Running with OmniLoop

Very good summary of factors!

Some ways of looking at it, depending on the type of run, distance, and intensity:

  1. Your body can only oxidize a certain amount of carbs during exercise. The general rule-of-thumb is no more than 1 gram per minute (but actually you can increase this to 1.75 g/min using different substrates such as combining fructose and glucose. Topic for another day!). All the other carbs will hit later.

  2. The max rate of oxidation can be reduced even more with higher intensity exercise. The harder your legs are working, the less your body will prioritize digestion.

  3. Even if you are keeping the same pace, your body might need to work harder the longer you are running at that particular pace. (A good topic to discuss sometimes - Pace:HeartRate ratio!) So later in the run, there might be even a slower oxidation of carbs.

  4. Just as described above, later in the run - even at the same pace - if you are getting more tired, you can be working harder. This can increase the effect of adrenaline, and that can cause your BG to spike up.

  5. And of course, as you mentioned, no basal or less basal for a length of time and you might spike from that.

  6. Alternatively, if you get tired and slow down later in the run and your intensity decreases, a lot of the carbs you had earlier will start to kick in!

The reason a formulaic approach does not work is that a run is rarely by formula. There are so many different factors to consider - intensity, Pace:HR, effort, distance, adrenaline, oxidation rate of carbs, etc…

@LarissaW, there is a book that would possibly be great for your summer reading. It would put you in a different orbit than any of your classmates, any other diabetic runner, most any runner. Different solar system actually. It is not an easy read, but with your background I am sure you could churn right through it. Something I can recommend if you want to learn some of these things during your school break time.

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