Hey all! I'm new here. 23, married, and have had diabetes for 20 years. I'm fairly healthy, working on losing some weight (I only need to lose about 20lbs to be in my ideal weight). A few months ago, I decided I wanted to run a half-marathon, so I've been training for that. I realized I should do some research on doing long races with diabetes, and how to handle that. Tips?
Also, I don't have any running "gear" (besides good shoes) - like belts or anything to hold stuff, so if you have suggestions on what I should/could get for my race, I'd love to hear it!
http://www.tudiabetes.org/group/diabeticswhorunmarathons has a lot of info! I'm sure they don't mind sharing with people running half-marathons! A bunch of folks there have kept on and off postings going back several years. If I need to recall any of my "war stories" from my 2011 training season, I can scroll back in the main thread to refresh my memory and there's a *ton* of info.
I use an Amphipod fuel belt and usually will lug a bottle or two of Gatorade (I buy the kind you mix as 1) it's cheaper and 2) you can weigh it to put however many carbs you find you need...) along on runs > about 6 miles.
I put my pump on it in the pic and usually belay the tube under the "flap" pocket (there are also zipper pockets I use for important stuff like keys, money, my magic NZ greenstone, etc...) and it works great. There's clips for the drink bottles. I don't usually lug them along in races b/c they have drinks along most courses. I also use little baggies of Starburst Jelly beans and Smarties. The Smarties have dextrose (like Gatorade...) so perhaps they work faster but they are a bit dry and the jelly beans help with that. I mostly bring those for "emergencies" (ha) and try to just use the Gatorade for fuel. I put the Smartie Beans in little bags from a hobby store:
The final "gear" tip I'd toss out is Race Ready Shorts as they have 7 (!!!) pockets, including a large mesh pocket that will hold a One Touch Ultra Mini Meter securely for 26.2 miles (at least, that's the farthest I've run though...). Jerry Nairn who has run like 50 or 60 (at least...) marathons and is in Sherri Colberg's book, mentioned them in the group and they are seriously handy. There's two velcro flap pockets that will each hold a back of the beans and a large car key, if you have one of these large car keys, which is very handy for "running naked" as I refer to running without the belt. It's a great idea to have all your gear, particularly your meter, to test things out. I don't take it all the time any more as I've sort of got a routine but if I spend $$$ on a race, I will bring it along because I want to have a good run and would be pissed if diabetes got in the way!
Re the running, the main way to figure out fueling, etc. is to run and test. I have a CGM too which proved to be *immensely* helpful, although I did most of the training for my first 1/2 without it, it got there the week before but, as I didn't have the right kind of tape (I'd rx Opsite flexifix...it's great stuff!!), it fell off 3 miles into it so no data, I probably pulled over and tested on the way or whatever. These days, I find that I can go 3 miles on about 8-12G of carbs and can stay pretty flat. If I get home from work and am about 90, I'll get ready to run, have a glass of skim milk (8ish G...) and run, get a "predicted high" bleep on my CGM at about a mile (8-9 min...) into it and then a "predicted low" by the time I get home after 3 miles (my usual mid-week training run...). For longer runs, 6+ miles, I'll put my basal to 50-60% of the normal most of the time and try to have a swig of gatorade, again about 8G of carbs every 3 miles or so. This seems pretty close to "drink stations" at races so I figure I'm probably doing ok. Good luck and have a great race! Sorry for the lengthy post!
^^^ Definitely knows what he's talking about. I haven't run in any races, but I typically run 4-6 miles at a time. When I go on runs greater than 4 miles where I know there is no water available, I always take my camelbak. You can find ones specifically for running, and the little "backpack" thing is comes in is good for storing your diabetes supplies.
I would definitely say get a CGM if you don't have one. That is the best way to see exactly how your blood sugars are reacting whilst running. During the race itself, it will help you know if you're about to have a low, which you can hopefully correct for while still running before it gets too low to keep running. I plan on running a race in the future, and I will definitely have a CGM for that.
I’ve done a few half marathons.
I’ve whittled it down to a few things.
Have water on you camelback or similar and use carb gel
I Cary glucose too bit I never need it.
While in training you can experiment with gel till you find how much you need.
I consume one every 2 miles. They are sort of slow acting so they stick with you longer bit won’t do well to treat a low.
I was surprised to find how doable it is to do. Nothing too complicated.
I run a half marathon from time to time. Forget about diabetes gear. your primary concerns are those other runners have too.
One of the first concerns is good shoes. Those are definitely not the most expensive ones. It'll depend on how you run. Find a running shoe store that can analyse your run ( almost all of them do this nowadays). Secondly, train for the run. Depending on your time schedule, think like 3/week. Believe me, you can have all the gear in the world. If your not used to running it won't help.
To put it differently: Your succes wil depend 90% om actually going out to train the distance (in an efficient way, i suggest a program adjusted to your max HR) and 10 % on your gear.
Sure you'l have some lows and sometimes D will prevent you from training. If you train sufficiently you'l get to know how your body reacts to exercise. test enough, take your usual stuf, put it in whatever you want and just run.
