4200 Yards

Friday morning I finally completed the approximate distance for the Ironman swim--2.4 miles, or about 4200 yards. It took me about 1 hour and 39 minutes, which the swimmers out there will recognize as a pretty slow time. But, I was happy that I could finish it comfortably and with decent BG's. My swim strategy is to turn my basal rate down 30-40%, which at the time of my swim, meant a basal of approximately 0.33 units/hour. I ate one gel and started swimming. About an hour into the swim, I felt hungry and ate another gel, after which I felt more invigorated. When I got into the water, my BG was 149, and when I got out, it was 139. The interesting thing was that my BG started climbing after I stopped swimming, and was above 200 in less than 30 minutes. I decided to wait it out and see what would happen; it rose a little and stabilized to about 240 an hour post-swim. I'm not sure exactly why this happens, but I've noted it on many occasions. Originally, I thought it was because I disconnected my pump during swimming, but it still seems to happen since I've started swimming with my pump. My new strategy is to set the basal rate reduction until about 30-60 minutes before the end of the swim, depending on the length of the swim, and my initial state (falling BG's, high BG's, etc.). Then my normal basal rate will be in effect by the time I get out of the water.

I tried this new technique today and it worked great! It was one of those shocking times when I test twice, separated by at least 15 minutes, and read the exact same number on the meter. Hooray for small victories!

Today I swam 3200 yards, then rode 80 miles, and finally ran for 42 minutes. More on that later... Right now it's time for sleep. (Here's a teaser, though! The Dexcom was the star of the day and I think I'm sorta maybe getting some better strategies for managing BG's through these insane workouts. Coeur d'Alene is only 2 weeks away now!)