8 More Days

My bike is now en route to Coeur d'Alene, thanks to TriBike Transport, a company that drives bikes to various Ironman events around the country. I dropped it off at a local sports shop here after my last long ride before the race next Sunday. Today was a relatively easy day--about 3000 yards in the pool followed by a quick 42-mile ride through Marin County. Fortunately, we had some warm sunshine to help prepare us for conditions in Coeur d'Alene. As of just a moment ago, AccuWeather is forecasting sunny skies with some clouds, and a high of 78 degrees F, with light winds. Weather.com's forecast is even better, with a high of 73 but slightly stronger winds.

I tested out getting up at 4 AM again this week, to see how my BG's fared 3 hours later. When I woke up around 5:45, my BG was smack-dab at 90! How about that? Unfortunately, it was taking a dive and I was surprised when my Dexcom was beeping at me that I was below 55. My first reaction was that the Dexcom was wrong; but I tested in at 40. If I didn't have the Dex going, I probably wouldn't have noticed for some time longer.

My swim strategy is working well--I turn my basal rate down to 0.3 (a 30-40% reduction) for the first hour and then set it back to 100% once I've swum over an hour. I eat a gel or two before the swim, and one about mid-way through, if I am swimming over 80 minutes. Today, my BG ended up somewhere around 130-140, which I'd be comfortable with during the Ironman. It was falling, though, so I didn't take any insulin for my post-swim banana. I probably should have taken a little, though, because my blood sugar was a little high (between 160-220) for the rest of the bike ride. I think I may adjust my basal rate a little higher for the first hour or so of the bike, since I often don't take a bolus right away until I can assess how my BG is behaving. Or I should just remember to take my initial long bolus; my problem is that I tend to forget to do it until I actually start riding and drinking my Perpetuem on the bike. I think a to-do list may be in order for T1 and T2 at the race. ("T1" and "T2" refer to transitions between the swim and bike, and the bike and run, respectively.)

I haven't been able to post Dexcom data here because I have a Mac and the software runs on Windows, so I have to do it at work, and I never have time there. But, I should report that it has been very useful to me in the past few weeks, and the sensors seem to have improved since I first started using them in October 2006.

Despite being tired from getting up at ridiculously early today, my body is feeling pretty strong and relatively un-injured and I am excited for the race next Sunday. I am also looking forward to spending time with my family and friends who will be there. Cross your fingers for good BG's and cool weather!