The Pumpkin Century: such a "sweet" ride

Yes, eating pumpkin pies and feeling good about it. Sunday, Rob Lombardi, Birgit Reeves and I, along with a few other riders, we rode the Pumpkin Ride Century organized by SIBA, the Staten Island Bicycle Association. The ride has been organized in NJ right off exit 8 on the Turnpike. I must say that it was extremely well organized with very rich food-stops every 25 miles and directions clearly painted right before each intersection. The conditions of the roads were very good and the traffic light, maybe for the weather since it was quite cloudy.

It was a great opportunity to reach out our local community of riders, maybe not racers like us, but who are equally in love with cycling. This kind of rides are also an enjoyable way to churn a lot of miles at endurance pace, just what we need to keep off the extra weight that inevitably we will be gaining during the winter months

Of course Sunday we approached the ride as a training session, like one of those long rides that we have in the training camp in Tucson. The stronger riders lead most of the ride while the rest tried to stay covered as much as they could to save energies and keep the overall effort at sub-threshold level. It was certainly a great experience for Birgit, who has recently started our training program to begin racing next season.

At the second food stop we met Arland, our Finkraft Triathlon Coach, who was training for his next competition in Florida. He mentioned to me that the persistent wind that kept challenging us in the open fields it was very similar to what he had experienced at an Ironman in Hawaii: for a moment I imagined the beautiful islands, beaches and sun but it did not last much since I went back to bite my pumpkin pie thinking that our summer is definitely over.

Ciao

Racing Bikes Bionically

Posted by my friend Blair Ryan

Years ago, a teammate of mine on the UC San Diego cross-country team asked me why I carry my garage door opener everywhere. She pointed to the small charcoal-colored device on the waste band of my running shorts. I’m often asked why I don’t just get a cell phone already; by someone assuming my insulin pump is a pager. A few months ago, on the starting line of a collegiate cycling road race, a competitor asked me if I had diabetes. She’d noticed the tube running to my back pocket from underneath my jersey. She commended me for racing bikes at the level I do, with diabetes.

While I acknowledged and accepted her comment as a compliment, inside I viewed it as evidence that there is a lot of work to be done.



People with Type 1 diabetes have won Olympic gold medals, completed Ironman in less than nine hours and summited Everest. Those of us who are athletes with Type 1 know that exercise is a crucial component to controlling our diabetes. Yet, newly diagnosed patients are often discouraged from continuing activities that once defined their lives, and people are still too impressed that I can place in collegiate cycling races.

I was lucky. Before my diagnosis at 13 years old, I was already an athlete. If I wanted to continue to train and race successfully I had to be in good control of this disease. If my bloodsugar was too high overnight, I felt like crap at practice in the morning. If it was too low, I’d be too weak to workout hard. My motivation for good control came from my desire for athletic success.

If you have diabetes, your body is not able to control your blood glucose level. In a person without diabetes, the pancreas senses an increase in glucose level in the blood and releases the hormone insulin to lower it. There are two types of diabetes, quite different from each other physiologically, thus, the daily management can be very different.

The pancreas of a Type 2 diabetic functions, it produces insulin, but the individual’s tissues don’t absorb the hormone. This resistance can occur for a variety of reasons, and is why many Type 2 individuals are not insulin-dependent and can sometimes control their diabetes with medication that makes the tissues more sensitive to the insulin that is there, or by changing eating habits and incorporating more exercise into their daily routine. Exercise increases the body’s sensitivity to insulin and is therefore a crucial aspect in the management of both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.

Type 1 diabetes makes up for only 5-10 percent of diabetes cases and is most commonly diagnosed during adolescence. Type 1 is not caused by eating too much sugar, as is sometimes thought. It has an autoimmune basis. It’s believed that something in the environment triggers the body’s immune system to destroy the pancreas’ insulin-making ability.

A friend of mine said he wonders if Type 1 diabetics have stronger immune systems if we can “take out one of our organs just for shits and giggles.”



