Formulas. Addition. Subtraction. Planning. Calculating. Ratios. Have I told you that I don't like math? You'd think I was taking a class with that stuff right? Wrong. It's what I have to think about every day when I'm trying to get my blood sugar management under control.
I've been working with a new CDE (certified diabetes educator), I chose her because she is also a sports nutritionist. Definitely a plus and a necessity these days. I decided to revisit this whole process because I feel like I'm not in the best control. I'm swinging between high and low too often. I'm working with my triathlon coach and my training has increased a lot. I'm learning (or at least trying) how to do everything at once:
•train consistently
•train efficiently
•not neglect my friends, family or other social obligations
•learn how to eat so I can fuel my body for the stress I'm putting it under
•learn how to adjust my insulin for each of the 3 disciplines (swim,bike,run)
•learn how to do it all I guess
I have such huge goals for myself the next two years but I won't be able to it right if I can't get my blood sugar management under better control. It really is so very scientific too. Cause and effect. 9 times out of 10 there was a reason for the high or low. Its UNDERSTANDING the why and how of it that will help me better manage. If not I'll continue this vicious physical and emotional yo-yo effect, which can become quite draining.
Do I find it annoying to have to write everything down? You betcha. Will I continue to write everything down? Yup, BECAUSE this is temporary. I don't have to write everything down all the time. I'm working on correcting these swings just as I am training to be able to swim, bike and run whatever distances I have planned for myself.
Practicing, training, logging info and being consistent. All ingredients for becoming a better athlete and understanding my diabetes management. What keeps me going is seeing that perfect BG (blood sugar) after a training session, seeing that my HR (heart rate) IS starting to come down in a run. Its all hard work but when you get to see those moments...well, it just makes it all worth it.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Friday, June 18, 2010
Monday's Run = A Hot Mess
On Monday I had to run 42min keeping my HR (heart rate) in a certain zone. Legs were feeling a tad tight when I started. It was HOT, 60% humidity heat index of 84. Sweating my ass off lol. I was thankful for a run/walk ratio of 6:1. While I was running I felt a little weird but chalked it off to the heat. Well I was wrong. When I hit the 21min mark it was time to walk so I did but also stretched - my legs felt REALLY tight. I took a 2min stretch break rather than walk break. Resumed. Felt weird again and was gonna wait til my next break but decided against it and just checked my BG (Blood sugar). Well I was 36. I did a double take and checked it again to make sure it was right and it said I was 37! NOT GOOD (normal BG is between 70-120). Then I started feeling real bad real quick. I shut my insulin pump off. Ate a gel. I was hoping I'd feel better very quickly by doing this.
My friends were passing me on their return trip back and one stopped to walk with me. I was grateful to have someone at that moment. She gave me some jelly belly sports beans and we walked together for about 10min after which I told her to just go ahead I'd meet up with them in a few. I did not think I would pass out so I wanted her to go. I felt bad for holding her back. I couldn't stand still and I couldn't run anymore so I just walked. Slowly. After she left I walked maybe 5 more minutes and wanted to try running but yeah that wasn't good. I only took a few steps before I realized I couldn't run.
So I walked the last 20minutes. When I got to our starting point I was feeling much better. Enough that I thought I could run the last 1/4mile out the park. I felt like I wasn't going to let the betes (diabetes) end my run. So I ran a hard 1/4mile. I felt better in the end for doing it because it was kinda like falling off a horse. If you fall you have to get back on. I HAVE literally fallen off a horse and gotten back on. So today I felt like I did the same thing even though I didn't do the workout in it's entirety. I at least did the first half :) and I finished it with a run. When I left the park my BG was 122...perfect!
I learned a lesson though. I didn't listen to my better judgment and keep my temp basal on (as I should have) and I shouldn't have given myself the minuscule blood sugar correction of .25units when my blood sugar before starting the run was only 178 (I was paranoid about going really high since I was rising). huh lesson learned I guess.
PS
For those that don't know, a temp basal is when you reduce or increase the amount of your basal insulin by a certain %. Basal is the base insulin delivered by your insulin pump delivered approximately every 5 minutes to try and regulate your blood sugar. Its trying to be similar to a working pancreas. A bolus is the insulin you give yourself to correct a high blood sugar or its the insulin you give yourself to cover carbohydrates in a meal.
My friends were passing me on their return trip back and one stopped to walk with me. I was grateful to have someone at that moment. She gave me some jelly belly sports beans and we walked together for about 10min after which I told her to just go ahead I'd meet up with them in a few. I did not think I would pass out so I wanted her to go. I felt bad for holding her back. I couldn't stand still and I couldn't run anymore so I just walked. Slowly. After she left I walked maybe 5 more minutes and wanted to try running but yeah that wasn't good. I only took a few steps before I realized I couldn't run.
