Tag: half marathons

#Type1Runs—Race Report

Emma8 Comments

An oxymoron I know—the words ‘race’ and ‘me’ aren’t a natural fit. If what I did on Sunday 30 September could be described as racing, I challenge you to find that tortoise and it isn’t the one that beats the hare.

Anyway, here’s how the Great Scottish Run panned out for me. The annual race is the largest running event in Scotland and this year it attracted 30,000 participants in both the 10k and half-marathon.

I started in the pink wave (i.e. the slow coaches) and the start was snail-like thanks to the sheer numbers. No complaints from me there as a slow start is what every expert recommends.

Kingston Bridge

Running over the Kingston Bridge is something else—it presents the views of Glasgow that turn up in black backdrops on TV programmes, in films and books set in the city. You see the armadillo, the Finnieston Crane, the towering Hilton Hotel and the odd church spire or two, silent monuments to the man-made standing either side of the mighty Clyde.

The run always attracts the elites and the fastest man, Chris Thompson, finished in 1.02.07 with the fastest woman at 1.09.15. There was also a proposal at the finish line and the woman said ‘yes’.

 

As the fastest woman crossed the finishing line, yours truly was still at mile seven chanting the mantra “you can, and you will do this” over and over in a mind versus body competition. Thanks to clever tech, my husband was able to track my progress through the Great Scottish Run app and managed to cheer me on those last 50 metres over the finishing line, two hours and thirteen minutes after I started.

[Instead of missing my triumphant sprint to the end as happened at the last race.]

Diabetes care and exercise

And the diabetes care? Ahem! Everything I did points to how not to train for a half marathon and what not to do on the day. Dear reader, the furthest I ran in training was seven miles, although I had the odd day where I ran twice as per what ultra-marathon runners do in training. I managed to run the whole thing without even a toilet stop.

On the day, I woke up with super-high blood sugars thanks to a roll I’d eaten the night before. Yes, just one lousy bread roll rocketed my blood sugar levels through the night and my first test of the day was 18.6. I took one and a half units of fast-acting insulin and my basal dose, minus two units.

Super-high sugar levels made me wary of eating before the race, but I did have a Trek protein flapjack one hour before. Ping! As the race was about to start, my blood sugar levels went up again to 16.6. I knew I couldn’t start running on that, so I took one unit of fast-acting insulin and crossed my fingers.

Body feedback

I took my insulin pen with me, jelly babies and the FreeStyle Libre sensor—and, er, didn’t use it at all on the way round. I couldn’t be bothered routing around in my little pack to find it, and there is something to be said for relying on the feedback your body gives you. At the seven-mile mark, I decided I’d better eat a jelly baby or two, and at the nine-mile point, I accepted a gel from the SIS stall. From then on, I ate eight jelly babies spaced out for the rest of the run.

Blood test at the end said 8.3, rising to 11.1 an hour later and then plunging to 5.4 half an hour after that, at which point I ate a meal roughly 50/50 protein and carbs.

Lessons for another time? Do more blood tests during the race. Ignore the carb loading advice for the night before (or don’t do it with bread or flapjacks) and watch out for adrenaline. The nerves kicked in an hour before the run and that might have contributed to those high sugar levels, so the next time I might not lower the basal insulin rate as much…

Next time

But wait! There’s not going to be a next time, is there Emma?! Confession—having sworn I wouldn’t do it again, I’ve changed my mind. The Glasgow half-marathon is so atmospheric you can’t help but be swept up in running fever. Crowds cheer you almost all the way round armed with witty signs—my favourite was the one telling us we were getting in good practice for the zombie apocalypse—and the sense of achievement you experience at the end is… Indescribable.

And seeing as I proved I can do a half-marathon without ever running more than seven miles in training, the idea of doing it again next year appeals.

 

#Type1Runs… or Plods

Emma12 Comments

 

my feet in Sketchers

 

The half-marathon training continues… limps on, more like. My body repeatedly tells my brain this was not wise. Sheer stubbornness forces me on.

It heartened me to read of another type 1 saying her training veered between 20-mile runs that went well and three-mile runs that floored her. We juggle not only the effort of running with balancing blood glucose levels.

Too high and running turns into an activity that resembles wading through waist high treacle. Too low, and your calves seize up as your body goes on a glycogen hunt. Either way, both states bring you to a grinding halt.

Magic formula

The magic formula that is running with diabetes is akin to Google’s most complicated search algorithm. Factor in sleep, the previous few days’ average blood glucose levels, where you are in your cycle (if you’re a woman), what you’ve eaten, how much insulin you have on board, how much food you need before running, what foods provide the best fuel sources, how far your blood glucose levels drop and by what time spent running…

If you can work it out, you’re better at this lark than I am.

Exercise affects us not just at the time but for up to 24 hours afterwards. And if you’re exercising for more than an hour at a time, it becomes trickier to work out what you need to do with insulin and food.

Pilates and yoga

Bouts of activity that last half an hour to 45 minutes are relatively easy to manage. If you want to do more exercise than this, you can break your activities up—a walk in the morning and an easy jog in the evening, say. And plenty of Pilates and yoga thrown in for those nice stretch and flexibility benefits.

My vow is post September 30, I’m never doing a run longer than a 10k and my weekly runs won’t add up to more than nine miles, if that. Dear reader, I make myself accountable here.

Meanwhile, September 30 (the half-marathon date) hurtles ever nearer. Yikes!

 

 

Running and Diabetes Part 2

Emma2 Comments
Shoes and mini eggs. The Diabetes Diet
Yes, yes, I’ve been RUNNING, therefore I need carbs.

Runners don’t smile at you when you pass them—a sign, I always thought, of why you shouldn’t add running to your life.

Aye, that painful grimace tells you all you need to know… Running is a fool’s game; its rewards are not worth the pain. If you’re not built for distance slogging—i.e. Kenyan skinny—give anything other than a dash for the bus a miss.

Some foolish notion, however, made me take running up once more at the end of last year. And it was okay. I didn’t grin madly at people, but I got the runner’s high. Albeit, the buzz doesn’t last long enough to justify the effort you put in.

And I got to listen to a lot of podcasts. “This is learning by osmosis, EB!” I said to myself. I picked worthy ones, such as those designed to help me improve my writing career. If I just listened to what the gurus told me why bother putting any of it in place? The lessons would all filter through subconsciously. Sales would result! [Spoiler alert—not so far.]

Then I thought entering the Glasgow half-marathon would be fun. Which it was, in January—y’know, when it was months away. And now the end of April hurtles ever nearer and I’m no further forward than eight and a half kilometres (five miles), less than half the distance. Woe!

I’ve upped my game. The five miles feels like an achievement, seeing as I haven’t pushed beyond three in years. My training plan, thus, is add one kilometre every week to the big run and run another two 5ks a week. Do Pilates once a week to stop self seizing up.

As for tempo training, HIIT stuff and dragging myself up and down hills and all that other serious runner stuff, forget it.

Goal? Half-marathon completion, even if it means walking some of the distance.

Running with type 1 diabetes is challenging. Any endurance exercise is. As well as dealing with breathing, effort, aching legs and all that, we battle see-sawing blood sugars not only during the run but afterwards too.

Blood sugar levels that are too high make you tired and exercise will often send them soaring higher. When your sugar levels dip too low, tiredness happens too, you’re at risk of collapsing and you need to eat.

Picture of a Hike bar. The Diabetes Diet
Hike bars–great running fuel.

Here’s what I’ve learned…

  • The best runs are when I’ve had level blood sugars all day.
  • Hike bars—the Aldi cheap version of a protein bar—are brilliant running fuel. I have half of one before, half afterwards. The raspberry one is nicer than the cocoa one.
  • I’ve a talent for finding routes that are treadmill flat. And sticking to them.
  • A runner’s backpack is worth buying. I ran my last half-marathon, clutching a bag of jelly babies and my blood sugar equipment in my sweaty hand. If you’ve ever run holding something in your hand, you’ll know how irritating it is. By the end of the race, the jelly babies had morphed into a gelatinous mass.
  • Your Fitbit shows you getting fitter as the time I’m spending in peak heart rate zone has come down since I’ve started tracking the runs. It’s gratifying.
  • The Type 1 Run Podcast (mentioned here) is incredibly useful. It amuses me that I’ve had diabetes and exercised with it longer than most of the guests have been alive, but you’re on a lifelong learning curve when you have diabetes. I learn something from every guest.
  • I seem to run well the day after drinking. My body welcomes the chance of sweating it all out. As it leaves my body, the alcohol acts like petrol… Don’t do this at home though kids!

This time round, I’m planning a support crew. When I did the half-marathon ten years ago, I did the race with another runner, but had no-one waiting for me at the end or around the course. (Cue violins.) In September, I’ll have my husband and friends dotted at four-mile intervals, armed with food and water. And umbrellas for themselves. It’ll be late September, and this is Glasgow. Rain’s 95 percent guaranteed.

And is it too early to plan my post-race meal? Readers, I’m low-carb most of the time, but the minute I cross that finish line, I plan to fall face down on a ginormous plate of fish and chips, doused in salt and malt vinegar.

Only places that do light, crispy batter, crisp chips that are fluffy on the inside, home-made onion rings and mushy peas need apply.

Massive disclaimer here—my experiences are personal. They are not recommendations, especially the last one. On a serious note, endurance events can be dangerous, not just for people with diabetes, as this year’s London Marathon proved again.

 

Diabetic Running

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This is what I look like when I’m running (I wish!)

There are no prizes for guessing what topic The Diabetic Running Podcast covers… It’s my first diabetic-related podcast subscription, and heck, it’s a useful one.

I’m a long-time podcast fan. As an uncultured Philistine, I don’t find music interesting enough for long walks and runs. A podcast on the other hand can be funny, the News Quiz for example, or educational.

I found the diabetic running podcast on Instagram (@diabeticrunningpodcast). I’ve entered the 2008 Great Scottish Run, a half-marathon that takes place at the end of September. I ran it ten years ago, a great deal younger and on the pump at the time.

The Diabetic Running Podcast is hosted by Jon Foti, who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age twenty-seven. I worked out I’ve been exercising with diabetes for longer than he’s been alive, but I still find the interviews useful and informative.

Exercise is tricky with type 1 diabetes, especially anything that lasts long than forty-five minutes. The Diabetic Running Podcast featured an interview with a type 1 from London, Emma Collins, who’s run the London and Berlin marathons. Her first experience, she said, wasn’t great. She’d been wrongly advised to skip her basal injection altogether on the day of the race, so she ran at a lot of it at levels of 20+ (360mg/dl).

The ambulance crew who tested her blood glucose levels at the twenty-mile mark told her to give up, but she couldn’t bear to and ran on. For those of you without diabetes, running or exercising with high blood sugars is unbelievably difficult. Exercise makes you thirsty anyway and a high blood sugar sucks the liquid from your mouth and turns your muscles to lead. Kudos to Emma for continuing. We type 1s have a tendency to stubbornness.

What everyone Jon has interviewed so far has said is that exercise and type 1 diabetes is a matter of trial and error. What works for one person won’t work for another. For us, training for a half-marathon is not just about making sure we can run the distance.

It’s about experimenting with different boluses and basal rates, trying out different foods and drinks, and working out how adrenaline affects you to get it as right as you possibly can on the day of the run.