Symptoms pre-diagnosis include excessive urination, weight loss, fatigue and incredible thirst. These are all symptoms of high blood glucose levels. The blood glucose is high because the insulin is not there to transport the sugar from the bloodstream to the cells. The glucose sits in the bloodstream and doesn’t provide energy to the individual. Over a period of months, sometimes years, the pancreas ceases to produce any insulin, making the individual completely insulin-dependent. Some inject a combination of insulin types with a syringe many times a day. Others use an pump, which infuses insulin through a plastic catheter placed under the skin that is changed every three days. The pump delivers short acting insulin continuously throughout the day at a personalized programmed rate, mimicking the pancreas. Additionally, more insulin is taken for meals and snacks as well as adjustments made to accommodate an exercise, stress, illness, menstrual levels and adrenaline. To control our diabetes well, we are forced to become experts in the arts of prediction and anticipation.

Exercise, stress and adrenaline are all part of being an athlete, and often make life with Type 1 diabetes more exciting than we’d like.



One hundred percent of the time we spend doing our sport, we are trying to balance the amount of insulin active in our body. As mentioned earlier, exercise usually brings blood sugars down.
It is important to have some insulin “on board” so that the food we eat is available to the cells for energy, but not so much that the bloodstream is depleted of the glucose that the brain and nervous system need to function normally.



During my competitive athletic season I require much less insulin throughout the day for good control. I take less insulin to cover a meal after most workouts. Throughout the 48 hours after a long ride or run, I take much less insulin per gram of carbohydrate that I consume, and blood sugars are usually more forgiving and balanced. The more consecutive days I have without exercise, the more insulin I must take and the harder it is to find the correct insulin to carbohydrate ratio. Exercise is so crucial to the control of my diabetes that I often feel I am literally running or riding for my life.

Ninety-five percent of people who die from complications of diabetes do because their average blood sugar level over decades is abnormally high, putting strain on blood vessels and kidneys. Exercise lowers blood sugars by making body tissue more sensitive to insulin, yet there are still people who tell those diagnosed with Type 1 that their lives will be limited and sedentary.

There is a growing community of athletes with Type 1 diabetes working to demonstrate to anybody that’s willing to watch or listen, that people with Type 1 can do extraordinary things. This movement is facilitated by the non-profit organization Insulindependence.

I just drove 10,900 miles in 68 days, through 24 states, documenting a team of ten people with Type 1 diabetes who were brought together to train and race the Ford Ironman St. George in May, 2011. Some Triabetes team members were not previously endurance athletes, others have competed in athletics since childhood. Some were told upon diagnosis that their time as an elite athlete was over. This is Insulindependence’s third year pulling individuals from all over the country, pairing them with a young person with diabetes, and working to correct misperceptions about life with diabetes and revolutionize diabetes management.



Anyone placing limitations on those with diabetes are likely fearful of possible situations on the extremes of living with Type 1. The immediate danger is hypoglycemia, low blood sugar, the lack of glucose supplied to the brain. The first signs of hypoglycemia can be irritability, shakiness, weakness and confusion. The condition can often resemble someone who is intoxicated, which can be dangerous if people around us don’t understand diabetes.

Hypoglycemia can cause loss of consciousness and seizures, but it is preventable. A person with Type 1 under good control can sense oncoming hypoglycemia and consume carbohydrate to raise their blood sugar level and avoid the effects above. It is crucial that Type 1’s get in the habit of carrying fast acting carbohydrate snacks all the time for low blood sugar situations and pay attention to their body. I always have fruit snacks and bars with me on rides.

The biggest risk for Type 1 diabetics are complications later in life. The dangers associated with high blood sugars can include, heart disease, neuropathy and retinopathy. These can all be prevented with good control. Exercise facilitates good control.



Over my ten years with diabetes, I ran collegiate cross-country and track. I competed for UCSD as the President of the Triathlon team. In 2008, my teammates and I won the women’s overall USA Triathlon Collegiate National Championship. I dedicated 2010 to bike racing and competed in road races, crits and Team TTs for the University of Oregon cycling team.

