Should I take a minimal dose of insulin during a marathon?

I have been debating if I should take a minimal amount of insulin during my marathon on 4/22. I use an omnipod pump and will be wearing a dexcom cgm. During my long runs, I took no insulin but I'm wondering if I might feel a little more energetic with a minimal dose-maybe cutting my basal rate by 80% and taking carbs as necessary. My blood glucose almost always drops during the run. Any advise would be helpful. Thanks.

You should definitely have some insulin in your system during long runs.You said you took no insulin during your long runs. Did you shut your pump off? When?

If you shut your pump off right before starting a run, then you're running at the start with the same amount of insulin you would have if you left it on.

I turn my basal down an hour or more before starting the long runs. If I remember, I turn it back up to normal a few minutes, maybe a mile or two, before I finish.

Everything you do with your insulin is delayed in its effect on your body.

Experiment with your long training runs so you know what to do when it comes to the race. Turning your basal rate down instead of off is a good idea, but you need to get the timing right.

I usually turn off the pump an hour before any exercise including long runs. Do you have a suggestion how much to turn down the basal rate. During the hours I will be running the marathon, my usual basal rate is .35 units per hour. I was going to turn it down to .07 units per hour starting an hour before the marathon start. I also planned to decrease my meal bolus the morning of the marathon. I will have a small meal about 2.5 hours before the marathon start.

I forgot you said you were running this race on 4/22, a week from now. No time to experiment.

Usually you need to work these things out during training. Everyone's different. If you're very sensitive to insulin when running, then what you described sounds like a good basal to try. You want to be on the safe side since the standard advice is don't try anything new on race day.

Have you been eating during your long runs? Do you plan to eat during the race?

I think I ran around 40-50% basal rate at the start of the marathon and turned it up as it was warm and I figured I'd have gatorade. I ran Chicago so they had tons of it, literally. I like to have some insulin cooking away. I ate a couple hours before the race to clear out most of the bolus stuff?

I plan to eat during the race- I will take shot blocks with me which I have taken during my long runs. Even with my pump turned off, I have needed to take carbs during long runs as well as shorter runs. My doctor says I am sensitive to insulin. I also will be wearing cgm. I think I will set it to warm me at below 120 since I know the cgm reading is delayed and or off. I would rather run with blood glucose a little higher than to go low. I wish I did have more time to experiment but I wasn't even thing to take any insulin. Taking insulin will be totally new while running- I have always just shut my pump off.