Exercise is something that’s always been difficult for me with Diabetes for a variety of reasons but I was finally able to run my first 5km race this past week and have written an article about it that I wanted to share in the hope it will be helpful to others out there.
Take a look if you think it might be of interest to you:
https://medium.com/@rajdeut/how-i-ran-5km-bd0db10da4ca#.sg5536xfn
Here’s what caught my eye in your “couch to 5k” story:
Each reading and basal setting was stored in a spreadsheet and plotted on overlaying graphs. It could easily be seen as elaborate, but as time went on I was able to identify patterns in my sugar level’s behaviour. It allowed me to make educated adjustments to my basal rates and their duration so that I could complete the one exercise routine without any major fluctuations or lows. It took six months of this same routine until I was confident enough to move on to new forms of exercise.
In my almost 32 years of living with diabetes, my penchant for collecting data and analyzing it proved to be a pivotal action for me to finally breakthrough and control my diabetes. Some people, doctors included, thought my desire to fingerstick up to 14 times a day was a bit over-the-top, obsessive compulsive.
Congrats on your newly found way to exercise and overcome your fear of highs and lows! Exercise is the catalyst that makes all other efforts with counting carbs and dosing insulin work well. I’d be lost without my ability to walk.
Keep up with your exercise commitment. It will richly reward you with better health, both physical and emotional. Nice blog.