Diabetic and Marathon training

[RebeccaQ]

Hi there
I've was diagnosed Type 1 end of March... Total shock but not surprised as I had gestational 9 months earlier... It's just that I had worked very hard to get back to a great level of fitness... But my genes are my genes ... Before I was diagnosed I set myself challenges for the next 2 years... 10k half and full marathon... I haven't stopped running in fact it's empowered me to keep going... And having the most amazing support from my running team... My question is... How do you manage diabetes and train for long distance running??? The dietitian and clinics are giving great advise but I need some real life stories to get me excited to train again... Rebecca


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[noblehead]

Hi @RebeccaQ and welcome to the forum.

The only type 1 I know on here who does Marathons is @ElyDave, by tagging him I hope he responds to your thread.

However you might want to have a look at the following website, it was set-up for people like yourself who have type 1 diabetes and enjoy sports:

http://www.runsweet.com/

Best wishes.

 

[sud5nala]

Look up teamnovonordisk.com. This company also sponsors diabetic mountaineers and skiers, including Will Cross, Type 1, story. His earlier attempt of Mt. Everest, here (link just now verified).

 

[Janet_rabbit]

Good on you! You can definitely do it! I've been type 1 for 40 years and running for 30 of them. I haven't done a marathon, mainly because I (and especially my knees!) prefer cross country and trail running to running on tarmac. But I've just run my 3rd half marathon and was pleased with my sugars and my time. I am lucky to be on an insulin pump and also have treated myself to a freestyle libre for occasional use, which made it much easier to keep the blood sugars under some sort of control during the half than it was the last time I ran a half 15 years ago. I find I usually need to not have any short acting insulin within 2 hours of running anything over 3 miles and usually need to drastically cut the basal insulin during and after any run of more than 5 miles. Plus lots of checks and top-ups with dextrose tablets every mile as necessary. But no 2 training sessions are ever exactly the same and my blood sugars are always pretty erratic, so I have to just keep checking plenty! One problem I sometimes have is that competition adrenaline can sometimes send my blood sugar sky high before a race and that can be hard to sort out in time, but the libre has helped with that as it shows which direction the blood sugar is going. Another thing that works well for me is that my husband cycles along near me on longer training runs (and even in the last race!) with cartons of juice and extra sugar supplies in case I need them so I don't have to carry so much with me. I train with a club and my club mates have learned a bit about type 1 since I joined and are very supportive so that's maybe something else you could try if you're not already in an athletics club. Hope you enjoy the running as much as I do! All the best!

 

[Bebo321]

Hi there
I've was diagnosed Type 1 end of March... Total shock but not surprised as I had gestational 9 months earlier... It's just that I had worked very hard to get back to a great level of fitness... But my genes are my genes ... Before I was diagnosed I set myself challenges for the next 2 years... 10k half and full marathon... I haven't stopped running in fact it's empowered me to keep going... And having the most amazing support from my running team... My question is... How do you manage diabetes and train for long distance running??? The dietitian and clinics are giving great advise but I need some real life stories to get me excited to train again... Rebecca


Sent from my iPhone using DCUK Forum

Hi Rebecca,
Go for it!
All great suggestions above. Also check out www.teambloodglucose.com and consider joining the TeamBG Sporty T1 Facebook group - you may well find someone who can join you in an event.
Take a look at this vid to give you the basics (apologies if you already know all of this info!)

 

[copepod]

Go RebeccaQ. Do look round Runsweet and Team Blood Glucose websites for physiology information and case studies, particularly on Runsweet. Personally, I prefer orienteering, parkruns, off road / trail running, mountain marathons (2 day navigation races, carrying camping kit) etc and have never done a road race. Longest so far have been Great Lakeland 3 Day and a 17 mile Hard Moors race.

 

[L3wisr]

Hi Rebecca,
I was diagnosed 2 years ago next week and before then I used to play football etc but my endurance wasn't that good (would struggle running down the road without stopping). Since I was diagnosed and started eating healthier my fitness I'mProved a lot more than it was before, it all started with trial and error until I could 'kind of' find tune it. At the point I'm at now I can run 10km and only start to begin begin feelin low...any longer than that I need some sugar.

Anyway..fast forward a while I completed my first half marathon in March. I was still abit clueless at the time and hadn't hit that distance before....also didn't really change my basal...ended up having to drink 4 bottles of lucozade on the way round.


Only pain you'll find is carrying everything! (Libre is a god send)