Mt. Laguna Ride

Route: Laguna Mountain Loop
Distance 49.6 miles
Location: East County Difficulty (1-10): 7 - Intermediate to Advanced
Terrain: Long hard climb followed by long descent.
Climbing Elevation: 5,385 ft
Up to the Mt. Laguna Summit, a 2500' climb over 10 miles. From the summit onward thru Lake Cuyamaca it is a long descent back down to the starting point.

7:45 am-110 Fasting
8:00-8:30am- ate bagel and PB and banana took 4.0 units, left regular morning basal on
9:22am- 128 pre ride, drank juicy juice, and ate a 15 gram bar
11:16am- 88 at top of big climb 1:43 into ride, at ½ a gel, and a 15g popsicle (didn’t cover either)
1:05pm- 98 at next stop
2:00pm- another stop, I ate 2/3 of a cliff bar (again didn’t cover it)
3:18pm-123 post ride
I didn’t take any bolus’ until covering my post ride meal, the whole ride I was sipping Accelerade and left my regular daily basal rate on.

These sugars were surprisingly good considering the length and difficulty of the ride. I had a particularly rough time on the main climb. My BG at the top was only 88, would have liked it at 140, but the main thing I attribute my difficulties to was that we only rode 6 miles (which wasn’t all flat either) before starting to climb. My heart rate was 165+ from virtually the moment I got on the bike, and was up to 185 for a lot of the climb and I was riding slowly! I have seen time and time again that I need much more warm up for anything high intensity. I need a warm up that gets my heart rate up uncomfortably high, but then lets it come down before the hard portion. If I had been riding for 45 decently hard, but not consistently hard, minutes before climbing I bet it would have gone much better. I made it up the hill thanks to my friend Tammy, who was in the pack I was dropped from, but came back to get me. Don’t know what I would have done without her today…actually, everyday.

Effects of Stress

I just got home from a two week vacation in Canada and it was such a relaxing trip...and I didn't just feel relaxed, my bloodsugars were proof.
Like I had found the day before the San Jose Triathlon and always do during finals week of school, stress makes my insulin needs go up 50% in terms of basal rate and boluses.
On the trip I had to decrease my night time basal rate by 0.15 units and covered meals less. After I woke up so low one morning I was disoriented (only second time in my life) I decreased my nightime basal by 0.05 and still woke up at 43, so decreased it again, waking up at 56, and again, waking up at 85 finally. The last morning however, I woke up at 220. The only thing I can atribute that to was the stress of travelling home to San Diego, even though I wasn't worried about the trip, or at least didn't think I was!
After San Jose I e-mailed professional Brazilian triathlete Vinicius Santana (who is also a type one diabetic, and uses HPH and Humolog injections) asking him whether he has increased insulin needs the day before a race. He says that he takes 3x his usual daily insulin total the day before a race and those needs stay high for up to a week after ironman distance triathlons because of the stress his body is under.
(My cousin and my sister with me during a swim.)

Article in the Toronto Star about Chris Jarvis in the Pan Am Games

I was up visiting my family in Ontario, Canada this week and we found this article in the Toronto Star about Chris Jarvis the Canadian Rower. It is a nice article...I have just one complaint...

The article states:
"Jarvis uses a Meditronic insulin pump that attaches to his side and controls the flow of insulin in the body and gives him a constant reading of his blood sugar level, as well as analyzes food intake."

PLEASE, GET ME ONE OF THOSE! (no such thing exists) the writer does not understand nor give credit to all the work that Chris has to do. The article makes it seem like the pump does it all. Wouldn't that be nice?!

http://www.pacificsport.com/Content/Main/PSBC/News/MediaClippings.asp?ItemID=36535