Don't Procrastinate

So last Saturday, I thought I would try out my new plan: use the 1:80 ins-to-carb ratio but take it over 3 hours instead of 4 or 4.5. Compared to my first 100-mile ride, I was effectively taking .45 U/hour last weekend instead of .65 U/hour in addition to my regular basal rate, and eating 36 g/hour instead of 47 g/hour. Hmm...this seems reasonable. After about 2 hours on my ride, I got low and actually had to stop riding to get my BG back up. I mean, I had to get off my bike completely. I tried just coasting and pedaling now and then (fortunately I was on flat road), but my body resisted.

Anyway, I can't really pinpoint what happened, except that I didn't supplement with any extra gels the first 2 hours, and I had felt a hunger pang that I ignored. And, I must not have been eating enough.

Okay, I think the real reason I went low is because I was on a rolling hill section with no stop signs or lights and I just hate stopping there. Plus, everyone would catch up and pass me if I did!! No fair! But I should have at the least pulled out a gel when I felt that hunger pang. Argh. Basically I got in trouble because I was procrastinating eating!

I think to simplify things in the future, I will try to manage my BGs with basal rates only, and no boluses. Maybe, then, I can have basal rates for hilly rides, flat rides, etc. I might also try to use the calorie count feature on my bike computer to estimate how much food + insulin I should be taking in. Maybe I should get a power meter for my bike; that could be insightful.

Other totally random things:
Gatorade upsets my stomach on long rides. So do PowerGels. But I really like the chocolate PowerGel (tastes like frosting) so I might eat them anyway. Hammergels are slower to absorb than GU's, which taste the best. ClifShots taste salty and don't help me pull out of a low easily (then again, I could blame the Symlin for that). Perpetuem is surprisingly filling, and helps to keep my BGs stable. It also goes down really well with a bit of water. Sharkies are really yummy and it's easiest if I put them in a ziploc before I ride. Ziplocs are handy for all sorts of other things, including my BG meter. I can test my BG while riding if I chose a spot with a slight incline and do things very slowly and carefully. I should also drink more water than I want to, and I will probably feel better than I would expect as a result.

Here's another picture from last year's Wildflower race. There are thousands of athletes who compete in these events. My race is on Saturday! Did I mention that already?