Hard Low

I have been self learning a lot about running with diabetes the past few weeks. The last couple of runs really brought some issues to light.
Example: Today I tested around 2pm and was 275 gave myself a correction of 2.5 units and went on. A few hours later I tested at 75. Great, but was getting ready to run. So I ate a triple threat power bar and lowered my basal to 60% waited a half hour. Tested at 74. Sucked a Gu and took off. Mile 3 sucked another Gu and lowered basal to 40%. Ran back kept good pace but did feel quite right and mouth was super dry. Ran total of 6 miles and tested at 57. What is up with that.

Why is it so hot?

It has been so hot this summer. I have got used to running in the extreme heat. I imagine that I am running at Badwater when I go out and have decided the people that do it are bigger people than me. I always try to bring some water and stop a few times so I do not really over heat.
Things on the running with Diabetes front have been a little weird lately. I have been testing at normal before going out and after the third mile I have dropped low and my times and mind slow way down. This was not going on a month ago but all of a sudden. I know mile miles have increased. So now I am going to drop my basal rate down to 70% and eat a little more before I go out. I'll see if this works a bit better.

Long Time

It's been a really long time since I last posted. A lot has happened, and it is all good. For a while I changed the blog to more about running than diabetes. I kind of felt that I didn't want to talk about the disease. On my time off of the blog I come to terms that running and diabetes go together so well that I got to talk about it. So here goes.
The last several months I have tried to step up my mileage. Not thinking much of it until I went to the doctor last week. My cholesterol dropped over 30 points without a staton. I never was heavy but my weight lowered a bit, my blood pressure and paulse, great and my A1c was diabetic normal. All from running. It's not a cure but why not live better.

Yesterday & Today

What a difference a day makes. Yesterday I bought new shoes and had a good paced 4 mile run. It was a nice day temp wise and a good trail. As I started out about a mile into it I came across a fellow runner walking and messing with his IPod. It was the first time it occurred to me I forgot my tunes. I just kept going. The funny thing is I was thinking the other day how I loved listening to music when I ran. I was not sure how it would effect my running with out it. Well I made it through the run great. I did buy some new shoes 30 minutes before and was dieing to try them. I do not know if it was the shoe, but I had the best pace since I started back up and did a full 4 miles.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/47206646

Today was a whole different story. I really wanted to run. When I started and took a few strides I felt totally heavy. My brain told me to turn around and go home. My heart said keep going. I felt ochie and started out slow. I did get in to it a little but by mile 2 I decided just one more is all I could take. I did have my tunes. But even that did not help. I made home and took a small detour to get to 3 miles and as soon as I turned toward home a giant crack of thunder, as soon as I walk into my garage the sky opened up and cats and dogs came out.
Hopefully tomorrow I will feel better I have a new trail I want to run. The excitement alone is half the fun.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/47310380

Long Drive Short Run

I was up before the sun. Not something I do often. 4:30am not to run but to drive to move some equipment from a dealer that did not pay his taxes and the business was taken by the IRS. Made it to Topeka by 9:00am. After taking care of business there off to Wichita. The long sunny drive through the Flint Hills made me very sleepy. Had to stop at the road side station and get a Monster. That got me going for a few hours at least. To the hotel by 5:00.

Should I run I am very tired. A nap would be nice. A few things motivated me. One I want to keep going. Two I thought it really would make me sleep when it was time for bed. Three, that dang Dailymile. With people watching I am highly motived to post miles. People have not been watching but if someone stumbles upon my page I want to have miles.

I ran a nice trail by my hotel. The south wind was blowing as it always does in Kansas across the plains at a good click. At about mile 2 out of the corner of my eye I see a giant jet coming low. I was really freak out for a moment. It look like I could almost reach out and touch it. I had no idea where to go to avoid it. I could feel the wind from the engines. It was like North X Northwest. I was close to the airport. It was not as dramatic as I made it out, but it was freaky.

I ran hard the first 2 miles then took it really easy on the way back. Now I sit writing this think about falling asleep. Long drive tomorrow, Goodland, KS. Mission accomplished.

Week One and Big Goals

This was a my first week back from a few month break. And I must of really missed it. I have done almost twenty miles this week. I think the big reason why I took a break is I hit my goal of running a .5 marathon and got unmotivated.
When I first started back up I thought I lost every bit of what I had, but as the week went on I found that I was only a little rusty. Now my new goal is to run the Bass Pro Dogwood Canyon Trail 25K which I had in 2008.
So here's to it.

Dogs and Faster Miles

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Bennett 6

The one thing I fear the most when running is dogs. I always think about carrying a can of pepper spray like a postman, but never think of it when I am shopping. I guess I should make a list. I have never had a problem with dogs, Oh until today. It was the most unlikely circumstance. I always worry about a dog coming out of a yard to chase. This dog was on a leash. I saw the bitch coming from a good distance. It was on a leash with the owner in tow. I was on the side walk. The street was a bit busy. As I came with in 10 yards or so I got over on the lawn between the street and the side walk. Leaving plenty of room for them to pass on the sidewalk. As I passed the dog barked and lunged. I jumped to the side. The dog was on a retractable leash. The owner did not quite have a handle on it. She pulled him back and the dog lunged again showing its teeth and close enough I could feel its warm breath through my tights. I jumped, back turned into the busy street. Luckily there was a break in the traffic. I didn't even think I just went out there. I do not know if getting hit by a car would be better then bit by a dog. As the owner got her dog under control she said she was so sorry. I did not say a word. But gave a mean look. I can see on my map where I jumped into the street.
Other than that it was the best run I remember having. Averaged 9 minute miles. With my 6th around 8:30. It was cold and a light snow was falling. My final motivation is that I though my wife had a meeting and I needed to be home to watch my daughter. I went a little longer than I thought so I need to get home quick. She didn't have a meeting and was not even home when I got there, but what motivation. I felt it deep and it drove me home.

Didn't want to go, but glad I did

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Untitled

It was cold, foggy and wet. Man, I did not want to go out today. To top it off I got ready to go and my Garmin was dead. So I waited another 15min and hit the road with 25% charge which is all I needed. In the aftermath of the run as usual I was really glad I went. I had my best time and most consistent pace. I do not know where it came from, but it felt great.
I ran from my home through downtown Springfield. I live less then 2 miles so I ran some more and then back.
The Garmin thing is not a big deal. For some reason I have to have it. I love seeing how far I gone and I love looking at it on the computer when I am finished. I allows me to track how far I have gone each week. This has been a great week. 15 miles and 2 days to go. This summer it seem like I ran all the time but never broke 20 in a week. One week I got 19.82, 20 or 25 per week would be great. I really want to run a half marathon at the end of March. Every little bit helps. Right now I know I can finish. I just want a descent time.

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Little Blue Trace Trail 5

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Little Blue Trace Trail 5

I was not sure what to do. Should I make one more stop or try to get a run in before dark. Well I am writing about it so I guess you know what I choose.
It was great running at this time of the evening. Right before the sun goes down. It was rather cool. But not cold after I got started. I saw a few other people out. They where going back, I was just starting. What was so great about running at this time?
One I love this trail. I always search out good trails in every town I go to. This is a long fine gravel chat trail that follows a creek. You are close to town but you would never know it. I am sure someday it will be more built up, right know it is not.
Second, this was wildlife time. I saw geese eating in a field just planted in winter wheat. Bunches of deer and an opossum. Some of the deer where really close to the trail and I startled them when I came around the bend.
When I turned around at 2.5 out I was afraid I would not make it back before dark. I was not so worried though. A full moon and a good trail made it OK. I did think when I got done that I needed to buy one of those fancy high powered head lamps for running after dark. I made it back to the truck right at dusk when it is kind of hard to see.
I made pretty good time. It is funny you can always get somewhere faster if you speed up. The bumper is my Garmin 405 must have been cold or wet because I could not get it to stop when I stopped so it screwed up my time a little. I have stayed at a pretty consistent pace lately and I like that. A few more weeks and I want to start working on my speed. I would be pretty happy with 8 minute miles. It is pretty great that in the cool weather I have a more consistent speed at closer to 9 minute miles. This summer I could hardly keep it under 10.

Weather or not

I had a great run yesterday. The great thing about is it was almost 60F. And the great thing about that is one week before I ran in 12F and that was the high. You have to love Missouri.
Weather is such a big factor on a run. It is funny how how much water I take on a summer run and nothing on a short winter run. How my times are much faster in the cool. How my motivation is hindered by both extremes. I love to run in a cool light rain. Or in the fog. I guess any time the is some moister in the air.
It was almost perfect running yesterday. The air was moist and a little cool. The sun was in and out. The ground was wet from melting snow. I did 4.25miles.

