Well Wishes

First of all...the role call: Some of these folks I've read about their training throughout the year and others not. Some folks I've talked with while others I hope to see at the start line at some future event.

Anne Findlay - Annetics
Kevin Burgess - Diabetics Can't
David Bourdon - Fueled by Insulin
Heather Warren - The Strength is in the Struggle
Jerry Nairn - Type 1 Diabtic Runner
Denise Ricci - We get to do thi! ON Insulin
Bill Carlson - