Well that was a bit boring..

I finally got out for a ride, my second this year.  I was glad to be back on the bike and all excited to see what data I got out of my Dexcom G4 Platinum, (yes, product plug) during the ride..

Yawn, talk about boring!  I started off at about 141 mg/dl, (a little high due to having a banana 30 minutes prior).  I finished around 92 mg/dl after an almost 2 1/2 hour ride.

The little bump in the middle is where I stopped and had a Natures Bakery blueberry fig bar worth 20 grams of carbohydrates.  The ski ramp at the end is a protein smoothie loaded with fruit and protein powder.

I honestly see a steeper decline on my blood sugar when I am working out on the weight pile than I did for this ride, which to me is interesting.  While I'm not going to switch exclusively to pushing around heavy weights, I'll probably incorporate some form of weight training into my regular routine.

As to the ride?  It was a good one considering I'd been off the bike for a while due to dinging up my wrist, it's kind of hard to ride when you can't squeeze a brake lever. 



I did find out that my wrist is in no way 100%, yes I could squeeze the brake lever, no I wasn't real happy doing it.  The vibration on rough roads definitely irritate the damage.  Also my right elbow is currently being plagued by tennis elbow, (and I don't play tennis).  This is a problem as my water bottles on my recumbent are on my seat bag right behind my shoulders, this requires me to reach over my shoulder, behind my back, grab the bottle and pull, not fun at all with my elbow inflamed.  Guess I am going to have to ride with my Camelbak bladder for awhile.

The Good The Bad and the just plain Ugly

I've got about two weeks in on the Dexcom G4 Platinum and I'm learning some interesting things with it.

From what I am looking at on the Dexcom Studio software my body seems to be behaving more and more like a true type one diabetic.  I eat carbohydrates and my blood sugar goes up and doesn't come down without injecting insulin.

With careful monitoring, good diet and using insulin I get good results.  I can keep my blood sugar right where it needs to be, between 130 and 80 mg/dl.

Some days my pancreas decides to play nice, some days it doesn't.  Usually it waits till I decide it's not going to behave and hit the Lantus or Apidra insulin and then it decides to kick in.  These times lead to the bad. 

And depending on what I eat, things can get real ugly real quick.  Cinnamon rolls for Sunday breakfast are now definitely off the list cause these lead to the just plain ugly.

Unfortunately due to screwing up my arm, I've not been able to get any data while on a good bike ride.  The walking I've been doing seems to be almost as good as insulin.  It tends to drop my blood sugar into the normal range.

In short, just like doctors have said for years, eat right, exercise more.

Well so much for my #1 goal..

It's not even half way through January yet and I almost blew up my #1 goal for this year..

No major injuries or illness..

Fortunately it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

Lesson learned, hang onto those 35# plates when picking them up.  Other lesson learned, when picking up heavy objects, don't leave various body parts directly in the impact zone.

Fortunately according to the glow in the dark radiologist at the local emergency room, nothing was  broken.  Just bruised all the heck and sore as anything. The doctor was worried about Compartment Syndrome but that seems to be a bit of a non issue currently.

Unfortunately it looks like this is going to keep me off the bike for awhile, at least until I get the full use of my hand back.

The other important bit of information that I learned was that my bones are stronger than my floor.

We are Seven of Dave, you will be assimilated

Yay...

I've acquired another piece of hardware courtesy of my endocrinologist.

Add this to my Darth Vader mask I wear for the sleep apnea and I am rapidly becoming Borg.

From the fun tonight..

Hey!  Who "defurred" my belly, it's supposed to be cold for the next couple of days and I needed that fur.

This thing looks like it's going to hurt!

We are now Borg..

What I ended up with is a cool piece of gear, a Dexcom G4 Platinum Continuous Glucose Monitor, (CGM), it's going to be interesting to get a continuous glucose reading.  It's also going to mean no cheating on what I eat.  No going, "hmm, I rode this morning, I've got the calorie budget for a donut, or wow, a snickers bar sounds real good right about now.

I'm also real curious just what the glucose profile looks like on a long hard ride.  This just might make for some interesting data to dig through.

2015 Goals and plans

A new year means a time to reassess last year and set some new goals for the new year.

Last year saw me riding more miles than in the previous three years which was good.


2015 goals

For the bike

• No injuries or major illness
• No major crashes
• 6500 miles for the year
• Sub 5 hour century during Tour De Cure in June
• Double century completed
• March through October a century a month
• Riding with the local C & B groups instead of either chasing them or them chasing me
• Defending my Strava KOMs and earning 10 more
• More time on the tandem with my wife
• Muenster Metric on the tandem with my wife with an added goal of busting 55 mph on "THE HILL"

For my diabetes

• A1C down below 7
• 100% use of CGM when it shows up
• Controlling my binge eating when I have a low blood sugar event
• Weight down to below 190 pounds consistently

For my kids

• Getting them comfortable and sure on the bike in traffic
• Getting them faster and more confident on their abilities
• Local beginners group rides for them
• At least three "T-Shirt" rides for them

I'd hoped to start the new year off with a ride, but...

I'd hoped to get some miles in early this year. However the weather has other plans.

Even the dog agrees it's not fit to be outside.

That is a 70 some odd pound Ridgeback curled up under that blanket who has decided it's a perfect day for sleeping in.