Saturday morning I woke up before my alarm. I immediately turned my basal insulin down to 50% for 4 hours. I got dressed, had a bowl of Dorset cereal with kefir and a banana sliced on top for which I took 1.5 units of insulin instead of 5.
I was heading to my first Saturday morning brick training workout and had no idea what to do with my insulin or my blood sugar. I was playing it very conservatively because I did not want to find myself having to pull over in the middle of a workout due to a low.
I tossed my running shoes and my glucometer into a bag, along with six emergency packages of fruit chews (in addition to the four that were already shoved into my the bag on my bike) and headed off. I was the first one to arrive. Followed soon after by three very young, lean, fit-looking people with bikes that could eat mine for breakfast.
I forced myself not to bolt and ignored the voice in my head that said to run away now while no one knew me so they'd never know who the crazy girl was who showed up and then left.
Two friends showed up, thank heavens, and assured me that I would indeed be fine. Perhaps a little tired at the end but fine.
The plan for the day was the following. Cycle about 5k to one of the athlete's houses. Our coach would bring his car loaded with our shoes and meet us there. Then head off for a hilly 12k (or so) ride (at tempo pace) to a meeting point. From there, we would do a 5 1/2k loop at race pace. Most people would do it three times. A few of us, including me, would do it twice. Cycle back to our shoes. Go for a run. My run was to be a 2k run (run out 1k, turn around, run back), rest two minutes, then run out 1k again, rest 1 minute, and run back 1k. Cycle about 6k home.
Grand total: 42k of riding. 4k of running. Time spent moving: a little over 2 hours.
That's how it worked out on paper. Here's how it worked out in real life.
Five minutes before leaving, my pump alarmed to tell me that battery in my continuous glucose monitor transmitter was low and instructed me to order a new one. Bloody hell! I've worn this transmitter for about 8 months now. I knew that would happen eventually but not on the Saturday of a long weekend. I couldn't order a new one until Tuesday now and I have no idea how long a low battery will survive. Hours? Days? Weeks? I tossed my glucometer in my bag just in case and headed out, grateful for and yet cursing technology.
I kept up fairly well during the warm-up ride. Everyone did a 'leisurely' 25km/hour pace and I pedalled madly to keep up. It worked. I was quite warm quite quickly.
The tempo ride up and down the hills outside of town was faster than my race pace. It was crazy. Everyone else was just gone. One friend, who was on an easy week to recover from her Olympic triathlon the week before, held back with me but the rest of the group was just gone. I would have despaired if I wasn't so freaking proud of myself for keeping up such an aggressive pace (for me anyway).
Then came the 5 1/2k loops. "I want you to race this" were the instructions. And I want your times at the end of the loop because we'll do this again in a few weeks.
"I've been going faster than race pace already" I mumbled. "This should be interesting".
It was. The loop had some pretty tough sections with some pretty steep hills. I pedalled hard up the hills and hard on the flats. We finished the loop in about 14 minutes. Rest two minutes and do it again.
The instructions on the way back were 'go at tempo pace. Don't race it but it shouldn't be easy.'
I was dropped, and I mean dropped, within a minute. I lost sight of everyone despite forcing my tired legs to dig deep and hold a 30+ km/hour pace on anything that looked remotely flat. By the time I made it back to the meeting point, everyone else was in the running shoes and ready to run.
I changed quickly, received my instructions and headed off...for what turned out to be a really good run.
I ran the kilometres in 6:12, 6:18, 5:49 and 5:54 min/k. Anyone who knows my running speed knows that this is crazy fast. And yet it felt pretty comfortable.
I cycled home, guzzled my chocolate milk, stretched, showered and spent the day not doing too much. It was fun and I'll definitely do it again.
Blood sugar report: I hung out around 10.0 for most of the bike ride. I had dropped to 7.9 by the time we were ready to cycle back so I had a package of fruit chews. I finished the run at 8.9 and was 6.9 by the time I got home. That, my friends, is success!
Showing posts with label basal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label basal. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 4, 2015
Wednesday, July 8, 2015
3am Math
The room temperature was perfect.
The sheets were cool and comfortable.
It was 3am, the room was quiet and we were both sound asleep.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!!!!!!
Bloody Hell!
We were both jolted awake as if by a gunshot.
Rose was yelling at me that my blood sugar was below 3.1.
I took a look at her graph and saw that I had held steady in the low 4s for a few hours and then, in the space of five minutes, I dove from 4 to 3.1. Which means that I skipped right past the slightly less jarring vibration warning that I was below 4.0 and went straight into the extremely effective, heart-stopping BEEP BEEP BEEP!!!! that only happens when I drop below 3.1.
As I lay in bed, I quickly weighted my options.
I had Dex 4s by the bed, also known as glucose tablets.
Dex 4 pros: The pure sugar in those tablets causes my sugar to climb rapidly meaning that I would probably be back above 4.0 before the next blood sugar check that Rose was going to do. Meaning that we could fall right back to sleep without having to be jarred awake again by another one of her very helpful yet annoying warnings that I was still below 4.0.
Dex 4 cons: Dex 4s help me climb quickly into the safe zone but they don't keep me there. If I don't eat something of substance, I typically drop back down below 4.0 again within an hour or so. No thanks.
I also had a package of fig newtons by the bed. I mean doesn't everyone?
Pros: fig newtons help keep my blood sugar up. The combination of more complex carbs (versus pure sugar) and protein get me up and keep me there.
Cons: it can take a while to digest them and I usually have to wait out a good 30 minutes of Rose vibrating me awake before I climb back above 4.0.
I also had the option of lowering my basal rate.
Pros: with less insulin in my system, I would be at less risk of a second low.
Cons: lowering my basal rate is not an option for treating an immediate low. I can only help prevent a future one.
Did I mention that it was 3am and, not thirty-seconds earlier I had been having a lovely sleep?
I decided on the following combination:
I had two Dex 4s (a total of 8 carbs). The goal: get my sugar above 4.0 so Rose wouldn't vibrate and we could go back to sleep.
I had one fig newton (another 10 carbs). The goal: prevent my blood sugar from dropping back down again.
I also lowered my basal rate by 30% for 2 hours. The goal: make doubly sure I didn't drop back down.
I was conservative in the number of carbs I ate and the basal rate reduction I made so I wouldn't go from low to high, causing Rose to vibrate for an entirely different reason.
I ate my snack, changed my basal rate and, within a minute, I was floating back to sleep again.
When I woke up again at 6am, I saw that I had climbed from 3.1 to 7.0 and stayed there for the rest of the night.
Sometimes my 3am math works. Sometimes it doesn't.
This time it was bang on.
The sheets were cool and comfortable.
It was 3am, the room was quiet and we were both sound asleep.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!!!!!!
Bloody Hell!
We were both jolted awake as if by a gunshot.
Rose was yelling at me that my blood sugar was below 3.1.
I took a look at her graph and saw that I had held steady in the low 4s for a few hours and then, in the space of five minutes, I dove from 4 to 3.1. Which means that I skipped right past the slightly less jarring vibration warning that I was below 4.0 and went straight into the extremely effective, heart-stopping BEEP BEEP BEEP!!!! that only happens when I drop below 3.1.
As I lay in bed, I quickly weighted my options.
I had Dex 4s by the bed, also known as glucose tablets.
Dex 4 pros: The pure sugar in those tablets causes my sugar to climb rapidly meaning that I would probably be back above 4.0 before the next blood sugar check that Rose was going to do. Meaning that we could fall right back to sleep without having to be jarred awake again by another one of her very helpful yet annoying warnings that I was still below 4.0.
Dex 4 cons: Dex 4s help me climb quickly into the safe zone but they don't keep me there. If I don't eat something of substance, I typically drop back down below 4.0 again within an hour or so. No thanks.
I also had a package of fig newtons by the bed. I mean doesn't everyone?
Pros: fig newtons help keep my blood sugar up. The combination of more complex carbs (versus pure sugar) and protein get me up and keep me there.
Cons: it can take a while to digest them and I usually have to wait out a good 30 minutes of Rose vibrating me awake before I climb back above 4.0.
I also had the option of lowering my basal rate.
Pros: with less insulin in my system, I would be at less risk of a second low.
Cons: lowering my basal rate is not an option for treating an immediate low. I can only help prevent a future one.
Did I mention that it was 3am and, not thirty-seconds earlier I had been having a lovely sleep?
I decided on the following combination:
I had two Dex 4s (a total of 8 carbs). The goal: get my sugar above 4.0 so Rose wouldn't vibrate and we could go back to sleep.
I had one fig newton (another 10 carbs). The goal: prevent my blood sugar from dropping back down again.
I also lowered my basal rate by 30% for 2 hours. The goal: make doubly sure I didn't drop back down.
I was conservative in the number of carbs I ate and the basal rate reduction I made so I wouldn't go from low to high, causing Rose to vibrate for an entirely different reason.
I ate my snack, changed my basal rate and, within a minute, I was floating back to sleep again.
When I woke up again at 6am, I saw that I had climbed from 3.1 to 7.0 and stayed there for the rest of the night.
Sometimes my 3am math works. Sometimes it doesn't.
This time it was bang on.
Friday, July 3, 2015
Daydreaming Diabetes
Two example of what diabetes does to my brain...and my stress level.
Example one: Several of my colleagues were talking about the number of places that are opening up where people can go to buy medicinal marijuana. And how interesting it was that people could go into these little shops to purchase their medication. I popped my head out of my office and asked if anyone was interested in joining me on a new business venture:
Insulin cafés
Think about it! A community place where you can go to purchase your insulin. Where you can hang out with people at the back table who are putting in their infusion sites. Maybe give a word of encouragement to someone who is still getting the hang of it. A place where you can chat with people about the best place to put your CGM or the best tape to use to keep it on. Where you can trade supplies you no longer use for supplies that you now need. Diabetes humour posters hanging on the walls. Jars of candy lying around...just in case.
I'm telling you this could be great.
Example two: Doug and I were cycling on Canada Day. As we sped along my mind kept wandering to my upcoming triathlon. I was imagining what would happen if the weather was bad on race day. I've never done a triathlon in nasty weather so I have no idea what happens. Do they still do a swim if it's a downpour? Do they do the bike? I guessed that they would cancel the swim in a downpour just in case there might be lightening while we are all out in the lake. And I guessed we would have the opportunity to switch to the duathlon which was what? I think the Olympic duathlon is a 10k run, then a 40k bike, then a 5k run. I guess I could manage that although I would not like it nearly as much as a triathlon.
And then I almost fell off my bike in horror. OMIGOD! If they cancel the swim on the morning of and give us a chance to run twice instead, I'm in huge trouble.
Why?
Because I will already be two hours into my race day basal profile. A basal profile that is very specific and tailored to the fact that I swim, then bike, then do a 10k run. If I had to switch at the last minute, I couldn't undo the basal insulin I had already taken and I would have to eat a huge amount of food or I would have an almighty low partway through the first run. And then I would have no idea what to expect for the rest of the race and wouldn't know what was best - keep using the basal profile that was designed for a different event or switch back to my regular basal and just dial it back and cross my fingers.
Then I wrenched that train of thought from my mind and ran over it several times with my bike to ensure it didn't find its way back into my head.
The rest of the ride was lovely.
Example one: Several of my colleagues were talking about the number of places that are opening up where people can go to buy medicinal marijuana. And how interesting it was that people could go into these little shops to purchase their medication. I popped my head out of my office and asked if anyone was interested in joining me on a new business venture:
Insulin cafés
Think about it! A community place where you can go to purchase your insulin. Where you can hang out with people at the back table who are putting in their infusion sites. Maybe give a word of encouragement to someone who is still getting the hang of it. A place where you can chat with people about the best place to put your CGM or the best tape to use to keep it on. Where you can trade supplies you no longer use for supplies that you now need. Diabetes humour posters hanging on the walls. Jars of candy lying around...just in case.
I'm telling you this could be great.
Example two: Doug and I were cycling on Canada Day. As we sped along my mind kept wandering to my upcoming triathlon. I was imagining what would happen if the weather was bad on race day. I've never done a triathlon in nasty weather so I have no idea what happens. Do they still do a swim if it's a downpour? Do they do the bike? I guessed that they would cancel the swim in a downpour just in case there might be lightening while we are all out in the lake. And I guessed we would have the opportunity to switch to the duathlon which was what? I think the Olympic duathlon is a 10k run, then a 40k bike, then a 5k run. I guess I could manage that although I would not like it nearly as much as a triathlon.
And then I almost fell off my bike in horror. OMIGOD! If they cancel the swim on the morning of and give us a chance to run twice instead, I'm in huge trouble.
Why?
Because I will already be two hours into my race day basal profile. A basal profile that is very specific and tailored to the fact that I swim, then bike, then do a 10k run. If I had to switch at the last minute, I couldn't undo the basal insulin I had already taken and I would have to eat a huge amount of food or I would have an almighty low partway through the first run. And then I would have no idea what to expect for the rest of the race and wouldn't know what was best - keep using the basal profile that was designed for a different event or switch back to my regular basal and just dial it back and cross my fingers.
Then I wrenched that train of thought from my mind and ran over it several times with my bike to ensure it didn't find its way back into my head.
The rest of the ride was lovely.
Monday, June 15, 2015
Welland Triathlon Report
The first triathlon of 2015 is officially in the books.
The short version of the story goes something like this
Start swimming. Think "Omigod I forgot how much I loved open water swimming!!". Enjoy a strong swim where I am passed by two people but I pass at least 15 others. Turn at the last buoy and head for shore. Think "The swim is almost over. That's sad. Now I have to hop on the bike for 30k. Bloody hell". Cycle the first 15k thinking "wow, I'm faster than I thought I was. All the half marathon training and winter cycling on the trainer must have paid off". Turn around at 15k and think "nope, that was just a nice tailwind". Cycle 15k into a pretty strong headwind and think "my shoulders and my a$$ are killing me". Finish the bike ride, pull on my running shoes and think "it's only 7.5k. That's like 1/3 of a half marathon and you rocked a half marathon last weekend. You got this!". Run 7.5k without stopping at a strong and steady pace and think "this is the easiest triathlon run I've ever had. I feel great. I love triathlons!" Cross the finish line with a smile on my face and think "when's the next one!"
The longer version is, well, a little bit longer.
We got there super early because this crazy girl decided a 1pm the afternoon before the race that she needed to buy her very first wetsuit. Why?!? Because at 12:30pm she read the race report online and learned that the water temperature in the canal was 15C/59F. The wetsuit mandatory cutoff is 14C and there was no way I was getting there in the morning and finding out that I couldn't swim. So I sucked it up, drove to our local triathlon store, said "do you have any wetsuits in my size?", spent 15 minutes trying to get the damn thing on, felt ridiculous in it and yet walked out with it anyway, a few hundred dollars poorer.
So we got to the race 90 minutes early so I could a) pee a bunch of times before putting on the wetsuit, b) put on the wetsuit and c) swim in it for as long as it took to feel comfortable. Doug, the smart man that he is, set up his transition zone and headed back to the car for 45 minutes where it was warm.
I racked my bike as several other triathletes were arriving. They were all new to the sport and asked me a bunch of newbie questions that made me smile as I remembered wondering all of the same things not that long ago. One of the newbies noticed my pump and proudly showed me his Animas pump. Spotting another T1 in the wild means instant bonding and we kept cheering each other on every time we saw each other during the race.
The donning of the wetsuit went much better the second time. It helped that I knew what to expect, I came prepared with a plastic bag to wrap around my feet (to help them slide more easily) and I was in and zipped (by myself) in less than five minutes. I made my way down to the water where a bunch of folks were milling around trying to decide whether or not to go into the now 16C water. I greeted them all and walked right in. I forced myself to simply tread water for a few minutes while the cold water seeped into the wetsuit (what a strange feeling that is) and I made sure that I wasn't going to start panic-breathing. The water felt cold but manageable and I had no issues getting used to the tighter feel of a wetsuit. I swam a few hundred metres, made sure I wasn't going to freak out and then happily floated around chatting to all the others who were brave enough to get in.
I had a few diabetes issues to figure out at the last minute. First of all, tucking emergency carbs into the pockets of my triathlon suit was not going to work because there was no way to get to them once the wetsuit was on. I ended up stuffing two packages of fruit chews and a ziplock bag with two dates into the arms of my suit. It felt weird but worked fine.
I had also planned to be able to stalk my continuous glucose monitor (CGM) in the time leading up to the race but, once I put the suit on, I could no longer see Rose. And, even if I could, it would not have mattered anyway as she lost the CGM signal, not to be found again until I was finished the swim and took off the wetsuit. So I went on feel and had one date (with salt) 30 minutes before the start and one (again with salt) a minute or two before going in.
When the race started, I swam hard. I felt like I was swimming really fast and I had been told that I would feel that way but I wasn't sure if I just felt fast or if I really was fast. I passed a bunch of swimmers but that's typical for me. Swimming is definitely my forte in a triathlon.
Getting out of the wetsuit was tricky and awkward but I'm sure, with experience, it will be easier. It added a minute to my transition time but I wasn't too worried about that.
The bike ride was easy and fun for the first half and tough on the way back when I hit the headwind. I obviously have not had enough training on the bike and my body could feel it during the last 10k. I'll have to make a point of riding more and riding farther in the next month so that the 40k olympic distance ride doesn't feel quite so never-ending. I did have two dates (with salt) on the bike ride and drank a lot of NUUN in an effort to keep my electrolytes up and prevent a blood pressure crash on the run.
The run felt great. I approached it the same way I approached the half marathon last weekend. Run at a strong and steady pace, watch my heart rate and don't stop running. It worked well and, as I picked off the kilometres one by one, I enjoyed the moment rather than waiting for it to end.
I crossed the finish line with a blood sugar of 12. Not bad considering that I hadn't checked it before or during the race and had just done it all by feel. I had set a race day basal profile that was supposed to allow me to eat before the swim and during the ride which is exactly what I did. A glance at my CGM when I got home showed me that I had climbed pretty high (16+) during the bike ride but had dropped back down again by the end. So lows were not a problem but I hate being that high during a race. I'll have to tweak those basal numbers before the next race.
Here are the results for this year's race:
Swim 14:38.9 1:57min/100m (Overall 89/240 Gender 27/90 Category 4/18)
Bike 1:13:05 24:62km/hour (Overall 210/240 Gender 74/90 Category 13/18)
Run 51:43.7 6:53min/km (Overall 221/241 Gender 79/90 Category 15/18)
T1 3:23
T2 2:31
Total 2:27:50 (Overall 220/240 Gender 79/90 Category 15/18)
Compare it to the one I did two years ago:
Swim 14:30.00 1:55/100m (Overall 120/296 Gender 43/128 Category 7/20)
Bike 1:03:17 28.44km/hr (overall 224/296 Gender 81/128 Category 14/20)
Run 55:33:00 7:24min/km (Overall 262/296 Gender 105/128 Category 17/20)
T1 2:30
T2 2:39
Total 2:20:45 (Overall 243/296 Gender 99/120 Category 16/20)
The swim times are almost identical. Two years ago I was at my swimming peak, doing master's three times a week and super hardcore. This time I was nowhere near that level of swimming fitness but I did have a wetsuit. So perhaps it did make me faster.
The bike was a lot slower this year - no surprise there considering my lack of practice.
My run was 4 minutes faster which is great. It felt much better too. I remember really struggling in 2013 during that run.
No personal best and I obviously have some work to do if I want to place high on the bike and in the run but it sure was fun.
After a few days of trepidation last week I'm happy to announce that triathlon girl is back!!
Here are a few photos taken from Multisports' Facebook page, the fine folks who organize these great races.
The short version of the story goes something like this
Start swimming. Think "Omigod I forgot how much I loved open water swimming!!". Enjoy a strong swim where I am passed by two people but I pass at least 15 others. Turn at the last buoy and head for shore. Think "The swim is almost over. That's sad. Now I have to hop on the bike for 30k. Bloody hell". Cycle the first 15k thinking "wow, I'm faster than I thought I was. All the half marathon training and winter cycling on the trainer must have paid off". Turn around at 15k and think "nope, that was just a nice tailwind". Cycle 15k into a pretty strong headwind and think "my shoulders and my a$$ are killing me". Finish the bike ride, pull on my running shoes and think "it's only 7.5k. That's like 1/3 of a half marathon and you rocked a half marathon last weekend. You got this!". Run 7.5k without stopping at a strong and steady pace and think "this is the easiest triathlon run I've ever had. I feel great. I love triathlons!" Cross the finish line with a smile on my face and think "when's the next one!"
The longer version is, well, a little bit longer.
We got there super early because this crazy girl decided a 1pm the afternoon before the race that she needed to buy her very first wetsuit. Why?!? Because at 12:30pm she read the race report online and learned that the water temperature in the canal was 15C/59F. The wetsuit mandatory cutoff is 14C and there was no way I was getting there in the morning and finding out that I couldn't swim. So I sucked it up, drove to our local triathlon store, said "do you have any wetsuits in my size?", spent 15 minutes trying to get the damn thing on, felt ridiculous in it and yet walked out with it anyway, a few hundred dollars poorer.
So we got to the race 90 minutes early so I could a) pee a bunch of times before putting on the wetsuit, b) put on the wetsuit and c) swim in it for as long as it took to feel comfortable. Doug, the smart man that he is, set up his transition zone and headed back to the car for 45 minutes where it was warm.
I racked my bike as several other triathletes were arriving. They were all new to the sport and asked me a bunch of newbie questions that made me smile as I remembered wondering all of the same things not that long ago. One of the newbies noticed my pump and proudly showed me his Animas pump. Spotting another T1 in the wild means instant bonding and we kept cheering each other on every time we saw each other during the race.
The donning of the wetsuit went much better the second time. It helped that I knew what to expect, I came prepared with a plastic bag to wrap around my feet (to help them slide more easily) and I was in and zipped (by myself) in less than five minutes. I made my way down to the water where a bunch of folks were milling around trying to decide whether or not to go into the now 16C water. I greeted them all and walked right in. I forced myself to simply tread water for a few minutes while the cold water seeped into the wetsuit (what a strange feeling that is) and I made sure that I wasn't going to start panic-breathing. The water felt cold but manageable and I had no issues getting used to the tighter feel of a wetsuit. I swam a few hundred metres, made sure I wasn't going to freak out and then happily floated around chatting to all the others who were brave enough to get in.
I had a few diabetes issues to figure out at the last minute. First of all, tucking emergency carbs into the pockets of my triathlon suit was not going to work because there was no way to get to them once the wetsuit was on. I ended up stuffing two packages of fruit chews and a ziplock bag with two dates into the arms of my suit. It felt weird but worked fine.
I had also planned to be able to stalk my continuous glucose monitor (CGM) in the time leading up to the race but, once I put the suit on, I could no longer see Rose. And, even if I could, it would not have mattered anyway as she lost the CGM signal, not to be found again until I was finished the swim and took off the wetsuit. So I went on feel and had one date (with salt) 30 minutes before the start and one (again with salt) a minute or two before going in.
When the race started, I swam hard. I felt like I was swimming really fast and I had been told that I would feel that way but I wasn't sure if I just felt fast or if I really was fast. I passed a bunch of swimmers but that's typical for me. Swimming is definitely my forte in a triathlon.
Getting out of the wetsuit was tricky and awkward but I'm sure, with experience, it will be easier. It added a minute to my transition time but I wasn't too worried about that.
The bike ride was easy and fun for the first half and tough on the way back when I hit the headwind. I obviously have not had enough training on the bike and my body could feel it during the last 10k. I'll have to make a point of riding more and riding farther in the next month so that the 40k olympic distance ride doesn't feel quite so never-ending. I did have two dates (with salt) on the bike ride and drank a lot of NUUN in an effort to keep my electrolytes up and prevent a blood pressure crash on the run.
The run felt great. I approached it the same way I approached the half marathon last weekend. Run at a strong and steady pace, watch my heart rate and don't stop running. It worked well and, as I picked off the kilometres one by one, I enjoyed the moment rather than waiting for it to end.
I crossed the finish line with a blood sugar of 12. Not bad considering that I hadn't checked it before or during the race and had just done it all by feel. I had set a race day basal profile that was supposed to allow me to eat before the swim and during the ride which is exactly what I did. A glance at my CGM when I got home showed me that I had climbed pretty high (16+) during the bike ride but had dropped back down again by the end. So lows were not a problem but I hate being that high during a race. I'll have to tweak those basal numbers before the next race.
Here are the results for this year's race:
Swim 14:38.9 1:57min/100m (Overall 89/240 Gender 27/90 Category 4/18)
Bike 1:13:05 24:62km/hour (Overall 210/240 Gender 74/90 Category 13/18)
Run 51:43.7 6:53min/km (Overall 221/241 Gender 79/90 Category 15/18)
T1 3:23
T2 2:31
Total 2:27:50 (Overall 220/240 Gender 79/90 Category 15/18)
Compare it to the one I did two years ago:
Swim 14:30.00 1:55/100m (Overall 120/296 Gender 43/128 Category 7/20)
Bike 1:03:17 28.44km/hr (overall 224/296 Gender 81/128 Category 14/20)
Run 55:33:00 7:24min/km (Overall 262/296 Gender 105/128 Category 17/20)
T1 2:30
T2 2:39
Total 2:20:45 (Overall 243/296 Gender 99/120 Category 16/20)
The swim times are almost identical. Two years ago I was at my swimming peak, doing master's three times a week and super hardcore. This time I was nowhere near that level of swimming fitness but I did have a wetsuit. So perhaps it did make me faster.
The bike was a lot slower this year - no surprise there considering my lack of practice.
My run was 4 minutes faster which is great. It felt much better too. I remember really struggling in 2013 during that run.
No personal best and I obviously have some work to do if I want to place high on the bike and in the run but it sure was fun.
After a few days of trepidation last week I'm happy to announce that triathlon girl is back!!
Here are a few photos taken from Multisports' Facebook page, the fine folks who organize these great races.
Friday, June 12, 2015
Triathlon Trepidations
The summer of 2013 was a big summer in terms of triathlons. We did four of them. And I learned all sorts of things about triathlons and blood sugar management. So much so that I hardly thought about it by the end of the season. Kinda like how I handle long runs. After having done so many of them, I just know what I need to do.
Well after a summer off, I'm feeling decidedly out of practice in the triathlon department.
Thank heaven's I have a little book where I write things down. Like basal rate settings for every triathlon I did in 2013. I have a schedule that is broken up into 30 minute segments from 5am until 2pm, that includes timing for breakfast and snacks and bolus percentages for each, basal rates (by percentage and actual amounts), and a summary of how well it worked in case I forgot (which I did).
It's kinda like trying to read Spanish. I know enough to make out the message but wonder if I'm missing any of the subtleties.
So I guess I'll be programming my pump tonight with a race day basal profile. I'll be trusting my report from two years ago because I have nothing better to go on. I must admit that I'm feeling decidedly out of practice. I've only been back in the pool for a few weeks, I have only had one long bike ride and I just ran a half-marathon 5 days ago and my body is tired.
The good news is that I have a continuous glucose monitor (CGM). Two years ago, I had nothing of the sort so I had to rely on blood sugar checks in the transition zone. Now, other than during the swim where the CGM doesn't work, I'll be able to see what is happening before, during and after and Rose will warn me if I'm high or low. There is a comfort in that.
Come back on Monday and you can hear how it went. I don't expect to have many, if any, photos because Doug won't be out there supporting me this time. He'll be out there swimming, cycling and running with me. But I'm sure I'll have some stories to share and some lessons that we can all learn from.
Well after a summer off, I'm feeling decidedly out of practice in the triathlon department.
Thank heaven's I have a little book where I write things down. Like basal rate settings for every triathlon I did in 2013. I have a schedule that is broken up into 30 minute segments from 5am until 2pm, that includes timing for breakfast and snacks and bolus percentages for each, basal rates (by percentage and actual amounts), and a summary of how well it worked in case I forgot (which I did).
It's kinda like trying to read Spanish. I know enough to make out the message but wonder if I'm missing any of the subtleties.
So I guess I'll be programming my pump tonight with a race day basal profile. I'll be trusting my report from two years ago because I have nothing better to go on. I must admit that I'm feeling decidedly out of practice. I've only been back in the pool for a few weeks, I have only had one long bike ride and I just ran a half-marathon 5 days ago and my body is tired.
The good news is that I have a continuous glucose monitor (CGM). Two years ago, I had nothing of the sort so I had to rely on blood sugar checks in the transition zone. Now, other than during the swim where the CGM doesn't work, I'll be able to see what is happening before, during and after and Rose will warn me if I'm high or low. There is a comfort in that.
Come back on Monday and you can hear how it went. I don't expect to have many, if any, photos because Doug won't be out there supporting me this time. He'll be out there swimming, cycling and running with me. But I'm sure I'll have some stories to share and some lessons that we can all learn from.
Monday, May 4, 2015
A Bit of Faith
Diabetes is just enough of an a$$hole sometimes that it makes it impossible to have faith in the system.
Even when those devilish diabetes gods behave themselves and do the same thing 15 times in a row I I have trouble believing they will do the same thing on the 16th time. Why? Because, in the past, when they have lulled me into a state of compliance and I lowered my guard a tiny bit, that's when they like to throw a curveball (or a hand grenade) my way to shake things up.
Which is why it made it very difficult for me to have faith last Friday when we headed out to the golf course.
It was my first 18-hole game of the season. Eighteen holes means four hours of walking. We cover about 10k at a fairly leisurely but non-stop pace. We walk up hills and down valleys and back up again.
I learned a lot last summer during our rounds of golf and one key lesson I learned was that the only way to survive 18 holes was to play with my basal rates. Trying to do it by eating a few extra carbs was a recipe for disaster and I ended up eating way more than I wanted to.
Last summer I learned to lower my basal rates down to 40-50% for four hours, starting an hour before the game. At some point during the front 9 I would eat a Clif bar without bolusing any insulin for it. Seems pretty simple but it worked fairly well.
So on Friday, I lowered by basal insulin as planned. My blood sugar started dropping around the 4th hole so I ate my Clif bar. By the 6th hole, Rose is vibrating to say that my blood sugar was climbing quickly. By the 7th hole, I was above 10.0 and by the 8th hole, I was over 12 and still climbing.
I bolused 2 units to stop the climb.
By the 9th hole, I had stopped climbing and by the 10th hole, I was beginning to drop.
The insulin I had just taken kicked in and, combined with the 2+ hours of walking, I started dropping...fast.
By the 13th hole I was below four, despite having eaten two packages of fruit chews.
The fruit chews finally kicked in and by the 15th hole I was climbing again. Rose alarmed - two arrows up. By 18, I'm over 10.0 again.
A bit of a roller-coaster ride that left me slightly nauseated and feeling sheepish for not trusting my system.
Sunday, I decided to have faith in the system that I developed last year.
I lowered my basal rate. At the 4th hole I ate my Clif bar. By the 7th hole I was climbing. I reached 12.0 by the 9th hole. Despite desperately wanting to, I refused to bolus.
By the 10th hole I was 11. By the 13th hole I was 10. I slowly drifted downward and, by the time we shook hands at the 18th hole, I was 8.5.
It worked!
Four hours of golf are much more pleasant when I'm walking up and down hills and valleys but my blood sugar is holding steady. One Clif bar and a bit of faith is all it takes.
Even when those devilish diabetes gods behave themselves and do the same thing 15 times in a row I I have trouble believing they will do the same thing on the 16th time. Why? Because, in the past, when they have lulled me into a state of compliance and I lowered my guard a tiny bit, that's when they like to throw a curveball (or a hand grenade) my way to shake things up.
Which is why it made it very difficult for me to have faith last Friday when we headed out to the golf course.
It was my first 18-hole game of the season. Eighteen holes means four hours of walking. We cover about 10k at a fairly leisurely but non-stop pace. We walk up hills and down valleys and back up again.
I learned a lot last summer during our rounds of golf and one key lesson I learned was that the only way to survive 18 holes was to play with my basal rates. Trying to do it by eating a few extra carbs was a recipe for disaster and I ended up eating way more than I wanted to.
Last summer I learned to lower my basal rates down to 40-50% for four hours, starting an hour before the game. At some point during the front 9 I would eat a Clif bar without bolusing any insulin for it. Seems pretty simple but it worked fairly well.
So on Friday, I lowered by basal insulin as planned. My blood sugar started dropping around the 4th hole so I ate my Clif bar. By the 6th hole, Rose is vibrating to say that my blood sugar was climbing quickly. By the 7th hole, I was above 10.0 and by the 8th hole, I was over 12 and still climbing.
I bolused 2 units to stop the climb.
By the 9th hole, I had stopped climbing and by the 10th hole, I was beginning to drop.
The insulin I had just taken kicked in and, combined with the 2+ hours of walking, I started dropping...fast.
By the 13th hole I was below four, despite having eaten two packages of fruit chews.
The fruit chews finally kicked in and by the 15th hole I was climbing again. Rose alarmed - two arrows up. By 18, I'm over 10.0 again.
A bit of a roller-coaster ride that left me slightly nauseated and feeling sheepish for not trusting my system.
Sunday, I decided to have faith in the system that I developed last year.
I lowered my basal rate. At the 4th hole I ate my Clif bar. By the 7th hole I was climbing. I reached 12.0 by the 9th hole. Despite desperately wanting to, I refused to bolus.
By the 10th hole I was 11. By the 13th hole I was 10. I slowly drifted downward and, by the time we shook hands at the 18th hole, I was 8.5.
It worked!
Four hours of golf are much more pleasant when I'm walking up and down hills and valleys but my blood sugar is holding steady. One Clif bar and a bit of faith is all it takes.
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
The Ups and Downs of a Sunday Workout
I haven't written too much about diabetes lately because, for the most part, the diabetes god have been pretty well behaved. They still throw plenty of highs and lows my way but they've been pretty predictable and easily remedied.
Sunday morning was a different story and I was not impressed with their shenanigans. I guess, in hindsight, I was partly to blame but I'm still disgusted by their behaviour.
I woke up on Sunday morning to Rose vibrating next to me. I had just dipped under 4.0 (3.9) after a long slow descent over the last 5-6 hours. To deal with the low, I had four Dex4s. I also turned down my basal rate by 40% for 3 hours since I knew I was going to the fitness centre once I got up.
By the time I was up and dressed and down in the kitchen, my blood sugar was 9 and climbing. Seemed pretty dramatic after only having four Dex4s but I figured it would come back down once I started erg'ing. In fact I knew it would drop down so I had half a banana for good measure.
Ten minutes later I was on the rowing machine and, after 30 minutes of hard work, my blood sugar was 10.4 and dropping. Looking at Rose I could see that I had climbed to 11.5 during the workout before turning south again.
I figured 10.4 was a good number to start my weight training at and that I would probably keep trending downward. I did indeed keep trending downward and got all the way down to 9.0 before heading back up again.
Sixty minutes of weight training later I was 13.5 with an arrow heading straight up. It didn't make sense at the time, After my workout I bolused two units and headed home.
I kept climbing, double arrows up, until I reached 16.9. By then I had 6 units of insulin on board, was starving for breakfast and unable to eat.
I guzzled water, showered, andpatiently waited for the insulin to kick in. After an hour, it finally did and my blood sugar did exactly what I expected it to. It tipped downward, gathered speed and within 30 minutes I went from 16.9 to 10.
I started making breakfast, which was technically now my lunch. By the time it was ready I was 6.4. I ate, my blood sugar climbed up and back down the way it normally does when I eat my breakfast and things were fine for the rest of the day.
Doug asked me why I went so high during the workout.
I guessed that it was because I was lifting weights. That used to happen years ago when I weight trained but I had forgotten.
The combination of 30 minutes of cardio (which usually drops my blood sugar) followed by 45-60 minutes of weights (which apparently brings it up) will take me a few weeks to figure out.
I'll start by not lowing my basal insulin next week and see if that helps avoid the awful high without triggering a low.
Good thing I like to exercise, love numbers and don't mind experimenting. Otherwise I can see how it would be pretty tempting to just stay in bed.
Sunday morning was a different story and I was not impressed with their shenanigans. I guess, in hindsight, I was partly to blame but I'm still disgusted by their behaviour.
I woke up on Sunday morning to Rose vibrating next to me. I had just dipped under 4.0 (3.9) after a long slow descent over the last 5-6 hours. To deal with the low, I had four Dex4s. I also turned down my basal rate by 40% for 3 hours since I knew I was going to the fitness centre once I got up.
By the time I was up and dressed and down in the kitchen, my blood sugar was 9 and climbing. Seemed pretty dramatic after only having four Dex4s but I figured it would come back down once I started erg'ing. In fact I knew it would drop down so I had half a banana for good measure.
Ten minutes later I was on the rowing machine and, after 30 minutes of hard work, my blood sugar was 10.4 and dropping. Looking at Rose I could see that I had climbed to 11.5 during the workout before turning south again.
I figured 10.4 was a good number to start my weight training at and that I would probably keep trending downward. I did indeed keep trending downward and got all the way down to 9.0 before heading back up again.
Sixty minutes of weight training later I was 13.5 with an arrow heading straight up. It didn't make sense at the time, After my workout I bolused two units and headed home.
I kept climbing, double arrows up, until I reached 16.9. By then I had 6 units of insulin on board, was starving for breakfast and unable to eat.
I guzzled water, showered, and
I started making breakfast, which was technically now my lunch. By the time it was ready I was 6.4. I ate, my blood sugar climbed up and back down the way it normally does when I eat my breakfast and things were fine for the rest of the day.
Doug asked me why I went so high during the workout.
I guessed that it was because I was lifting weights. That used to happen years ago when I weight trained but I had forgotten.
The combination of 30 minutes of cardio (which usually drops my blood sugar) followed by 45-60 minutes of weights (which apparently brings it up) will take me a few weeks to figure out.
I'll start by not lowing my basal insulin next week and see if that helps avoid the awful high without triggering a low.
Good thing I like to exercise, love numbers and don't mind experimenting. Otherwise I can see how it would be pretty tempting to just stay in bed.
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
I Hate Blood Sugar Brain
Diabetics: the only people who take drugs so that they don't get high.
Funny eh?
I thought so too.
Until I spent the better part of last weekend taking drugs...to no avail. It didn't seem to matter what I tried - I was stubbornly high.
Like 18+ for five hours straight on Friday night. Despite numerous rage boluses. Despite at one point having enough insulin to kill me raging through my system and only dropping to 11 before climbing back up again.
Like going to bed on Saturday night with a perfect number and waking up three hours later to find a 14.5 staring back at me.
Like Sunday when I woke up to a perfectly wonderful 5.1, had my regular breakfast with my regular bolus, and was 13.5 a few hours later. Then 15.6. I rage bolused once, waited 30 minutes, saw no change, rage bolused again, waited 30 minutes, no change, rage bolused again. No change. By the time I dropped to 12.3 - that number looked almost heavenly.
I chugged my water. I changed my infusion site and put fresh insulin into a new insulin cartridge. I was not sick nor did I feel like I was getting sick. No infections that I am aware of. No stress worth mentioning...unless the stress of being high leads to my being high. How's that for a vicious circle?
It is not the week before my period.
I had a tough swim workout on Friday which should have had me fighting to prevent lows all day.
I ran 20k on Saturday and did not lower my basal insulin before, during or after the run. I should have fought lows all afternoon. Nope.
This happens sometimes. A few days of unexplained highs. I can change my insulin rates but that tends to just lead to lows a few days later once everything settles. So I don't - unless it goes on for too long and then I do. Because I'm just plain fed up with the whole thing.
In the meantime though, my blood sugar-addled brain starts thinking things it probably shouldn't think. Like maybe I'm becoming immune to insulin. Is that even possible? What if I am and that there will be no way to lower my blood sugar? And it just keeps climbing higher and higher...? Do I float away?
What if all the insulin in my fridge has gone bad? All two boxes of it? Do I toss it all out? And buy more? Maybe I got a bad batch of pump supplies? Is that possible? They looked fine but who really knows if they are?
What if my glucometer isn't working properly and I'm really not that high? What if I took too much insulin based on a false number and I'm going to go horribly low? I should double check my number. Yep, still 18. Oh wait. What if the glucometer got it wrong again?
Then my blood sugar finally comes down enough for me to start thinking a little more rationally. And remind myself that this happens sometimes. And that diabetes sucks. And it's unpredictable. And annoying. And mean. And I'm not going to die because I randomly developed an immunity to insulin.
And my numbers settle back into their kinda predictable pattern and life resumes it's kinda predictable routine.
And Blood Sugar Brain goes back into his box until the next time...
Thursday, September 5, 2013
Diabetes Centre Visit - The Results
Yesterday I had my six-month appointment at the Diabetes Centre.
You might remember last week when I wrote about my two-week log of food, exercise, blood glucose readings and insulin doses. I mentioned that I had been experiencing one low per day, pretty much every day, for two weeks. Without much of a pattern to it. Sometimes at 3am. Sometimes after breakfast. Sometimes before dinner. Or after dinner.
I had a nice chat with my diabetes doctor and here is what I learned.
I'm having too many lows.
We both agree on that.
She reminded me of the general rule of thumb when it comes to lows:
- If I'm low within two hours of eating, I need to reduce my bolus amount.
- If I'm low before a meal, or in the middle of the night, I need to adjust my basal rates.
I told her that I had reduced my basal rates across the board because the lows seemed all over the place. She said that was fine. I also said that I was just (and I mean just as in five minutes ago) reduce my dinner bolus calculation to avoid the pre-bed second dinners I've had to eat to avoid 3am lows.
Within seconds of flipping through my information she noticed that I was low or under 5.0 every day at lunch time. She recommend that mornings are probably a good place to start. Since I was low by lunch, not after breakfast, my basal rates are probably too high, especially considering I exercise most mornings. So I'm dropping those down and we'll see if that helps with the before lunch stuff. Once those are better I'll be looking for after lunch and before dinner patterns.
She was really helpful. No judging. No lectures. Just another pair of eyes to pour over the numbers and try to make sense of them.
She also suggested that I try uploading the information from my pump which I have yet to try. She said it will help me identify patterns there too. Looks like I need to pull out my big bag of Animas stuff that I have tucked away in the closet and figure out how to do that this weekend.
End result?
My A1C was 6.6 which, as she put it, is fabulous if I can achieve it without too many lows. I'm experiencing too many lows so she wants me to fix that and aim for closer to 7.0 for my next appointment in February.
Yes ma'am.
You might remember last week when I wrote about my two-week log of food, exercise, blood glucose readings and insulin doses. I mentioned that I had been experiencing one low per day, pretty much every day, for two weeks. Without much of a pattern to it. Sometimes at 3am. Sometimes after breakfast. Sometimes before dinner. Or after dinner.
I had a nice chat with my diabetes doctor and here is what I learned.
I'm having too many lows.
We both agree on that.
She reminded me of the general rule of thumb when it comes to lows:
- If I'm low within two hours of eating, I need to reduce my bolus amount.
- If I'm low before a meal, or in the middle of the night, I need to adjust my basal rates.
I told her that I had reduced my basal rates across the board because the lows seemed all over the place. She said that was fine. I also said that I was just (and I mean just as in five minutes ago) reduce my dinner bolus calculation to avoid the pre-bed second dinners I've had to eat to avoid 3am lows.
Within seconds of flipping through my information she noticed that I was low or under 5.0 every day at lunch time. She recommend that mornings are probably a good place to start. Since I was low by lunch, not after breakfast, my basal rates are probably too high, especially considering I exercise most mornings. So I'm dropping those down and we'll see if that helps with the before lunch stuff. Once those are better I'll be looking for after lunch and before dinner patterns.
She was really helpful. No judging. No lectures. Just another pair of eyes to pour over the numbers and try to make sense of them.
She also suggested that I try uploading the information from my pump which I have yet to try. She said it will help me identify patterns there too. Looks like I need to pull out my big bag of Animas stuff that I have tucked away in the closet and figure out how to do that this weekend.
End result?
My A1C was 6.6 which, as she put it, is fabulous if I can achieve it without too many lows. I'm experiencing too many lows so she wants me to fix that and aim for closer to 7.0 for my next appointment in February.
Yes ma'am.
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Math Tests
It's that time again.
The two weeks where I cart around a pack of paper and a pen with me and I write down everything I eat, every blood sugar reading, every basal adjustment, every site change and all my exercise. In a few weeks I'm heading back to the Diabetes Centre from another appointment with my doctor.
I don't really mind keeping a log for two weeks.
I like doing it because it forces me to document things and then look at the patterns that may, or may not, emerge.
I like doing it because I don't wear a CGM (not an option in Canada yet) so it's hard to spot patterns unless they are staring me in the face. And unless I write them down, they don't stare me in the face.
I like doing it because it keeps me accountable and it makes me second guess what I eat. It's easier to turn down a handful of swedish berries if I know I have to write them down.
I hate doing it because I feel the need to justify every high and low I write down. I write extra notes to explain why I'm high or low. I plan my response to the questions I know I am going to be asked. I force down the feelings of guilt that, irrational as they are, bubble to the surface.
Diabetes isn't like high school math - despite the fact that numbers are involved in both. In high school, if I studied hard enough, I could sometimes pull off 100% on a math test. Or close to it anyway. If I didn't do well on a test, there weren't too many excuses to fall back on other than 'I should have worked harder'.
Diabetes isn't like that.
No matter how hard you work, you will NEVER get 100% on the test.
Ever.
You will always mess up. You will bolus too much or not enough sometimes. You will always have highs or lows that don't make sense. You will always have highs or lows that are entirely preventable yet they happen anyway.
When I am just living my life, it's pretty easy to treat, correct and move on.
When I am documenting my life for two weeks, it feels a little more like I keep failing my math tests.
Bleh.
The two weeks where I cart around a pack of paper and a pen with me and I write down everything I eat, every blood sugar reading, every basal adjustment, every site change and all my exercise. In a few weeks I'm heading back to the Diabetes Centre from another appointment with my doctor.
I don't really mind keeping a log for two weeks.
I like doing it because it forces me to document things and then look at the patterns that may, or may not, emerge.
I like doing it because I don't wear a CGM (not an option in Canada yet) so it's hard to spot patterns unless they are staring me in the face. And unless I write them down, they don't stare me in the face.
I like doing it because it keeps me accountable and it makes me second guess what I eat. It's easier to turn down a handful of swedish berries if I know I have to write them down.
I hate doing it because I feel the need to justify every high and low I write down. I write extra notes to explain why I'm high or low. I plan my response to the questions I know I am going to be asked. I force down the feelings of guilt that, irrational as they are, bubble to the surface.
Diabetes isn't like high school math - despite the fact that numbers are involved in both. In high school, if I studied hard enough, I could sometimes pull off 100% on a math test. Or close to it anyway. If I didn't do well on a test, there weren't too many excuses to fall back on other than 'I should have worked harder'.
Diabetes isn't like that.
No matter how hard you work, you will NEVER get 100% on the test.
Ever.
You will always mess up. You will bolus too much or not enough sometimes. You will always have highs or lows that don't make sense. You will always have highs or lows that are entirely preventable yet they happen anyway.
When I am just living my life, it's pretty easy to treat, correct and move on.
When I am documenting my life for two weeks, it feels a little more like I keep failing my math tests.
Bleh.
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Aktiv Race Series - Part II
Friday night, I competed in my second Aktiv Race Series 1.9k open water swim.
The first one I did, back in July, had me pretty nervous. I spent the day with butterflies fluttering around in my stomach.
Friday, I woke up with the same feeling. Which was odd because, once I know what to expect, I'm usually pretty cool the second time around.
Not being used to evening exercise, I had a diabetes plan that I hoped would work.
- I would have my normal lunch at my normal time.
- I would had a snack at 3pm and take a full bolus for it. The race was a 6pm so I figured my blood sugar would be down to normal and I'd have very little, if any, insulin on board.
- I would reduce my basal rate to 60% at 4:30pm. I never reduce my basal before morning swims but my blood sugar drops more easily in the evenings so I figured better safe than sorry.
At 3pm, I had a peanut butter and banana sandwich and took the full bolus for it. At 4pm, I was 11.2 which is actually a bit low only an hour after eating. At 4:20pm I was 9.5. My nerves kicked in and I decided to eat three mini chocolates to stop myself from dropping too low.
We got in the car at 4:40pm and drove to Welland. Doug wanted to get an open water swim practice in before my race and I was happy to have lots of time there to get in 'the zone'.
At 5pm, my blood sugar was 13.8. Bah! From three little chocolates? Or from nerves?? I decided to take a very small (0.3 units) correction bolus.
At 5:30pm, I was 13.0. Not dropping. Not climbing. Not great but not so awful that I couldn't swim. I decided not to have a gel but I also turned off my 60% basal rate figuring it might help prevent me from being too high when I finished.
I pulled off my shorts and t-shirt. I pulled on my swim cap and goggles. I tucked two emergency gels in my bathing suit. I noticed that there seemed to be a lot of wetsuit-clad folks and only two (that I could see) bathing suit clad folks.
I dove in and did a short warm up. My plan for the swim was to go at a fast pace that I thought I could hold for the entire swim. The first time I did it I pushed hard but I had some energy left at the end. I wanted to knock a few seconds off my time and see if I could hold a faster pace.
I reminded myself to kick.
The horn blew and we were off.
I won't go through the swim in any great detail but I will say that I pushed hard and kept it up the entire time. I felt strong during the swim and spent when I finished. I hauled myself on to the dock (as ungracefully as the first time) and ran to the timing mat. I was a little wobbly and a little dizzy but felt pretty damn good.
I checked my blood sugar.
I was 3.7.
I dropped from 13.0 to 3.7 in 35 minutes. That's about as close as I ever want to cut it. Another 200m and I would have been in trouble. Lesson learned.
Oh, and my time from the first race was: 36:53.
My second attempt was done in: 35:56 (almost a minute faster!)
The first one I did, back in July, had me pretty nervous. I spent the day with butterflies fluttering around in my stomach.
Friday, I woke up with the same feeling. Which was odd because, once I know what to expect, I'm usually pretty cool the second time around.
Not being used to evening exercise, I had a diabetes plan that I hoped would work.
- I would have my normal lunch at my normal time.
- I would had a snack at 3pm and take a full bolus for it. The race was a 6pm so I figured my blood sugar would be down to normal and I'd have very little, if any, insulin on board.
- I would reduce my basal rate to 60% at 4:30pm. I never reduce my basal before morning swims but my blood sugar drops more easily in the evenings so I figured better safe than sorry.
At 3pm, I had a peanut butter and banana sandwich and took the full bolus for it. At 4pm, I was 11.2 which is actually a bit low only an hour after eating. At 4:20pm I was 9.5. My nerves kicked in and I decided to eat three mini chocolates to stop myself from dropping too low.
We got in the car at 4:40pm and drove to Welland. Doug wanted to get an open water swim practice in before my race and I was happy to have lots of time there to get in 'the zone'.
At 5pm, my blood sugar was 13.8. Bah! From three little chocolates? Or from nerves?? I decided to take a very small (0.3 units) correction bolus.
At 5:30pm, I was 13.0. Not dropping. Not climbing. Not great but not so awful that I couldn't swim. I decided not to have a gel but I also turned off my 60% basal rate figuring it might help prevent me from being too high when I finished.
I pulled off my shorts and t-shirt. I pulled on my swim cap and goggles. I tucked two emergency gels in my bathing suit. I noticed that there seemed to be a lot of wetsuit-clad folks and only two (that I could see) bathing suit clad folks.
I dove in and did a short warm up. My plan for the swim was to go at a fast pace that I thought I could hold for the entire swim. The first time I did it I pushed hard but I had some energy left at the end. I wanted to knock a few seconds off my time and see if I could hold a faster pace.
I reminded myself to kick.
The horn blew and we were off.
I won't go through the swim in any great detail but I will say that I pushed hard and kept it up the entire time. I felt strong during the swim and spent when I finished. I hauled myself on to the dock (as ungracefully as the first time) and ran to the timing mat. I was a little wobbly and a little dizzy but felt pretty damn good.
I checked my blood sugar.
I was 3.7.
I dropped from 13.0 to 3.7 in 35 minutes. That's about as close as I ever want to cut it. Another 200m and I would have been in trouble. Lesson learned.
Oh, and my time from the first race was: 36:53.
My second attempt was done in: 35:56 (almost a minute faster!)
Monday, August 12, 2013
I Heard You the First Time
Last Friday, I was down to 19 units of insulin in my pump when I headed to work. I know it would be close but I figured I'd have just enough insulin left to get me through my workday. I hate wasting insulin if I can avoid it. I've been known to bring my needle to work with me for days when I have enough insulin left in the pump to take care of my basal but not enough for meals or snacks.
That being said, I have never actually run Lucky down to zero. He's been close but there was always at least one unit left when I changed him.
On Friday, I left work at 2:00pm. I had three quick errands to run on the way home. I drove to the first one and, as I was backing in to the parking spot, my pump alarmed. No insulin left it said. Lucky asked me to confirm the message. I did.
Thanks Lucky! We'll be home in less than 30 minutes and I'll change you right away. I promise.
I headed into the store and grabbed the three items I needed. I walked up to the counter to pay and my pump alarmed again.
Maybe I didn't actually confirm the alarm the first time. I double-checked to confirm that I was indeed confirming the message and proceeded to pay and head back to my car.
Thanks for the reminder Lucky. I'll change you as soon as I get home.
I tossed the items in the car, did up my seat belt and prepared to pull out.
Lucky alarmed again.
Are you kidding me? Same message. Same confirmation on my part.
Lucky - enough already. I get it. You want me to change you NOW. Well, I'm not home NOW but I'll be home in 20 minutes so relax!
I made two more quick stops. He continued to alarm like a misbehaving child every few minutes. He went off twice when I was checking out of grocery store. Twice when I was walking to my car and loading the groceries and twice when I was driving the short trip home.
I debated taking out the battery to shut him up but it would be out for too long and I'd have to re-entre all my settings. I debating looking through the menus to see if there was a way to reduce the irritating alarm but I was too annoyed by the obnoxious alarms to do anything other than rush home.
I got home, dragged my haul into the house and tossed it on the counter. Doug came down to say hello and happy weekend. I tried not to make my irritation too evident and told him through gritted teeth that I had to change my pump...NOW!
He unloaded the groceries, I changed Lucky and a fabulous sense of peace descended on the house.
Lucky - you know I love you. But holy hannah you're an annoying little dude when you're unhappy.
Monday, July 22, 2013
Belwood Triathlon
Sometimes I plan races for months. I sign up so early I get a super cheap rate and I have a training schedule posted on the chalkboard in the kitchen.
Other times, I race on a whim.
Last Wednesday, Doug and I were looking at our calendars for the summer and trying to decide which triathlons worked with our schedules.
"There's one in Fergus this Saturday" he said. We have great friends in Fergus with a lovely house along the river. "Sure, c'mon up, we'd love the have you" they said when Doug called.
So on Thursday morning, we signed ourselves up for our second triathlon in 7 days.
Good lord.
No training plan. No tapering plan. I was just glad we had our laundry done from Gravenhurst before we packed it all up in the car again.
At least it was a sprint rather than an Olympic tri. I only had to swim 750m, bike 30k and run 7.5k this time.
Neither of us had raced Belwood before. When we arrived, we discovered that it's a lovely conservation area with a surprisingly big lake and beautiful roads for running and biking.
The days leading up to the race had been horribly hot and humid. I'm talking 40 with the humidex kinda awful.
On Friday evening, the clouds rolled in and a super storm roared through southern Ontario. By Saturday morning the temperature had dropped to 17 degrees and we actually regretted not packing light jackets. How nice was that timing eh?
My blood sugar/basal rate plan didn't go quite as smoothly as Gravenhurst did but it was still pretty stellar compared to my pre-waterproof pump days. I spiked after breakfast and was not pleased to discover that I was 16.4 thirty minutes before the start. I bolused to correct it despite the risk of going low. Ten minutes before race time I was 14. I was dropping (that's good) but it seemed a bit fast so I had a gel despite the risk of going high again.
(Diabetes is a lot like gambling isn't it? With a bit of go with your gut and what the hell thrown in for fun.)
The swim went well. I finished the swim and the long run to transition in 16:09 and was 5/18 in my age group for the swim. The fact that I'm in the top third just seems so crazy to me but I love that I can hold my own in the water. A guy from the wave ahead of me who I caught and passed yelled "wow, you're fast in the water" as he ran by me into transition. How's that for an ego boost?
Post-swim BG was 8.5. I quickly weighed the pros and cons of eating something and decided not to. I paid close attention to how I felt on the bike but did the entire 30k without eating anything. I wanted a gel before the run and didn't want to be too high on the bike.
The bike went fairly well. My overall pace was 25.5k/hour and I finished the 30k in 1:10:37. Slower than Welland but pretty good considering the nasty headwind and 'rolling' hills we had for a lot of it. I was 30km/hour (ish) on most of the flats and I passed a lot more people than I normally do. So yay for getting faster on the bike.
Post-bike BG was 4.6. Too low to run obviously but not too bad. I had a gel and raisins in transition and headed out for a 7.5k run.
The run was my best triathlon run yet. I am normally pretty toasted by the run and have not yet completed a tri or du run without several extended walking breaks. My pace is usually 7:00 (or higher) min/k and it's all I can do to finish.
This time, I ran. I didn't go crazy but I only allowed myself to stop briefly (15 seconds or so) at water stations. And I only stopped at 3 of the 6 stations. I ran 7.5k in 48.11 which is a pace of 6:28 min/k. I felt tired but strong and was so so proud of myself. PLUS I knocked 7 minutes off my Welland run time for the same distance.
I finished with a time of 2:21:27 which put me 16/18 in my age group. Nothing to write home about but I am getting better with each event in terms of how I handle each sport, how I handle my blood sugars and how I feel at the end.
Oh, and how did Doug do you ask?
Other times, I race on a whim.
Last Wednesday, Doug and I were looking at our calendars for the summer and trying to decide which triathlons worked with our schedules.
"There's one in Fergus this Saturday" he said. We have great friends in Fergus with a lovely house along the river. "Sure, c'mon up, we'd love the have you" they said when Doug called.
So on Thursday morning, we signed ourselves up for our second triathlon in 7 days.
Good lord.
No training plan. No tapering plan. I was just glad we had our laundry done from Gravenhurst before we packed it all up in the car again.
At least it was a sprint rather than an Olympic tri. I only had to swim 750m, bike 30k and run 7.5k this time.
Neither of us had raced Belwood before. When we arrived, we discovered that it's a lovely conservation area with a surprisingly big lake and beautiful roads for running and biking.
The days leading up to the race had been horribly hot and humid. I'm talking 40 with the humidex kinda awful.
On Friday evening, the clouds rolled in and a super storm roared through southern Ontario. By Saturday morning the temperature had dropped to 17 degrees and we actually regretted not packing light jackets. How nice was that timing eh?
My blood sugar/basal rate plan didn't go quite as smoothly as Gravenhurst did but it was still pretty stellar compared to my pre-waterproof pump days. I spiked after breakfast and was not pleased to discover that I was 16.4 thirty minutes before the start. I bolused to correct it despite the risk of going low. Ten minutes before race time I was 14. I was dropping (that's good) but it seemed a bit fast so I had a gel despite the risk of going high again.
(Diabetes is a lot like gambling isn't it? With a bit of go with your gut and what the hell thrown in for fun.)
The swim went well. I finished the swim and the long run to transition in 16:09 and was 5/18 in my age group for the swim. The fact that I'm in the top third just seems so crazy to me but I love that I can hold my own in the water. A guy from the wave ahead of me who I caught and passed yelled "wow, you're fast in the water" as he ran by me into transition. How's that for an ego boost?
Post-swim BG was 8.5. I quickly weighed the pros and cons of eating something and decided not to. I paid close attention to how I felt on the bike but did the entire 30k without eating anything. I wanted a gel before the run and didn't want to be too high on the bike.
The bike went fairly well. My overall pace was 25.5k/hour and I finished the 30k in 1:10:37. Slower than Welland but pretty good considering the nasty headwind and 'rolling' hills we had for a lot of it. I was 30km/hour (ish) on most of the flats and I passed a lot more people than I normally do. So yay for getting faster on the bike.
Post-bike BG was 4.6. Too low to run obviously but not too bad. I had a gel and raisins in transition and headed out for a 7.5k run.
The run was my best triathlon run yet. I am normally pretty toasted by the run and have not yet completed a tri or du run without several extended walking breaks. My pace is usually 7:00 (or higher) min/k and it's all I can do to finish.
This time, I ran. I didn't go crazy but I only allowed myself to stop briefly (15 seconds or so) at water stations. And I only stopped at 3 of the 6 stations. I ran 7.5k in 48.11 which is a pace of 6:28 min/k. I felt tired but strong and was so so proud of myself. PLUS I knocked 7 minutes off my Welland run time for the same distance.
I finished with a time of 2:21:27 which put me 16/18 in my age group. Nothing to write home about but I am getting better with each event in terms of how I handle each sport, how I handle my blood sugars and how I feel at the end.
Oh, and how did Doug do you ask?
