Kpanda’s running highs and lows

Sports & Exercise
61

Ok… here goes. I’m signing up! You guys are so kind to be so supportive! When I’m in tears halfway through a 10 mile training run in the snow (wouldn’t be the first time) can I blame you guys for talking me into it? :wink:

Hope I don’t drive you crazy!! I’m going to have questions. Thankfully you have plenty of time to brace yourself, or run away, or whatever :slight_smile: Seriously though, it’s nice of you to offer to help.

Now I’ve just got to stay in shape and motivated this winter.

I did have a good 3 miles this afternoon… basal turned off, 1/4 cup pumpkin spice Cheerios before I left, and half a gel a mile in. Worked great during the run (steady in the 90s!) but I’m paying for it now. Should have bolused for some of those carbs when I got home.

2 Likes
62

Particularly for long runs, when you finish you should always follow with insulin, carbs, and protein. Plus fluids to re-hydrate.

1 Like
63

I’m better about that for longer runs. I usually follow long runs with a chocolate milk treat. Today though, was only 3 miles and I was going to be eating dinner in less than an hour so I didn’t mess with it. Due to the wait before eating/insulin, i ended up a little spikey! Live and learn :nerd_face:

2 Likes
64

All that sounds really good. Dinner after a run is ideal. And so is chocolate milk!

As a side note for you on all of this stuff, when you start building up miles, you are getting closer to completely depleting your muscle glycogen.

A 1/2 marathon at race pace is pretty much a full depletion of your muscle glycogen (if you are running fast enough, at about 75-80% of your lactate threshold pace).

When your muscle glycogen is depleted, it will replenish itself, one way or another. If you don’t take in sufficient carbs, your blood sugar will be sucked down all night long, and you face those bad lows while you are sleeping.

One of the things that is a bit counter-intuitive is that in order to replenish your glycogen, you need both carbs and insulin. If you only take in carbs, and your BG spikes, those carbs can’t get used! So it can come back and bite you later that night.

So that is why I was saying to follow with carbs and insulin. Enough insulin to get the carbs pushed back into the cells quickly.

Anyway, we can talk through all of the logistics if you want.

Happy for you doing this!

3 Likes
65

So… ran a 10k this weekend and it didn’t go as hoped. Ran my goal pace for 4 miles and totally crashed and burned in mile 5. I felt like I was in good shape and had high hopes going into it, but it just wasn’t my day, I guess.

One thing I realized I need to work on is proper fueling. Morning runs don’t usually give me blood sugar trouble if done on an empty stomach. For slower runs that’s fine. Maybe it was in my head, but somewhere in mile 4 I really felt like I should have eaten breakfast…I just didn’t have the energy. Maybe this is common knowledge and I’m looking silly for thinking I could bust out 6 hard fast miles on an empty stomach?? But any bolus insulin on board makes it so hard to keep from tanking. What’s a girl supposed to do? :face_with_symbols_over_mouth::roll_eyes::woman_facepalming:

3 Likes
66

Don’t have the slightest on what to do for the diabetes part, though I probably should, but for the disappointment (if it’s that?), give it a good drop kick. You’re just getting started. And as Eric said to me… like 8 years ago, sure… this is not the only race.

Get back on it tomorrow and start to figure out exactly what options a girl has in such a case. And see Eric. :grin:

:heart::heart::heart:

3 Likes
67

Thanks. I just about drop kicked running in general and swore off 10k’s forever, lol. I don’t even like 10k’s - why do I keep signing up for them?! I skipped the free post race beer and sulked back to my car. I guess I’ll get back out there for a run tomorrow with a better ‘tude :smile:

2 Likes
68

Just heard you say this :point_up_2:

And this :point_up_2:

Those are two fantastic things. Not to make this about me, but I would love either of those things to come out of my mouth, but ANYWAY. Those are two fantstic things. Victories. You registered, you showed up, you nailed the first 4 miles. THREE fantastic things. Learn to count.

Then you ran into a problem but already have an idea where you might start in trying to fix it :point_down: (I’m trying to be like Eric with all of the pointing, but that’s exhausting. No wonder he’s always in a bad mood).

And not worth a separate quote, but I’d just like to say THAT :point_up_2: is a super crappy feeling.

