My overnight and my early morning were definitely a BG challenge. I did my best to navigate my way through it. I had to do several corrections and an increased TB just to stay somewhere close to target range. It was very frustrating. This happened to me yesterday as well, so if it becomes a strong looking pattern, I will have to consider changing my ICRs, my basals or both.
today was beautiful outside. it was in the 70s with very little humidity and a slight breeze. It was a comfortable, easy workout. we left at 11:15 and finished at 1pm. When I started out, I still had a little IOB, but my BG was high, so I thought I might as well get a head start and bring my sugars down. (something Eric had always encouraged me to do when I was swimming.)
here are todays stats:
10am BG 141 (previously on a 120% TB, lowered it to 80%)
11:15 BG 130 heading out with .2 units of IOB
12pm BG 115 turned basal up to 110% TB
12:30 BG 105
1pm BG 89 Bolused 100% ICR for 32gms of refuel and drank 48oz water.
(Also, my sunburn is still healing. my shoulders are blistered and getting dry and flakey and still hurt, but I was layered in sunblock today, so I hope to avoid another burn )
I am hoping and praying that I donât spike today. I am not feeling particularly stressed from the workout, so maybe that will help keep my adrenaline and cortisol away from my bloodstream. Also, I didnt really get much of a ârunners highâ today as I have in past workouts.Bummer
I donât think Iâve had a bad sunburn causing persistent high BGs, but it is not a stretch that a sunburn could cause high BGs. When youâre sunburnt, there is a lot of inflammation occurring under your skin. Kind of akin to when we have the flu (and our immune system is trying to fight it off), and we have some resistance to insulin, and need more insulin to stay in a normal range.
When I finish running, I take insulin. I donât do any calculations of how much basal I missed during my run or how many carbs I may or may not take after running. I think what Eric is trying to get at is that there are so many variables that interplay and affect just how much insulin you need. That it would seem silly and kind of futile to try to nail it down to a formula. So things I know that affect how much insulin I need after running: what is my BG and where is it trending, what TB I used and for how long, how hard was my run, how long was my run, what kind of run did I do (speed work vs slow and steady), did I take any boluses on my run, did I take any carbs on my run, did I run yesterday, how much did I eat before running, what did I eat before and while running, whatâs the weather outside, what was my RPE, what day of my cycle is it, do I have any IOB, what time is it, did I sleep well, am I stressed, etc etc etc. So thatâs just some of the variables that influence how much insulin I need after finishing a run. As you can imagine, trying to use a formula that focuses on only 1 or 2 of these variables fails to see the whole picture and I would guess would lead to frustration when it doesnât work or success is not repeated.
So if I donât use a formula, then how do I know how much insulin to take after a run? The Force. Well, I kind of go off feeling and juggle those variables above in my head when deciding. But itâs more of a guesstimate that is informed by experience. I would suggest you try out after one of your runs taking a stab at guessing how much insulin you need (WITHOUT doing any formulas) and trying it out. Afterward, write down your BG trends from your guesstimation, if the insulin was too much or too little, your info from the run, and (if you werenât successful using The Force) then how you could have improved your guesstimate.
this afternoon worked out better than I expected, but Iâve been trying very hard to heed all of your advice, suggestions, and empathy.
2 hours after finishing my workout and bolusing for my refuel, my BGs started climbing. so I guess it wasnât officially a âspike.â it took its time with me. during that time, I went from 89 BG to 138 BG. I immediately gave myself 1Unit IM and drank a lot of water and chilled out. I tested an hour later, and my BGs hadnât budged (but they hadnât climber any higher, either) so I gave myself another aggressive IM shot of 1Unit, and within a half an hour, my BG had come down to 110. And an hour after that, my BG was 78.
I wasnât used to such aggressive bolusing, but I did it anyway bc the two days prior, doing a âtypicalâ correction hadnât worked out well at all. so I took a chance, tried to use The Force, and it all worked out just fine in the end.
Tomorrow will be another day. I donât know how my overnight will play out. But I ate a hearty dinner and I am feeling really well.
Today I am going to try exactly what u suggested. What has been consistent with me is that I donât spike right after my run, but I spike about 2 hours later. I have been having to take approx the same amount of correction bolus each time (1 unit IM in my r thigh muscle) (sometimes I stack it with another shot and hour later).
I try and keep an eye out for a rise, and then nip it in the bud ASAP so I donât climb higher. Iâve had some success with that the past 2 times, never getting above 135ish.
Today looks beautiful outside, so I doubt that I will get any sunstroke ( ) and I am sprayed down and lathered with sunblock. I am getting ready to leave and have been on a 65% TB for the past hour. I am curious to see how I am trending.
I will, as always, report after I finish and let you guys know how The Force worked out when I decided upon a post run action regarding my bolusing.
thank you so much for taking the time to write such a detailed and informative response to me. I am very appreciative and grateful!!
today was beautiful outside. hot and humid but not so much that I was particularly uncomfortable. I did drink a lot of water throughout my runâŚmore than usual. I ran for 2 hours and 15 minutes, and according to my iPhone Health App, I did 8 miles. (but who the heck knows how accurate that thing is ) I feel really good. relaxed but strong. a slight endorphin rush, but not as satisfying as I wish !!
Here are todays stats:
11:30 BG 102 turned down basal to 65%
12:30 BG 118 headed out the door
1:30 BG 118 turned up TB to 85% (just a guess that my TB was too low)
2pm BG 111 turned basal back on 100%
2:45 BG 102 bolused 100%ICR for 32gms refuel PLUS (my âguesstimateâ)
an extra 1.5 units for replacement basal to hopefully ward off any spike. I also drank 48oz of water the moment I walked back in my front door.
