Hi guys, first post, please be gentle
Just had a few questions if there are any diabetic tri folk out there?
I was first diagnosed type 1 4 weeks ago. Despite a strict diet i have put my weight back on i lost (to be expected) but with 2 kilos ‘interest’. I am on 10units lantus and bolus with novarapid 3 times a day to cover about 160 grams of carbs total a day (still honeymooning obviously). My endo said a small weight gain is normal and it platues off. Now all my clothes fit etc the same, but im wondering if it is bodyfat, is it possible to even shift this weight? I eat exactly the same cals, same workouts etc yet the extra couple of kilos dont budge at all. Its like my body has a new ‘baseline’ race weight or something?
How high with your bsugars do you start with sprint tris? I had my first sprint tri as a diabetic on the weekend, i started with 10mmols, and halfway through the ride had an energy gel and finished the race with 10 aswell. Is this a little too high? Usually the swim section smashes my bs levels. Also i crept up to 11.3 still about 30 mins later, but then dropped away fairly quickly after that without insulin back to about 7. Would i be better served to have half a gel?
Thanks guys, hoping there are some type 1’s out there
tim
welcome and first: Have fun training and racing, I am doing it for some years now, have a few irondistance races under my belt and can assure you there should be nothing holding you back.
General advice is: You have to make your own experiences, since every metabolism will react differently to similar levels of exercise. Adrenaline will have an influence and your blood sugars might react very different throughout a race than they do in training. And, when your honeymoon is over, your levels will be different than they are now. Best thing you can do (I do) is doing race simulation in training and record what you have eaten and what the bs was - those records will help you in the future as you can see trends and identify mistakes.
Regarding the weight: Yes, your metabolism changes, but that does not have to lead to a higher weight. I’d give it some time, but if the weight does not come down again you have to try harder
Wow so many of us complain about how exact our nutrition and race hydration have to be, this puts it into perspective! Tri’s are the was to go, hope you figure it all out and have some great races!
I’ve been T1 for 24 years now and can tell you what I’ve experienced with bike or run races as well as tri’s. Personally. If I’m nervous/anxious then my bloodsugars go through the roof. Shorter events, especially those at high intensity, typically don’t require me to make too many changes to my insulin. Mid to long events are a completely different story. As others have said, you’ll need to take some time to experiment. Keep your monitor or CGMS on hamd with carbs to remedy any lows. I LOVE my dexcom by the way. The Animas pump is great as well, especially for swims.
I LOVE my dexcom by the way. The Animas pump is great as well, especially for swims.
I have a Dex and switched to Animas just a few months ago. This is going to definitely help with those post swim highs. Can’t wait for the Dex/Animas integration. Won’t that be nice to have during a little 2.4 mile swim?
Check out www.triabetes.com a good friend of mine is on the team. I think a lot of your concerns and questions are answered there by people in your situation.
I am part of this organization (Triabetes and Glucomotive (running) are part of Insulindependence). I volunteer my time to help and also participate in many of the events around the country.
Triabetes is looking for Captains for 2012-13. Boulder 70.3 will be the main event in 2013.
To the OP, I’m not T1 myself, but my son is. Though he is only 7 (6 when diagnosed) he is super active. I can tell you that the first 3-5 months post diagnosis, when the honeymoon-ing is pretty strong, you may find that your tolerance/ability to ingest carbs pre and during workouts is pretty forgiving and flexible while your own pancreas is still sputtering out. We’re 14 months past diagnosis, so I think our honeymoon days are over, and every little carb has a much stronger impact on his BG numbers.
Things always are changing, so learning to roll with the punches is key. Keep your chin up and have fun!
I have found that there are tons of diabetic racers out there, and have gotten a lot of good information from them. I am a T2 so I don’t quite have the exact same issues or needs as you, but I have found that knowing your glucose levels at all times is the most effective means of controlling them. I just started using a Dexcom as well and love it. I had an ultramarathon last weekend where it was crucial it letting me know when I was getting too low and needed to take in some nutrition.
I am also a new member of Team Type 2 (part of Team Type 1), which is a great organization whose mission is to promote diabetes managment through healthy living and an active lifestyle. TT1 has a triathlon team as well. Check out their website (www.teamtype1.org) , there is lots of good info to be found there.
Good luck!!
…and yes im definately still honeymooning. I was 4.6mmol, had 1cup brown rice some vegies and a chicken breast, waited an hour and i was 6.6 and no doubt still climbing. I did an easy 1km swim in the pool, jump out and im 2.7mmol. Something about swimming smashes my bsugars. I can run a tempo run for a good hour, bike the same and have only slight drops in bs. Swimming is my weak leg so i guess its only natural it takes its toll on me.
Unfortunately being in Australia we dont get dexcom’s or any other CGM’s which is a damn shame because i think they are fantastic.
As for the weight its now hovering. I dont ‘feel’ too bad, i feel ‘fuller’ though. Muscular wise etc. Maybe i was running low for quite some time and got accustomed to a pre-diabetic type 1 weight.
