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Regular moderate exercise log

Another bike ride on Saturday - challenging terrain but really really fun. Forgot to take it easy so slept a lot yesterday. Yes I'm still trying to do too much too soon....

Went swimming this morning for the first time since August 10th. Had been doing 600-800 metres 3-5 times a week then.

Today I set myself an absolute maximum of 12 lengths (240m) just to get started on the road back to fitness. I managed just 10 lengths, and had to pause after every two!

Gutted to be so far away from how I was before I was poorly, but delighted to have been back in the pool! Very proud of myself.

Another 10 lengths planned for tomorrow.

 
Shot through my modest 10-length swimming target this morning and did 12! Hope to be back up to full whack soon. My body is really noticing the 10 weeks of no exercise......

When I first started swimming I worked out, by trial and error, over a period of many weeks, how much insulin to take with my pre-swim porridge and how much time to leave between insulin and porridge, and porridge and swimming, and all that. Nailed it eventually.

Then I went onto a pump this time last year and had to do all of that homework again. Nailed it eventually.

And now - phew - I'm doing it all AGAIN!
Why? Because I've ditched the pre-swim porridge. For two days now I've swum fasted, and had two eggs for breakfast at home afterwards. Had never swum un-porridged before, but as I'm doing so, so well with low-carbing, now's the time to tackle swimming with no carbs.

Yesterday I was 5.8 pre-swim, had no insulin, disconnected my pump half an hour beforehand, then I was 7.8 immediately after the swim. Had eggs when I got home, usual insulin with them (bolused as if for 6g carbohydrate each egg). Despite a temp basal rate of 150% for 3 hours - as post-swimming I end up high without this) I whizzed up into the teens and stayed there for the rest of the morning. Might as well have had the sodding porridge....!

Today I was 8.3 pre-swim, and had 50% of the pump-prescribed correction bolus (as I was going to be exercising I didn't want the whole lot). 6.1 immediately after my swim, then 7.2 before my eggs. Had 50% of my bolus for the eggs, then set a temp basal of 150% for 2 hours - and ended up cutting this back to 10% for an hour as I'd overdone it and was diving ever-lower on my Libre graph.... So, perfect sugars post-swim and post-breakfast, but I overcooked the raised temp basal rate a tad. Had checked after an hour, and was 10.4, so I set it at the same rate for another hour (which with hindsight was wrong).

SO: for my next swim I'll aim for a half correction bolus if I'm over 6.0, or if I'm under 6.0 I'll not disconnect my pump until the last minute when I'm in the changing room. I'm hesitant to bolus any insulin without food if I'm not using it as a correction - but I'll see over time whether I DO need a small amount of insulin for swimming even if I'm under my target of 6.0. I'll need to experiment with how much (or little!) I have if I do go down this route. I'll make sure I only do a raised temporary basal rate for an hour.

To be honest I'm just writing it all down here to sort it all out in my own head - reading it back to myself it sounds like bonkers rambling blah blah blah - so if you've read this I'll just say thank you for listening!!!!

So pleased to be swimming again! And the very early mornings, and the swim-resultant endorphins, are really setting me up for my working day. Snapsy is BETTER at last.......

 
Glad you're back swimming and feeling so much better, @Snapsy despite the new balancing act required for the insulin.

I've just come home after a very splendid 16.5 mile walk, enter it on the spreadsheet and realise I'm only 3 miles off 1500 miles since January 6th. Trying to decide if I go out for another hour to finish it off (but after I've eaten) or waiting until tomorrow...
 
Wow! That's brilliant, @Japes !

Did you go out again? If it were me I'd've waited until tomorrow's daylight - but I might feel differently had I actually got working batteries in my head torch (which I keep meaning to replace but haven't got round to it yet!).

Congratulations anyway, whether they're already due or if the final furlong is achieved tomorrow!

 

I did go out again, as I noticed a need for more salad stuff, so as the supermarket is 1.5 miles away and I walked there and back, (as well as the bimble around the supermarket, which always bumps the step count up,) the grand total now stands at 1501.9 miles.
 
HURRAH FOR @Japes !!!

16 lengths this morning - shhhh, I'd promised my husband I'd take it slowly and not do more than 12 - but suddenly I feel I'm making real progress. Seems like my previous fitness *might* just have been on hold, rather than having completely evaporated altogether.

Have a great afternoon, all!

 
Hi folks, just wanted to show you what my week looked like as a result of going back to swimming!

Monday - 200m (10 lengths)
Tuesday - 240m (12 lengths)
Wednesday - 320m (16 lengths)
Thursday - 520m (26 lengths - went with a friend so there was some stopping and chatting going on!)
Friday - 400m (20 lengths)

When I stopped swimming a couple of months ago I was achieving 600m to 800m a day. I'm actually really surprised at how 'normal' 20 lengths felt compared with the 'oh my goodness I'm gonna DIE' feeling I was getting on Monday after just 10 lengths.

I'm really, really pleased.

I want to do parkrun (parkwalk/jog, methinks, for the first time back) tomorrow - we'll see....

 
Currently overseas working at the moment. Went for a long walk at lunchtime in the heat (35 degrees). It really got my heart into the cardio zone and according to my fitbit i burnt 1k+ calories. Will be in the pool tomorrow to see how that goes.
 
Hi @Snapsy. If I was a betting man I'd wager you doing tomorrow's park run and trying for a PB.
Take it a little bit easy if you can.
 
I DID IT! After a long chat with the lovely Mr S this morning a decision was made (by me) that it was NOT too soon to attempt a return to parkrun! And I'm so, so pleased I did. Turned up at the start, and it was absolutely buzzing - I don't go with a friend or anything, I'm a Snapsy-no-mates at parkrun, but I'd made some friends there when I first started going, and I got some smiles from people AND a hug, and caught up with some chatting. So it started BRILLIANTLY - parkrun's always like a party!

This was the first time I'd parkrunned (yes I know that's not a word) fuelled only by eggs rather than porridge - and oh boy, I was SO much more stable!!! My Libre (which reads slightly high) told me I was in the 7s at the start, and in the 7s at the end. Flat line. FLAT LINE.

Okay, so it all went a bit upsy daisy afterwards, with much more of a post-exercise shoot-up-to-high-land than I'd expected, despite ramping up to a higher basal rate, but I've been fine all day afterwards.

And @therower , just to reassure you, I achieved a PW*! Walked for 50 yards twice, and jogged rather than ran. The lady I finished with (the hugger mentioned in the first paragraph) had caught me up halfway round and we ran the rest together - next time I will follow her example by starting SLOWER and maintaining a steady pace all the way round, rather than going off too fast and then flagging.

Still, 33.30 isn't a bad start after being away from it for so long.



*PW = Personal Worst. And I really didn't mind a bit!
 
Hi @Snapsy. Well done, kinda knew we would be hearing from you.
33.30. 28.30. 36.30. A bit like diabetes it's just a lot of numbers sometimes. What actually is relevant is how we feel and I think you really enjoyed yourself today and even if you had finished in an hour you would still have enjoyed yourself.
 
Thanks, @therower ! I enjoyed the more relaxed approach, and it was rather nice to not be in competition with myself for a change. I might even make a habit of it!

 
Well done @Snapsy well done!
 
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