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Re: The Official Diabetic Triathlete Thread [runnerwv] [ In reply to ]
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Had the state oly distance champs today in West Australia. 106 males in my age group.

Swim: about 5 minutes. Funny. The current in the estuary waters was a thousand miles an hour. After witnessing the kids tri and enticers, they decided to change the swim course because people were swimming in one spot. To how far? About 200m give or take. With the current. Awesome sauce. It took me 5 mins including the decent run back to transition. Now THATS how you do an oly swim leg!

Was at 7mmols and had a gel before hitting the water to carry me through to the bike leg

Bike: 1:04, 19th/106
Not too bad, cross winds were up and about. Pretty flat ride. Felt good in that i had lungs, was breathing well, cadence was averaging 96rpm.

Early second lap i had 3 large jellybeans and a glucose tablet. Checked my blood sugar during the end of the second lap (of 3) and i was 14.8!! shit, too high for me. Usually when i hit this high, its as if my body goes into ketosis. Does it actually? dont know. Its that sluggish feeling you get, body turns to body fat for fuel, your out of energy and nothing goes right. If i had my needle i seriously would contemplated injecting. Except this time i was able to put the power down still which is unusual. I felt like i was 7mmols.

T2: checked my blood sugar before the run and it was 9.8mmols. Thats about as high as i normally like to be.

Run: 51mins 70th/106.
Fuck. Familiar story? I didnt FEEL like i cooked the bike. I could have gone harder. I felt like i was at that 90% FTP. Anyway, started well, i have run just under 40mins for an open 10, so wanted to do sub 4:20 min kms as a 'safe bet'. First km felt good, running tall etc. Lungs were good. During the second km my left quad locked up like anything. I mean couldnt walk locked up. I had no choice but to stop and stretch it. Cmon man, i was thinking. At this point lungs etc were still good. Ran another 100m and it locked up again. This time stopped, stretched, massaged it etc.... Pissed off. Head space wasnt good now. I continued to run, but after a while i started to blow up. The stopping and starting really got to me and i had to continue to do so throughout the run leg. By this time i was starting to feel physically spent aswell. Most (all?) signs point to biking too hard for my run abilities.
Im not sure what affect a) stopping and restarting does to you and b) the effects of hitting 14.8mmols did and i would be curious to find out.

Could the hitting of high bs numbers cause the cramps and me to stop? Or was it biking too hard? I felt fine until i did have to stop and then it just went to shit.

Anyway i had 1.5 gels on the run, one at about 4kms into it and half at about 7. I finished on 10mmols. In hindsight i should have just swam without a gel ingested and at 7mmols- because this is what rocketed me up to 14.8mmols.

Think i might start racing longer stuff with a needle in my bento box.
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Re: The Official Diabetic Triathlete Thread [coates_hbk] [ In reply to ]
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Im not sure if anyone reads these anymore since im replying to myself! but alas....
After a bit of a review of the day im pretty sure my dip into the 15mmol territory and no insulin did my run in. I used to be able to get away with this, as evidence by my earlier replies. Not anymore! I can do a sprint sans insulin, but not an oly or more. I am going to have to experiment with injections on the bike etc during training. I have no idea if you should inject every time you eat, or maybe once an hour or so, who knows. But i cant race without insulin it seems (basal is not enough).
Anyway i am sick of pulling out my glucometer from my bento- so i retrofitted it to my bars. My arms sit on top, and my hands wrap underneath the garmin. It doesnt look all that aero from the front view, but my hands actually shield a fair bit of it. Anyway this makes testing much easier as i just slide the little door down and the test tape rolls around on a tape. It may cost me 20 seconds over an oly or something because its not exactly sleek, but if im going to inject during the race with a needle (which will also be interesting to do that on the fly), i want to be able to test often. It wont be able to hold up to rain, but the xlab doesnt splash thankfully either. If anyone has any more suggestions to make this thing easier to test without coming off the bars im all ears!




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Re: The Official Diabetic Triathlete Thread [coates_hbk] [ In reply to ]
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Sucks man! Has your BG been trending higher during non activity? I'm dreading that day.

I like the setup!

I have no idea how to inject on the bike, that seems like it could be a bad idea and has distaster written all over it!

