- Messages
- 2,552
- Type of diabetes
- Type 1
- Treatment type
- Pump
Hi folks, thought I'd just report on my parkrun experience this morning. Before I started getting injured every time I ran, my PB at parkrun was 29:00, but once I had my eureka moment a few weeks ago to just run slower (last week 36:57, this week 34:53 - slow, steady, not too out of breath, didn't stop) I have been a very, very much happier runner - and my legs don't hurt. Hurrah!
I thought I'd share with you what I've noticed since running slower. Typically - at parkrun and at running club twice a week - I run 5km - and where this used to take me 30 minutes (at running club, where we run around town and in local parks), I'm taking more like 40 minutes.
The effect on my blood sugar is a downward direction with no peak at the onset. When I used to run faster, I'd get a massive initial peak, then a big drop. I'd turn my pump basal down to 50%, sometimes 20%. I'd then climb and climb after I'd finished running - partly due to the drop in basal while running, and partly due to that whole post-exercise adrenaline thing.
Today was massively different. I started my run at 6.3, having had my normal breakfast (2 eggs) and normal breakfast bolus. I turned my pump down to 20%, then 10%, then off completely after about 10 minutes of my slow and steady running.
And I didn't peak! It was a steady drop. I got to the finish with a sugar of 4.2, had my barcode scanned, had a glucose tablet, kept the pump at 0% basal, and headed off for another 3.5km loop (I'm trying to build up my distances as I've got a 10k in a couple of weeks), having two more glucose tablets en route. I was dipping a little low towards the end, but when I got back to my car I was 5.4, as the glucose had caught up with me (thankfully).
I'm afraid I'm only showing you half of the equation, as I've got no actual data to show you or tell you about for all my previous runs where I've gone hell for leather, creating massive peaks at the outset. But this is this morning's Libre graph:
The time on my reader display runs annoyingly slow - that little dip followed by a slight rise just before 9am actually relates to just after 9am, once the run had started.
I learned on the Animas Sports Weekend I did last year that endurance exercise generally does cause me to drop, but rapid sprinty aerobic exercise gives me an immediate peak. It turns out from this morning's experience that my speed alone, it seems, really does also make a difference to my blood glucose.
I thought I'd share with you what I've noticed since running slower. Typically - at parkrun and at running club twice a week - I run 5km - and where this used to take me 30 minutes (at running club, where we run around town and in local parks), I'm taking more like 40 minutes.
The effect on my blood sugar is a downward direction with no peak at the onset. When I used to run faster, I'd get a massive initial peak, then a big drop. I'd turn my pump basal down to 50%, sometimes 20%. I'd then climb and climb after I'd finished running - partly due to the drop in basal while running, and partly due to that whole post-exercise adrenaline thing.
Today was massively different. I started my run at 6.3, having had my normal breakfast (2 eggs) and normal breakfast bolus. I turned my pump down to 20%, then 10%, then off completely after about 10 minutes of my slow and steady running.
And I didn't peak! It was a steady drop. I got to the finish with a sugar of 4.2, had my barcode scanned, had a glucose tablet, kept the pump at 0% basal, and headed off for another 3.5km loop (I'm trying to build up my distances as I've got a 10k in a couple of weeks), having two more glucose tablets en route. I was dipping a little low towards the end, but when I got back to my car I was 5.4, as the glucose had caught up with me (thankfully).
I'm afraid I'm only showing you half of the equation, as I've got no actual data to show you or tell you about for all my previous runs where I've gone hell for leather, creating massive peaks at the outset. But this is this morning's Libre graph:
The time on my reader display runs annoyingly slow - that little dip followed by a slight rise just before 9am actually relates to just after 9am, once the run had started.
I learned on the Animas Sports Weekend I did last year that endurance exercise generally does cause me to drop, but rapid sprinty aerobic exercise gives me an immediate peak. It turns out from this morning's experience that my speed alone, it seems, really does also make a difference to my blood glucose.
