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Running well jogging advice

Lynmi

Well-Known Member
Messages
139
Location
Kent
Type of diabetes
Type 1.5
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi, I've signed up for race for life 5k and have been training over the last few weeks. looking online its say its best for sugars to be between 7 -10 before starting a run. Could someone advise me what the score is if your levels are higher than this before you start.

I have to confess I've not been testing for a long time because it just pee's me off, so I've no idea what my level was before I ran this morning at 7am, but I just decided to test half hour ago and I'm reading 13 and absolutely staving hungry. had half a banana before running 4k and the rest once I was back plus a cup of tea once I got to work other than that just water. hmm just realized as I'm typing this I missed my meds this morning, guess I forgot because I didn't have the cup of tea a home.

lesson learnt, test before the run, takes tablets, and then test mid morning.

In the meantime any advise on what I should expect would be great.

thanks Lyn
 
Hi Lynmi. I'm T2 and still relatively new but I did a couple of marathons a few years ago before becoming diabetic. I walked the whole way - so respect to anybody who can actually run. After I finish a work out I find that my bg levels are high - I believe it is because the brain recognises exercise and makes the liver convert glycogen to glucose for feeding the muscles.
I think the best thing to do is get some consistency (as much as possible) training distance, time of day that you train, food intake, meds and of course - testing. Find out what is causing 13. Then adjust accordingly.
As for 7-10 before a race (or any exercise) that doesn't sound bad - the muscles will need the energy from the glucose in the blood. In any race it's important to maintain hydration and energy levels - but I suspect that in a 5 k (even when running) it is going to be easier. When I was 23 stone and walking my marathons (lots of hills around Loch Ness) I had to carry a mountain of food just to keep me going between the food stations. By the time I got on to the home straight, finishers were driving home and passing bananas and kit kats to me as they passed by. I felt quite full after 7 hours and 24 minutes of grazing!

Good luck with the run. I would love to be able to move quickly!
 
For a Type 1, a 5k is a much different scenario than a marathon, half, or even a 10k. You’re looking at about 30 minutes of running (give or take a bit) which is enough to spike, but not enough to deplete your stored glycogen.

The reason I say that is because I’m a little confused about which type you have. This was posted in the type 2 section, but your username says type 1. You mention missing your oral medications, but are you on insulin as well? Those are very important variables that make a huge difference in the situation.

Ultimately, a 5k is a much different situation than a marathon, half, or even a 10k. During a 5k, you're running for about 30 minutes (give or take) which isn't enough to deplete your glycogen. It's very important to understand that relationship because the situation changes significantly AFTER you increase your distance and run for longer than 1hr at a time.

If you're a type 2 on oral meds, I would probably skip the banana if I were you. If you're hungry, I'd eat something dense in protein that shouldn't cause a spike, but will address your hunger. After you finish running, I'd also make sure to eat something (protein is always good before/after a workout) to recover from the exercise.
 
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Thanks TorgPenderlion, I am type 2, not posted on here for a long time so not sure how I've managed to change it to read type 1, sure it used to say type 2. I'm just on Metformin and Glicazide morning and night. Thanks for the advice, I don't think I could go out before eating, the couple of times I have I've not done so well, probably all in my head though. Next time I go out I'll try and eat something else and make sure I take the tablets and see what the results are then.

5k is going to be my limit at the moment, stupidly agreed to do this with some work mates. I've work up to 4k so far and I look like a beetroot after that there is no way I'm going to get stitch up for a 10k by them.

Lyn
 


Hi Sean

First of all at no point did I say I can run lol, my other half has offered to video me so I can see what it look like, I've turned down the offer. My beetroot face in the mirror when I get home is enough.

I'm going to get myself back on track with the testing as of today and see if I can work out what's going on. well done on walking the marathons, I did the moonwalk in London years ago (before being diabetic) a walking marathon at night and it's not easy I was fueled by lollypops all the way round and was a wreck at the end suffered with shin splints for ages afterward.
 
I've signed up for a 10k in July having never done any running. The best thing I did was start doing HIIts - high intensity interval training - which only take 5 minutes a day. I started the 30 20 10 thing which is 30 seconds brisk walking (or slow jog) then 20 seconds jog (or faster jog) and then 10 seconds running as fast as you can and repeat 4 times. it had an amazing effect on my fitness levels and so fast. i do it outside if I can but have also done it on a friends' treadmill and when I started it was walking at speed 5 then running at speed 10. After a few months it was jogging at speed 8 and running at speed 16 ( I think those are Km per hour speeds). Now i can even run up the steep hill on the coast path near me and I used to be out of breath if I ran 100 yards on the flat.

Can't really help on the BG levels or foods as i follow the low carb high fats lifestyle so shouldn't ever run out of energy "fueled by fat" - I can run at any time of day and not need to eat before even if i don't run til 5pm and don't get back til 6 I don't feel hungry.

Good luck with the 5k
 
Shin splints - horrible. Well done on the moon walk. I'd have fallen asleep at the first park bench.
 
I've been running now since January and completed the couch to 5K program. I find I can run and run first thing in the morning before breakfast and meds, but if I have to run in the afternoon (I work shift patterns) I struggle with distance and speed.
 

Pigdogboy , do you test before and after your run if so what effect does the run have on your levels? I've not tried running in the afternoon/evening yet but plan to as finding it hard to get up early enough to increase the distance time wise and still get to work
 
tbh the blood glucose quite often goes up after a run, but the hba1c levels have dropped in this time too. I tend to get the dawn phenomenon thing. I just tend to struggle running with food in my belly I think.
 
Seadragon

My first run was a run/walk/run/walk/run/die. But after that I started running all the way, if I start walking I don't want to start again. I've been adding on extra distance in the middle of the run each time so I have to keep going to get home. Got to an average pace of about 6.30 min per km,. Good luck with your 10k
 
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