I was ready to chuck everything out my non-opening office window today when I started comparing Dex to Freestyle to Contour (which I left work to go buy). I thought, “How in the heck is Nicky doing IM shots and running like her hip doesn’t hurt and I’ve become crazy finger stick chart lady??!! How did this happen??!!”
- You started at a BG of 94.
- You finished. You did not quit. You finished your run.
- You took insulin while running, with a 1/2 mile left.
Elite.
Don’t doubt this for a second, cupcake.
This is really important. Don’t decide before you have to. You have more information if you wait until you need to make the decision before making it. You have many more minutes to see things and more data points to look at.
Do you decide if you are going to run the traffic light or stop when you are 15 minutes away from the traffic light? Silly, right? Same thing with carbs and insulin.
That’s the essence of it all. You finished better than when you started, both mentally and physically. All things considered, this was a great day.
You can learn to trust your instincts on all of this, but you just need to sharpen them a bit. It takes time to get it all figured out. Just like the running takes time. If it was easy, everyone would do it.
I told you Wednesday would be a good day for you. Tomorrow, at the end of the day, take a look at your thread today and think about how you can change this in the future. Wait until Wednesday evening, and see how this all changes next time.
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I thought there was a run today… and that this would reveal itself during the run… but there’s no run. So… huh?? I’m supposed to know at the end of the day? Is there something I’m supposed to be doing during the day to make this happen?
My mom and I made it through the night. Sleep was scarce, but my mom is good. Taking her to the doctor today, but it looks like it might be opioid withdrawal and not a true cardiac concern. I know I’m “hijackjng” my own thread, but I’m okay with this, too. I hate opioids, and I almost hate how medicine is handled in this country. My mom has always been an athlete and has always taken excellent care of herself. She had a large heart attack a couple of years ago and has just been a victim of circumstance since then. She’s had two hip replacements, a brain tumor, an eyeball laceration (airborne pool toy), a case of sudden and acute diverticulitis, has had complete pelvic, uterine, and rectal prolapse, a random attack of Global Transient Amnesia (terrifying), and, as a result of a neighborhood car bomb (true story), fell down the stairs and severely damaged her collarbone and shoulder. This woman used to be terrified of getting the flu shot, but she’s taken it all In stride and has just kept a really healthy attitude about everything. She hates the painkillers but has needed them throughout periods of this. And I guess it turns out that even if you take a quarter of a pill, which is what she has done throughout as much of this as possible to avoid addiction and other long term consequences, it can be dangerous. I’m writing all of this because these drugs are dangerous, and I’ve watched my mom try to navigate them and have seen how difficult it can be even for her as a previously very healthy woman who is also mentally and emotionally healthy and aware of the pitfalls. She cut out the quarter pill two weeks ago (quarter pill a day- 1/16th of the daily dose her doctor was recommending), and her blood pressure has climbed steadily to a 210/120. JUST for perspective, she walked 5 miles two days ago— so she continues to shoot for that “healthy” status, and I know she’s gonna get it.
Anyway. Back to my tiny, very manageable diabetes.
I’ve gotta get kids up and off to school, and I’ve got a Wednesday riddle to solve, so I’ll be off. Just happy to have my mom here this morning nagging me about me blood sugar. 
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Wow. Props to your mom. I hope she feels and gets better as quickly as possible. She deserves relief.
Good luck with the Eric riddle. This one feels mystical.
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Wow Nicky, your mom is dealing with a lot, and so are you right now. Prayers for both of you guys and hang tough.
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Thank you, @Eric and @T1Allison, but she’s really okay. She’s feeling good and is off taking care of her business. She was scared last night, and I really dislike seeing her scared. Today’s she’s back on top of her nagging game, and I’ll really enjoy it for about another hour— at which point the charm of it and my gratitude for it is going to begin tapering. 
Oh, and Allison, you made me laugh out loud last night with your bit about the crazy finger sticking chart lady. I really wanted to respond, but my mom just had that look like I would never hear the end of it if I did. My giggling already was a little inappropriate for the situation. Come to think of it, probably so was my checking FUD in the first place.
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Thank you.
