Sep 24

Running Performance YTD

By Cary diabetes, exercise, Running No Comments »

Not great times — but I truly have not put any time in to actual training this year.  Everything needs to start changing quickly — two marathons in November.  And then in 2012 I will actually train and attempt to put down a legitimate attempt at the marathon.

 

 


Race Date Distance (miles) Net Time Pace/Mile Overall Place Gender Place Age Place
17-Sep-11 4 0:32:09 8:03 978 978 167
21-May-11 13.1 2:00:58 9:14 3228 2075 460
17-May-11 3 23:12 7:44 1042 861 177
10-Apr-11 6.2 53:47:00 8:40 3774 2790 514
26-Feb-11 4 37:05:00 9:16 2362 1582 303
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.

May 19

Milk

By Cary diabetes, exercise, food No Comments »

We had no refrigerator for almost two weeks (compressor died). I drank about a gallon of milk in the 36 hours after we got a temporary replacement. I am always interested in how different types of milk with their highly variable carb/sugar/protein combinations effect blood glucose. I have been drinking organic skim milk as of late and it is about 12g of carbs per serving. However, I really only bolus for about 3g of carbs and let my basal attack the slow stuff (protein, fats).

When I have the opportunity to drink whole or 2% milk, the entire math changes because it is far more fatty and more carb intensive.

I’m a huge fan of chocolate milk post workout. I completely agree with this “study” DCRainMaker did a few years back.

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Apr 01

Basal

By Cary diabetes, exercise, lifestyle No Comments »

After a week of waking up with low BG a pattern has emerged. On nights that I exercise I wake up below 60. Not ideal. I am starting slowly and reducing my 4-7am basal for the dawn phenomenon by a hair a mere .05u/hr and see what happens.

We shall reassess the situation in upcoming weeks.

Update 4/3: It’s working; but I am dropping my 4-7am another .05u/hr because I am still waking up too low.

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.

Jan 04

Skiing and Sleeping at Elevation

By Cary diabetes, exercise, lifestyle No Comments »

Vacation can be easy at times and more difficult than meets the eye.  While sleeping in NYC I am basically at sea level; however, in ski country I am sleeping at around 5,400 feet.  The effort difference is huge as you can see when climbing a staircase (the reason many elite athletes live and train in mountain towns).  Following it up by skiing at 9,500+ feet is quite a change from East coast skiing where peaks are barely reaching the sleeping elevations out West.

What does this mean for me?  While sleeping at elevation I require much less insulin.  I am still not certain as to a good rate; but it is far less than what I require at sea level.  My body is working harder even when I am shut down for the night.  It is rather common for me to awake with lower BGs early in the morning that are stubborn to rise and cause bounces through late morning unless attended to properly.

Moral of the story?  Life would be better if I lived at a higher elevation.

Jul 12

NY Times City Room Blog: Brooklyn Cyclones 2x T1 Diabetics

By Cary diabetes, exercise, lifestyle, pumping No Comments »

I might have to go down to Coney Island to check these guys out before the baseball season comes to an end. Two type-1 diabetics playing for the Brooklyn Cyclones (minor league).  One player uses a pump, the other does not.  I really think that is great — they both are using what works well for them.

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/10/sweat-bats-right-slides-left/

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 21

Feeding the Basal – A Follow Up

By Cary diabetes, exercise, lifestyle 2 Comments »

There is a downside to every huge upside — something you can prove in life, money and diabetes.  It’s called opportunity cost.  Diabetes is a math game.  A really annoying one where the rules always change.

I wrote about feeding the basal with enthusiasm.  However, I forgot to mention a very key downside that hit me recently.  Basically, I take more basal (currently Lantus) than I need to keep my BGsat 115 (my target, not my goal).  Therefore, if I do not eat, I will go low.  Not a problem with exercising (exacerbating the lower need of insulin), I eat and want to eat constantly.

Got home late last night at 8pm with a BG of 80, I proceeded to eat 90g, bolused correctly.  I continued to feel hungry, and therefore continued to eat (an unknown amount via blind eating for an hour plus).  Falling asleep with a BG under 100, I felt good.  However, bolusing for blind eating is tricky, especially so close to bed time – so I made a guess.  The guess was wrong — by a long shot.  I woke up very early and was very thirsty — the cue to know instantly I am running very high.

The worst part about being high is how difficult it can be to come down.  The usual ratios do not work. If you are 1u:60 points when you are 200-275, everything over 275 may take more insulin to bring down.  So from 275-350 you may need 1u:40 points, and anything above that may need 1u:30 points.  Basically, the higher you get, the harder it is to fall.  In my experience, I really hate to do this kind of math when realizing a high BG and just do a normal 1:60 correction.  However, in an hour I will see that I am not coming down fast enough.

Given the above situation, let’s say I was 400 and want to get down to 115.  I would need 1.6u to get me to 350 (1:30), 1.9u (1:40) to get to 275 and 2.6u (1:60) to get to 115.  For a total of about 6.1u — versus about 4.75 that I would take using my 1:60 baseline approach.  The difference?  1.35u or about 80 BG points.

Guess what happens when I used 1u:60 this morning instead of my more complicated formula?  I was 260 3.5hours after the correction.  Makes sense, since 80 points higher 3+ hours ago can easily translate into an additional 65 points over a few hours of higher BG.

Moral of the story
1. Watch what you eat before bedtime.  It can really mangle your morning.

2. Feeding your basal has the side effect of giving you lower BGs right now (as does increased metabolism from exercise) but Carbs on Board may not appear till later in your BG.  Must have enough insulin to cover.

Nb. These are my numbers — that work for me.  Your numbers will not be the same as my numbers.

Nb. Blind eating is a curse for diabetics.  It’s something I know I should never do, but I do it.  It causes havoc to my numbers, but I doubt this will be the last time I ever do it.

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