Expert I am not.
I once received an email from a fellow d-blogger asking if she could forward me a message from someone who was looking for advice on running with diabetes. I obliged, and she responded with “Great, I just want her to be able to talk to someone who knows what she’s doing.”
Ha. “Knows what she’s doing” in reference to running with diabetes? While I took that as a tremendous complement, and yes, the title of my blog is I Run On Insulin, “knows what she’s doing” is…uh…a stretch.
Yes, I am a regular runner. Yes, this is my second half marathon. And yes, I’ve had diabetes for 19 years. And I do suppose my experience has taught me a few more tricks than your average diabetic running bear, but I rarely classify myself as “the one who knows what she’s doing.” Because we never really know what diabetes is doing. And this, my friends, is what prevents anyone from having all the answers to this whole diabetes+exercise thing.
I’ve been training for this half marathon for three months now, and I can honestly say that I’ve never had two runs that go exactly the same, blood sugar-wise - and that includes what happens to my BGs during, right after, and even 24 hours after a long run. Saturday morning I did a six miler and got low halfway through. Yesterday morning I knocked out four and finished at over 180mg/dL. My 10 miler on New Year’s Day left my high for six hours, then low for the next eight. Yes, I know what to do according to my DexCom or meter, and as a result I make an educated guess with my pump, but that’s about all I’m sure of when it comes to sports and the ‘betes. Otherwise, it’s plan for the worst, hope for the best, and adjust all the way through.
A reader recently emailed asking for some tips about starting up running again, now a few years into her diagnosis. And although I was able to tell her about the way I carry my gear on the road, and that she might get lows and highs at times she didn’t expect, I felt pretty clueless in terms of what I could offer her besides “It depends.” There are no hard and fast rules for what to eat, what to set your basals at, or what’s going to happen to your blood sugar on a run. There’s just too many cotnributing factors.
The truth of the matter is that diabetes is about as predictable as a Magic 8 Ball sometimes, and although I might look like I know what I’m doing, all you need to do to learn otherwise is read the mango post from yesterday (fruit = helpless - and thanks for all the tips on that, by the way! You guys gave me some good strategies!). With this disease, we gain experience, and we learn from trial and error. But at the end of the day, the only thing you can really count on is that diabetes…can’t be counted on. So in that sense, if we understand that, then I think we all “know what we’re doing,” right? Or at least we know the crazy unpredictable beast we’re dealing with!
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Comments
Don’t underestimate the value of your own experience, and also by providing this blog you facilitate an even wider sharing of strength, hope and experience 
…and frustration, dismay and whining as well 
It’s all part of the d-life (YMMV). And great luck in your 1/2 marathon - I vision you finish in marvelous spirit, time and BG!!
While there are no hard and fast rules there are some places to start. I have run 3 marathon and 5 half-marathon. One year ago I was running around Central Park and I noticed a guy running with pump. We ran together and I asked him about his experience. He had run 15 marathons.
His suggestions:
1)1 hr before running lower basal to 10-25% of normal.
2) Take carbs like a person without diabetes-just bolus 20-25% of standard ratio. I personally find that I often don’t need to bolus-depends on my BS and pace. If I’m running faster, bolus less or not at all. When my sugar is lower, I’m more sensitive to insulin.
3) Use CGMS to help avoid lows
I have adopted these strategies with some personal modifications and PR’ed last three races and more importantly have avoid the dreaded lows that turn a pleasant jog into a frustrating and sometimes dangerous trek.
Although you may feel like all you’re offering is “It depends,” (and diabetes often feels like a big bowl of “it depends”), you offer more than that. I feel like I have a starting point, and that’s better than a whole lot of nothing.