Living Well With Diabetes

Yesterday, I went out on the last big training ride of the year before the Logan to Jackson (LOTOJA) Classic on September 8. I wrote about the LOTOJA in my previous post.

My goal yesterday was a 130 mile test of my level of preparation. I’m pleased to report that I managed 132 miles in about 8 hours and 47 minutes. With over 6000 feet of climbing on this ride, I felt pretty good about it.

The other thing I felt pretty good about during the ride was my blood sugars. For only the second time this year, I wore a continuous glucose monitoring system (CGMS) during the ride. I still carry my Breeze2 meter by Bayer HealthCare because 1) the CGMS that I have is approved for adjunctive use only which means that the CGMS readings are intended to complement, not replace, the readings from a standard home glucose monitoring device, and 2) I still prefer the Breeze2 meter because of its 10-strip discs that mean I don’t have to haul around an entire bottle of test strips on a bike ride.

I’ve uploaded the CGMS readings from my ride here:

(click on image to view a larger version)

I started the ride at about 8:00 AM and didn’t finish until about 4:45 PM. As you can see, the blood glucose readings remained fairly level throughout the ride. During the ride, I consumed five energy bars at about 250 calories and 40 grams of carbohydrate per bar plus two and a half quarts of energy drink (150 calories and 39 grams of carbohydrates per quart). I had dropped my basal rate to 70% of its normal rate and amazingly enough, I still didn’t have to bolus for any of the food I consumed during the ride.

There’s a spike in the blood glucose readings from the CGMS at about 4 PM. It headed up as high as 205 mg/dl and then came back down. I’m not sure what that was all about because I stopped to test my blood sugar at about 4 PM and the Breeze2 meter read 84. Just one of those occasional wacky CGMS readings, I guess.

Below is some more data from my ride.

Total distance:	132.72 miles
Time:	8:47:41
Average speed:	15.1 mph
Maximum speed:	39.1 mph
Total calories:	8675
Average heart rate:	??? (no data — I forgot to strap on my heart rate monitor before I left home)
Maximum heart rate:	??? (no data — I forgot to strap on my heart rate monitor before I left home)
Total ascent:	6392 feet
Total descent:	6274 feet
Ride map:	(click on image to view a larger version)
Ride profile:	(click on image to view a larger version)
Ride comments: Started at Jeremy Ranch (near Park City, Utah) to avoid the high temperatures ot Salt Lake City (predicted highs in Salt Lake City were 96 degrees F and only 81 in Park City). I enjoyed the company of two other riders for about 10 miles and then I was solo the remainder of the day. Winds were moderate. I had a headwind as I headed for Echo which somehow seemed to still be a headwind after I turned around to head back to Jeremy Ranch. Temperatures were still pretty warm — a thermometer in Coalville read close to 90 degrees. Towards the end of the ride, I cooled off and got some extra miles out of my legs by holding my head under a faucet of water. It wasn’t even very cold water, but it felt SO good!