Second in his age group in his second triathlon. Swim 18:02, Bike 1:07:53, Run 39:20. Total time: 2:10:12.
Best of all, we waited around for his medal so we also got to be there for the draw prizes. He won a gift certificate for 3 dozen Hero burgers (woot!) and I won the grand prize which was this wicked cooler from Chocolate Milk (the title sponser) filled with socks, a t-shirt, a hoodie, towels and an ice pack from Milk. We looked pretty funny with all our loot.
Thursday, July 11, 2013
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.
Monday, July 8, 2013
Aktiv Swim Series - Race Recap
Friday night we headed to the Welland Flatwater Recreation Centre. Doug wanted some open-water swim practice so we went early enough for him to get a swim in before the race started.
Here he is after his 600m swim - all ready for Gravenhurst next weekend.
By the way, Doug and I usually swim together in open water. It was surprisingly hard to stand on the dock and watch him get smaller and smaller as he swam further and further away. I was much happier to have him within reach.
Once he was safely back on land, it was time to get ready for my race. I was a little nervous because I have not had much practice with swimming in the evenings and was worried about my blood sugar. As a precaution I had set a 50% basal rate starting at 4:30pm for two hours. The race was at 6:00pm so I figured that would help avoid lows. My blood sugar at 5pm was 9.0. At 5:30pm it was 8.7. It seemed to be pretty steady and the low basal would hopefully keep it that way.
I tucked two gels into my bathing suit just in case...
All in all it was a great evening of swimming and I will absolutely do it again in a few weeks.
Here he is after his 600m swim - all ready for Gravenhurst next weekend.
By the way, Doug and I usually swim together in open water. It was surprisingly hard to stand on the dock and watch him get smaller and smaller as he swam further and further away. I was much happier to have him within reach.
Once he was safely back on land, it was time to get ready for my race. I was a little nervous because I have not had much practice with swimming in the evenings and was worried about my blood sugar. As a precaution I had set a 50% basal rate starting at 4:30pm for two hours. The race was at 6:00pm so I figured that would help avoid lows. My blood sugar at 5pm was 9.0. At 5:30pm it was 8.7. It seemed to be pretty steady and the low basal would hopefully keep it that way.
I tucked two gels into my bathing suit just in case...
Modelling the lime green swim caps that we were given to wear. For the record: it totally clashed with my blue nail polish and blue and yellow bathing suit.
Testing out my new goggles that I just bought. They are not prescription because I normally wear contact lenses during triathlons and I learned the hard way last summer that contact lenses + prescription goggles = a very fuzzy landscape. I wanted to give them a good test run before Gravenhurst to check for leaks.
They fit nicely and didn't leak at all. Lesson for next time: wash off eye makeup before evening swims or you come out of the water with some pretty funky racoon eyes.
Warming up my muscles and getting used to the still slightly chilly water temperatures. At least I wasn't the only person not wearing a wetsuit.
Janice and I splashing around before the start.
We had a mass start. They forgot to bring the horn so the organizer stood on the dock and yelled "Ready? Go!". There were 19 people swimming the 1.9k race and 12 swimming the 3.8k. The course was 1.9k long so the longer distance swimmers had to swim it twice. My goal was to not get lapped.
Almost at the finish. I totally thought I had decent sighting technique. Apparently I lift my entire head out of the water. Gonna have to work on that skill.
The hardest part of the race was that we had to heave ourselves up onto the dock and run to the timing mat in order to register our time. Upper body strength after a hard swim is not my forte. Laughing while trying to get out probably didn't help.
I struggled halfway up and then fell back in.
After that I gave up trying to maintain any semblance of dignity. I flopped down on my stomach and rolled my way on to the dock.
Seriously?!? It's wet and slippery and I'm freaking tired. And I could hear the clock tick tick ticking away as I struggled my way up.
Made it!
This is the only photo that gives a sense of the race course. The bridge in the distance is 500m. We swam 950m out and then back again.
Don't slip, don't slip.
Done and done! I finished 12/19 with a time of 36:53. I beat a bunch of the wetsuit swimmers too. According to Christine, my coach, swimming in a wetsuit is like running with rollerblades. It's a wee exaggeration I'm sure but I'm glad I can keep up with folks who have an 'edge'.
My post-swim nose honk that I apparently always do but never noticed until Doug started taking pictures of it. By the end of the summer I'll have an entire gallery of nose pulling pics.
I'm really happy with how it went. It's hard to judge pace out there in the water but I felt like I maintained a decent speed the entire time. I pushed hard but not so hard that I struggled to breathe and I was still strong at the end (just not strong enough to get out of the water!). When I passed the bridge and had about 400m left, I asked myself if I could now get out and hop on the bike for 40k followed by a 10k run. I decided that I probably could but that I would definitely need to pace myself in order to survive.
My post race blood sugar was 6.9 which was pretty freaking awesome and my pump survived the mass start with all the kicking and flailing.
Blood sugar a few hours later was 22.0 which was totally not awesome. It took hours to come down despite a few rage boluses. Apparently I'll be needing a post-swim basal increase to prevent THAT awful feeling from happening again.
All in all it was a great evening of swimming and I will absolutely do it again in a few weeks.
Monday, June 24, 2013
Welland Sprint Triathlon 2013
Well folks, the first triathlon of 2013 is complete....and I have the marks to prove it.
The event was harder and easier than I expected it to be...and my basal profile experiment proved to be more effective and less effective than I hoped it would be.
Let's start at the beginning shall we?
I was up and making breakfast by 5:45am. We ate, dressed, loaded the car, and headed to Welland, arriving just after 7am for an 8:30am start. We racked our bikes, got our numbers, organized our transition zones and headed down to the water for 7:45am.
If you run out of sunscreen, black marker is apparently a very effective alternative
The event was harder and easier than I expected it to be...and my basal profile experiment proved to be more effective and less effective than I hoped it would be.
Let's start at the beginning shall we?
I was up and making breakfast by 5:45am. We ate, dressed, loaded the car, and headed to Welland, arriving just after 7am for an 8:30am start. We racked our bikes, got our numbers, organized our transition zones and headed down to the water for 7:45am.
I had figured out the perfect spot for my pump. Tucked safely out of the way, no tubing dangling anywhere and no chance of it falling off into the murky abyss that is the Welland Canal.
Here it is, in case you didn't spot it in the first photo.
I hopped in for a pre-race swim. The water, like last weekend, was brisk but not uncomfortable...for me anyway. By the start of the race, I counted three (myself included) people who were not swimming in wetsuits. The other 276 folks were all stuffed into their rubber suits, looking rather uncomfortable.
Pre-practice swim
My post-practice honk.
Twenty minutes before the race, my blood sugar was 7.4. That number is pretty perfect but I was a little worried that my basal profile wouldn't work so I had a box of raisins before the start - in addition to the GU that I had planned to have.
The swim is a staggered start which means that one swimmer heads off every 5 seconds. I was number 132 ( as you might have noticed in the first photo) so it took a while before my turn came up. When it did, I pushed off and headed out for my favourite part of the event. The swim went very well. I settled into a nice rhythm and passed a bunch of swimmers. Only two passed me!
Out of the water I came and I had to run 400m on asphalt. Barefoot. I took it gingerly but still ended up with pretty sore feet by the time I hobbled to my bike. I transitioned as quickly as I could and headed off for 30km of riding. The bike went surprisingly well. I held a 30km/hour pace for most of it, only slowing down in the headwind. It was getting hotter and more humid by the minute so I forced myself to drink my entire bottle of water.
Off the bike and back into transition. My blood sugar check showed 8.9 which was pretty sweet after starting the race an hour and a half earlier at 7.4 It had barely moved. It also meant that I was too high for my second GU gel so I headed off with it in my pocket...just in case.
The run was...tough.
I was tired and it was really hot and really humid. I had planned to run 9 minutes and walk 1 to protect my foot. I did that for the first 9 minutes but, once I stopped, I found it really hard to run again. I ran five minutes, then walked two. Then I ran four minutes, then walked again. My foot didn't hurt at all during the entire 7.5k but I felt like a brand new runner, not someone who has been running for years. I didn't have the physical running fitness (or the mental running fitness) I needed to push myself to just keep running. I made it back to the finish doing a pretty pathetic walk/run routine and I was pretty tired by the end.
My finishing BG was 10.2.
Here are the lessons from the day.
My blood sugar was fairly steady throughout the event which means that I did a pretty good job with the basal rates. I think the fact that I was a little higher than I wanted at the end was a combination of the pre-race raisins and the fact that it was really really hot and I was more dehydrated than I should have been by the end.
As for the race itself, let's compare it to the Guelph Lake triathlon of last September when I was in fine running form.
Welland triathlon 2013
750m swim 14:30 (pace 1:56/100m)
30k bike 1:03:17 (pace 28:40 km/hour)
7.5k run 55:33 (pace 7:25 min/k)
transition 1 2:30
transition 2 2:39
Total time: 2:20:45
Guelph Lake 2012
750m swim 16:44 (pace 2:14/100m)
30k bike 1:10:46 (pace 25:40 km/hour)
7.0k run 47:27 (pace 6:47min/k)
transition 1 3:01
transition 2 2:53
Total time 2:20:48
I am a much faster swimmer and much stronger cyclist than I was last year.
I am getting faster at the transitions zones (although there is still lots of room for improvement there).
My running fitness definitely declined from where it was last year.
And my finishing time didn't move an inch.
Friday, June 21, 2013
My Week in Bullet Points
My week in bullet points.
- the receptionist at my doctor's office called to say that the results of my bone density scan came in. She said that my doctor wanted me to take 1000mg of vitamin D and 500mg of calcium every day. "What were the results?" I asked (not knowing if there was a bone density number we're supposed to strive for and how far off the target I was). "She just said that you should start taking vitamin D and calcium" was the response. Fine, I'll assume I'm not in the final stages of osteoporosis and I'll ask for more details at my next appointment.
- I ran 25 minutes on last weekend and 30 minutes on Tuesday. My foot was a little achy (but no pain I swear!) after Tuesday's run. I had a massage on Wednesday and it felt much better. Neither my massage therapist nor I have any idea why my foot would ache after some runs but not others. Why there is no pain ever but an ache. Keep running unless it gets worse was the message I was given. I took Thursday off as a precaution and will see how things feel on race day. Oh dear, that's tomorrow!