So I walked the last 20minutes. When I got to our starting point I was feeling much better. Enough that I thought I could run the last 1/4mile out the park. I felt like I wasn't going to let the betes (diabetes) end my run. So I ran a hard 1/4mile. I felt better in the end for doing it because it was kinda like falling off a horse. If you fall you have to get back on. I HAVE literally fallen off a horse and gotten back on. So today I felt like I did the same thing even though I didn't do the workout in it's entirety. I at least did the first half :) and I finished it with a run. When I left the park my BG was 122...perfect!
I learned a lesson though. I didn't listen to my better judgment and keep my temp basal on (as I should have) and I shouldn't have given myself the minuscule blood sugar correction of .25units when my blood sugar before starting the run was only 178 (I was paranoid about going really high since I was rising). huh lesson learned I guess.
PS
For those that don't know, a temp basal is when you reduce or increase the amount of your basal insulin by a certain %. Basal is the base insulin delivered by your insulin pump delivered approximately every 5 minutes to try and regulate your blood sugar. Its trying to be similar to a working pancreas. A bolus is the insulin you give yourself to correct a high blood sugar or its the insulin you give yourself to cover carbohydrates in a meal.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Lake Placid
I'm telling you, Memorial weekend could NOT come fast enough and boy oh boy was it worth the wait! Heaven, pure training heaven is what I had. Me and my friends rented a house for the weekend it was a total of 5 adults, 1 baby and 2 dogs. We took the 6hour drive up to Placid on Friday morning, very easy, straight run. The reason we went up to Placid was because it was a training vacation getaway. It's a great place for triathletes to train, a bunch of teammates from our local tri group were training up there and most importantly it's where Ironman is held. You know the one. Ironman Lake Placid July 2011. The race of my dreams. The reason I'm doing everything I'm doing. I wanted to check the course out. See if those hills were as hard as I've heard :).
We get up there Friday don't even unpack and I'm already getting my wetsuit so I can go swim in the lake with my other teammates. I was so scared the water temp was going to be like 40 degrees, but I was prepared, I had my neoprene cap so I was good to go. I only wound up swimming for 20 minutes. Of course it was the worst part of the swim because it was more or less a warm up and I felt like I didn't even know how to swim. But I loved the water, and the temp was 60 degrees if not a little bit warmer. The PERFECT temperature! We came back to the house and I felt like a queen. We had fan-freaking-tastic home cooked meals the entire weekend! Sigh :). Dinners were grilled steak and salmon, salads, couscous, grilled veggies. Dessert was ice cream every night. mmmmm deeeeeelish.
Saturday I woke up, went for a run down to the Olympic ski lift and back which was a total of 4.70 miles. I decided to run up this wall of a hill that's straight up and leads to our house. Driving up it I was scared, running up it my pace was 17min mile. I'm sure that's considered walking lol. Point is I did it and it was hard. Got home took a quick shower and got ready for a bike ride. I'm sure you're probably asking WHY would I take a shower if I was just going to go sweat some more...well as soon as I stopped moving it LOOKED like I had taken a shower. It was so hot. Anyway we set off on the road, me and Blake. I warned him I was slow especially on the hills. The first 8 miles was harder than I thought. I was literally going 5mph on some of the climbs. I felt like I was dying (ok not really but you get my drift). I was telling Blake that it was really hard and he said "don't worry we'll catch a break". Well he was right. I started to see the signs that said low gear with a truck on an angle. A clear indication we were going downhill. Oh how I loved that downhill; 7-8miles of downhill, I was flying. Its not easy going downhill for miles on end it takes a toll on your body. You get sore. I was flat backed, low over the handlebars, knees against the bar, pushed back in my seat. There were lots of turns and you had to ride in the road rather than off to the side because there were lots of cracks in the pavement. I was using my breaks a little and I went a max of 41mph. It was crazy! My arms were killing me afterwards. After that break of downhill soaring we keep going and turn onto Route 9N this has some flats or maybe these were the false flats I kept hearing about. In either case it didn't seem that bad. Then dun dun dun dun we turn onto Route 86 17miles til Lake Placid. OMG 86 is where it gets hard, because its constant hills you feel like you never get a break. As soon as I got onto 86 I was riding 5-8mph again. I couldn't understand why it felt so hard. I thought it should have felt easier than what it was. I mean that's the way it looked. I got to a point where I was thinking of stopping. But I kept going. I started wondering if I missed the baby & mama bear climbs I had heard of. But no they were there. They aren't as bad as you imagine and once you get over them it's a downhill into Placid :). It was good to be back home...well almost. I had to climb that wall of a hill to get to the house. Oh lord. So I stuck to my granny gears and went for it. You don't completely understand the meaning of a hard hill until you climb that. Blake and I got to the highest point and then had to pull over. I was so out of breath and then I couldn't stop laughing. I think I had a bout of hysteria. All I kept on saying was "I can't believe we just did that, I can't believe we just climbed that hill. OMG I can't stop laughing". It was hysteria. Seriously. We were done after that. So we walked to the house. We couldn't get back on our bikes.
