i can try that out on sunday’s swim. but it is obviously an improvement. 
any notions of why i am going so low after i bolus for my basal replacement?
Your higher basal needs that you have experienced is because of more calories and more carbs you are eating.
But requiring less insulin after exercise is a result of your body having better GLUT4 expression in your muscle tissue. That just means your body has become more efficient at using insulin, especially during and after exercise!
Exercise increases our ability to use insulin. GLUT4 is glucose transporter that allows insulin to open up the cells for glucose to be used.
An easy way to think of it:
- Insulin is the key that unlocks the door
- GLUT4 is the door
- Exercise makes the doors easier to get to
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i always prefer “easier.” to harder or just plain old difficult 
LEARNING HOW TO INSURE A GREAT SWIM EXPERIMENT #1:
yesterday’s swim was miserable. i was low all morning and couldnt get my BGs up into what felt like a safe target range for any kind of enjoyable swim. i wanted to stay under the covers and binge watch NEXTFLIX instead. but i pushed myself to get to the pool. i took a Gtab before jumping in, but i spent the entire swim worrying about going low, instead of enjoying myself and working hard on my strokes.
today i made darn certain that my BGs would be high enough that i felt safe enough to really push myself without worry, enjoy my swim, relax, and let the time go by without a care in the world. for those 90 minutes, i was not diabetic, and that was fantastic. it makes all the difference in the world for me to feel that my BGs are safe if i want to get anything enjoyable out of my swim. i think a lot of that has come from the one time where i went into the pool at 86 and after just 1/2 hour, i crashed into my 50s. its not that i no longer dare myself, its just that i err on the side of caution.
here are todays stats:
1:20 BG 111 ( took 3/4 Gtab)
2pm BG 122
2:30 BG 97
3pm BG 80
3:30 BG 90
Thursday will be my last day in the pool for a week. they will be draining and cleaning the pool, and will be closed over the Holiday weekend. so, i will not be reporting any swims until september. 
however, i will be experimenting with new and different foods, all of which will require dual boluses. perhaps i will report those.
right now i have been working hard to control a midnight BG spike. it happens EVERY night at exactly the same time. the only time is does NOT happen is when i skip dinner. but since i have increased the amount of food and carbs i have been eating at dinnertime, i get this “delayed” spike. i keep raising my basal insulin to match that hour, but so far, i havent been successful. on another note, though, i have reigned in my ICRs, particularly the dinnertime one which i was having terrible difficulty with. YAY for that success!!!
as usual, i’ll keep at it. the entire point here is becoming and remaining UNLIMITED!
signing off,
DM
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THE POOL IS CLOSED AND I AM SICK EXPERIMENT # 1
the pool is closed for the Labor Day weekend (and then some) they are draining the pool and cleaning it.
i have had the flu since last wednesday night. its miserable, but i have not one shread of guilt about missing swimming b/c even if i were well, i would not be able to swim. hopefully the timing will be just right and i will be healthy once the pool opens again. wouldnt that be nice.
so i am on 150% basal for the past 6 days. under the covers, sleeping as much as possible, drinking copious amounts of water, taking Bayer aspirin (did you know that Excedrin has aciitominifin in it?? so beware Dexcom users!!!), Robitussin, Nasalcort, Benadryl, and Vitamin C.
i have a slight fever and the usual aches and pains.
no BGs to report. so i’ll just sign off,
DM
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Hi Everyone,
Daisy Mae is still sick. Yesterday, she sent me an email and asked me about my running. Here is what she said.
i told you, i need to hear about your running. it keeps me in the athletic loop. i need to live off of your achievements for a while since i am not able to swim. so please share all!!!
I didn’t want to hijack her thread, but she wanted to hear it, and said I should post something on her thread. So I ran today in honor of her. Wishing you the best, DM. I hope you get better soon!
I really want to hit good numbers for DM today! I am going to bring my ‘A’ game.
So here it is. Done in DM “style”.
I turned off my basal 45 minutes before starting. I keep a close watch on my BG’s leading up to the start to get an idea of where I am going. Here are the numbers leading up to it.
76, 77, 72, 76, 74, 62, 66, 72, 66, 64
Reasonably flat, a little on the low side, but with the 45 minute zero basal, I don’t need much before starting. I grab a few sugar coated pecans and almonds, about 5 grams of carbs maybe. I have had plenty of water, and also took a salt tablet to help my body absorb water. I am expecting to lose a lot of water today.
I put on my heart monitor and watch, I lace up, and I get going…
BG 89 - Mile 1
BG 84 - Mile 2
BG 73 - Mile 5 - First few miles are critical. Once I get to this point and see good numbers, I don’t have to think about it much anymore. At this point I am thinking I nailed it.
BG 71 - Mile 6
BG 77 - Mile 8 - heart rate is staying below 140 so far, which is great. That is a “forever” rate, can keep going forever at that rate.
