As a 15 yr t1 diabetic that is into numerous activities, I find myself as always the only diabetic in the crowd. I started running last spring and never see or hear of other diabetics. I have run several 5k’s, a 5-miler, and a 15k and in may I will run my first half in Pittsburgh. My wife is nervous when I run for long distances (I am nervous too sometimes). I don’t carry anything with me, but I have thought about carrying honey packets. Is this a good sugar-booster? Do you have any other suggestions? Thanks. Excited to be in the group.
Plenty of us out there - looks like you're not too far from Cleveland. Over a half dozen of us did the Rev3 IM or half IM in Sandusky last Sept. Look at Athletes with the Betes group on Facebook - creator Tiffany is a T1 in Mentor, OH and has done several runs in Cleveland, Columbus and other places in OH. There are several people closer to the Youngstown area as well - John K. did the Burning River 100 last year. May also want to check out Glucomotive.org which is part of Insulindependence - they had over 100 diabetics/supporters in the Carlsbad marathon or half marathon last weekend. Glu - which I see to the right of my response - is also a good way to connect with other T1s and ask similar questions.
Regarding running fuels - I personally use Hammer gels most often, but always make sure to have a couple with me. Not sure what you're doing with insulin - but that's another question a lot of people have as they do longer distances. Good luck in Pittsburgh - hope to do that race one day. I think (through what I've been told by family members who are still in PA) that there at least 2 other T1s who will be running that race - but I don't have contact info for them.
Thanks for the networking advice. I will be looking into the Athletes with Betes th page. I have been on the pump for forever and disconnect when I run. I eat a banana and half of a gatorade 30 mins before running. That works for runs of medium distances (3-10 miles). I seem to bonk when I get closer to the top of that range. I have heard of carrying jelly beans, honey, peanut butter, etc while running. Also, checking levels while running is not something I do. Should I be? Thanks
Depends on what you like foodwise - I've tried sports beans, would think peanut butter would be harder to deal with, and would not act as fast as the others if you needed a BG boost. I think if you check while running you'd learn some things about what your body is doing on the longer runs especially. Body may be looking for another boost of carbs after an hour or so - something else to burn for fuel. Dexcom is something that helps with monitoring blood sugars as well - able to see trends before, during, and after (which is another important area to watch - recovery is something that is easy to overlook, and after effects can show up hours later).
Wow - you're very brave (crazy?) to go out on runs without some sugar...lol I always run with my little cylinder of glucose tabs - they disolve pretty fast and get into your system quickly - and give you enough of a blood sugar boost to last you till you can get back to a food source. I've heard about people having trouble with the jelly bean idea when running - they're too chewy and don't go down easy enough.
I ran my first half-marathon in December and have another one coming up on the 19th of Feb - and I've always been good with popping a few sugar tabs about an hour in to a run.
Katrina,
Thanks for the advice. I never thought of it as crazy to run without sugar, but I guess it is careless. As I run, I think of what I would do if my sugar were to drop…usually I tell myself that I would stop a someone’s house. I know, not the smartest. I will try tablets. You say you take one after an hour and probably as necessary? Do they really give enough of a boost. Thanks again. Also do you carry them in hand or in a bag?
Back when I was running 8-12 miles regularly, I would run two loops of 4-6 miles, with one stop at the house. Before starting the run, I would have a glass or a bottle of mostly ice with some water in it, and a banana sitting on the front porch so I could just stop for a minute. Now that I'm diabetic, when I start getting more miles built back up, I will do this, plus have a blood sugar meter ready to go.
I really haven't run more than a mile or two since I became diabetic, though, so I might end up carrying the meter with me as I run. I hate carrying things, though. I have never even run with water. I went on a short run this morning and loaded up my sports bra with my pump, my ipod, my house key, and had my garmin on my wrist. I felt like a cyborg, not a runner!
Since my original post in January, I have made some adjustments. I have been carrying a sports pack (similar to a fannypack, but holds two waters, one on each side). In the pack I carry pump, phone (for music and emergency) and honey which I use for lows and a boost during anything over 5 miles. I am looking at a different pack, the amphipod I believe is the name. Good luck.
I've been running for a few years now and Jerry Nairn, another member, recommended "Race Ready" shorts. They have mesh pocket in the center of the rear that will hold a OneTouchUltraMini and are awesome for that. They have a couple of other pockets and a great key pocket that closes with velcro too. I have tried some other brands but the Race Ready have the most useful cargo capacity.
I also use an Amphipod belt:
I've found it very handy as it's sort of "modular" as you can get different sized pockets. Some are big enough to hold quite a bit of stuff although I suspect those might pose some chafing risk for longer runs? I use 3x pockets right now, one for jelly beans, which I put into little bags, and one for my ipod and one for salt pills (calf cramps!). Then I attach a bottle of gatorade. I've run with two but I like one more, it's not as hard to keep it in one spot and avoid bouncing that can lead to chafing. I run wiht group on a trail that has water at 5 miles and the group also brings Gatorade and water in jugs they lay out. The "drink" people were not going to run with the group this year but a lady from another group joined and said at the meeting "I've got all the coolers in my garage" so I think we'll be set?
I get the Starburst jelly beans and put them in these bags I get at Hobby Lobby:
Thanks for the detailed response. How does your pump hook onto the belt? Is it attached to a holder with a clip? Also, I eat honey when I run longer than 5 miles, but am looking for something more efficient. Do you use jellybeans for bg maintenance? Or for lows? Have you used the held? How do those affect bg levels? And salt pills? Is that common? When I ran the the Pittsburgh half I cramped up bad at mile 11, though I never cramped up during any of my training runs. I’m training now for Columbus marathon and I’m getting anxious/nervous because I’m unsure how my body will handle that long of a run. I feel like I will be starving at the midway point. I am definitely going to look into the amphipod, but is yours custom? Was it ordered online? Thanks again for your advice.
LOL at all the questions! I have the clip for my (Medtronic) pump and it clips to the belt. I use b/g for maintenance to avoid lows but bring two bags, just in case. I try to keep my BG pretty flat most of the time and probably have smaller servings of carbs than a lot of people. I got the amphipod at the local running store but got a couple of extra clips for bottles and one of the storage pouches online.
I had an accel gel (I think that's the brand?) they were passing out 1/2 way, or a little beyond in Chicago last year and was ok food wise. Other than the cramps, I think I felt decent but was miserable w/ those.
Re the salt pills, at the "kick off meeting" for the club (through the same running store, a good argument for community!) they were running through topics, hit injuries, breezed by "calf" with "if you have calf issues, get salt pills, they work. I tried them in a half on a pretty hot day the next day and they worked great. If it's psychosomatic, I don't care!