The All-athlon - 1 day, 5 races, 53 miles - Marathon, 1/2 Marathon, 10k, 8k, 5k

:running_man:‍♂ very cool!!

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Yay @Eric and the FUDiverse! @LarissaW, super classy move!!!

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A lifetime of mistakes…

I wanted to share my BG numbers because they looked pretty. I always like to look back at my dosing info and BG info and see how it all worked out.

One thing I had forgotten all about until I looked back at everything was that there were 3 times I took insulin without doing a BG check - at the start, at 3.6 miles, and at 15.9 miles.

I was just in a zone.

I want to say only one thing about that image. :arrow_up:

I have made more mistakes than anyone can possibly know, and that’s why it looks like that. It is not a magic formula or any kind of calculations that made it happen. It was a lifetime of mistakes that made that possible. Instinct guided by experience. It comes from embracing mistakes, because that is how we learn.

When you look at it, I hope you too will see a lifetime of mistakes in there.

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That HAD to be a good omen right off the bat!!! And thank you so much for thinking of DM and me. I wish we could have routed you on as @LarissaW did remotely!!! Love the headlight! You certainly prepared well!! I think you ran this while we were still in DST so maybe you would have been in DAYLIGHT hours if we were still falling back per old rules!!!

And FOUR to go!! Your finish looked awfully fast paced to me!!! :running_man: :heart:

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Me, too, but wow, rarely do mine ever look so perfect as your graph shows!! But thanks to all of your help here on FUD, I am able to actually understand your graph, and realize yes, this is the way to do it!! :smiley: You are inspiring me to double down on my BG control now during my next run!

What a narrow range, no lows nor highs! Thank goodnes!! I am sure that helped with conserving your energy for the NEXT FOUR races, too!!! :star_struck:

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Was happy to join you and support you :slight_smile: someone had once done that for me you know?

I don’t know if I would say it was classy! Eric was actually coaching ME and cheering ME on through it (even when he knew he had a much tougher day ahead of him!) I think that also goes to show you the type of person he is!!

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Eric, I have already let you know tirelessly how much I am impressed and helped by your knowledge, suggestions, guidance, support… but I wanted to point out here that this is one of the greatest experiences you have continued to share with me. Ongoing, I must relearn this every day; I need it drilled into my head. THE FORCE, trust THE FORCE!!!

no need to be afraid to experiment. Too High? INSULIN. Too Low? Glucose. Easy Peesy. (I also want to add that I believe that it one of the main reasons I love my new endo…well now it has already been about 3 years with him; he is always telling me to experiment. Do not be afraid. Everything is a learning experience.) Do not get locked into formulas. Try, adjust, move forward. Repeat. AND ALWAYS, YDMV. we are not clones. we are all different. :heart:

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I love your spirit, @daisymae!!

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You look really light on your feet at the end of a marathon.

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1/2 Marathon

I felt good after the Marathon and I needed to eat right away so that I could a) have my insulin in and out quickly before the next race, and b) so that I would not have a big belly.

While driving to the next race, I did all the things I needed to do - ate quickly, charged my watch, uploaded my 1st race results, re-taped, changed clothes, etc. I also loaded more test strips. The rest of my running gear was the same for the 1/2 Marathon as it was for the Marathon.

When we got close to the location of the next race, my wife wanted to get something to eat for herself. I was still starved. I had already eaten 125 grams, but I decided to add a bonus sandwich and a little more insulin. So I had 40 more grams that I had not planned on.

I did not want to carry too much IOB or have a big belly, but the carbs would be helpful since I did not get as many carbs in the 1st race as I had in past Marathons. My stomach felt fine after the extra sandwich, so I think it was a good call.

We parked near a grocery store as a waiting spot, and my wife went in to buy a rolling pin so she could roll my legs a bit. I did not sit while waiting, I wanted to keep moving so that my muscles would not stiffen up too much. So we walked around a lot.

I had a lot to drink during the Marathon and right after, so I had to go to the bathroom 4 times! It was a good sign, it meant I was well-hydrated. :+1:

I felt pretty good.



One of the things I had learned during training was to not count miles. It is one thing to count miles on a short run. But on a 30+ mile training run, counting mile after mile becomes a mental drain. If you do that, the end just never arrives.

So during training, I applied a “different” counting method. I would count by 6’s. That way, a 30 mile run would only be 5. That’s easy. Anyone can run 5!

I tried to apply that same thinking on this day - not counting each mile. It is tough to stay away from mile-counting though!



About 3 hours after I finished the Marathon, it was time to go again! I had a race schedule to keep!

Unfortunately the temperature had warmed up a bit, it was now in the low-to-mid 60’s, which kind of sucked.

My course was partly underwater, which I didn’t know until I was running, but I adjusted and just kept going. I would run until my Garmin said I was done, no big deal.

I kept it nice and easy, just saving it for the whole day. It’s not about doing great in any one race, it is about getting them all done.



I was on the phone with one of my best friends during the Half. He had run a Marathon with me years before, and it was a good way to keep my mind occupied.

At one point he said something about a percentage - like when you get to this point, you will be X % done with your day.