I also have found things have slowed down… Everything used to feel like an emergency, like it was sprung on me, but that’s not the case as often. You made me think this with what you said there. I don’t need to make a snap decision because I’m able to see things coming easier and have better tools to deal with whatever it is. I guess being afraid of the effect of unnecessary carbs was what I was doing at my last stage… Now I just have to take care of whatever it is and trust I made the best decision I could at the time and… I’m talking in circles here but not in my head. It makes sense in my head.
I think this is about right. I’m learning so frickin much. 
There really have been a number of great days. I like it when things get settled and am appreciating every moment of this. Thank you for it all.
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I have been thinking about this all day… trying to figure out what you could mean…
… and then it came to me. Literally…
Next time I’m not gonna guess. I’m gonna test.
It’s the most beautiful… even though it’s pink… bracelet I’ve ever laid eyes on. 
I can’t wait to try it. You are the coolest friend I’ve ever had. 
Do I have it on upside down? 
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Hey, that is downright sexy!
It had to be pink, so it would irritate you. 
Get a small retractable key-chain to put your lance on. Or just put it under the other sweatband or whatever. I will leave that up to you to figure out how you want to do that.
You have it on the right way!
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I’m impressed. I’m not even gonna make fun of that in a loving way bc I know it means that @Eric won’t even acknowledge my jokes, regardless of how clever (I think) they are.
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Just saw it was supposed to be 5.5 miles… I did 6. Honest mistake though— forgot to double up on the last recovery as the cool down, too. Anyway…
I had a great run today, and I’ll tell you up front I had another 2 800s in me… I think. The last lap was starting to feel a little hard but really not much. I think the first 4.5/5 repeats were probably at a RPE of 7. That last bit pushed an 8– maybe. All in all though, I just felt strong.
Blood sugar stuff… I volunteered this morning so I cut off my basal a little earlier than I have been. I decided I’d rather cut it 20 minutes early and get a few extra carbs if need be than to cut it too late and maybe dip after the start of the run. It turned out to be a great call. I had a matching pair of 106s according to my finger stick and Dexcom… and today I was wearing my new bracelet. 
This bracelet is my new favorite gadget. It was great, and I really enjoyed watching my numbers throughout the run. I’ve been an exercising diabetic for 15 years, and I’ve never seen my numbers throughout a session. I’ve seen them before and afterwards, and I’ve occasionally caught one in the middle, but today I tested at regular intervals, and it was intriguing. It also gave me great insight into the Dexcom values… which fell in line with what I suspected was going on but have never been able to confirm.
Warm up— kept it at 10:00 min/mile
1/2 @ 8.2–
1/2 @ 6.0 Dexcom 130 Fingerstick 128 Libre 99
1/2 @ 8.2- Dexcom. 150 Libre 109
1/2 @ 6.0 Dexcom 164 Fingerstick 128 Libre 113
1/2 @ 8.2– Dexcom 173. Libre 140
1/2 @ 6.0 Dexcom 174 Fingerstick 112
1/2 @ 8.2–. Dexcom 165 Libre 159
1/2 @ 6.0 Dexcom 165 Fingerstick 123 Libre 148
1/2 @ 8.2–
1/2 @ 6.0 Dexcom 152 Fingerstick 121 Libre 136
Because of that rise at around 4.3 miles (finger stick went from a 112 to a 123, and knowing I had just done a 20 gram of carb GU, I decided to add .5 units of insulin because of the trend, the recent carbs, and because I knew I was now sitting on a long suspend. I guessed at the 1/2 unit, but I was hoping it would give me a tiny bit of insulin without being so much I’d crash. At about 5.2 miles, I did another bolus of 1.5 units. My blood sugar has been fantastic since I got off the treadmill (and after a mix of skittles, insulin, and dancing). And my mood is quite fantastic, too.
The meter bracelet is awesome. I absolutely love it. Getting the first test strip in was tricky, and it made me laugh. Each got easier after that, but as I got a little more tired, I found I had to really get a good squeeze of blood so I could help my aim a little— which was not easy with all that bouncing. I think the 5th strip produced an error, but that’s okay. Dropped the 6th.
So neat. Thank you for the wonderful gift. 
Did I miss anything about the run??
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That’s good work. And I know you can do more. I am not trying to wreck you. Every once-in-a-while, you can get an 8 for a workout. But in general, 7.5 is high enough.
Let’s save the 8’s and 9’s for race day.
