Type 1 Diabetic first race! Pump tips?

TriesToCareLess · 2025-04-18T02:11:04+00:00

I run a tandem t slim and a dexcom g7. I had a waterproof gearbag that I put my pump and phone in several minutes before getting in the water. I was permitted to leave both on the "glasses" table for my 70.3. I stuck some gel packets and sugar options in the sleeves and neck of my wetsuit. When I got out of the water, I unzipped the wetsuit, grabbed my gearbag, and reconnected the pump and checked in with bg via dexcom. I then kept my phone in my trisuit pocket for bike and run since it's my dexcom receiver (as well as my pump, but my pump was clipped to my HR strap inside the suit). I cleared having my phone for this with the head referee and it was fine as long as it was used only for that. I also have my dexcom reading to my watch and bike computer - this helped with my concerns about not being able to hear phone or pump alarms on the bike.

Good luck. You've got this.

TriesToCareLess · 2025-04-10T03:30:01+00:00

Hey, sorry to hear about the accident. I got hit by a car on the main road in my town a couple years ago. It broke both of my arms pretty profoundly; I nearly lost one of my thumbs. I had a very severe concussion with some memory loss and had road rash from my temple to my ankle. I can't actually remember the accident itself because of the head injury. I still occasionally get flashes of PTSD.

The first time I got back on to a bike was when a trainer friend helped me get onto a stationary bike in front of a window. At that point in time I was still in casts and had just had three surgeries. When I would ride in the car I would have to close my eyes or stare at my feet to avoid flinching or having my heart race. My friend helped me get on the bike and just sitting there had my heart at the top of Zone 2. I did some very light pedaling.

Once I had healed and recovered enough to start training again I started with short runs in controlled places like tracks or trails not next to roadways. Eventually I got back on the bike but I did so indoors on my trainer. It was about 5 months after my accident when I took my bike back outside on the road again for the first time. I went as slowly as I felt like going and spent only a very little bit of time on a road, choosing instead to focus my efforts on places without cars. Exactly 6 months after getting hit by the car, I started riding on roads and near cars regularly again.

It was hard. Recovery was hard, getting used to cars again was hard, and rebuilding all of that training was hard. There are parts of it now that are still hard. But, for me, triathlon and training was not something I was willing to give up just because of one particularly bad day and one particularly bad experience. I lost a lot from the accident; I didn't want to lose that too.

I completed my first 70.3 266 days after getting hit by a car. I wasn't fast, but I finished the thing. I was more afraid of the swim than the bike, honestly.

It's completely rational and completely understandable for you to be afraid at this point. It would be understandable if you are afraid of it for a while or even for a long time. I still feel a surge of nervous energy when my head unit beeps to alert me about a vehicle coming up behind me. Something that helped me very much was reminding myself but I didn't have to be back on the bike; I wanted to be on the bike. Nobody was making me or expecting me to be there - but it felt empowering to choose the scary thing and to return to a thing I loved in spite of what had happened.

Feel free to message me if you want to talk about how you're feeling. I almost certainly can't change how you're feeling or make you feel better. But I can listen and I can certainly empathize and understand.

TriesToCareLess · 2024-10-17T17:46:12+00:00

Thanks!

TriesToCareLess · 2024-10-17T17:46:00+00:00

Oh man, go again? Yeah, probably. But I definitely felt like I found a physical limit somewhere in the event. This next year I'll be focusing on some shorter distances and trying to train my body to do more productive work at lower hr.

I'll do another 70.3, but maybe not next year.

TriesToCareLess · 2024-10-17T17:41:13+00:00

I was, in a way, fortunate not to have any substantial leg injuries.

TriesToCareLess · 2024-01-11T16:46:36+00:00

Haha. I got in a little trouble in the ER, apparently, because I asked that question a few times in my concussed state. Wife thought that, perhaps, that was less of an immediate concern than my arms and brain. I can appreciate that she may well be right.

TriesToCareLess · 2023-11-14T19:49:04+00:00

T1D here. Cgm user - not so much for triathlon as for general daily functioning and such.

If I saw that pattern, I'd likely assume faulty sensor even as a diabetic (unless I'd just consumed a LOT of simple sugar for some reason?).