When I did B2B full in October I stopped at every aid station to refill my bottles and test. I carried my own nutrition, Hammer Perpetum.



"Keep those feet moving!" Me
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Re: The Official Diabetic Triathlete Thread [coates_hbk] [ In reply to ]
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I received a letter in the mail yesterday from my insurance notifying me it will not longer cover my Bayer Contour Test Strips.

I have to choose either Accucheck or One Touch..... Sugguestion on these?



"Keep those feet moving!" Me
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Re: The Official Diabetic Triathlete Thread [runnerwv] [ In reply to ]
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I find the ultra one touch mini to be both accurate and portable, am happy with it so far. Now if I can only figure out how to mount iron my Aero bar too I will be all set.
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Re: The Official Diabetic Triathlete Thread [runnerwv] [ In reply to ]
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actually i have noticed some days my bs has been trending upwards when i have no bolus insulin in. What was covering me and keeping the number in check was the exercise effect as well as the bolus. But on lighter days, my blood has been trending up slightly, which means im thin on the basal. I injected 12 units of lantus last night instead of 10 and woke up 4.2mmols which was good. A little low, but better than the 7's i have been getting intermittently. It takes a few days to build up the basal i believe, so i will continue with 12 units.

As for the moniitors i cant help you there since ours here in aus are different, but you prob cant go wrong with either.

Injecting on the bike i would only do if my blood sugar is too high and not trending down fast enough for any nutrition i want to consume. Due to nerves/adrenaline/any taper as well as morning insulin resistance, means im not trending down enough via my basal alone. I perhaps would only need to do it once early on in the bike, as time goes on i imagine people get more insulin sensitive in exercise, and thus i could feed the basal. I understand its dangers, hence the ease of which i can now test on my bars because it something i would want to really keep an eye on.

I never used to be this way, as suggested by earlier posts. I could do any race on basal in the background. But for oly's its a nightmare. Sprints i can prob just rely on the basal as i dont really need much nutrition, if any, thus only have to compete with adrenaline highs which dont take me too high (over 10mmols). A gel + adrenaline is not good though! Basal wont take care of it, and neither does intense racing.
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Re: The Official Diabetic Triathlete Thread [coates_hbk] [ In reply to ]
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I just completed the Tour of Sufferlandria which is mostly anarobic Vo2max work, unchartered territory for me. Since being diagonsed in August I had pretty much done longer steady efforts. I was interested to see what the VO2max would do to my BG. In most cases it didn't spike high which I expected it to do. I have to take in a lot of carb for workouts