Awesome that you can see all of this, as an Elite now. I think this makes it all so much easier.
You are welcome. I am very happy for you. This is all great to see.
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What’s interesting to me is you thought I already understood this. This is new information to me. I’ve always let myself exercise as hard as I’ve wanted— and, often, it has turned out that the harder I’ve worked, the more I’ve enjoyed it, and the more I’ve enjoyed it, the harder I’ve wanted to work. It’s how I’ve had heart rates the way I have— because I work harder for a lot of reasons, but two of them are because I do when I’m enjoying myself and because I just do… naturally… push myself. I’ve managed to confuse myself and bore myself to tears with this explanation about my own exercise habits, but what I’m trying to say is I assumed an 8 or 9 was just evidence of a good workout. Wow. I could’ve said that in the first sentence. 
But you’re saying an 8 or 9 doesn’t have to be the standard… and this is going to take some processing. 
And thank you, by the way, for pretending that you didn’t see that. Because not only did I invert the justification, but I then high-fived myself for getting it right (which actually means I got it all 100% wrong) by labeling it a great (not just good) call. I’d be embarrassed except my brain tells me this is just proof of my elite status— and maybe that I’ve aready reached the most sought after elitest of all— even more eliter than all the rest category that can only be achieved when even dead wrong thinking ends up right. Because there’s no luck there. Just great calls.
I’m going to take the entire incident, starting with that explanation up there, and put it in the “burn” pile in my brain— and just be done with it.
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I mentioned some stuff about RPE waaaaay back in the beginning. But that’s okay. Moving forward, just know that workouts should top out at 7.5 or so.
When you are in a race, you will be pushing yourself much more than you are in a workout. You just can’t do a “race effort” all of the time in a workout. You will burn out.
This is where you need to be. Where instinct takes over and you do what is right. That is what happens. Put all the pre-determined calculations and formulas away and read your present situation and do what is right.
I can’t even tell you how many times I have started to eat something before a workout and then right after taking a bite I spit it out because it didn’t feel like it was necessary.
You are doing the right stuff.
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Okay. Yeah, probably before I started paying any attention.
Off for an easy run… bringing nothing. Now, it’s only going to be on the treadmill, but I usually pack an overnight bag.
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All done. 25ish minutes— 2.5ish miles. RPE of .5… which is an exaggeration, but 2.5 isn’t. I didn’t bother doing any kind of ZB and went in at a 143. I did leave my bag at home— and my meter bracelet (cuz you said to, right??) but then decided last minute to grab a meter and do a finger stick mid-run. Should’ve just worn the bracelet. Anyway, my Dexcom did the same thing as yesterday and went from a 142 at start to a 169 a mile in, which was when my meter showed a 123. I know you don’t want to hear about my dexcom, but I love all the numbers and am enjoying seeing them take on meaning. I’m guessing this happens because the dexcom, which is averaging the last 3/4 readings, is anticipating a continued climb whereas in real life, I’ve taken a sharp turn downward… so it bounces too high while I drop fast— looking like a 50 point difference. 
Maybe??
I could do this all night.
Anyway, I have no idea if that’s what’s happening, but it’s fun to mull over during the run. I had a 20g Clif shot thing about a mile in and finished my run at a 92.
So I know I left my bag at home… good thing I had all those supplies sitting on my treadmill. Better stick with don’t leave home without it thinking for now.
You started at 143, did 20g for a 2.5 mile 2.5 RPE, and ended at 92…
That’s a bit troubling. Unless your BG was on the way down when you started.
Like if you had not started running, and tested 15 minutes later, might you have been at 100? Was that drop entirely from the run?
A 51 point drop (143-92), plus 20g for 2.5 miles is a lot. Lemme know if there was something else going on. Maybe no food today? Or all the exercise in the snow?
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No, of course there was food. No carbs just before starting though and no basal cut. You said casual… so I was going all the way with casual. I was also running around doing chores before starting… up and down the stairs for laundry and whatnot. I also didn’t run until 5, and that’s the time of day I can see some crazy crashes, so I know … how we doing?? On the explanation??
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Ok, that all fits in better. Good to know.
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Speaking of inclines… because you were speaking of them in another thread… Am I going to get some before I head off for a race that might have them? Which reminds me I was supposed to find that out…