Olympic Triathlon Basal Profile

Tomorrow we leave for Gravenhurst...and my first Olympic triathlon attempt. I have a packing list ready for tonight, a nail polish colour picked out and lots of emergency carbs and site changes packed. 

I also have a special basal profile entered into my pump - ready to be initiated on race day morning. It's like a basal profile sleeper agent - laying in wait for the secret password to trigger the execution of some high profile politician. 

(On a side note: Doug and I started watching Homeland last week...)

The Welland sprint tri a few weeks ago was my first attempt at a special race day basal profile. It worked but not as well as I has hoped. It kept my blood sugar between 8-10 the entire time which is great but it didn't allow me the flexibility of having a pre-run gel which I really wanted. 

My goal is to find a basal profile that keeps me safe and yet gets my blood sugar low enough after the bike ride that I can have a gel without worrying about spiking too high. 

Here's what I worked out based on what I know about how my body reacts to swimming, cycling, running and race day stress. 

We have to be on the boat by 8am. The race starts at 8:30am and I plan to have a gel right before jumping off the boat into the lake. My goal is to have a second gel in the transition zone before the run. 

swim 1.5k: estimated finish 9:00am (total time 30 minutes)

bike 40k: estimated start 9:05am, estimated finish 10:35am (total time 90 minutes - including run to transition and transition)

run 10k: estimated start 10:40am, estimated finish 12:00pm (total time 75 minutes - including transition)

Based on that, my basal profile is: 

7am 60% basal rate

9am 150% basal rate (to deal with the pre-swim gel and the fact that my blood sugar is probably high after the swim)

9:30am 60% basal rate

11:30am 150% basal rate (to prevent the post-race spike and deal with the fact that I'm probably a little dehydrated and climbing at this point)

12:30pm 100% basal rate 

2:30pm 60% basal rate (to deal with the post-race low)

5:00pm 100% basal rate and resume regular basal profile (based on how the BGs go, I may reduce my basal for longer than 2.5 hours or lower it overnight). 

Races involve a lot of planning. 

Triathlons involve a ton of planning - three sports in three and a half hours is a lot to think about.

Diabetes + triathlons = a notebook, a calculator, a huge bag of supplies and backup plans for my backup plans. 

Three and a half hours. That's my realistic estimate based on my current running ability and the fact that the bike and run course are hilly. If I cross the finish line anytime before noon I will be pretty damn proud of myself. 

As always, I am not a doctor. Diabetes is crazy and unpredictable. What works for me will probably not work for you. Feel free to learn from my experiences but please play at your own risk.