3pm BG 97 drank my shakes
I am VERY curious to see what happens. I am hoping that The Force is with me
Excellent numbers and run!! I hope you are spike-free over today!
I use Apple Health, too, witth the iSmoothRun app on Apple to track my workouts. Do you have an Apple watch? iSmoothrun installs on the watch so you can easily see your running activity. It has audio to indicate miles and other milestones. I just use the beeps as I donât really like audio while running It has more features than the Apple Activity app However, yes, Iâm not so sure how accurate Apple is with tracking miles, etc. I can run the same route and Apple will return a different number, not significantly different though.
right now I have just been running wearing my old trusty Timex swimming watch. (it is a menâs size so it has a large face which is easy for me to read)
I have had a very different experience with the Apple App: I run with my husband sometimes, and we both set our milage on from start to finish. we have clocked in with a variation as much as 1.5 miles different from one another despite having run the exact same route. Go figure!
Yes, that is a pretty significant difference! I used to run with a running partner (until quarantine) and she wore a Garmin, me the Apple watch, and weâd be pretty close, at least not as far off as you two! We ran in and out of forests but I guess GPS still worked fairly well.
I agree w/ @Eric though, the Garmin is great for running. I am not a stickler for mileage tracking so Apple watch is okay for me, and I need it for Loop. Some runners wear more than one watch though!! Maybe I should think about that âŚ
This is hysterical, logical and true. (reminds me of what happens when u use two separate meters one after the other to finger stick and u can get a ballpark reading, but never really no for certain which is the more accurate one.
I just checked out the Garmin watches and theyâre very $$$$. the âon saleâ ones were almost $500 each. Am I missing something here, Eric? My Timex cost me about $25âŚbut of course it doesnât count millage. For the price of one of those Garmins I could put a down payment on a small home.
If you run with your phone, you can get most (but not all) of the information that the watch gives you, although not as easy to see, and certainly not with all the cool running stuff in those watches.
You can also get a refurbished Garmin Forerunner 310XT for only $75. I still own one of these. It was my first Garmin. It is a phenomenal watch. It can also be used when swimming!
Here is a link for the refurbished one. It has been refurbished by Garmin. I would jump on this. I could help you with setup, since I own one.
so my overnight BGs were perfect. my early morning BGs were perfect. same Bfast as usual. Nothing different. Slept well. Stress free. excited about getting out there and experimenting again.
BUT, at around 9:30am my BGs started rising rather quickly (havent a clue as to why) I calculated how long it would b before I stepped outside, and I had about 3 hours to go, so I figured I would try and curb the spike I was seeing and bolus a correction of .4 units. (which would most likely leave me with a little IOB before my run. Oh well, what could I do?)
so I am just waiting to re-test my BGs. My sensor has been of little help to me this morning, as its been rather inaccurate and therefore unreliably useless. I am left with simple finger sticks.
I will keep u posted. This is just the pre-view. UGH.
PLEASE BE PATIENT WITH ME CAUSE I STILL WORKING IT OUT:
So as I said in my last post, I was starting my workout on a high note today. Bummer. But I went out anyway, making several adjustments, trying to use, what maybe an expression that is catching on, The Force. I truly didnât know what the heck I was doing, but I thought of everything I have in my âtool boxâ and tried my hardest to make my best guesstimate (as Larissa would call it)
because I was still high when I turned on my lowered TB, I didnât lower my basal by much. And, when I was heading out the door, I still had .1 U IOB.
My BGs didnât come down much (as I was hoping that they might), but they did remain stable. Interesting, hummm.
It was a pretty standard 2 hour workout in terrible heat and humidity with barely a breeze anywhere. HOT HOT HOT. drank lots of water on my way, and had a harder time breathing than usual. Thankfully, the park wasnât crowded.
here are todays stats:
9:10am BG 123 bolused .4U correction ( happy I made this quick correction)
11:30 BG 135 turned down to 80%TB
12:30 BG 146 headed out the door
1:30 BG 135
1:45 BG 120 turned OFF TB
2:30 BG 119 bolused 3.2 U for 32gms carbs and 1U to fend off any spike
drank the usual 48oz water followed by 2 Boost refuel shakes.
weâll c what happens later. Hopefully I wonât spike and my BGs will come down to a nice in target range.
I just needed to say this: Although I REALLY miss swimming, and do not consider myself a true runner yet (Iâm not really enjoying it as much as I would like to), running demands running gear, and the gear is so fantastic and chic and cool and awesome. When I was swimming, all I got to wear were bland old bathing suits, goggles and a swim cap. nothing fun about that
Hi @daisymae!
As promised, this is the first of the 2 things I was supposed to give you.
So we are going with Nike, just because they have a very liberal return policy. And right now it is impossible for you to go to a shoe store and try anything on!
I own some Nikeâs but I have not personally worn either of these 2 models. However, these are the 2 that Nike says are good stability and good for those who over-pronate.
(See https://www.nike.com/help/a/shoes-for-overpronation)
After the stores reopen, it would be a great idea to go to a place that can film you on a treadmill and will look at how you are landing, to make sure you have the correct shoe type.
For now, letâs look at stability shoes, and see how those feel.
)
) and I am sprayed down and lathered with sunblock. I am getting ready to leave and have been on a 65% TB for the past hour. I am curious to see how I am trending.
Health App, I did 8 miles. (but who the heck knows how accurate that thing is 
) I feel really good. relaxed but strong. a slight endorphin rush, but not as satisfying as I wish !!
It has more features than the Apple Activity app 
However, yes, Iâm not so sure how accurate Apple is with tracking miles, etc. I can run the same route and Apple will return a different number, not significantly different though.
(reminds me of what happens when u use two separate meters one after the other to finger stick and u can get a ballpark reading, but never really no for certain which is the more accurate one. 