"Keep those feet moving!" Me
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Re: The Official Diabetic Triathlete Thread [runnerwv] [ In reply to ]
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When at home training I find the same but in competition/racing its a different ball game
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Re: The Official Diabetic Triathlete Thread [coates_hbk] [ In reply to ]
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There is some great stuff in this thread thank you all for participating.
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Re: The Official Diabetic Triathlete Thread [runnerwv] [ In reply to ]
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Well, got an OD race this weekend and will be stating to taper fairly soon. My nightly lantus will no doubt increase from 10 units probably to about 12 in this time. Im planning, for the first time ever, to inject a bolus in T1 due to the frustration of highs. I know i have talked about it before, but anyone who has to increase their insulin/inject mid race, i would love to hear from you, as this is going to be new for me. Adrenaline/glucose raising hormones are killing my races. I will have a glucometer attached to my bike so i can keep an eye on it closely without getting off my bars. I will run with a spibelt with another glucometer in it. Small time penalties from these im sure but such is life. Infact we have limited transition timing mats thus once over the T1 mat to record a swim time, the bike leg time starts straight away, so i will lose time here having to drag out a needle from my bento and inject.
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Re: The Official Diabetic Triathlete Thread [coates_hbk] [ In reply to ]
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I had a bit of a mare at National Oly Distance Champs yesterday as far as blood sugars go. Was 24.6 post race after 1 gel and about 2/3 to 3/4 bottle of sports drink. Having said that, I did get 4th in my age group (20secs behind 3rd), so having high blood sugar issues does not mean the end of racing - just that you can feel a bit lethargic and dry come the run when you can't drink as much.
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Re: The Official Diabetic Triathlete Thread [fulla] [ In reply to ]
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i wish i could race that high! i swear my blood sugar sees a 12 and decides im going keto. I tehn begin to drink like a camel and turn to mush.
Adrenaline is a killer isnt it?
Im hoping my plan will work out ok. My plan is maybe 1 jellybean pre-race, the swim is two laps where you have to get out of the water and run around a cone, so i will have a gel when starting the second loop. Inject 1 unit in T1 which should see me through with basal in the background, fingers crossed.
Fulla 24.6 is insane, that was more than my diagnosis number haha
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Re: The Official Diabetic Triathlete Thread [coates_hbk] [ In reply to ]
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Seems like you're having some real issues with your bg's during racing. I've been fortunate to where mine stay fairly steady during excercise with Basal alone and a constant intake of carbs. I love the set up with the glucometer on the bars, but that also seems like a lot of work and somewhat dangerous. I know it's not a possibility for everyone. but have you looked into cgm's? I've been using a Dexcom for the last 3 months and couldn't imagine excercising without it now. The information it gives might lag a bit behind real time numbers, but the trend info is really invaluable to me.
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Re: The Official Diabetic Triathlete Thread [Cppike79] [ In reply to ]
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yeh i had a trial of one, the dexcom g4. The site was in my upper glute. It was horribly way out of wack for 4 full days. Wasnt even documenting trends correctly. I was a bit pissed off that this happened because i hear so many good things about them. But it was waking me up with hypo alerts when i was well and truley fine, its application in exercise i found to be very poor and not quick enough for the few times it was correct.
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Re: The Official Diabetic Triathlete Thread [coates_hbk] [ In reply to ]
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So I've had a chance to experiment with a few different site locations and I'm a bit surprised that they had you try the upper glute area for the trial unit (unless you chose that location on your own). I'm on the thin side 6'1" and weigh 172 or so and I really haven't had much success with alternative sites. That said, if I keep it on the sides of my abdomen it's been very accurate and very consistent. It might be worth it for you to get another trial and see how one of the "approved" sites might work for you.
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Re: The Official Diabetic Triathlete Thread [Cppike79] [ In reply to ]
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your probably right i should give it another try. The site was chosen by the diabetic educator, she rekons she has more success with it there. I was pretty dissapointed considering the hype though. The eductor was suprised i had a bad experience with it, unfortunately i was the 'first' who had.
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Re: The Official Diabetic Triathlete Thread [coates_hbk] [ In reply to ]
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For me, when I tried that location I felt like I just didn't have enough fat in that area. The wrong movements would continuously make it feel like my glute muscle was pushing into the sensor wire. I would get discomfort and terrible readings.
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Re: The Official Diabetic Triathlete Thread [Cppike79] [ In reply to ]
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This is a great thread.
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Re: The Official Diabetic Triathlete Thread [coates_hbk] [ In reply to ]
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My most recent A1C came in at 6.1 down from 8.0 a couple months after my diagnosis. Hoping to stay in that ballpark. Fighting a cold right now that's messing with my bg

Over the winter been averaging a solid 10 hour week of activity and rebuilt my FTP to a PR of 330. Now I should probably start swimming some :)



"Keep those feet moving!" Me
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Re: The Official Diabetic Triathlete Thread [runnerwv] [ In reply to ]
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funny you mention a cold....
Did my olympic distance triathlon and had a bit of a fail. The week leading up to it i tapered (about 6 days) and got a cold from my lovely son! bah! so not only did my insulin needs increase from not exercising as much with the taper, but im basically a human pin cushion being sick aswell. I tell you what, it is much harder to control diabetes without exercise.

