I rode just shy of 100 km on Sunday, and I ate more than 100 grams worth of carbs throughout the ride!
This week’s micro dose insulin sport strategy was slightly altered, and for the most part my body responded well. However, there was a slight dosing snafu that I did not realize until the very end, and had I realized it earlier – way earlier – my T1D management may have been a lot easier.
Quantifying the carbs
I estimate that I probably ate 120-125 grams of carbs total, including the bakery stop blueberry scone I shared with my husband at about 3 hours into the ride.
Some in the type-1 diabetes community might look at those carb counts and gasp. No doubt about it, it is a lot of carbs.
But let’s look at the sport side for a moment. My moving time – the time that my legs were actively working on the bike – was 4 hours and 28 minutes. That means, I ate approximately 25 grams of carbs per hour.
Put that way, it’s not a lot of carbs.
General sport recommendations for endurance sports is 30-60 grams of carbs per hour to optimize performance outcomes. Interestingly, prior to AID insulin pumps, this was the same recommendation for our T1D community engaging in endurance sports – unless there were higher levels of active insulin circulating. With high insulin on board (ie. dosed within 1-3 hours of sport) the recommendation was to take in up to 75 grams of carbs per hour to prevent lows and enhance performance.
With AID pumps, though, the recommendation is now anywhere from 3-20 grams every 30-60 minutes depending on blood sugar trends. Performance be damned.
For me, my carb intake is still predominantly blood sugar oriented. I’m looking at my blood sugars every 20-40 minutes usually and based on the numbers, I’m deciding if I’m stuffing my face or not. That’s the reality of type-1 – as active people with T1D, we need to consider both blood sugars and performance.
And for me, blood sugars will always trump performance.
Micro dose insulin strategy alteration
I decided this week to alter my micro dosing insulin sport strategy. Rather than take in small amounts of carbs every 20-30 minutes, I opted for larger amounts less frequently.
Because I needed to pull out my mobile Tandem app approximately every 45 minutes to dose 0.05 units of insulin to ward off getting an unwanted automated correction dose, I figured I would time my carb intake for around the same. I didn’t want to go low, so I doubled, maybe tripled the carbs I was taking in at one time.
For the first 2.5 hours, this strategy was solid! My blood sugars ranged between 6-8 mmol/L every time I checked. I was comfortable with those numbers, and my legs were feeling mostly strong on the hills.
But then, we stopped for a snack at the bakery – that’s when everything fell apart.
My blood sugars when we arrived were 4.7 mmol/L. They rapidly increased even before I started eating. I had half a large blueberry scone, which I dosed 15 grams of carbs for (I estimated my portion to be about 30 grams). When we started riding again, my blood sugars were 10.4 with a straight up arrow, indicating they were continuing to rise fast.
But within 40 minutes back in the saddle, they were rapidly declining – going fast into the low zone, where I did not want them to be.
I kept thinking, what the heck, why is this still so challenging? It wasn’t until I got home and went to switch back to my regular basal profile that I noticed it.
My sport profile, the one that has less basal insulin, had never been turned on.
D’oh!!!
You all, we have so much to consider when it comes to managing our T1D with sport that sometimes things are going to be forgotten – even when you’re convinced you’ve already done it.
This is T1D.
Destination Nostalgia
This week, we rode east to the Fraser Valley. I am still beaming with the love I have for this ride.
I hadn’t done a ride east in probably 5 or 6 years; I’m usually city bound with my bike. But I wanted a change in scenery, and I wanted more km in my legs. The Valley gave that, and more.
It gave me less stops due to less traffic lights.
I got to see old-school farmhouses, and goats – oh my gosh the goats!
There was so much green space all around me, and quiet farm roads. Those roads were so lovely.
Yes we had some busy roads, and a few obnoxious drivers, but we’d have that in the city too, so I’m choosing to focus on the luxury of the more predominant quiet ones 😉
Most importantly, though, this destination gave me nostalgia. I grew up on a farm in the Valley. And although I haven’t lived there in decades, the closer we got to that farm area, the more vibrant my memories became of the people and the moments I experienced there years ago.
I love that.
Ride Stats:
Destination: Fraser Valley
Distance: 96.37 km
Average Speed: 21.6 km/h
Elevation Gain: 790 m
Moving Time: 4:28:16
T1D Ride Stats:
