Tuesday, May 01, 2007

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?

7 comments:

Scott K. Johnson said...

Good luck with the race! I'm sure you'll do great!

Shannon said...

Hey, good luck with the race!!!

I'm training for my first sprint tri, so you are truely an inspiration for me to run those measly 3 miles, swim that measly 1/3 mile and bike those measly 12 miles, LOL.

Travis said...

Hi anne, thanks for the comment. I'm in the process of trying to get one now. And I'm trying to get myself into running - I've been swimming and cycling for years, but I've always hated running. I guess I'll have to get used to it for these triathlons. Good luck on Saturday! I'll be excited to hear about it.

Shannon said...

Anne, I'm glad you checked out my blog! If you have any tips whatsoever, please share..... :)

And today is your big day!! I can't wait to read the play by play.

Shannon said...

How'd you do over the weekend??

Anonymous said...

Hey Anne,
Have you heard about this:
http://www.diabetestrainingcamp.com/

Looks like they're trying to come to the West Coast next year. Maybe we can attend :)

Anne Findlay said...

Thanks, all! The race went well, when all is said and done. I wrote a super long post about it! wow!

Amy, yep I've received the ads for that camp and am really interested. Unfortunately, it has fallen on dates that are too late for me both years. But I would definitely be interested if it moved closer to home! Sign me up! :)