised by how much easier management is. And it's always surprising how much quicker & better insulin works once you get the metabolism running.
My mom came up to Atlanta and hung out for a few days. We went to the Ritz on Thanksgiving evening for dinner. The meal was fantastic and it was a great way to spend the night! We went out on "black Friday" and did a bit of shopping. It actually wasn't too bad crowd wise. I got a new digital camera that I have been doing my best to put to work. That afternoon we drove to Athens to check out a place I am renting starting at the end of December and to attend a wedding. It was fun & I was happy to be able to show my mom Athens & get her approval.. mother's know best. Then Saturday we went to the Atlanta Symphony for a great program where they combined the symphony & cirque du soleil. It was so cool! I love having my mom in town to go do things like that with.
Yeah so I didn't last long in Atlanta. It was fun for the off season & when I wasn't really training. But now that I am getting back on the boat, it's not really my scene. Some people don't mind always having a car driving by every minute & always hearing a car engine in the distance, but I do. One thing I miss about Tallahassee is the fact that I could be out on some quite road in 20 minutes and not hear or see a car for hours. I also miss the plethora of dirt roads all over North Florida/ Southern Georgia. I am the kind of person that likes the feeling of being in the middle of nowhere and you feel as if you are exploring roads no one has ever seen. Every time I go out for a training ride it takes like 50 min to get out onto a somewhat quite road and all the drivers are psycho here. I've decided to give Athens a go. It reminds me more of Tallahassee and the training will be more my deal I think. It's also close enough to Atlanta so that if I want to come into the city, (for something like the Symphony again!) it's an hour and 15 min away. Only thing that's gonna suck is having to make the drive to the airport.. eh I figure it'll be worth the trade off for some quite riding.
Well y'all, it's been real. Hope to report good things from Athens soon!!
What's been going on...
Well I just returned from 8 days of warm & sunny training in Southern California. Oh boy was I spoiled being able to ride in that weather! I stayed 25 miles Northeast of San Diego in Poway, CA. A little town in the mountains. Only about 50 min ride to the coast & 5 min's from some climbs.
Two of Team Type 1's sponsors were nice enough to put me up for the duration in exchange for a little bit of work. No a bad deal! Dex 4, rapid acting glucose that raises your bloodsugar quickly & Sanofi Aventis, the makers of Apidra & Lantus insulin's were really great out there! For Sanofi, I did an afternoon program at the Scripps Hospital in La Jolla, CA where I met with physicians and patients and told them about TT1 & being an athlete with Type 1. For Dex 4, I went to the Take Control of Your Diabetes (TCOYD) in San Diego, CA where it was a big expo & conference for physicians & patients about being more proactive in diabetes management. It was mostly Type 2 diabetics (not a surprise since of the 24 million Americans with Diabetes, 3 million have Type 1 & the rest Type 2/Gestational) that I met. It was a great time and hopefully inspired some Type 2's to get out and be more active.
I just finished off my first block of base and enjoyed an easy week of training for the Thanksgiving Holiday. It's good to be back training lots again. I am always so surprised by how much easier management is. And it's always surprising how much quicker & better insulin works once you get the metabolism running.
My mom came up to Atlanta and hung out for a few days. We went to the Ritz on Thanksgiving evening for dinner. The meal was fantastic and it was a great way to spend the night! We went out on "black Friday" and did a bit of shopping. It actually wasn't too bad crowd wise. I got a new digital camera that I have been doing my best to put to work. That afternoon we drove to Athens to check out a place I am renting starting at the end of December and to attend a wedding. It was fun & I was happy to be able to show my mom Athens & get her approval.. mother's know best. Then Saturday we went to the Atlanta Symphony for a great program where they combined the symphony & cirque du soleil. It was so cool! I love having my mom in town to go do things like that with.
Yeah so I didn't last long in Atlanta. It was fun for the off season & when I wasn't really training. But now that I am getting back on the boat, it's not really my scene. Some people don't mind always having a car driving by every minute & always hearing a car engine in the distance, but I do. One thing I miss about Tallahassee is the fact that I could be out on some quite road in 20 minutes and not hear or see a car for hours. I also miss the plethora of dirt roads all over North Florida/ Southern Georgia. I am the kind of person that likes the feeling of being in the middle of nowhere and you feel as if you are exploring roads no one has ever seen. Every time I go out for a training ride it takes like 50 min to get out onto a somewhat quite road and all the drivers are psycho here. I've decided to give Athens a go. It reminds me more of Tallahassee and the training will be more my deal I think. It's also close enough to Atlanta so that if I want to come into the city, (for something like the Symphony again!) it's an hour and 15 min away. Only thing that's gonna suck is having to make the drive to the airport.. eh I figure it'll be worth the trade off for some quite riding.
Well y'all, it's been real. Hope to report good things from Athens soon!!
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Hey-o
So it's the time of year for me when motivation is hard to come by. I have been enjoying the time away from the bike greatly. So much so I was starting to get nervous whether or not I would be able to find motivation to start training properly for 2009. The last few days though I have been starting to get a little more anxious, thinking about training & racing next year. Not thinking about it enough to really give me that jolt to get on the bike and pull out a 24 HR week or anything, but enough to start wrapping my head around preparing for the 2009 season.