I told him, “Do not speak to me in percentages and fractions. There are only 2 numbers that matter. 0% and 100%. It is either one or the other, nothing else matters.”

He also said something very funny. He is a pilot for Delta. He told me that 53 miles would only take him about 5 1/2 minutes at cruising speed. It was pretty funny to hear that at 10 miles into the Half. :grinning:



BG was okay, nothing too exciting, no big worries. Had a little spike up to 168 right before I started (that was the highest I got all day). It was from all the lunch, but I took some insulin to drop it down before starting. Once I began running my BG plummeted pretty quickly, but it gave me a chance to fuel some more so it all worked out.

After 4 miles I had leveled off and was between 62 and 86 the rest of the race. :+1:

I got done and was starting to feel more confident. This was the toughest of all the races in the day. I was now close to 40 miles on the day. Was blazing new ground for myself now.

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Part of the course was flooded.

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The Half was based in Connecticut, but the shirt was a reference to my new racing team. :wink:

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Two down.

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That is great mental trick!

Wow, like a normal! Amazing!

Beautiful route despite being flooded. I’m hoping your shoes did not get too wet, esp with 3 more races to go!

Looking forward to hearing and seeing pics of race 3! :smiling_face_with_three_hearts: :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

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This should be your new target pace

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I don’t really know where else to put this, but I’m sharing it because it needs a huge round of applause by the FUD community! @Eric is running a marathon today - and so casually! That goes to show you that a marathon can be just like a walk in the park, especially for someone with t1d. Thanks Eric for proving that to us time and again :clap::clap::clap:

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Um…what?

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:rofl:

Yes I did.

:man_facepalming:t2:

But there was a good reason. :rofl:

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Wow!

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@Eric, you are just amazing! I can’t wait to read the rest.

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10k

When you are racing, there are a lot of emotions that can be used. It can depend on the distance and how you are feeling, but you can tap into a variety of emotions in any single race, just to help you get to the end.

There are a lot of different versions of the emotion quadrant, but I think this is a useful one to look at. Depending on where I am in a race, I can be in any of these and be doing well except for the stuff in the sad / depressed quadrant.

So far on this day in the first 2 races, I had stayed in the happy and peaceful and joyful areas the whole time. It had been such a good time, and I was going at a relaxed pace and was smiling and waving at everyone I saw. When I was on the phone with her, @LarissaW laughed a little bit at how I was saying “hi” to everyone I passed. :grinning:.



Previously @T1Allison had told me that this day - October 31, 2020 - was the 15 year anniversary of her diagnosis. I told her back in September that in recognition of what she had been able to do since then by continuing to kick ass in life, I would try to honor her with one of the races.

The Half did not feel like it had been fast enough for that, so I txted her and told her I would light up the 10k for her.

In the context of this day, “light up” is relative. On any other day, I would consider it a slow jog. It was not any kind of blazing speed, but I wanted to make it a harder effort in honor of her day, and it was time to put away the “happy” and get to work.

On tired legs it felt like it was a good effort.



So I brought some things into this race in my mind and ended up having a 6 mile profanity-laced conversation in my head. I had read some things about diabetes from a person’s blog weeks before, and I did not like it. (BTW, they are not affiliated in anyway with FUD).

Disabled? Do I ■■■■■■■ look disabled to you right now? :rage:

That was only a part of the conversation. I apologize for putting that censored language in my post, but that is how it was, and I feel that sharing it here is okay.

This whole race was in the rage quadrant. But after a passive and relaxed 39 miles, it felt extremely good to get it on like that. It was actually a relief.



The race logistics were super-easy for this one. It was a 1 mile loop at a park, so I kept passing by where Leslie was waiting and I didn’t need to slow down for anything.

Because of that, I lightened up a lot for this one. No water bottles, nothing but syringes, a few gels, and my meter. And some lighter shoes for a bit more speed.

I ate an oatmeal pie at mile 3 for fueling. :joy: Thanks to @LarissaW for the idea that I would eventually get tired of eating gels and an alternative fuel would be more enjoyable! I was getting to the point where I was feeling starved now!

I yelled “oatmeal pie” as I ran by Leslie at mile 2, and then 1 mile later…there it was in her hand waiting for me! I grabbed it as I went past. :+1:

So it was just like the elite runners do, eating an oatmeal pie while running. :joy:

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(Just a Google images pic because - sorry, I don’t have any left, I ate them all!)



The Marine Corp motto is Semper Fi. It means “Always Faithful”. I wanted to dedicate this one to all those here who continue to fight.

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Always Faithful
Always Fight



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I have no idea how this happened, but my hands were a bloody mess after this one.



I worked at this one a bit. What’s left? At this point, I had no idea.

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Three down.

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I really like this idea! Most of the time I’m just looking around enjoying nature! I could use some mental tricks to push me! The “rage” idea could fit right in!!

Never heard of an oatmeal pie! Is that the Little Debbie treat?? Must be loaded with carbs, but delicious, and you needed them!!

3 done and 2 to go!!! Plus the extra marathon you just did!!

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