I'm Back

I must of ran into some burnout. I was having some much fun and made it all the way through the summer heat and my motivation started fading. Not that I stopped running totally, I would run 5 miles a week and I think I took a whole month off.
Anyway I am back. I find it funny I really like to run in the worst possible conditions. I was going really good in the hottest summer heat. I slowed way down in the fall. And cursed everyday I did not run when it was 60F and sunny. Then I started up again in the coldest winter in recent history. It not so bad if you layer and the sun is out. If I can stay focused I would like to run a half in March.
Today I ran in Wichita. It started out to be a freezing fog day at 22F. The afternoon cleared and it got in the high 40s. I am glad I forgot one of my layers, but I did not need it. I ran a paved trail by my hotel that I have run several times. It follows a creek that looks like a ditch that always has water in it. I went out as the sun was setting. I did 4 miles at 10 min. miles.

Treadmill

Yesterday, I ran on a treadmill. Not my favorit workout but time and weather lead to this activity. My wife has a incline tread machine with incline to 40%. I did the highest programable workout. It was pretty good. I could not get a pace down on the inclines. I was made fun of, holding on to the handles. The machine is short and my strides where longer than I wanted to go. It was 100F out and had things to do. I figured it was a good option. Hey, the treadmill had a fan and a place to plug in the ipod.

I treaded 3.5 miles of flat and hills. I really wanted to run off right on to the street. Things to do you know, had to go.

Wisconson

I am in Milwaukee. Staying in a hotel for a week for meetings. I am kind of trapped in the western part of town. I know Milwaukee is a great town, but I am not to excited about where I am trapped. It is a beautiful hotel. The food is not bad. The grounds are nice. But, there are no sidewalks or places to run without traffic. The hotel is on what seems to be a busy highway frontage. There is a nice road the goes into the nicest industrial park I have ever been in. Great landscaping, well taken care of warehouses. Which I have run through the last two days. Lots of traffic. People it seems that got out of there crappy light deprived warehouse jobs, that feel they need to drive the roads like the Nascar race they just missed because the worked the 2nd shift. A mile or so down I hit another four lane highway with no cross walks. On the other side I see a great wide paved trail that follows the highway but abruptly ends at city hall. The bright side is the weather is amazing. The locals think it is hot. No humidity so it feels cool and great wind off the lake.

It is not that bad, but I have been here for over three days and I love to explore. And there is no where to go but there. You would think there would be at least a sidewalk or something. I ran 5 miles on Monday and almost 5 on Tuesday. Monday I was a little over 8 minute miles and Tuesday 9. Today I took off.

I have been trying to eat light. I sit in meetings from 8 to 5 so running is a great escape and loosen me up. My blood has not been outrageous. A little higher than I like, but manageable.

Track Time

I went to the track yesterday. I do not mind going to the track. All the articles say you need to go to increase speed. God knows I need to increase my speed. I have been running pretty consistently for a good part of a year and it seems like I am caught in 9-10minute mile. I want to go faster. So I go to the track on Saturdays and run really hard and fast. It is nice I live one mile from a track. So I run a warm up to the track and a cool down back.

After my trail run on Friday my legs were stiff and hurting in unusual places. The mile warm up worked it out. There were several people on the track jogging. I would run a 400 as fast as I could and jog or walk a 400. I had a gel on the 5th. I think I did 6, I wanted to do a couple of 800 but I was out of gas and jogged home. I was running about 1:27 400. Good or bad that is as fast as I could go.

The best thing about going all out is I can pretty much eat what I want all day. I was about 60 when I got home. I ate and ate and gave myself little or no insulin and my blood never went over 100. When I run that hard to affect my sugar that much it makes me feel like I am not diabetic for a time. At night watching TV I had a ice cream sandwich (Skinny Cow) and popcorn with out taking insulin and when I woke up in the morning I was 40. I would have ate more but I was kind of sick of eating.

Today I am taking a off day, probably do some walking, biking and a little core. My calves are so sore. This week I will be in Milwakee in meetings. I will be in a hotel with no car so I hope I can find some places to run around the hotel.

