Providence 70.3

Yesterday I had the privilege to be a spectator at the Amica Providence Ironman 70.3 that a few of my partners in crime competed in. This was THE Half Ironman everyone was going to do originally, and then the REV3 came about when Amy suddenly had to have her thyroid removed because of some malignant growths.

She signed up for the REV3 to be able to do a 70.3 this year just in case her surgery left her with little energy to be able to regroup for Providence. I signed up for that one to support her, and to "just do it."

I left home at 3:45 a.m. to be in Narragansett by 5:15. A long day ahead of me at that point but I was fired up, camera in hand!

The race was awesome yesterday - I was in awe of the athletes, their gear, their physical fitness levels... It was remarkable to see what hard work does to a body and how well these people can perform. Amazing.

I am most impressed with my group of friends who trained hard and well and pulled off, all variables on the course considered, a job well done! The swim in Narragansett Bay was a disaster - the officials actually gave the option to the athletes to back out of the swim and do a duathlon. The water was rough, the wind was whipping and it looked scary from the shore. The waves of swimmers going out barely swam with any consistency, from what I could see from the shore. They were sighting often, breast stroking, and some of the pro's were even doing the butterfly do navigate over the white caps! I was elated to see Jules come out of the water when she did, she was in the 3rd wave out and did excellent on the swim!

This was the winner: Mike Lovato. 3:54

I enjoyed watching the athletes transition from bike to run at T2 in Providence. It's amazing to me the little time the pro's spend switching shoes, getting nutrition and doing the little they do in that time. Their T-times are less than 2 minutes usually! Mine are like 5 minutes! Time to stop dilly dallying!!

It was a great day! Congrats to all of them who competed! Next order of business is a couple small road races, a couple more Sprint Tri's and then - the JDRF Ride for Betsey in VT! I am about $400 away from my $3000 goal! Woooohoooo!

I participated in a mini Sprint Tri last Thursday night in a nearby town. It was fun. Would I do it again? Maybe not. The atmosphere was very cool... fun, and the people were great. But I can not exercise at night. Anything I've eaten during the day comes back to visit me, I get bloated, my legs are heavy - I just perform so much better in the morning. I am glad the ride for Betsey has a very early start for this reason.

We have Betsey's clinic appt. tomorrow, and there are a few things on my list to speak to them about:

• the artificial pancreas project

• the Medtronic Quick-set recall

• switching from pump to shots (ugh, makes me get butterflies all over again)

• vision issues

I brought Bets to the optometrist recently for a baseline on her eyesight, because many diabetics end up having issues with their eyes. Hopefully we can prolong Betsey's almost inevitable issue with this by maintaining excellent blood sugar control. But I wanted to ask some general questions about the eyesight situation and be more informed about it. I don't feel like reading about it online or in my books. I'd rather discuss.

And Betsey went for her first jog with her younger sister & Speedo last week! She wore an Ipod & running skirt like her mama and she LOVED it! They did a mile loop and they want to do it again this week. What fun is that? Little runner girls! :)