This morning I however received this...
http://web.diabetes.org/video/ADA_Patton_Working_SequenceAC_10_13_08.mov
It is a video the ADA Tour de Cure did on me a few months back. At the time when I did this interview, training & racing were going really well. I was hungry to be on the bike & work my butt off. I watched the video this morning, remembering how motivated I was at this time & it really gave me a good bit of motivation for next season.
The ADA informed me that they plan to make tons of copies of the DVD & send it to children's camps & endos... good stuff, yall!
This morning I however received this...
http://web.diabetes.org/video/ADA_Patton_Working_SequenceAC_10_13_08.mov
It is a video the ADA Tour de Cure did on me a few months back. At the time when I did this interview, training & racing were going really well. I was hungry to be on the bike & work my butt off. I watched the video this morning, remembering how motivated I was at this time & it really gave me a good bit of motivation for next season.
The ADA informed me that they plan to make tons of copies of the DVD & send it to children's camps & endos... good stuff, yall!
Saturday, September 27, 2008
2008.. great or hate?
Well I am gonna go ahead and write a reflection of the 2008 racing season for me...
Moments of hate in 2008 include: Screwing up bloodsugars before races. Starting the season not having a pre & post race routine for managing my diabetes well. Doing 5 hr training rides in July & August because I was trying to train through issues instead of dealing with them, therefore completely trashing myself for the rest of the year. I started a bad habit of training a bunch when I am stressed, which just makes things worse. Being a baby & pouting over riding like crap. Getting dropped from races. Breaking my collar bones 3 times. Knocking out my teeth. Getting a scar on my face. Going hypo at the start of the NVGP road race therefore dropping out with in 20 minutes of the start because I couldn't pedal straight. Doing almost 40 athlete days, some of which were fun while others were just tiring.
Moments of great in 2008 include: Going to my first training camp in California & having a blast. Getting to train in Santa Barbara and doing my first "real" climb (maybe that should be under the hate list...) Hanging with my team mates at races. Making friends at races. Upgrading to a cat 2. Doing my first NRC race. Getting on the podium with Monique at Kelly Cup. Doing Speed Week. Getting to ride with a team mate and actually making a bit of money! Getting to ride & race my bike all over the USA. Getting a bunch of cool tools to manage my diabetes (woo, NAVIGATOR!). Learning how to better manage my bloodsugars pre & post racing and training. Getting a bunch of cool stuff from sponsors that make me look good (IE oakley sunglasses, tall socks, zipp wheels). Getting my a1c to 6.3. Being able to inspire other type 1's to manage the disease proactively & overcome any challenges they may face. Not dying after I was hit by a car & still able to race this year. Moving to Atlanta where the training is better & more folks ride. Getting a king sized bed (okay that really doesn't have much to do with training/racing/ or diabetes.. but it's for sure a highlight of the year thus far!)
Overall this year was pretty good. Tough, but good. Looking forward to next year and improving on managing my diabetes & racing stronger. Can't give up too much information at the moment but let's just say that TT1 is expanding for 2009 & it will include a women's pro squad :D...
Catch yall later!
Moments of hate in 2008 include: Screwing up bloodsugars before races. Starting the season not having a pre & post race routine for managing my diabetes well. Doing 5 hr training rides in July & August because I was trying to train through issues instead of dealing with them, therefore completely trashing myself for the rest of the year. I started a bad habit of training a bunch when I am stressed, which just makes things worse. Being a baby & pouting over riding like crap. Getting dropped from races. Breaking my collar bones 3 times. Knocking out my teeth. Getting a scar on my face. Going hypo at the start of the NVGP road race therefore dropping out with in 20 minutes of the start because I couldn't pedal straight. Doing almost 40 athlete days, some of which were fun while others were just tiring.
Moments of great in 2008 include: Going to my first training camp in California & having a blast. Getting to train in Santa Barbara and doing my first "real" climb (maybe that should be under the hate list...) Hanging with my team mates at races. Making friends at races. Upgrading to a cat 2. Doing my first NRC race. Getting on the podium with Monique at Kelly Cup. Doing Speed Week. Getting to ride with a team mate and actually making a bit of money! Getting to ride & race my bike all over the USA. Getting a bunch of cool tools to manage my diabetes (woo, NAVIGATOR!). Learning how to better manage my bloodsugars pre & post racing and training. Getting a bunch of cool stuff from sponsors that make me look good (IE oakley sunglasses, tall socks, zipp wheels). Getting my a1c to 6.3. Being able to inspire other type 1's to manage the disease proactively & overcome any challenges they may face. Not dying after I was hit by a car & still able to race this year. Moving to Atlanta where the training is better & more folks ride. Getting a king sized bed (okay that really doesn't have much to do with training/racing/ or diabetes.. but it's for sure a highlight of the year thus far!)
Overall this year was pretty good. Tough, but good. Looking forward to next year and improving on managing my diabetes & racing stronger. Can't give up too much information at the moment but let's just say that TT1 is expanding for 2009 & it will include a women's pro squad :D...
Catch yall later!
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