One week till 26.2 part 2

In one week I will be attempting the marathon distance for the second time. Things didn't go as I planned the first time. My overall time was not bad at all for a first time marathoner, but I was attempting to qualify for Boston on my first try and in hindsight that was a very lofty goal. Not only did I face the usual new twists of running that far that fast,but it was the longest run that I had ever attempted without my insulin pump. I have run several half marathon and it works out for me to run without it for that distance and length of time. I found out the hard way that anything over 1:45 to 2:00 I need to keep my pump attached and use a temporary basal for the duration of the run or race. At about mile 17 in the Houston marathon last January my energy completly and suddenly was gone and my body felt like it was shutting down. It wasn't the proverbial "wall" that I had hit , it was my blood sugar near 400. I didn't find out until I had finished the race and I was on my back in the med tent with and IV in my arm. I learned painful but valuable lessons that day and have had good training the last few months , running long and fast with my pump on. I have been using a temp basal of -70% for a duration of 3.5 hrs to cover the whole race. In my training runs I have had blood sugars of 80 to 150 after finishing my 20 mile and above workouts. I usually take in about 25grams of carbohydrate (gels or stinger chews) every 6miles or so and drinking water when I am thirsty to stay hydrated. Diabetics can do anything if they are careful and smart to put in the time to see what works and what doesn't. I am happy to report what has worked for me and what has not, but it will be different for everyone just like we all have different pump settings and carb ratios that work for us. The most important thing is to be willing and not afraid to lead an active lifestyle that works together with our medicine to help our body be the most efficient it can be.It is very important to inform our doctors on the things we want to do so they can partner with us in our lifestyle change. If you have one that tells you should not be a runner my advice would be to find one who is excited about your being willing to take care of "your diabetes" (: Hopefully at this time next sunday I will be able to report that I have run a good strong race and qualified for Boston !

My first blog ever !

I have been told many times that I should put down in writing and share with others what I have learned almost completely on my own about distance running and diabetes. Well I guess I finally got the courage to do it so here I am. I guess I should give some background first. I have been a type 1 diabetic since I was 21 years old, I am now 44, for the majority of those years I was overweight and out of shape. I didn't take care of myself or really even try to manage my disease. I had bad lab results all the time and my doctor would always warn me that I was on track to develop severe complications! About 5 years ago I had some life changing events that kind of shook me up and made me decide to make a change in my lifestyle. I have always been athletic playing sports in high school , but I never liked to run. I knew though that it was the cheapest and most effective way to begin losing weight and getting in shape. So I put on my shoes, went outside and started to run. What follows is a journey that makes my former lifestyle seem almost like a dream to me, I love to run, everything I do is centered around running. It has made a profound change in my health, the#1 test that doctors want diabetics to keep under control is called an A1C test. It measures how good of control you have kept your blood sugars over a 3 month period of time. For most of my life mine were around 10.0 or higher, for diabetics they want them under 7.0, as a direct result of my running I have kept mine at 6.5 or lower for the last three years, My doctor is all for me to continue my running habit!!! I have lost about 50 lbs and kept my weight stable for almost 5 years. I guess you could say that running saved my life. My intention with this blog is to share my triumphs and my failures, what has worked for me and what has not. I believe that living an active lifestyle can change the lives of other people living with diabetes and I want to share the practical things that I have learned. Runners face all kinds of situations in training and in races, but as diabetics we face all those things plus a whole lot of other things that most people do not have to think about. I hope I can help someone else change their life for the better !