May 23

Weekend Fun (bklyn half; nyack ride)

By Cary cycling, diabetes, exercise, food No Comments »

Saturday was the Brooklyn Half-Marathon where I clocked a 2:00:58 – my goal time being sub 2 hours. Almost made it. Lessons for the road – waking up with a 270 BG at 5am is going to cause problems for a 7am race. Miles 7-9 were difficult as I was battling to keep a BG over 60 (Gatorade and Gu made me rather “full” while my BG inched up slowly). Once I hit mile 9 and finished dogging it, my pace picked up and I was able to finish off the race down the boardwalk without incident. Next half marathon the goal pace will be Sub-1:55 possibly sub-1:50.  I should try and get some more longer training runs in – more than the 4 miles I usually stop with.  This was also my first long run with my Nike Free 3.0 shoes.  I’m really enjoying them – far better performance than many other traditional running shoes.

After passing out at 8pm I awoke early Sunday morning for a bike ride. A nice 60 mile ride to Nyackand back. Hill climbing was interesting to say the least as I rode strong, but the hills were painful as my overall leg flexibility was far less than normal. BGs were stable, although my insulin was highly sensitive and I used great care in bolusing.

I figure after a weekend like this I should be a little sore and beaten up (which I am); however, my right foot has some strange pain that I am slightly concerned about.  I’m trying to rest it and see how it feels before putting more miles on it since the last time I pushed hard on an injury I ended up in an air-cast for 10 days.

Update June 10: Foot pain subsided after a few days of rest.  Currently considering an Ironman distance event in late 2012 on top of the NYC Marathon in Nov 2012.  Still looking to do some more half-marathons this year and actually put some training miles in.

Mar 31

Brooklyn Ride

By Cary cycling, diabetes, exercise No Comments »

image

A loop of Prospect Park followed by finding my way to the bike path alongside the belt parkway. Photo taken under the Verazzano bridge. Continued riding to Coney Island then back north on Ocean Ave.

Cool and windy in the 30s.

Jul 11

Beating the Heat – Safety

By Cary cycling, diabetes, exercise, Running, sailing No Comments »

Heat safety is something I am acutely aware of on a personal level.  As a diabetic athlete, it is of even greater necessity because I can use my senses to identify low and high BGs.  However, when high heat temps, and high humidity hit my BG sensitivity is thrown out the window.  This is because I am constantly thirsty, always a little tired and may or may not have a heat headache.

I found this guide made by Gatorade for the NFL (and football players in general):

Beat the Heat – Gatorade

It’s a pretty good guide and very informative using football references to make their points on heat safety.  The points are quite clear — prevent, prepare, hydrate, and plan.  I have to admit, my plan for heat stroke would obviously not to hit that point, and to be aware enough before that point to seek professional help, since I usually train alone.  But for preventing, knowing the symptoms are key.  One thing I did not realize is that it can take 10-14 days to acclimate to warmer conditions.  However, the biggest point is to hydrate regularly and properly.  Replacing electrolytes and sodium (and sometimes carbs too) seem like a no-brainer these days, but it was not too long ago when that was not as common knowledge.

Personal Story
As a kid, I once had the unfortunate experience of an ambulance ride and ER visit.  During the summer months of June, July and August from a young age, we learned how to race sailboats.  All day, every day; with a break at noon on land for lunch.  One day I passed out during lunch.  An ambulance was called, and the people around me knowing I was a Type 1 Diabetic, the EMTs instantly administered Glucose via gel under my tongue.  However, by this point I was already coming to (since I was being fed Coke from the fountain).  Upon being admitted to the ER, I learned that I was both dehydrated AND had low sodium.  A disastrous combination – with a slightly low, and at that point in the ER I was trying to lower my BG after way too much soda and Glucose gel while they got fluids into me by IV.

Learning Experience
Stay hydrated, watch the color of your urine.  And make sure you urinate regularly.  And test frequently (like I really needed to say that).

Jun 29

Nerves of Sugar

By Cary cycling, diabetes, exercise, lifestyle, Running, sailing No Comments »

http://blogs.fasterskier.com/krisfreeman/2009/12/02/nerves-of-sugar/

As a diabetic I have to balance the “fight or flight response” on my own. I get nervous before a race and release sugar just like everyone else. Unfortunately my regulatory system is broken and I have to give myself the appropriate amount of insulin. This is where things get tricky.  How nervous I am affects how much sugar I release into my body:  more Nerves equals more glucose . The difficult  part is there is no real way to monitor how nervous I am.

-Kris Freeman, 12/2/2009

This post by Olympian Kris Freeman really gets me thinking.  How to monitor your nerves to find out how much the natural release of sugar into your body? It’s not just elite athletes like Kris that have this happening, this happens to me all the time on the bike, on boats, or even heading into a big meeting.  Your body has a physical response to a mental stimulus. 

I personally have found some correlation in the length of time I spend “nervous” – basically preparing and how long/how high the BG can go.  In sailing, there is a half hour-to-fifteen minute period to the start where I will spike.  When cycling or running, it really depends how long I am waiting around to start.  The more time spent standing around, the higher I will go (the more time I have spent thinking rather than doing).

It would be interesting to see if any breathing or relaxation exercises have any effect.

Apr 04

Feeding the Basal

By Cary cycling, diabetes, exercise 4 Comments »

Yesterday I went for a little 50 mile bike ride.  However, for the past few days I have been running BGs from 60-95 or so.  When I woke up in the morning I was at 70, and after eating a small breakfast, still under 100 a few hours later.  Suiting up for my ride, my numbers continued lower to around 60 — so I started consuming: 26g via soda, 30g glass of chocolate milk, 20g candy, 40g bread and cheese.  I did not bolus for any of that food.  During a few mile warm up I remained in the 60s, so continued drinking Gatorade and downed 1 GU (20g).  So I’ve consumed well over 100g of carbs — and finally start getting my BG to 100.  And that’s where it stayed for the entire ride (where I added a bag of chips, 20g and a sandwich, 35g).  I bolused nothing, zilch from 10am till 6pm when I got home and feared having a huge amount of Carbs-on-Board (COB) and took a few units of Novolog since I was at 180.

Why did this happen and work in my favor?  I’m taking too much Lantus — and this is partly my purpose.  I am doing something known as feeding the basal.  I only slightly reduced my Lantus dose for riding, not nearly enough to require adding fast-acting insulin to the mix.

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