BG 84 - Mile 11
BG 84 - Mile 12 - heart rate starting to creep up a little…
BG 81 - Mile 14 - I need to fuel up a bit, I am getting tired and need some carbs. So at this point I turn basal back on, take 0.15 units and drink 23 grams of quick sugar. Hopefully that will work for the remainder of the run.
BG 92 - Mile 16 - heart rate of 150, which is high for the pace I am hitting. Starting to feel spent.
BG 96 - Mile 17
BG 87 - Mile 18
BG 83 - Mile 19 - this was joyous for me, because I wanted to honor DaisyMae with some DM-like numbers.
All done. I have burnt through about 3000 calories, and probably half was carbs, so maybe 375 grams I need to make up.
So right after finishing, I take a bunch of insulin, and drink 3 Cokes, in addition to a protein drink. I know, just like an endo or nutritionist would tell you to do, right? 
Anyway, there ya go DM. Hope you are able to get back in the pool soon!
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That’s amazing! Good work! That’s a lot of miles… are you in marathon training?
Feel better soon, @daisymae!
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For all who check in, i have been ill in bed for 1 1/2 months now. i was in the ER and the hospital and dx with both influenza and viral and bacterial pneumonia. they pumped me full of IV antibiotics and electrolytes and kept me overnight for observation.
they let me keep both my pump and my dexcom on so long as i showed them how i use it and how they worked. they were very interested and accomodating.
i’ve been home in bed since on oral antibiotics. i am doing breathing exercises every hour about 8 times per day. its still very hard for me to breath.
i think it is kind of ironic that i would get a breathing illness, as my lungs are so strong from swimming. but my doctors have all explained to me that it was probably because my lungs are so strong that i was able to fight off the virus much longer than another who wasnt as healthy as i was.
also, my 2 best friends have been my pump and my dexcom. with my pump i have been able to keep myself on an increased temp basal rate of 150% - 170% 24/7 and this has allowed me to maintain target range with my BGs despite being so ill. ( for me, my range is 70 - 110 )
now its just a matter of staying in bed and getting rest and recovery. my fever has gone down and my coughing spells have subsided. phew. i am still on antibiotics and am taking 800mg of prescription Ibuprofen 3 times per day for the pain.
i really miss my swimming, but right now i can barely walk myself to the kitchen, so i dont know when i will be back in the pool. hopefully, at least its one of my first goals, i will be back down to 100% basal rate some time soon. then i will know i am really on the mend.
thank you all who have PMed me and sent your good wishes and support. it means the world to me.
DM
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DM, so glad to see you post! Can’t wait to read about your swimming again!
Much love from Michel and the WI gang, now in Spain for a few months
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thanks michel. where in spain are you?
@daisymae, I’m so glad to hear from you, but sorry to hear how slow-going the recovery is for you. Pneumonia is a nasty, nasty infection and it is tough to recover from. But I’m keeping my fingers crossed that you are on the mend quickly and that once you’re up walking around, you can go swimming again.
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So glad to see you posting again! The “flu-monia” combination, as my mom dubbed it when she caught both at Christmas, is hard on a body…I hope you are able to kick this sooner rather than later!
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We are in Granada, in the province of Andalucia 
are you and your son speaking Ladino with one another?
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I wish:-) My parents never taught us Ladino unfortunately. But we have quite a few expressions. And we cook Ladino all the time!
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One of the places on my must-see list is the Alhambra. You must be just a stone’s throw from there!!
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NO EXPERIMENTS YET # 6 weeks and counting:
just returned from the doctor of infectious diseases; apparently i have bronchial pnuemonia which is the worst of all of them (not that any of them are a pick nick), and i was not put on the correct antibiotics to treat this particular disease.
i had a follow-up X-ray at the hospital which the doctor will review before he decides on a course of action for me.
i will not be swimming for several months,unfortunately; however, i am now at a point where i am no longer bedridden and should walk down my street every day for exercise to build back up my muscles and my lungs. i am still having to use the breathing machine to strengthen my lungs as well. it has been and still is very painful and exhausting. just the trip into Manhattan wore me out.
i am waiting for my BGs to come back into range so i can have some lunch and then i will take a nap.
i miss swimming so much it is depressing. i miss the outside world. i miss being able to breath without thinking about it. last evening was the first time in 6 weeks that i had 2 girlfriends come over to visit and it wore me out completely, but, on the bright side, it was so wonderful enjoying their company.
i dont wish this on anyone. so, get your flu shots, get your pneumonia shots, get your shingles shot…preventative measures are deffinately advisable IMHO !!!
hope this update finds you all well.
signing off,
DM
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So glad to hear you are on the (correct, this time) road to recovery! Take your time – the pool will always be there. So will we.
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DM, I am so glad you are better, although sad that you are not back to your old athletic self yet!
I can’t wait to read about you in the pool again.
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