Sunday, October 23, 2011

Almost to the Starting Line!!!

12 Days left!!! Getting closer to the starting line! Spent this saturday trying to get a schedule for race day going. Got up at 3:30am and got myself ready in a hurry by 4:30am which is when I plan on leaving to get to the parking area. I woke up with a Blood Sugar Reading of 52. I ate 1/2 a bagel with peanut butter and 1 cup of juice. I took 27 units of lantus insulin. This was all the insulin I took until I ate after my run of 6.2 miles. I stretched for about 20 minutes. I got ready to run at 7:30 and was stiff by then. I need to remember to stretch closer to the start time. My BSG was 188 at the start. I ran 3.1 miles then my BSG was 168. Took 1 GU. Then ran my last 3.1 miles. My BSG was 182 at the end of my run.

I'm so very nervous and excited too! I hope I can stay well and healthly for the next 13 days! Till next time...keep running!

Sunday, October 16, 2011

The Final Long Training Run

Since I posted last this is what has happened...I fell of a ladder and badly cut my left calf, bruised my left knee and thigh and rib cage!!! I had to take a week off completely! Ugh! I started running to break in a pair of Adidas Snova's. Great shoes! It turns out that I'm a "over pronator" and I've needed a "stabilizing" sneaker for years. Anyways, started running in the Adidas and got a hot spot on the arch of my left foot. Other than that, they felt great. My knees felt good and everything. I changed my socks, applied sport glide, tried moleskin and band aids and I still got a blister. The shoes had to go back after 18 miles of running. I put on my old New Balance and hit the gym for this final long training day.

On this day, 20 mile runs are the norm. I missed 11 weeks total of a 20 week training plan so guess what I had to do to ensure I could still run a marathon in 20 more days? I hit the gym. I can't run 20 miles but I could move continually for 4 hours to "simulate" a marathon for my body. So I used the elliptical machine for an hour, the cycling machine for an hour, and the elliptical machine for another hour. Then I ran the 5.4 miles from the gym back home. Total time was just under 4 hours.

As a type 1 diabetic who has never done anything like this before I had a real challenge. How to keep my blood sugars from falling too low? How many carbs do I need? How often? Will I know if my blood sugar is too low? What about testing? What if my blood sugars go too high? How will I bring them down? Do I take my insulin before or after this session? Do I take the same amounts or do I scale them back?

I have an appointment with an endocrinologist but it is in FEBRUARY!!! I have asked several doctors and called diabetes clinics but either they do not have the answer or can't speak with me since I'm not a patient!!! I have some strong feelings about this situation: where general advice given to a person who is 100% responsible for their self care, for their disease, for their treatment cannot be given out because of the law of land, however, I will run this marathon and if I die because someone who can give general advice that would have saved my life but didn't.... anyways getting off this soapbox now.

http://www.shericolberg.com/diabetic-athlete.asp

This is a book that gives general information for both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetics who wish to become better athletes, healthy people and understand their disease better. I glanced through this book and using her general advice was able to prepare for this exercise session and it only took 30 minutes of reading to get my answers!!


2:30 am Got up, let the dogs out, fed and watered them.

Fasting BSG 185 So I took 27 units of Lantis so I could process carbs all day.

Took 1.5 units Novalog and ate 45g of carbs (1/2 cup juice, 1/2 bagel w/cream cheese)

Went to the gym by 3:30am. Forgot gym key so went back home, got the key and back to gym at 3:55 did a BSG (Blood Sugar Glucose test) 175. Started on the Elliptical!!! After I started, every 30 min. I would stop, use the rest room, wash my hands, check my BSG and eat a GU (these are gel packs with sugar and electrolytes to keep endurance athletes from hitting the wall), continue for another 30 min. repeat, change equipment, and so on. Got it?

so here are my numbers:

4:25 BSG 83 (low but over 70 so acceptable)

5:00 BSG 105 (ok. Type 1 diabetics try to keep their BSG between 70-150)

5:30 BSG 141 ( I thought getting too high so I skipped the GU. 150 is the normal persons high)

6:00 BSG 57 (Skipping GU was not a good idea! Too low! No symptoms of Hypoglycemia. Ate GU)

6:30 BSG 96 (Better!)

7:00 BSG 86 (ok) Now I started on my 5.4 mile run!

7:30 BSG 108 (OK)

Finished at 7:57am. Bought 16oz of Bordens chocolate milk. Drank it without checking BSG, I know that was a bad idea, but at 8:30 by BSG was 135.

For the rest of the day, when I ate I reduced my insulin intake by a third. I hovered around 55-65 for a few hours after this session, nothing a veggie burger and fries at "The Green Truck" couldn't handle!

I went back to Fleet Feet of Savannah to trade in my blister shoes for a pair of Brooks Adrenaline GTS 11. They gave me a pass to the VIP Bathrooms at the starting line of the Marathon!!!! It is for Brooks shoe owners only so I should not have to wait 20 min in line to use a portapotty!! It's the little things sometimes!!!

Hopefully I can break in the new sneakers in the 17 running days I have left!

I am running to raise money for the American Diabetes Association. If you would like to help please goto this link:

http://main.diabetes.org/site/TR?px=6969504&pg=personal&fr_id=7090&et=cughbcNNTObunY62Ld06Mg&s_tafId=336989

Next post will be coming soon!



Sunday, October 2, 2011

Well. I've had 3 weeks of running 5 days and cross training 1 day a week without further injuries! You have to celebrate the little victories. I am hoping to just cross the finish line on November 5th. With just over 30 days left to be prepared I guess we will just have to wait and see. I ran 28 miles this past week. This upcoming week I should run about 37 miles total. I've done everything I can to be prepared. The training did not go as planned at all but it did go. I won't qualify for Boston this year but there are 4 more planned Marathons for Savannah so maybe next year I can qualify.

Realistic goal setting sucks! 44 year olds who haven't run in 10 years should NOT set a goal of running a qualifying time for the Boston Marathon with less than 7 months to get prepared. I didn't know this back in May but I've learned it now. Most of my ideas look great on paper-it's the reality that screws them all up! Karen and I thought that the "Portable Water Pik" would be a great idea but the reality of the device's potential problems of water source and water over spray-while being able to overcome them-would make marketability a real issue (especially the water over spray part!).

Regardless, I will continue to run 5 days a week and crosstrain 1 day and rest 1 day. I will keep adding 1 mile per day per week until the week before. This week I'm running 6 miles per day. Next week 7 miles...so the 2 weeks before the marathon I'll be running 9 miles per day. I will taper for the week before with rest on 11/4 and running the Marathon on 11/5!

Anyways, this is my plan. We will see what happens on race day!