"Activity" is not the same thing as "Exercise": Allison's Running Trial

Also, @Trying @T1Allison @Nickyghaleb @Eric general question for everyone who tests while running: any tips on testing while moving like that? I know @Eric has his pricker contraption from reading his thread on that

Yesterday was the first time I’ve ever actually tested mid-run, and I tested at each mile but after the second one I had to slow down to a jog to test because I felt so uncoordinated doing it

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I’m also unable to test while running so no good advice :frowning: I have a FreeStyle Lite which is small, but I still must stop to test :frowning: I now rely on the Dexcom G6 for my BGs which is very accurate for me even during a run, unlike the G5.

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Since I still do walking intervals on my treadmill, I do it during the walking portion. Once those get eliminated, I’ll have to figure something else out, too!

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16 posts were split to a new topic: Equipping a Runner to Run Diabetic Style

Week 5 Run 1: 32:00, 2.75 mi, 6.0 RPE
ZB 30:00, 2:30 after breakfast
Starting bg: 172 (Dexcom showed me riding in the 140 area)
Ending bg: 112 (Dexcom showed me riding in the 120 area)

-25% basal for two hours after the run.
0.5 units for 22g carb refueling immediately afterward

Now trying -10% basal at 2+ hours after the run. I went ahead and ate lunch and am curious how my bolusing is going to work out. I really want to wrap my head around how inflated my boluses are going function at x amount of time after exercise. Bc immediately after exercise, normal dosing would be really, really, really bad. So I want to get a feel for how to scale my boluses in proximity to exercise so that I don’t have to stress about potentially pancaking on my face somewhere.

Running gets easier if I inventory where I’m carrying stress while I run. I carry stress in a lot of weird ways in a lot of weird places. Very notably in my lower ribs, my stomach, and my right shoulder. And my hips. This is a work in progress.

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What a perfect way to look at it! Keep up the good work and effort!

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Week 5 Run 2: 19:30, 1.61 mi, 5.5 RPE (speed intervals)
ZB 40:00, 3:10 after breakfast
Starting: 120
Ending: 117

In the final 3:00 run, my breathing finally felt like it came together for the first time since I’ve started running again. It felt like it used to feel a decade ago. That’s pretty awesome.

I didn’t refuel after this workout. My insulin sensitivity has swung around on me and I don’t want to kill the rest of my day waiting to see what the refueling bolus does for the first two or three hours, and then JENGA out a lunch bolus and wait through car rider line wondering if I’m going to be tanking or stuck high.

So I’m going middle of the road with a mod carb lunch in an hour so that the exercise induced insulin sensitivity can wear off a bit so I’m not dealing with that on top of my other insulin sensitivity changes. I’ve got a lot to get done today (ear infections, pharmacy runs, etc etc). :grimacing:

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Whoo - Hoo!! Way to go!! :star_struck:

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@Eric, I apparently owe you some money for free running coaching. Jogging books are going for over $3000 on Amazon! But to be fair, shipping is under $5.

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$3,169.36

That’s not a typo? Wow!!

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To be fair, I am pretty sure neither one is worth $3,000.
:man_shrugging:

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I think this is an original printing of the book that was evidently revolutionary about jogging, if I am to believe what I read about it. I think it went into revised reprint last year according to the Google.

@T1Allison So, it isn’t a typo. Wow.

And, @Eric, I wouldn’t sell yourself too short! What you’re doing, helping people achieve unlimited goals, is truly amazing! I read each conversation in awe and wonder. Your theory, and that of many others who follow your way of thinking, is so different than the main stream (read low carb), yet it works!

Kudos to all :slight_smile:

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Week 5 Run 3: 26:00, 2.24 miles. RPE: I’m retiring this. It is not helpful for me at this point in my exercise journey. Let’s just assume that each workout is still pushing me as my body slowly complies withing getting back into shape.

ZB 25:00 prior; ran 25:00 after waking up without eating breakfast

Starting bg: 136
Ending bg: 145

When I started this exercise project, I wasn’t entirely sure what my goals were bc this was completely new to me. I knew that I want to be able to run a 5k with my husband and that continues to be a goal. He is an in-shape runner and I want to be able to keep up with him so that the 5k is enjoyable for him, too.