There are many factors I take into consideration when preparing for a workout. Morning workouts are less likely to cause blood sugars to drop dramatically because of the steroid hormone, cortisol, which humans produce overnight. I notice an increased resistance to insulin I take in the morning and a decrease in the effect exercise has on my blood sugar. While the normal blood sugar for a non-diabetic is 80-110mg/dl, in the morning I like to start workouts with a blood sugar raised to about 150mg/dl. The exercise will lower it some and I want to prevent low blood sugars during the workout. In the afternoon my tissues are much more sensitive to any insulin I take. Later workouts, even just easy warm up spins, make my sugars drop rapidly. I try to get my blood sugar close to 220mg/dl and must eat something with protein in it to sustain blood sugars over a long PM workout. I sip ACCELERADE on the bike because of its high protein content, which helps to sustain my blood sugar without me having to eat a lot of other food throughout the ride. I also have those emergency snacks in my back pocket.



Emotional stress has a huge effect on blood sugar levels. On race days I fight to control blood sugars because the more nervous I am, the more my sugars creep up over time due to adrenaline release. I give small doses of insulin to bring my blood sugar down throughout the morning, warm up and even on the starting line. This routine would be far too much insulin for a training day, but is necessary to battle the adrenaline caused by racing. Even the stress of school exams and travel wreak havoc on blood sugars. Rarely are two days the same. Every day is trial and error.

Until recently very few people knew I had diabetes. Before my involvement with the non-profit organization Insulindependence, I had an objection to being involved with something because I have diabetes. In my head the longer people knew me without discovering I had diabetes, the better. This meant that I had succeeded in seeming normal. This was my way of showing that someone with diabetes could do anything.

The resumes of the individuals with diabetes involved with Insulindependence make the organization impressive and unique. After watching the movement that is Triabetes, I see the flaws in my previous philosophy. If people didn’t know there was no way for them to learn. I wasn’t proving anything to anyone.

The organization founders and each Triabetes team member I spent time with this summer, are on a mission to change the way people approach diabetes. They are telling the world. Please visit www.Insulindependence.org and join the community and discussion.



It was such a pleasure to meet and ride with Coach Alex Matteucci at Finkraft Coaching when I was visiting New York this summer. Coach Matteucci, thank you for your support, interest and for giving me the opportunity to ride along the Atlantic and do some diabetes teaching from the bike that day.






You can follow my project from the summer at www.TriabetesMediaProject.org.

FinKraft Camp: I am still very “al dente”

The FinKraft training camp has been a success under every aspect and now that we are back home dealing with our daily routine while scheduling our racing season, it comes to my mind how well every rider has done in dealing with the huge training volume in Tucson.
All of us have ridden between 80 to 115 miles for a week block of 600 or 700+ for whoever has spent a couple of extra days at the camp. This is remarkable for an amateur rider, someone that is not used to spend all these hours per day on the bike. Yes, the coaches in FinKraft had taken in consideration the camp in programming the winter training plan for our riders, but still, it’s not a secret, that we had been scrambling to stick to it because of the lousy weather and the limited time available to adjust our schedules.

So going into the camp, I was a bit worried about the ability of each and every rider to complete the training camp without any serious debacle during one of the “epical” rides. On the other end, Roger was very confident in all of us, claiming that, if for anything, the camp at the end of the week would have challenged more our mind set, our mental strength than our body. He had designed and programmed each ride in all the details so that it could perfectly fall in our weekly program. Certain rides have been definitely long but a smart collaboration among the stronger riders has made possible to maintain the effort at endurance level for everybody in the transfers from one climb to another one.

Again during the FinKraft camp every rider had only 4 things to do while enjoying his or her time: sleep, ride, rest and eat. Eating was definitely critical since we were burning between 3000 to 5000 Calories per day and even though it’s generally easy to feed hungry people, that was not our case. We needed a diet rich in light carbs, lean proteins, vitamins, minerals and, of course, very appealing.

The challenge was won hands-on by Kim, Roger’s wife. Using all the products that our “food and supplements” sponsors have provided for the FinKraft camp, Kim, with her usual cheerful smile, every morning would set up the big isle in the center of the kitchen with every kind of nourishment you could imagine: from the steel cut oatmeal to the Greek yogurt, going trough eggs, toast, peanut and almond butter, jelly, honey, germ wheat, fresh cut seasonal fruit, juices, tea, coffee and so long. For the rides, each rider had a container where he or she would find the daily allocations of power bars, minerals, vitamins and after-rides drinks.