My next race is a 750/22/5 and the swim is making me a bit nervous. These sort of ‘redlining’ races, just make me hurt! And if it isnt the bloods, its the muscles. If not those, its my guts cramping up haha! Actually this leads to my next question- i usually half half a cup of oats and a banana about an hour before. I nearly always have crook guts on the run, to the point of almost stopping i need to go that bad. Is this too much fibre pre-race? Thanks again guys
Also thanks for the links, im familiar with team type 1 and i think its great the awreness they raise
Heya, I’ve been type 1 for 21 years and have always been really active in sports (swimmer/rugby as a teen, rugby at uni, triathlons since). Like others have said, you are going to have to experiment a little. I found that when I started doing triathlons on big training days I could reduce my long acting (humulin n or monotard I forget which it was when I started) to 1 unit or even 0 sometimes. But that has changed over time. I find that in sprint distances it’s not uncommon for my blood sugars to shoot up into the early 20s, with adrenaline etc. Even when my level is lower pre race. I also find that my diabetes reacts quite differently in races to in training, with adrenaline, so you will prob need to do a bit of trial and error to see what works for you.
For me, my biggest concern in a race with diabetes is going low - as that would be pretty much race over for me (has happened to me once in ironman), so I tend to try to aim for 8-13 or so, not that that always works out!
The bs levels you describe for your race, I would describe as almost perfect.
I can’t remember if you said you are on a pump. If you are, I can’t offer any advice there! Don’t think I could deal with having something permanently attached to me! Having a CGMS attached for 24 hours was bad enough!
With food, i’d try and cut out fibre pre race. I had massive stomach probs in my last season of tris and was diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome - and specialists have told me that cutting out high fibre foods might help, and lo and behold it did!
You may find sometimes that your diabetes reacts totally different to the same thing you’ve always done also (ie one day you go cycling eat the same, similar blood sugars, similar effort but end up going high as opposed to level being steady or reducing)…but don’t worry about that - it happens!
I thought the fibre must be doing my guts in- i think i might just have a couple of peices of toast with some jam and half a banana pre-race next time.
No im not on a pump, im the same, dont think i could be happy with something permanantly attached, however i do understand the ease it brings though.
Thanks for the advice, yeh my bloods are much different on race day (well, the 1 race i did). Half cup of oats, protein shake and banana with 1 unit of novarapid and i was 10 as mentioned. Usually it sends me to about 5 in these early stages. Maybe the spike is enough, and half a gel through the middle of the bike leg. I was more curious as to see wether 10 was around right to start with…
I’d maybe skip the banana also as they tend to upset my gut at times too. I found that eliminating caffeine also helped my stomach heaps also.
10 is fine to start with - it gives you a bit of a buffer. But you may need to experiment a bit if you find yourself going low (something which can be extremely hard to judge in a race if you are dehydrated and tired from racing).
yes i was in 2 minds re: banana. I know the fibre in them isnt good but i thought the potassium might be good. Alas i will ditch the banana, all trial and error this stuff
just see how it goes! it is all trial and error - I can remember doing my first 100km ride on sports drink and barley sugars! had a massive low about 30kms from home! this was before i knew about gels and using sports bars etc.
Well i had a bad one yesterday. Did a 750/22/5 and to be honest these are te longer events i do, im new to the sport, this being my first season. I mostly do 300/15/3
In any event:
My bs was 11.2 about 15 mins before the swim. I had 3 peices of toast with honey, didnt bolus. I usually have oats but they mess with my guts on the run leg. Checked about 5 mins to start and was 9.6 so had 3 BIG jellybeans (glucogel beans). Did the swim, was very slow today, dont know what it was. Just didnt have any power. Anyway jumped on the bike, during the 22kms i had a gel (isogel, the only gel thus far which doesnt ruin my stomach. Unfortunately it doesnt spike my bs that much either?), about 8 jellybeans and about 4 zipvit chews. Bike leg was average. Didnt feel the pace today. Got to the run and had to make up ground, i put on my spibelt and checked my bs while i ran (had my accuchek in there). I had only started the run and bs was 5. I deliberated on what to do because it would take too long to get energy back into me and a 5k sprint would drop me into the 3’s easily. So in the end i jogged with a mate of mine who is slower and had a few beans. I gave up my timing chip to one of the girls and didnt run over the mat to record a run time simply because it would have ridicously blown out. I feel shithouse because i perhaps COULD have gone and prob make it through ok, but i thought a 5k starting at 5 and obviously having trouble keeping up the bs, i erred on the side of caution and jogged with a friend and had a chat haha.
5mmols and dropping on a sprint, which i can normally do sub 20mins, was enough to make me say ‘stuff it’. I had a bad swim, got stuck behind a car (roads werent closed) on the bike for a portion and just a crap day all round. I guess we all get days like this.
a few queries if anyone has got any idea:
3 peices of toast and honey with a bs spike of up to 11 should have provided enough energy to get through? My concern is the higher GI didnt sustain the energy to get through where as my oats always did despite killing my guts
I hear fructose isnt good to have as part of gels because it pulls water into the intestine and is slower absorbed…anyone have any luck with gels like honey ones or something similar? I actually ‘feel’ energy from the isogel high5 ones, but they dont do anything to my blood sugar for some reason. I have only used them twice but both times i got no spike?