But I’ve redefined what I’m looking for otherwise. Exercise is important to me overall for health, well-being and understanding how to manipulate the different blood sugar levers in order to live fully and live well with T1D. That’s empowering. But exercise is not in my Top 3 priorities. What I’m going for now is running 30 minutes (once I work up to that point) 3x per week. I need it to fit into my life without adding stress to getting everything done. And it’s not always easy to predict how sensitive I’m going to be to insulin after varying workouts and for how long that difference is going to last. Those types of variables don’t work for me. I need repetition and reasonable ballpark predictability for the rest of my day. This is why I’m moving to running 3x per week for 20-30 minutes. I’m sort of at a 3:1 jog to walk ratio right now…I can do that just fine for the first three sets, but then I need to stretch out my walks to 2 minutes in the last two sets. I’m fine with that and will keep chipping away at it as my body gets on board.

So far I have learned so much from @Eric and all of our exercise champions here on FUD. And that has helped get me comfortable outside of my old box in so many ways. I am still looking for growth, but at a comfortable pace that fits within my other priorities as this stage of life. I appreciate everyone’s help, input and support as I continue with this new habit!

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It is useful over time to see your progress.

If you are continuing to run the exact same ratio and your speed is fairly consistent, at some point you see that 6.5 become a 6.2 and then a 5.8 and so on.

At some point when it becomes very easy, you know that you should make adjustments.

If your workouts are going to be the same, I.e. pace and distance and reps all stay the same, RPE is the only thing you can measure that is any different from one workout to the next. And it can tell you when it’s time to adjust the workout.

If they don’t have any of the other fancy metrics, the things runners use to measure workouts are - time, distance, which together gives pace, heart rate, and RPE.

RPE is the only one that is subjective. It will be influenced by other factors like sleep, nutrition, previous workouts, and mental state.

But at some point as your notice your RPE consistently below where it was previously for the exact same workout, that’s a tremendous mental boost. How great will it feel to see the same workout as a 5 instead of a 6.5?

I think you should keep up with the RPE. Be patient with it. Just my $0.02.

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Then make that $0.04… not that I’ve been invited to pitch in…

@T1Allison, I’ve gotta say that learning to put a numerical value on the amount of effort I’ve put into a run has helped in a whole lot of ways. I know why you want to retire it, and I felt the same at certain points, but I’ve learned to give it the respect it deserves as part of my overall analysis. It really does belong. As my runs began to evolve a bit, I found that designation was also key in predicting my insulin needs over the hours to come. An RPE of 4 probably wouldn’t amount to much in terms of a need for basal change. An RPE of 7 is a heads up. It just an organized and consistent way to quantify effort, which can be a window to all kinds of information.

I know you like information, Allison. And you know I do. :smiley: And nobody but nobody can take that away from us. :wink:

Exercise is supposed to feel good and is supposed to be beneficial. I just want to tell you I think it’s cool you’re up and doing it. I hope you don’t get stuck in one place for long… or at least certainly not because of what it might do to your blood sugar… but if you’ve found something that feels good, then that’s beautiful. So we’re back on for our run someday. We’ll get @Trying to come along and slip her some sedatives so we can all be up for the same distance. And maybe drag along @Eric… if we don’t mind having to slow down so much.
:running_woman::running_woman::running_woman::man_running:.

Allison, you’ve taken on a great project. I hope you let your body get on board and then get back to messing around a little. It’s an Eric-running/Allison-basal rate mashup. There’s nowhere else on the web this kind of stuff is available. :heart:

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:grinning:

I’ll try my best!

Ha, you mean slip me a “coffee” so I can keep up with you speed daemons!! :slight_smile:

This really makes sense. I typically don’t rate my runs, but I can see this being very useful for basal requirements. I only recently started monitoring cadence, pace, hr, but I noticed that those metrics, too, are good predictors of basal changes. Generally, the more these increase from the norm, the more likely basals will need to be reduced.

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Week 6 Run 1: 17:30, 1.5 mi
ZB 40:00 prior; 2:55 after breakfast; 8g carb prior to run
Starting bg: 129
Ending bg: 150

I ignored the treadmill timer. I ran 6.0 mph for 1.25 mi and walked a cool down. I decided to see how long I’d have to run before I hit my rhythm with my stride and my breathing. It took about 3:45 and then I just kept going. Like Forrest Gump. I felt good until the 1 mile mark, and didn’t want to get mentally stuck at that number for my next run so I added 0.25 mile.

I will. In my notebook.

This is super useful. Thank you.

:grin:

Pretty interesting.

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So you ran straight through with no break for 12:30…

Remember back a long time ago? The 3 minute days?

What, that was like weeks ago, wasn’t it?!? Sometimes it’s hard to recall something so far back.

:grinning:

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