- I set up my race day basal profile on my pump. A calculator was involved because I had worked out my profile based on percentages of my current profile and then realized I needed to figure out what the units/hour actually were. I relied on a calculator to make sure I didn't screw up and end up really messing up my race day. My math teachers would be so disappointed in me but my diabetes education team would be proud of my careful planning.
- I went to the driving range twice. The first time because I hadn't been in two weeks and really wanted to practice. The second time because I was so bad the first time and needed to try to redeem myself. I didn't. Apparently, golf, like any other sport, requires more than twice a month practice sessions in order to improve.
- I changed the battery on my Animas pump for the first time. Let me tell you, Animas may come first when it comes to being super waterproof but the battery-changing process leaves something to be desired. It took me over five minutes to change the battery and work through all the safety checks (like rewind the pump, reload the cartridge, re-prime the pump). I understand these are all useful safety features but I'm no longer going to be able to change my battery on the fly (like in the middle of a half marathon or while driving on the highway). This is going to take some pre-planning.
- I didn't wash my hair yesterday. Because I swim, run or bike every morning, I need to wash my hair every day whether I want to or not. Since I skipped my run, I simply tied my hair back, took a quick shower and went to work. It felt very weird but I sure liked all the free time I had in the morning.
- I think I'm more susceptible to suggestions than I want to be. I wrote a blog earlier this week about hating the harpooning devices for infusion sites. Scott and Jeff both wrote to say that they love them (in fact I believe Scott used the word "addicted"). I immediately decided that maybe I could love them too if I just tried a little harder. I'm even considering ordering a box of them so that I get more time to learn to love them. Boys, you are a very bad influence on me. If I become addicted like Scott to spring-loaded insertions, it's on your heads.
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Sprint Triathlon Basal Profile - Draft
Alright folks, I've worked out a rough draft for my race day basal profile. I have never tackled a race day like this before and I'm excited to see how it works out.
First, the logic behind the numbers.
1. I want to eat breakfast 3 hours before the race so that most of the bolus insulin is out of my system by race time.
2. I want to be able to have a GU gel (20 carbs) without bolusing before the swim and again before the run.
3. I want to avoid lows at all cost but I also want to avoid the highs I was plagued with during each triathlon last summer.
I am planning to create a race day basal profile that I will start on race day and my basal rates will change at preset times so I don't have to remember to do it myself in the heat of the moment.
Here is the race day timeline based on estimated finish times of the swim, bike and run:
5:30am breakfast
8:30am swim start (have a GU right before the swim)
9:00am bike start
10:15am run start (have second GU in transition zone before the run)
11:00am race finished
Here's the proposed basal profile and rationale
7:00am 60% basal rate - to prevent lows during the swim and the bike
8:30am - have a GU gel immediately before the start of the swim
8:45am 120% basal rate (to counteract the GU and the high that I would most likely have after the short swim)
9:00am 60% basal rate (to prepare for the run)
10:15am second GU gel
10:45am 120% basal rate - to prevent the post-race spike in blood sugar and to help deal with the GU
11:30am 50% basal rate - to prevent the lows I have in the hours after the race
2:30pm 100% basal rate - return to my regular basal profile
I may tweak this a bit more before race day. I want to factor in the delicious chocolate milk that they serve at the finish line but I'm not sure if I should adjust my basal rate in anticipation or just bolus for it.
I have no idea if this plan will make for a perfect BG race or make for three hours of this guy:
First, the logic behind the numbers.
1. I want to eat breakfast 3 hours before the race so that most of the bolus insulin is out of my system by race time.
2. I want to be able to have a GU gel (20 carbs) without bolusing before the swim and again before the run.
3. I want to avoid lows at all cost but I also want to avoid the highs I was plagued with during each triathlon last summer.
I am planning to create a race day basal profile that I will start on race day and my basal rates will change at preset times so I don't have to remember to do it myself in the heat of the moment.
Here is the race day timeline based on estimated finish times of the swim, bike and run:
5:30am breakfast
8:30am swim start (have a GU right before the swim)
9:00am bike start
10:15am run start (have second GU in transition zone before the run)
11:00am race finished
Here's the proposed basal profile and rationale
7:00am 60% basal rate - to prevent lows during the swim and the bike
8:30am - have a GU gel immediately before the start of the swim
8:45am 120% basal rate (to counteract the GU and the high that I would most likely have after the short swim)
9:00am 60% basal rate (to prepare for the run)
10:15am second GU gel
10:45am 120% basal rate - to prevent the post-race spike in blood sugar and to help deal with the GU
11:30am 50% basal rate - to prevent the lows I have in the hours after the race
2:30pm 100% basal rate - return to my regular basal profile
I may tweak this a bit more before race day. I want to factor in the delicious chocolate milk that they serve at the finish line but I'm not sure if I should adjust my basal rate in anticipation or just bolus for it.
I have no idea if this plan will make for a perfect BG race or make for three hours of this guy:
Meet the crazy diabetes rabbit
The only way to know is to try it. I promise that I'll check my blood sugar before, during and after. I promise that I'll carry plenty of emergency carbs with me and I won't have the GUs if I'm high.
And I promise to keep you all posted on how it went so we can all continue to learn from each other.
Warning: your diabetes may vary and I am not a doctor. Play with your basal profiles at your own risk.
Friday, June 14, 2013
Updated Triathlon Plans
Call me crazy but I just signed up for the Welland sprint triathlon.
The one that is eight days from now.
The one that involves me running 7.5 kilometres after swimming 750m and cycling 30k.
I know. I know. I said that I was going to just do the swim/bike but, the closer it got, the more the little voice in my head told me to do the full triathlon.
I'm already running 20 minutes straight (or 3.20k according to my Garmin). If all goes well I'll be up to 35 minutes by next Thursday and I figure it's only about ten more minutes of running for me to do 7.5k. So it's a little bit outside of my injury recovery comfort zone but not terribly so.
I've decided to play it safe and do a walk/run combo on race day to give my feet a rest. So I think I'll go back to the run 9 minutes walk 1 minute routine that I was doing last week. It won't be my fastest time but at least I'll get to do a full triathlon and put my mind at ease about the Olympic tri that is looming on the calendar.
I'm also a little worried about the swim. Not because of the distance or the course but because of the water temperature. We've had some sun here in Niagara but not enough to warm up the water. Sunny days have been interspersed with plenty of cold, rainy ones and, the last I heard, the water temperature is 60 degrees.
That's pretty darn cold for a wetsuit-eschewing swimmer like myself. Too cold for any open-water practice swims yet. I'm hoping for a hot, sunny week to heat things up a bit. If not, I'll be shivering my way through the swim.
Seriously though folks, what I'm looking forward to the most is testing out my waterproof pump and working out a race day basal profile that will allow me to have a pre-race gel and a pre-run gel without sending my blood sugar soaring.
I'll let you know next week what my basal plan of attack is and will certainly let you know how it works out on race day.
The one that is eight days from now.
The one that involves me running 7.5 kilometres after swimming 750m and cycling 30k.
I know. I know. I said that I was going to just do the swim/bike but, the closer it got, the more the little voice in my head told me to do the full triathlon.
I'm already running 20 minutes straight (or 3.20k according to my Garmin). If all goes well I'll be up to 35 minutes by next Thursday and I figure it's only about ten more minutes of running for me to do 7.5k. So it's a little bit outside of my injury recovery comfort zone but not terribly so.
I've decided to play it safe and do a walk/run combo on race day to give my feet a rest. So I think I'll go back to the run 9 minutes walk 1 minute routine that I was doing last week. It won't be my fastest time but at least I'll get to do a full triathlon and put my mind at ease about the Olympic tri that is looming on the calendar.
I'm also a little worried about the swim. Not because of the distance or the course but because of the water temperature. We've had some sun here in Niagara but not enough to warm up the water. Sunny days have been interspersed with plenty of cold, rainy ones and, the last I heard, the water temperature is 60 degrees.
That's pretty darn cold for a wetsuit-eschewing swimmer like myself. Too cold for any open-water practice swims yet. I'm hoping for a hot, sunny week to heat things up a bit. If not, I'll be shivering my way through the swim.
Seriously though folks, what I'm looking forward to the most is testing out my waterproof pump and working out a race day basal profile that will allow me to have a pre-race gel and a pre-run gel without sending my blood sugar soaring.
I'll let you know next week what my basal plan of attack is and will certainly let you know how it works out on race day.
Thursday, May 23, 2013
To Basal Test or Not To Basal Test?
How many of you out there do basal testing?
Raise your hand.
(I'm staring hard into the little camera on my laptop but I can't see any hands up in cyberspace.)
I've never really done it before. Not in a serious, official, follow the book kinda sense.
Oh, sorry folks, I should probably explain. Basal testing, for those of you whose aren't pumping, means that you test your blood sugar frequently over a certain period of the day (say from 6am until 6pm) to see if it remains stable. If it is stable, that means that your basal rates are correct. If it goes up or down by any great degree, your basal rates are off. The kicker is that you can't have any carbs during that time period so your meals would look a lot like the Atkins diet.
My kind of basal testing goes sorta like this:
5pm - early dinner.
9:30pm - blood sugar check. It's at a good number (say 6.5).
Go to bed.
Get up to pee around 3am. Check blood sugar. It's 6.2. Cross my fingers that basal rates are good and don't eat anything.
Wake up at 5:15am. Check blood sugar. It's 6.5. Yay, nighttime basal rates are good.
Yesterday I ate lunch at noon. At 3pm I checked my blood sugar. It was 5.9. At 4pm I checked again. It was still 5.9. I checked again at 5:30pm. It was 4.3.
My basal rate might be a tiny bit high but then it was dinner time and I had a greek pasta salad and bread so that pretty much ended the testing.
So I go back to my original question. How many of you deliberately test your basal rates?
I understand the logic behind doing it. I understand the value of doing it. (I understand that having a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) would help. I'm anxiously awaiting news that Dexcom has arrived in Canada.) I like to exercise every morning and then compensate for the different exercises by adjusting my breakfast bolus. I like my 40 carb super yummy breakfast shake. Oh, and I don't fancy waking up every hour in the night to test.
But I will if it's worth the bother.
Is it worth the bother?
And, if yes, tell me how you do it, what you eat and any other things that might be helpful to know (like how much variation in blood sugar levels is acceptable and how much warrants a basal change? or how many days in a row would you test before making a change?).
Oh, and thanks!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)