On top of that for the longer rider we were provided with extra peanut butter jelly or honey sandwiches. Since it’s very important to start eating right from the beginning of the recovery time, every day, coming back to the camp between a shower and a jump in the pool, we were provided with platters of cheese, turkey, tomatoes and fresh fruit.

I still cannot believe that after all that food, we were still looking eagerly to the dinner. I guess that it was because of Kim’s cooking skills. Every night was something totally different and so tasty: I still remember a wonderful lasagna stuffed with chicken, mushrooms, fresh tomatoes sauce and mozzarella; whole wheat spaghetti “aglio e olio” (garlic and extra vergin olive oil) served with grilled chicken marinated with balsamic vinegar and soy sauce; spaghetti with meatballs and marinara sauce; penne primavera with asparagus, cherry tomatoes and pieces of grilled chicken breast; grilled wild salmon fillet with a mix of crispy roasted sweet and golden potatoes flavored with fresh rosemary; a Mexican night with soft tacos, guacamole, black beans, grilled meat, salsa and queso. Of course I cannot forget the pizza feast on Saturday night, the last dinner. Kim prepared so many varieties that I cannot list all of them, but I can tell you that I had six slices along with a couple of local brand beers and that I would have had more if I didn’t remind myself that I was at a camp and not at a Saturday night party in the Hamptons.


In three weeks and with three different group of riders nobody has bonked once. This is just remarkable! The fact that Barilla was one of the camp sponsors, it’s just a coincidence when I claim that at the end of the Tucson FinKraft camp all of us where “cooked”, from all that riding, but still very “al dente”.

Training Dream - Tucson

Normally it's called training camp, but here in Tucson, Roger and his wife Kim have put together something that resembles more a living dream than a sport camp environment where a group of riders come to experience the gorgeous weather in Arizona while escaping the tail of nasty winter in the East Coast.
For the majority of us, usually scrambling to make weekly time to log some miles while taking care of our family and professional responsibilities, a week at the FinKraft winter camp is a real dream. Every thing has been carefully planned and taken care, from the most obvious things like riding itineraries to others as being sure that every morning your bike is cleaned, lubed and ready to be used. As Roger has claimed during the first night meeting, the whole idea behind the FinKraft's camp is to offer its guests a week where they only required to train, eat and rest: everything else is taken care for them. I guess that it could be compared to an "all included" hotel package, but then you will be sleeping and living by yourself missing those synergies that are created when you put together people who share the same passion for your sport. A better comparison would be to a camp for a professional team without the dramas, stress and political situations that normally we learn at the end of the season by reading our favorite cycling magazines (do you remember the Astana 09 winter camp?).

This week we have been riding between 120 and 180km every day, climbing mighty mountains (at least from a cycling point of view) and still looking forward for our next ride, for the next challenge. The positive atmosphere, the total relax and the cheerful people around us, made possible for each and every body to discover his or her physical and mental potential. Today, it's Saturday and we have just completed the famous Shout-Out ride. A slow one since this morning there was a race in town, but regardless we had a lot of fun and we finished it with large smiles on our faces knowing that after a week-long training block we feel stronger and ready to start our racing season.
Now I am going to hang out around the pool, close my eyes and keep dreaming until I can: DO NOT DISTURB!

Photo (1) source| via blogcitypages.com

There is not two without three

Nowadays we are living in an ice box with temperatures flirting with the 20s and winds that exasperate the situation. Still serious riders are managing to ride their bicycles logging some 3-4 hours training sessions as soon as the thermometer goes above the freezing line.
A couple of weeks ago, in one of the weekly FinKraft Coaching rides led by Roger Aspholm, we left the Westwood Cycles shop for a long loop that through a sequence of scenic local NJ roads brought us to the bottom of Perkins and then to Harriman Park. The nature around us was gorgeous: a sharp blue sky was the perfect contrast to the accumulation of white snow from a recent storm. In such conditions it’s very easy to get flats as the roads are often marked with crossing lines of debris mixed to salt and with the inevitable asphalt cracks and potholes caused by the low temperatures.
Indeed this time the lucky guy was our friend Andreas Runggatscher who while standing up over the pedals on a short hill realized to have a flat on his rear tire. No problem, we pulled over on the side of the road and with the help of a teammate Andreas mounted a new tube. As soon as the wheel was back on his bike he realized that there was a leak. It was a big surprise because they didn’t make the mistake of using the tire levers to mount back the clincher over the rim. The best part was that when the tube was removed we were not able to find the leak! There was not time to waste since it was cold, so another tube found its way on Andreas rear wheel. Now according to an Italian saying there is not two without three, so as soon as Andreas jumped back on his bike he realized that even his front wheel had flattened in the meantime.
In all my years of riding I have never seen such a thing! Anyhow since I am aware of the risk of multiple flats I have always with me the so-called Alex’s survival kit:

· Sci'Con saddle bag with integrated tire levers
· Spare tube with a 70-80mm valve to fit even high profile carbon rims without using any extension.
· A little box with a tube repair kit
· A bicycle tool kit
· $20-50
· One or two Cliff or Hammer Energy Gels
· A portable pump

Yes, even some sugar, because too many times I found myself with too little food and especially in cold weather the last thing that I want to experience is a classic bonk.

And you ... do you ZYM too?

Cycling has changed so much in the last three decades. Bicycles are now light and nimble, clothing has seen breakthrough changes and supplements are now a huge market. If you go through any supplement catalog you will find an endless list of products that on paper will let you train harder and make you faster. On the other end, today's athlete needs are still the same: the right mix of healthy carbohydrates, proteins, fibers, vitamins and minerals. Twenty years ago in racing we did not use power-bars, pre or after training supplements, engineered meals but only real food! The only common supplement was electrolytes. Over the years the tendency has been to mix minerals to sugary drinks, a great idea that finds it's limit in the quantity of plain sugar that we want to ingest. Especially in training I like to have full discretion on the total intake of calories, so until last summer, I had been using Nuun, sugar-free electrolyte tabs. Then in September I discovered ZYM. What it makes ZYM better than any other direct competitor product is the total absence of "sodium benzoate", a preservative that it's quite common, especially in carbonated drinks. The issue with sodium benzoate is that in combination with Vit C and potassium benzoate it creates benzene, a recognized carcinogen. But even by itself sodium benzoate has been linked to damage of the DNA at mitochondrial level, right where our cells consume oxygen to produce energy. The issue must be relevant because it seems that even Coca Cola Company has decided to gradually eliminate sodium benzoate in its drinks.



I am not a doctor, but when it comes to my body I try to fuel it with the most natural products in the market. Even though the quantity of sodium benzoate found in a tablet is very small, over the season I drink countless bottles of electrolytes and of course things can add up! That's why I drink ZYM. Beside this reasoning, I have to admit that I love it's fresh taste too, something that it reminds me Europe, maybe because I know that it is produced in Spain.
ZYM is sold in two flavors: Lemon-Lime (Endurance) and Berry (Catapult). The latter one comes with a generous amount of Guarana, the equivalent of 100 mg of caffeine. That's another reason to love ZYM. Any caffeinated product that it's not pure coffee, it was added caffeine. Where did they get it? Well, decaffeination most of the times is done with solvents, and among others, guess which one? Benzene! Yes, the same chemical compound that I have just mentioned above. Of course by the time we drink our decaf java or our caffeinated soft drink, that dangerous chemical has been removed, but again in big quantities who knows if there could be any bad effect.
I love my espresso but when it comes to hydrate my body, to prevent cramps and add extra endurance, I just ZYM it. And you ... do you ZYM too?

The secret power booster

In any race environment riding well, riding fast means to be able to optimize a myriad of variables internal and external with respect to the athlete. Choosing the best bicycle components and hammering endless hours on our saddles are not going to pay their dividends in terms of better race results unless our brain is able to recognize the inner extra potential and actually use it. If Autogenus Training (AT) or any other meditation exercise can help to create a focused, alerted and efficient “mind set”, a healthy brain can actually make it happen. Without going into complicated matters of cognitive science, I want to bring to your attention an interesting article that I read some time ago with the appealing title “22 Ways to Overclock Your Brain”, a list of simple suggestions on how to boost you brain power and beating the competition.

Picture source