Climbing Hills and Riding 70 miles

I had been looking forward to this ride since late January. A friend of mine and I missed the Jan ride and wanted to organize another one so we could get the miles in. Leading up to this ride, I had my situation with my teeth happen (earlier blog) where I actually postponed taking care of the situation until after the Nogales ride so I could not only do this ride but log some miles in the 2 weeks prior.

In fact after the attack of the allergies, I regrouped, rode in the Bike to Work event and headed out on a 45 mile group ride the next day. I had done this particular group ride before so I was comfortable I could participate and return safely. Well, the ride took a detour due to road construction and became a high intensity hill climb, hill after hill after hill. I was having trouble keeping up and mid way through my GCM said my BS was dropping and under 100 but my glucometer said 177. So I ate a little more and finished my Perpetuem drink and headed back. I thought I was in good shape. Then we had a long hill climb on the way back which I think took it all out of me. By the time we hit my turn off to head back home, which was about 4 - 5 miles away, I lost my legs. There was nothing I could do. I was doing the motion but couldn't go any faster. I felt like I was on a crawl. When I got home my BS were below 65 and I was seeing black and white dots, it was all I could do to sit down. My husband who was on the ride with me, quickly made the TT1 bonk proof shake which has over 100 grams of carbs, not counting some of the additional stuff we added. I showered and laid down. I was out for a few hours. When I woke up my BS were just tipping 75.

I have never bonked before but this told me I needed to take the Nogales ride very seriously. In fact I was glad when my husband offered to SAG for us during the 70 miles.

The night before the ride to Nogales I headed to Performance, I was determined to find the highest carb goo or chewies I could find. I was going to ride the whole 70 miles without any mishaps.

The day of the ride started early, up at 5 am, ate my regular breakfast of 3 rice pancakes and a scoop of peanut butter, dosed 3 units instead of 4 and loaded up the car. I had prepared bags the night before with 2 bottles of perpetuem, juice, and coconut water. These puppies were fully loaded.

My husband also made us both PB and banana with honey sandwiches and I packed up the gels and Sharkies. We headed to meet the gang at the Manning House. There were 10 of us and we loaded up and headed South.

We arrived at Mariposa Road and stopped at the Wendy's there. Got our bikes out, filled up any last minute water bottles, took pictures and headed out. It was clear at the draw the leads were traveling quite a bit faster then I had in mind. A few of us hung back at our comfort pace but we were quickly brought back together as we were going to head on the freeway for a short jaunt. I have to say the freeway was a fast and smooth ride. We had a lot of room and I did not worry about cars much. Wish we could have done the whole ride there but I know it is not the safest way to ride. We continued North to our first stop, but I couldn't find my husband. A quick call and he turned around and met us 10 minutes later. I panicked a bit as he had our food and I knew I had to eat within the first 30 miles of the ride in order to use the nutrition for the last half of the ride. If I can keep my BS above 150, I know I am in good shape. I was around 160 so I ate 1/2 of my sandwich and drank a lot of my Perptuem bottle and then exchanged it for a refresh in the car. I wanted my BS to trend up but it was trending downward which meant I had to take in more then I would use before the next rest stop ~15 miles up the road. It worked and I kept my sugars a little high during the ride because I didn't want to worry about it.


The only issue I had during this ride was around mile marker 50 - 55, my neck hurt, my back was beginning to spasm and my knees were going as well. Tabot, my husband, was off to the side of the road a head which was perfect timing ( he took this picture as we arrived). We all stopped for a quick refresh. I was able to down a very cold G2 and some ibuprofen. I felt much better and it was just what I needed to finish the ride, although it did feel very long and there were times I felt like I wanted to jump into one of the SAG vehicles, but we finished. We finished 72 miles in less then 4 hours, including two sag stops.

We celebrated at the Manning House ( see pic) for a great spread of burritos, fresh fruit and drink. We had great company and a great ride. I love days like this. Can't wait for more...

After the Tour _ Now What?

There is a lot to catch up on, work for one thing, sons surgery and planning the rest of my cycling adventure. Oh yeah...and figure out how to get BS in control.

Lets just say I have had a few set backs, one being Mint Girl Scout cookies... I love these cookies and have no control in pacing myself. BUT.... they were not involved in the next few set backs.

The weekend before the Tour de Cure, I went for a group ride with an incline. The problem was I was going to meet up with the group at a certain point closer to my house. I called the group leader that morning made arrangements, only thing was we got our wires crossed and by the second call, they were already 1/2 way up the hill. The issue was I waited 30 minutes for the group to come by while my BS began to elevate. Normally by that time, I would have been already riding and using up the carbs I had eaten for breakfast. Then to top it off, I hiked up the hill as fast as I could. When I hit the top, BS were not registering on CGM because they were too high. I eventually brought it down again, but the same thing happened today.

