Twilight Time!

Howdy from Beaufurt, SC:

We are hanging out in the marshland these days, at a beautiful house compliments of Mr. Mike! Last check it was time for the crits. We cam in with a solid team, great staff, and motivated to get some results. First on the block for me was an MRA (MRI of the arteries) to see what is going on with my leg. I got that out of the way on Wednesday, then an easy cruise on Thursday, same on Friday in good ole Athens, GA! It really was great to be back, and good to see a lot of old friends in advance of Twilight.

Friday night we had dinner with the Team Type 1 ladies team, who were also motivated for some good results. Saturday am was an easy ride, and then some relaxation in prep for the race. The writer of my book (due out next June) John Hanc came into town to experience the race scene, and work on the outline so we can get the story straight. It was a pretty hectic day. With the race slated for 9pm, we went to get the last meal at 5:30, which was going to be my last shot of rapid until after the race. I did my 3 units for the All Star breakfast at Wafflehouse (usually 5) and was hoping to be sitting at 130 or so after the meal. Low (no pun intended) and behold I had a bit too much basal, and the metabolism was cooking, which kept me at about 90 after the meal. Then 2hrs before I made an attempt to get the blood sugar up, but no response. 45 minutes before I ate some more, and then at 8:30 I was sitting at 171 and flat lined on the FreeStyle Navigator. At 9pm I was sitting in the start house and adrenaline was pumping. If the race would have gone off at 9pm, or even 9:15, BS would have been between 200-220, but at 9:30 I was 225 going straight up. 260 on the start line. Did I eat too much? Was the adrenaline from 40,000 screaming fans and a front row start jacking me up? Who knows, and at that point who cares. All I could do was focus on the race, and know that I would not be going hypo. The gun went off, and it was madness. Full gas from the go, and I just stayed in the top 5, top 10 hoping to have a functional leg. The race began to get pretty hard, and the leg slowly died. About 10 laps in I was having trouble maintaining position, and jumping out of each turn with my right leg only. If the race would have eased up for a bit, I may have got through it, but that doesn’t happen at twilight, so I pulled the plug. I was pretty bummed, as this is practically a hometown race, and lots of friends were out watching, but that’s life. I got to see the end of the race, and 3 guys had snuck off the front. Ken Hanson and Aldo looked good, and came in 1-2 in the field sprint for 4th and 5th overall, which ain’t bad for Twilight. Followed this with a celebration on the town, and time to think about Roswell.

Also, big congrats to the Ladies, who animated the race with many attacks, and Jen McCrae who took 3rd place!!

Day 2, we did a quick ride in the morning, then drive home, and off to the race. John and I spent some time together, as did my mom and I. Then it was race time. Today, I had backed off the basal a bit, and got my meal about 3hrs in advance. 1hr before I was sitting at 90, but took a less drastic approach to raise the BS today. 20 minutes before I was at 170, and then on the start line I was 206 and flat, when the gun went off. Roswell is a completely different race. I knew to have a chance to help the team, I had to make it through the numbness. Vassili told me to chill for the first half, and then try to help. So for 40 minutes, I sat at or near the back, conserving as much as possible. Took in 1 gel 20 minutes in, and drank some sugar drink, and water. 40 minutes in there was a lull in the race, and I hopped up to the top 10, which was a tough run. It was much tougher to fight for position, and jump out of the turns on this one. I started losing power in my left leg, and began to go into survival mode. Ken and Aldo were flying out there, and Timmy Hargrave looked decent in a crit. So I drifted back to the back, and used the “Jason Snow” method to get through the race. With about 5 laps to go, I started to move up, and Vassili was telling us to try and win the sprint. There were 5 off the front, and with 2 to go, I snuck to the front, and thought I would give it a good drag for half a lap, to help Ken/Aldo, but then I ended up with a small gap. I went about as hard as I could for .5 a lap, and with .5 a lap to go got caught, and Mad Man Ken Hanson took over. He gave Aldo a leadout through the last turn, and Aldo blasted the sprint to take 6th.With the race over, I checked the Navigator, and was 170 headed straight down. Perfect BS for the race… The team is looking good, and if we can keep it together to the line, we have good shot at taking a W this week. Jen McCrae took 3rd again, and Monique and Morgan began to show the goods in the race. I did not get to see it, but I heard that the ladies kept the pressure on all day.
Out west Fabio spent many hours in the breaks, which helped to set up Darren Lill for the Win in Vuelta de Bisbee! Congrats guys!

I decided to come try and race this week, in hopes of lending a hand to the team. A big thanks to our Swanny: Sergey who makes everything off the bike perfect, and also to our mechanic Alex Banyay. He rocks the house, and our bikes have been flawless every time he touches em!
Bike racing and diabetes are very similar in that we are very dependent on our team around us to help make us succeed. If we have the right tools, we have a chance. Also, winning 2 race here will be a success, but that also means we will lose 5 races. After the defeats, if we learn, and do it better next time, then it was a lesson, not a loss… On the bike side we have Orbea bikes, Shimano parts/wheels, director, mechanic, souigneur which are all necessary for success. On the diabetes side we have sanofi-aventis, Navigator, Omni-Pod (for some,) dex4, endo, educator, and for each game we all depend on our family and friends to support us. When one is going good for me, the other typically is too.

Off to grab a nap, and get ready for the race tonight. Thanks for all the comments, and well wishes! Also, thanks TJ for making it out to watch!
Our schedule is on the blog off www.teamtype1.org so please come meet us if you can!

Have a great day, and thanks for reading

Phil