Overgrown

I really had planned to run last night, but time got away and I could not get out. A long trip back to KC from Salina. So today I thought I would make up for it and run a great trail closer to home. I love running trails and if I had more time to find them I would probably run trails all the time. The good trails in the Ozarks are both rough and hilly. On my way home from KC I stopped off at the Sac Woods Conservation land. The trails there are well marked and it is a great place to get some miles in. I had not been there since last fall, but we have had a lot of rain this summer and the a lot of the trails where grown up about knee high in grass and weeds. No big deal, but I had this fear of snakes. I did not see any, thank goodness. There are some great hills both up and down. Some of the hills I was on my tip toes to get up them, very steep. I went about 4 miles.

For some reason this week my sugar was high. I do not know why. I changed my infusion, my insulin. It seems from morning till dinner I was pegged between 200-350. When I stopped to run today I was on the higher end. I did not give myself a bolus. Did not turn my basal down and did not use any gel packs. When I finished I was 143 hills and all. I have no idea what the problem is, I will change my infusion again tonight.

Flat

I am out in mid-Kansas today. I battled some high blood sugar in the morning and mid afternoon. I had pizza last night and that always creeps it up. After a lot of correction I got it down. It is always hard to do that driving all day. I really wanted to pull over and find a place to run, but I also wanted to make it to Salina at a decent time.

People think of Kansas as flat and boring. That is mostly a wrong assumption. For one thing, Georgia is the flattest state. Kansas is very hilly on the eastern side and flattens out in the west kind of.

Today I ran some flat. It was so flat I could actually see down the road 2.5 miles to my turn around spot. The road was loose sand and gravel. I drove it a little to kind of see where I wanted to run and had to be careful not to get out of the hard tire track or I would slide off or get stuck. It was great for running. Except of course when a car would come and I would be covered in dust. Not too many cars though. Fields lined the road mostly planted in really lush soy beans. Did you know 1 Kansas farmer feeds 128 people a year. That's what the sign says. The weather was perfect, 79F with a good breeze.

My sugar held true. I ate a IHOP about a hour before. Right across from the hotel. I did not give myself my full bolus and did not turn my basal down. I may have ran a little too soon after I ate because I got a side stitch in mile one. With some rhythmic breathing got rid of it. I did a little over 5 miles. My straight out and back.

Plans changed, but I still got to run...

Last night right before dinner I thought I would go for a run. Tested my blood. It was 81. So I decided to wait until after dinner. Right after dinner my wife got a phone call from an old friend that wanted us to come over. I remembered there were some great places to run where she lived, So I devised a plan to drop my wife and daughter off and run and then come back to socialize. The plan was agreed to.

I was so glad to get on the road. I started out on a Greenway trail (paved) that went along a creek then onto a road that was very hilly. I looped around to where I began. The weather was around 80F, but it was steamy, my glasses kept fogging up. It was right at dusk so the lighting was great and it seems that it had rained not too long before.

For the first mile or two I felt really good. At mile two I sucked down an AccelGel (lime). Soon after I could tell my sugar was dipping. I hate that. I was having a great run and I started feeling a little light in the knees. I slowed my pace a bit and tried to enjoy the great night. My pump was turned down to 60% basal. Then at mile 3.5 the gel kicked in I was back. I ran just a bit harder to make up time and when I saw my car I did not want to stop, but it was getting dark and I am sure my wife was wondering where I was. I did five miles. Here's my map.

Here I go

I have been a diabetic for nearly 20 years. I was diagnosed my junior year in high school. No family history. The whole thing never really bothered me to much. I just went on with my life with great family support blood testing and shots. I have kept rather good control over time and have avoided any complications, thank goodness.
Almost 10 years ago I got a insulin pump. I love my insulin pump. It made life easier and my control tighter. I think every diabetic should have one.
After I was diagnosed I knew I needed some form of exercise. I was rather active anyway but needed more structure. I joined the cross-county team. I did not take it really serious, I ran off and on through college and the years that followed. I did not stick with it.
Now that I am in my late 30s it stuck. I have been running for over a year. I really enjoy it a have been keeping motivated. I ran a 25K trail run last fall and have several 5ks and a half planned for the fall.
Running with diabetes is not hard, but it does pose a little more of a challenge. Keeping your blood sugar in check while logging miles is always fun.