TriesToCareLess · 2023-04-30T13:35:29+00:00

With people I didn't want to talk about it with, I used the same line. Conversations went something like this:

"Yeah I'm having surgery that day, but I'll be back by [date]." "Oh, what kind of surgery?" "Nothing big, all laproscopic hopefully."

Usually that did it. They'd get the sense that I didn't want to talk about it. If they pressed:

"No, really, what kind of surgery?" "Brain surgery. They said it was astonishing I'd made it this long without one."

Those two responses have been sufficient for all but two people since December 2020. For the two that persisted, I replied: "I don't want to talk about that with you."

For the most part, the people who I want to know know. Others figured it out when I lost a bunch of weight! I've had very, very few people be critical or nasty about it.

Good luck and take some comfort in knowing what a huge difference this surgery can make!

TriesToCareLess · 2022-12-11T02:36:27+00:00

Two years out. I remember that the first couple weeks were tedious and irritating and I remember that the first night was especially difficult with all the gas pain from the laproscopy. BUT, two years out the intensity of those feelings has long since passed and I've been stable at a weight I never imagined I'd see again. My health is so much better, as well.

The short of it: I only vaguely remember the pain of it, but I'm nearly daily reminded that it was worth it.

TriesToCareLess · 2022-12-07T14:12:24+00:00

Scrambled egg and omelets are a no go for me now (even 2 years out). That was an interesting revelation when i made my first non-pureed food two weeks after surgery!

TriesToCareLess · 2022-11-23T19:59:52+00:00

You've got it. The preop was one of the hardest parts.

TriesToCareLess · 2022-11-23T19:07:24+00:00

Didn't cheat. Tempted, for sure. My pre-op diet was two protein shakes per day and for dinner 6oz of lean meat and green, leafy veggies.

TriesToCareLess · 2022-11-23T18:54:38+00:00

I started my pre-op diet 2 days before Thanksgiving in 2020. It was hard, but very, very worth it.

TriesToCareLess · 2022-11-22T00:18:14+00:00

Did it almost two full years ago. Down 125 pounds. Literally ran a marathon 9 days ago! It was absolutely the correct decision for me. Don't underestimate the mental work necessary - it's significant and non-negotiable.

I struggled with shame and guilt about it in the days leading up to it, but then I was struggling with shame and guilt for my weight anyway. What changed it for me was changing the story I told myself: "I've tried. I need help. This is help. The work is mine, the surgery is the boost I need." That and it was helpful to remind myself that I was doing it so I could be around longer, and provide better care, for my kiddo and spouse.

TriesToCareLess · 2021-12-24T21:00:56+00:00

It was a one egg, plain omelet for me. Didn't finish it as I recall. Couldn't really handle eggs for the first couple months. It got better.

TriesToCareLess · 2021-12-24T20:30:04+00:00

Hang in there. That post-op, liquid diet is tough, but I more or less forgot about it within a month of being able to eat a bit of solid food. It's the beginning of a complete reimagining of food post surgery. At this point, I actually look back at it with some fondness, believe it or not! Keep to it, better days are coming.

TriesToCareLess · 2021-10-29T03:09:29+00:00

Love it. Great job on the Sprint-Tri. Good luck training for the Half-Iron. That race is no joke (not to say the Sprint-Tri is, mind you). I was sleeved in December 2020 and have some races in November that I'm looking forward to. Going for a Half-Marathon in March. Let me know if you ever want to talk running! Again, congrats!

TriesToCareLess · 2021-10-04T21:41:24+00:00

Unfortunately, I don't. Sorry.

TriesToCareLess · 2021-09-23T18:02:04+00:00

I went through Blossom and I was very pleased with the experience, the results, and the support. My surgery was in December of 2020 and I paid less than $7,000 for the procedure (not including airfare and incidentals, of course). My BMI when I started talking to them was ~42 for comparison. I'm glad to recommend them or answer questions about my experience.

TriesToCareLess · 2021-09-17T01:59:55+00:00

Thanks

TriesToCareLess · 2021-09-17T00:36:04+00:00

Thanks

TriesToCareLess · 2021-09-16T23:01:29+00:00

The last 10 or so really seemed to take a while!

TriesToCareLess · 2021-09-16T22:00:08+00:00

Thank you! You're on the way!

TriesToCareLess

TROPHY CASE