Anyway, in the morning of the race, my bolus was done and dusted and i climbed from 7mmols to 9.4mmols from pre race nerves alone. I didnt need to eat anything. The 1500m swim was two laps of a large triangle. On 1/4 way through my second lap i gulped half a gel mid swim. Got to my bike and i was stuffed. My legs were like lead and i had no energy. I even had to sit down i felt dizzy. This was the effects of the cold probably. Anyway, blood sugar was 7.4mmols. Good times. I had a unit of insulin and 2 jellybeans and jumped on my bike to see if i could get my legs turning. I did half a lap and they still werent co-operating and my blood sugar was now 10.4....crap! I dont race well over 10ish usually anyway. End of lap 1 on the bike i was 12.4 despite 1 unit taken and a meagre 2 jellybeans. I bailed. Legs werent kicking, blood sugar way too high. I dont get passed much on the bike, its my favourtie leg, but i was the guy getting passed by road bikes when im on a tri bike with disc wheel, aero helmet etc like a douche. Oh well. So i have had a very light week in training from taper and sickness and i just could not get going. Seems too much taper reducing my insulin sensitivity does not bode well (as well as sickness!)
Got busso 70.3 in 3 weeks, need to bring things back up to normal in this time!

edit: it took me 4 units to get back to normal range and i have been yo-yoing all day, high/low its been a nightmare. Sickness aside, i dont think a major taper where insulin sensitivity is lost does me any good!
Last edited by: coates_hbk: Apr 13, 14 0:45
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Re: The Official Diabetic Triathlete Thread [coates_hbk] [ In reply to ]
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This was my first cold season as T1D and I have a 2 year old.....I was sick quite a few times. It almost seems as though my insulin didn't even work while sick. It really messed with my bg thats for sure!

Sorry about the race, that sucks!

Are you pretty carb sensitive? What is the purpose of two jellybeans? I ask because I can't imagine that serving any real value to you (unless your low). Simple sugar, all it's going to do is cause a big spike then crash. I stay away from all simple sugar, especially training and racing. Have you tried Hammer Nutrition? It's 100% complex, I see less spikes and crashes.

Totally agree regarding exercise, it is key for anyone that's a diabetic, T1 or T2. If I am running on the high side after a meal, a quick 15 minute walk will reduce my bg 50 points or so. I exercise more since being diagnosed for that very reason. I'm pretty consistent with 7 days a week, sometimes I will take a day off if needed. But I think more exercise has helped me control my bg

Be sure to post your 70.3 race details



"Keep those feet moving!" Me
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Re: The Official Diabetic Triathlete Thread [runnerwv] [ In reply to ]
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i guess the two beans were a little insurance. I have never injected during a race i was a bit worried. It didnt do anything, because as you mentioned, insulin doesnt seem to work when your sick!
Do you find Hammer products keep you 'up' for longer? All gels etc i have tried inevitably come with a spike and eventual fall. Some spike more than others, but they all wear out similar. I always figured this was an unavoidable thing.
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Re: The Official Diabetic Triathlete Thread [coates_hbk] [ In reply to ]
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I use two products, Hammer and Gu Gel

With Hammer I use Heed and Perpetum (powder mix). It its a workout less than 2 hours I use Heed, if its over Perpetum.

For EVERY run I consume carb in liquid form. I carry it in a camelpak quickgrip http://www.runningwarehouse.com/...escpage-CAMQG12.html

I'm not a fan of the Hammer Gel although I do use it some. When I feel I'm getting low I pop a Gu Gel, it's an 85% complex 15% simple, it has just enough to bring me up without causing a big spike.

A typical run would be 1-2 scoops of Heed depending on how my bg is doing for the day. Generally I can get through a one hour run with just 1-2 scoops of Heed.

Today is long run day about a 2 hour run. I will start with 2 scoops of Heed for the first hour. Second hour I will dump Perpetum in the bottle. I will carry 2-3 Gu gels(just in case I need it) and my Perpetum powder In a sandwich bag. Takes a some planning, but its a necessity for me.

I carry my own supplies for every workout and race. It adds weight and cost me some time but it's worth it to me.



"Keep those feet moving!" Me
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Re: The Official Diabetic Triathlete Thread [coates_hbk] [ In reply to ]
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Hammer does a good job keeping you "Stable" during and after a workout. I have had zero issues going low after a workout or race.

Look at the sugar/carb ratio of Hammer product, it's pretty amazing

I actually used Hammer products before I was diagnosed but now I actually know what all that nutrition stuff means haha



"Keep those feet moving!" Me
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Re: The Official Diabetic Triathlete Thread [runnerwv] [ In reply to ]
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Does anyone INCREASE their basal for events? Really struggling with highs during events, more so by the time i get on the bike and ride for up to an hour my bs is sky rocketing.
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