Normally, I ride Tues, Wed or Thurs, with some combination of 2 -3 days... I may ride all 3 days or just ride 2. Well, today not one of my alarms went off today, except my husbands, which was set 45 min after mine. I get a little stressed when this happens, especially when I have only 15 minutes to eat, get dressed, get on bike and meet up with the group by 7am. By the time I got into work today my BS were in the high 300s. I am wondering if anyone else has this type of reaction to stress or when your adrenaline gets pumping. I took 10u of humulog to get it back to normal... It was if the insulin wasn't working or I had serious issues with counting my carbs, which was 1/2 of a protein shake that I gulped down to have something to help with the insulin I had already taken.

My BS are like a roller coaster, everything seems fine and then I eat and it shoots up like a Roman Candle firework. I have never seen a trendline stay level through out the day. I am also getting challenged with allergies. My regular commutes which have been easy rides in the past have now become a struggle and my legs feel heavy. I don't know if I should just ride it out or stop and take a week long break. I am taking antihistimines as well as a decongestant along with an anti - asthma medication only for the days I ride (sports induced). Still I struggle.

I am riding again tomorrow, because it just feels so great to be outside, to ride, to be cold then hot, to roll into work after a great work out and then shower and get ready for the day ahead. My attitude becomes even more focused on possibilities instead of challenges, but when I have a morning like this morning and no amount of insulin seems to fix the problem, I worry. Eventually it all straightened out again, well at least until I ate again. Hmmm maybe I should become a breatharian and live on air, I am sure I could control my basals better than my boluses then.

Ok, good news for tonight my BS is at 139, the bad new is I just ate and it is on an upward trend. Ugh! Heading to bed for a 6:45 AM start to my ride tomorrow seems tiring given that I know I could end up with some night time highs... Guess I will take a couple units of Humulog and sleep until my lows or my CGM alarms signals me to wake up. Thankfully I still feel my lows and get woken out of a sleep with serious sweating. Makes it hard to tell the difference between a low or early onset of menopause! Ha.... ain't it all fun.

Here's hoping I get to sleep through the night and wake up on time tomorrow.

Cheers
Penny

"Quiting is never an option for a diabetic"

Tough Week in Traveling with Dexcom

Not sleeping well, traveled to Silicon Valley, airport issues and only one day of riding. All this contributed to sporadic blood sugars and frustration throughout the week.

While I was on the road this week and only having been on the Dexcom Continuous Monitor for 2 weeks, I was not sure how it should all work when going through the airport. In Tucson's airport it all went fine. I requested a pat down so I would not take the receiver or the transmitter through the metal detectors. Everyone was very cooperative and friendly. Once on the plane, it was smooth sailing through the first day.

The second day was interesting, beginning with heading into work and the company's buildings (11 in all) which are all wireless. I set up my laptop to begin to take advantage of the site's state of the art technology as well as the culinary specialties... Well, the culinary specialties started the rise in BS but it was the wireless environment that interrupted my readings getting recorded on my Dexcom. Not sure why, but hardly any reading recorded throughout the day. So, I spent the day testing and taking alot of shots. I was trying to be discrete but the insulin pens still draw attention especially when I was using it every hour or so. It drew some attention and questions. Most folks didn't realize I was diabetic and they were surprised given my level of fitness (not pro but fit). If they only new how frustrated I was during this point in time.

Well, the saga continues... As I headed to the airport, I asked again to get a pat down. One of the security assistants told me to wait, which I did. He then told me to walk through the metal detector which I thought for some reason he turned off. Well he didn't but what he did do is call for a female assist. Great... Well at this time my Dexcom did not provide any readings that night and throughout the following day, until I changed my sensor.

Word to other Diabetics, not sure if this is typical but Dexcom Tech Support recommended I not go through the metal detector unless absolutely necessary. I never had a problem with my pump at the airport but it wasn't wireless like the CGM. To make it worse, airport security was not familiar with the continuous monitor like they were with my pump. Need to get cards made by Dexcom to explain the CGM and how airport security should handle the situation.

Until the next post,
Stay well, stay happy, stay healthy

Rollar Coaster Blood Sugars

I am just returning from a great weekend of riding and spending time with my daughter, sister and niece.

The weekend began with a ride heading towards Gates Pass and ending with a great climb on A mountain in Tucson. I have to admit the ride up 'A' mountain was work and I didn't consider the impact on BS. Halfway through the ride, I ate 1/2 PB&J and drank 1/4 of my regular Perpetuem drink. My BS were already at ~ 200 so I took 1.5 units for the food and the high reading. Well it didn't take long before I saw my blood sugars dropping and I mean dropping. It kept going.... immediately I began drinking more of my Perpetuem and downed 5 sugar tabs. I headed up 'A' mtn thinking all the sugar I ate would catch up to me. It didn't and I spent the whole rest of the day in a yo yo with highs and lows. Not quite sure how it happened, as I reduced all my doses for food and it still didn't seem to be enough. I continued to yo yo all the next day.