It was a hard but GOOD day followed by a BBQ across the lake at the team houses. I was so exhausted that night.
Sunday was an easier day. Woke up had a great big breakfast of eggs, pancakes, fruit and coffee. Then I needed another nap (hey what can I say it's a lot of work to eat hehe). Everybody met up to swim at 4pm. I wasn't convinced I'd do the whole out and back which was a total of 1.5miles. Thanks to my good friend Ryan I was able to pull it off. When I was putting my wetsuit on I decided to try it with a GU in my sleeve, for practice and for peace of mind. My blood sugar was in the 300's (the entire wknd I was yo-yoing) when I started so I gave a 1.5unit correction and I had a temp basal of 50% for 1.5hrs. Ryan kinda had to convince me to keep going cuz I was scared about not being able to make it back. But she told me to just slow down and take it easy - no rush. So we did. I was able to catch a rhythm, and we would check in every 2 buoys, then 3 then 4. When we got to the end Ryan was singing the rocky theme lol. So we head back I was feeling good. But then the yellow line I was following the whole time started to get blurry so I stopped to eat the GU. Very easy to do let me tell you. Continue on and we're checking every 4 buoys then 6. I felt so good when we came out the water! I checked my BG and I was 142. I had dropped 200pts in the water. scary. Next time I won't take so much of a correction and I'll be sure to swim with 2 GU's. Ryan told me while we were in the middle of the lake that I'd be so happy once we finished. Ya know what? She was right. I've never swum that far. I was so proud of us.
Monday I went for a 42miler with Ryan. I felt much better this time around on the bike course but I think I was still just as slow. Good thing about the ride was that I changed the setting on my Garmin to tell me what the grade % was. So when I mentioned it was hard...it really WAS hard. The grades were like 6-8% on average, thankfully they didn't last more than 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile. Route 86...yeah guess what that was...12% grade!!!! Oh the satisfaction. I felt so completely justified in going 5mph. lol Oh yeah and you know what else I did? That wall of a hill I had to climb to get back to the house? Yeah I did it again and I rode it all the way up to the front door of the house. Guess what the % was. You're not even gonna be able to guess it...20% at the highest point then it leveled off at 12%!!! Oh the sweet satisfaction. I felt beat after that.
We thankfully had a huge meal to eat then we were on the road for 6 hours back to the city. Training heaven is what Lake Placid is. My blood sugars were all over the place, my training was crazy hard but it was all a learning time. Right now I can't imagine doing the bike course 2x but that's what this next year is for. To train. To build my confidence. To learn. To become better.
It's gonna be crazy fun! I know it was a long write up so if you made it this far thank you for reading. I truly appreciate your support.
We get up there Friday don't even unpack and I'm already getting my wetsuit so I can go swim in the lake with my other teammates. I was so scared the water temp was going to be like 40 degrees, but I was prepared, I had my neoprene cap so I was good to go. I only wound up swimming for 20 minutes. Of course it was the worst part of the swim because it was more or less a warm up and I felt like I didn't even know how to swim. But I loved the water, and the temp was 60 degrees if not a little bit warmer. The PERFECT temperature! We came back to the house and I felt like a queen. We had fan-freaking-tastic home cooked meals the entire weekend! Sigh :). Dinners were grilled steak and salmon, salads, couscous, grilled veggies. Dessert was ice cream every night. mmmmm deeeeeelish.