I hope you’ve gotten your sulking out because I really don’t think you’ve got anything here to be down about. We’re scientists, us diabetics, and … you’ve got yourself… a problem. :smiley: I should’ve quit like 18 sentences ago. I’m gonna get out of here before Eric appears and freaks out… about something.

Keep your head up. You done good. :smiley: :bouquet::bouquet:

2 Likes
69

@Nickyghaleb, you are hilarious. And also very kind. I appreciate the pep talk! :purple_heart:

2 Likes
70

You need to eat breakfast for races. Races are done at a higher intensity than training runs. Without breakfast you do not have all the fuel available, and you are severely short-changing yourself.

When you are sleeping, your liver glycogen stores drop by about 50%. Without breakfast, you are not starting the race with a full fuel tank.

Your body will use any available fuel it can for the activity. It uses a combination of blood sugar (from glucose in the blood and carbs in the process of being digested), muscle glycogen, liver glycogen, and fat metabolism.

Muscle glycogen is used by the muscles for the activity that they are engaged in. For running, it is the muscle glycogen in your legs that is used, in addition to the other fuel sources.

But two things muscle glycogen CANNOT do: 1) it cannot raise blood sugar, and 2) it cannot be shared. The muscle glycogen in each of your muscle cells are only used by those cells, not in any other cells.

Liver glycogen can raise blood sugar, but muscle glycogen cannot!

When you skip breakfast for a race, you have diminished liver glycogen from not having eaten in a while. And you have no food being digested to provide blood sugar. So you are not starting with a full supply of your fuel resources. You are short-changing your body in two ways. You only have muscle glycogen, which as I mentioned above, cannot raise your blood sugar.

The ideal thing to do for a race is eat a complex carb breakfast, like oatmeal, and eat 2 hours before the gun. You will have some IOB, but you should also take in a few carbs right at the start to prevent the drop.

I am guessing you crashed somewhere after 30 minutes?

2 Likes
71

Just filling in before The Professional gets here.

!image https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fs3.amazonaws.com%2Fnightjarprod%2Fcontent%2Fuploads%2F2014%2F11%2Fthe-professional-movie-poster-1994-1020191956.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fnitehawkcinema.com%2Fwilliamsburg%2Fmovies%2Fleon-the-professional%2F&docid=3hZI5yuRLCaQRM&tbnid=tF2dAO0hbsGrvM&vet=1&w=580&h=866&client=safari&ved=2ahUKEwiItp2m0ZjeAhUJPd8KHaeUBd0QMygcegUIABCgAQ

3 Likes
72

Depending on what you mean by “crashed…” my blood sugar behaved nicely and stayed pretty steady throughout. I should also add I had like a handful of Cheerios right at the start… it was so few it hardly counts, but anyway.

It was somewhere between 30-40 minutes in (somewhere in mile 4) I decided I’d had enough and couldn’t breathe and just wanted to sit down and eat a bagel (I didn’t, but I wanted to).

I have never tried running any significant distance within only a couple hours of a bolus. Even 3-4 hours after is a challenge most times. If I’m gonna do this half in the spring i’d best get to work on this one :flushed: and stock up on energy gels!!

1 Like
73

I’m thinking yep :woman_facepalming:

74

A few years ago, before I was on a pump, I was worried about basal and IOB stuff, so I ran a marathon without eating breakfast. It sucked! I felt horrible. At mile 10, I felt like I usually do at mile 20. You just don’t have the energy.

image

I have a suggestion for you about this. If you make an investment in it for the next few months, it will pay a lifetime of dividends.

75

Ugh, that sounds miserable!

Should I be afraid? Sounds ominous for some reason… :smiley:

76

Probably.

Good instinct.

2 Likes
77

Nicky, what horrible stuff have I done to you?
:frowning_face:

1 Like
78

No… nothing. I just forgot to put the smiley face at the end of it. :grin:

1 Like
79

Lol! :laughing:

I gotta say, I managed a slow 3 miles on Monday starting with BG at 88 and ending at 83. It was so refreshing to have it work out like that for a change! Now I get to see if I can replicate that this afternoon :slight_smile:

5 Likes
80

Good luck! #unlimited

1 Like