What used to take 1 unit to correct a high BS now drops me to 50 from 200. I spent the entire night with alarms going off almost every two hours. I had a high at midnight, dosed 1/2 unit with a low alarm going off at 4 am (corrected with food), with a high alarm at 7 am. I have been on this roller coaster for 24 hrs. I am tired from the riding, the rock climbing and the fluctuating blood sugars.

I am just two weeks away from the Tucson Tour De Cure ride and I am getting anxious for the festivities to begin, but wondering if I am going to get my BS in control to last the 100km. I am inspired by the Tour De California Race and the great effort by Team Type 1. Phil Southerland, a type 1 diabetic, gave it his all as did other cyclists. On one of his last days riding in the race he was trying to get caught up with the peloton when Lance Armstrong with a few of his team mates were heading back up, Lance gestured to Phil to hop on and ride the draft. A gesture only someone with experience, compassion and true sportsmanship would do. Phil's logs of his BS and the amount of carbs he takes in to perform at this level helps me realize that the harder I ride the more carbs I need, a science I will have to figure out to continue to ride distances more then 50+ miles.

The good news was, after my ride I drove to Phoenix and I was with my sister who has a son with type 1 diabetes. Both my sister and my niece have a great understanding of the challenges and complications of having diabetes. It makes it a whole lot easier when folks are around who can help in case of the unexpected. I look forward forward to getting back to my regiment and gettimg my BS back in control.

Still working to meeting my goal of $2k in donations for the Tour de Cure, just $400 dollars away.

Keep on trekking
Penny

Getting Use to my Dexcom Seven

I have officially had my continuous monitor on for a week now and it has been great. The biggest advantage for me is when I am on my bike or rock climbing. I've done both this week and not having to worry about my BS has been great. I still have a lot of work to do for a decent trend line of my BS, but I worry a lot less about lows which gives me a huge sense of relief.

Each day that I ride, I look at my BS trend on the receiver to see which way I am heading. Once I have a sense if I should carb up or hold steady, I head into my activity with a new sense of confidence. Even though I know I am still on the upside of mid life, I love riding and the for the first time, I have been classified as an athlete due to my weight and body composition. Yeah! Now if I just had the road performance to compete at a Masters Level. Well, not sure I am ready for the effort it will take to get there right now. Tooo much coming up. I will take great health as a success to get me through the summer.

First Ride with Dexcom Continuous Monitor

Today's Ride Was Phenomenal! I was excited to do a climb ride today (41 miles round trip), not because I am a strong climber, but for the first time I was riding with a tool that could tell me what was happening with my blood sugars every two minutes. I was able to push to my ability to climb as hard as I could and push myself to see where I needed work.

It was the first time, I kept an avg pace over 15 mph, my first goal for this year. I wanted to at least keep within eye distance of the front of our group. I not only did that, but I actually took the lead a few times, again not because I was the fastest but because for the first time, I could take the headwind while others rested to take us home. It is hard to understand this type of excitement unless you are Diabetic or have a dependency on having the right supplies that could save your life.

I felt great on the ride, even with getting up at 3 am due to low blood sugars and correcting that, I still felt strong and ready to ride. My biggest challenge was getting my Dexom out to check it on a regular basis. I kept my Dexcom in my jacket side pocket because when it was in one of my back pockets it seemed to stop registering the readings. I was a little worried that my sweat kept the Dexcom Receiver a little fogged over, but it all seemed to workout and the receiver doesn't seem worse for the ride.

My blood sugars remained somewhere around 120 - 170 during the ride. I would check my Dexcom before any hill climb to see if I was running low or had enough onboard to make it through the next stretch. I supplemented my ride with 1 water bottle of Perpetuem and a camelback full of water with electrolytes. I drank 1/2 the Perpetuem, and 1/4 of my water. I started the day at a perfect 150 ( that is perfect for a hill ride day), ate rice pancakes and a tbs of peanut butter for breakfast, dosed 4 u for the carbs and maintained my basal rate of Levimir of 10 u. The ride BS were never a problem... It is always afterwards that recovery and maintenance become an issue for me (as evident by the picture above).

I headed home, stopped with a few riders to have some coffee, ate my 1/2 peanut butter and jelly sandwich on gluten free bread. Once home I kept drinking my water, I continued to drink my perpetuem and ate a bannana. I then ate an apple and had rice crackers, some cheese and turkey pepperoni. Every time I ate, my Dexcom would go off of being at 200 then it would come down. I have the perfect roller coaster pattern for my BS readings. Ugh!

Now that I had a great ride, I have to figure out how to have a great recovery. It is 7:30 pm at night and I am still bouncing around...