Saturday I woke up, went for a run down to the Olympic ski lift and back which was a total of 4.70 miles. I decided to run up this wall of a hill that's straight up and leads to our house. Driving up it I was scared, running up it my pace was 17min mile. I'm sure that's considered walking lol. Point is I did it and it was hard. Got home took a quick shower and got ready for a bike ride. I'm sure you're probably asking WHY would I take a shower if I was just going to go sweat some more...well as soon as I stopped moving it LOOKED like I had taken a shower. It was so hot. Anyway we set off on the road, me and Blake. I warned him I was slow especially on the hills. The first 8 miles was harder than I thought. I was literally going 5mph on some of the climbs. I felt like I was dying (ok not really but you get my drift). I was telling Blake that it was really hard and he said "don't worry we'll catch a break". Well he was right. I started to see the signs that said low gear with a truck on an angle. A clear indication we were going downhill. Oh how I loved that downhill; 7-8miles of downhill, I was flying. Its not easy going downhill for miles on end it takes a toll on your body. You get sore. I was flat backed, low over the handlebars, knees against the bar, pushed back in my seat. There were lots of turns and you had to ride in the road rather than off to the side because there were lots of cracks in the pavement. I was using my breaks a little and I went a max of 41mph. It was crazy! My arms were killing me afterwards. After that break of downhill soaring we keep going and turn onto Route 9N this has some flats or maybe these were the false flats I kept hearing about. In either case it didn't seem that bad. Then dun dun dun dun we turn onto Route 86 17miles til Lake Placid. OMG 86 is where it gets hard, because its constant hills you feel like you never get a break. As soon as I got onto 86 I was riding 5-8mph again. I couldn't understand why it felt so hard. I thought it should have felt easier than what it was. I mean that's the way it looked. I got to a point where I was thinking of stopping. But I kept going. I started wondering if I missed the baby & mama bear climbs I had heard of. But no they were there. They aren't as bad as you imagine and once you get over them it's a downhill into Placid :). It was good to be back home...well almost. I had to climb that wall of a hill to get to the house. Oh lord. So I stuck to my granny gears and went for it. You don't completely understand the meaning of a hard hill until you climb that. Blake and I got to the highest point and then had to pull over. I was so out of breath and then I couldn't stop laughing. I think I had a bout of hysteria. All I kept on saying was "I can't believe we just did that, I can't believe we just climbed that hill. OMG I can't stop laughing". It was hysteria. Seriously. We were done after that. So we walked to the house. We couldn't get back on our bikes.
It was a hard but GOOD day followed by a BBQ across the lake at the team houses. I was so exhausted that night.
Sunday was an easier day. Woke up had a great big breakfast of eggs, pancakes, fruit and coffee. Then I needed another nap (hey what can I say it's a lot of work to eat hehe). Everybody met up to swim at 4pm. I wasn't convinced I'd do the whole out and back which was a total of 1.5miles. Thanks to my good friend Ryan I was able to pull it off. When I was putting my wetsuit on I decided to try it with a GU in my sleeve, for practice and for peace of mind. My blood sugar was in the 300's (the entire wknd I was yo-yoing) when I started so I gave a 1.5unit correction and I had a temp basal of 50% for 1.5hrs. Ryan kinda had to convince me to keep going cuz I was scared about not being able to make it back. But she told me to just slow down and take it easy - no rush. So we did. I was able to catch a rhythm, and we would check in every 2 buoys, then 3 then 4. When we got to the end Ryan was singing the rocky theme lol. So we head back I was feeling good. But then the yellow line I was following the whole time started to get blurry so I stopped to eat the GU. Very easy to do let me tell you. Continue on and we're checking every 4 buoys then 6. I felt so good when we came out the water! I checked my BG and I was 142. I had dropped 200pts in the water. scary. Next time I won't take so much of a correction and I'll be sure to swim with 2 GU's. Ryan told me while we were in the middle of the lake that I'd be so happy once we finished. Ya know what? She was right. I've never swum that far. I was so proud of us.
Monday I went for a 42miler with Ryan. I felt much better this time around on the bike course but I think I was still just as slow. Good thing about the ride was that I changed the setting on my Garmin to tell me what the grade % was. So when I mentioned it was hard...it really WAS hard. The grades were like 6-8% on average, thankfully they didn't last more than 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile. Route 86...yeah guess what that was...12% grade!!!! Oh the satisfaction. I felt so completely justified in going 5mph. lol Oh yeah and you know what else I did? That wall of a hill I had to climb to get back to the house? Yeah I did it again and I rode it all the way up to the front door of the house. Guess what the % was. You're not even gonna be able to guess it...20% at the highest point then it leveled off at 12%!!! Oh the sweet satisfaction. I felt beat after that.
We thankfully had a huge meal to eat then we were on the road for 6 hours back to the city. Training heaven is what Lake Placid is. My blood sugars were all over the place, my training was crazy hard but it was all a learning time. Right now I can't imagine doing the bike course 2x but that's what this next year is for. To train. To build my confidence. To learn. To become better.
It's gonna be crazy fun! I know it was a long write up so if you made it this far thank you for reading. I truly appreciate your support.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)