Wednesday Nights with the Nuts

     There are those in society who thrive on pushing themselves, pushing hard sometimes, and even pushing in a group setting. Heck, share in the pain right? Camaraderie is a great thing when you know you won't be alone in the pain cave. That's what I see Wednesday night trail runs as. The horn blows and you're all off down the trail, jibbing each other, letting the faster folks pass, trying to pace yourself or just pushing mad, monitoring your heart rate for zone limit, and waiting (OK resting for some of us) at the turns to make sure the last runner makes the right turn. Afterwards, slapping a fellow runner on the back as you laugh ridiculously at what you've just done...rock and log hopping in the dark, light-footing it down technicals through mud slop and wet rock, avoiding the lanky outstretched fingertips of the green thorn vine just waiting to draw blood, and all of this on a wet trail that's covered with freshly fallen leaves. A surprise with every footfall. Funny how this makes a person feel good.

    So, last night we did about 6 miles worth of mild trail torture. Thanks Dreama, a route well chosen (no sarcasm). Man, the fall colours were rockin' last night. The sun was going down at the beginning of the run, lighting the arms of the amber and yellow infused tree tops as if beams of sun had been absorbed by the leaves. With this above us and the broad view of the sprawling city in the valley miles below us...we had a rather beautiful run. I wish I had trails like this off of my back porch.

    I got all but one thing correct last night...I forgot my gel flask. I started with a BG of like 126 and the basal rate was at 40% of norm. So, I ate 3 PB&J crackers and started stretching out, forgot my gel and left with the group. About 1/2 mile into the run, I mentally slapped the side of my head b/c I knew what I had just forgotten. So, I monitored closely and pushed hard so that my efforts were more then typical and would get the liver to help me keep my BG at a sufficient level. Man, it worked like a charm. While I would never forget gel on purpose, the tactic that I applied worked very well to maintain my BG. When I got back and did a finger stick it was 130. Freaken perfect man. So, I bolused 3 units and bumped my basal to 150 % for 2 hours, as I could feel the BG going up already, since the liver keeps doing it's thing even when you don't need it anymore. This is the formula that seems to work for me post run. All-in-all....a great Wednesday night run...in fact the last one to be started in daylight, as time falls back one hour Sat. night.

Sunday - Atomic Duathlon

PRE-RACE:

     Today I was not optimally ready to go, pre-race. First, we were a bit late to the race location and 2nd, my bg was ~350...auggghhhh! Not a good place to start. Pre-Race adrenaline got to me more this time then last race. It wasn't breakfast that was for sure. Breakfast, along with the bolus for it, were gone about 2 hours beforehand. Oh well, I got everything set-up in trans and ran into a few familiar folks from our local multi sport/cycling club. I walked to pick-up and got my goods and numbers and then hoofed it back to my transition spot. This would be the fastest prep before a race I think I've done yet. It helped to have previous race experience. So, I was ready to go in about 5-8 minutes.



RACE:

    If I had failed to mention yet that the weather was a bit less than optimal....well it was a good bit challenging, that's for sure. So, just keep in mind that during this race the temp was like mid to high 40's and the wind was kickin from the Southwest at ~ 25-30 mph. Line-up and off goes the horn/gun. The first run was nice. I wasn't warmed up yet for it, but hey I was late. I was doing about an 8:15-8:30 minute mile for the first 2.4 miles. Transition to bike. Let me say that I had no delusions of having any stellar bike time. It was windy as heck out there no matter which direction you were headed. Once I warmed up after about 5 miles, I kept it in the big ring for as much as I could, except hills. That helped me a bit and it wasn't killing me. My hands and toes were a we bit cold and numb when I got back, but that warmed up in the sun on the second run. It took me about 23-25 minutes for the second run. Man I hate that cement leg feeling when you start your second run.



FINISH:

    This is where things were different for me for the first time in a race. I usually finish with hardly a soul around me and no one every really close to me. This time was different however. All but the last 1000 ft dash to the finish were uphill, so I kept pacing myself reserving...it was my last race of the year so for what I don't know, but I was pacing myself none the less. Up the last hill 2 guys that looked my age pass me. Then 2 women pass me and then pass the 2 guys who had just buzzed me also. The girls were moving pretty fast. So, I made a quick decision to hold the gap with the guys....10-15 ft...not a problem. Meanwhile, I'm telling myself "pace it or got for it. Pace it or go for it. Pace it or go?" Then on the last 100 ft of the hill I decide I remember I have nothing to loose here so I kick it in gear and pass the 2 guys going up the last of the hill. I'm on the heels of the first girl and were going downhill now to the finish...."that's it man...Go!Everything drop it in right now". So I did. "This is cool" I'm thinking. I pass the first gal and and on the heels of the 2nd girl and she knows it. We're flat out for the finish. She holds the gap and we finish about 1 second apart from each other. "Man that was fun". I need to get faster so I can have more of that experience more often. I finish at 01:58:...and change and a bg of 87mg/dl. I'm good with that. I finished, I didn't walk or crawl, and I wasn't injured. All was good. I got 3rd place in the beginner category. Cool. This will be my last beginner race. So, now I have to race for the prize with the big dogs, and my AG is very competitive.

Insulin Temperature - The Review

This is of course purely from the users mindset. Having come to cooler temperatures this fall, the issue of body temperature and external temperature factors effecting my insulin and its effectiveness have come to mind again.

All three of the more familiar insulins, (Apidra / Novolog / Humalog) for type I Diabetics, appear to all be on the same page as per temperature levels for storage and insulin pump use.

New Bottle to Insulin Pump Use

• Apidra-------------------- 36 - 98.6 degrees F
• Novolog------------------- 36 - 98.6 degrees F
• Humalog------------------ 36 - 98.6 degrees F

So, a poll of user issues with this is not really necessary I feel. What I do feel is necessary is to do some testing myself. So I shall proceed and write later about this when I've obtained some results later under varying conditions. The main question here seems to be in my head..."What is the percent of deterioration, in effectiveness of the insulin, over time in an insulin pump cartridge while being exposed to an average variance of daily temperatures"?

I may not be able to obtain data about remaining effectiveness for the insulin, but I can obtain data about temperature levels from environmental and body variances on the insulin in my cartridge. After all, most of us are very active individuals and throughout our daily routines I'm sure we all come into contact with environmentals that exceed the temperature limits for our insulin. Let's see what I find.

Transitions

    Well, I'm on the last bottle of Novolog I'll use for the warmer part of the year. It's cooled down significantly here and so training doesn't get so hot anymore. Time to transition back into Apidra use in the pump. I brought this issue up back in April and made some notes and changes because of it.

   I'll post a survey on here about insulin usage that I would be very interested in reading results from folks. Let me draw it out and make sure it's appropriate and it will be posted sometime today. Thanks.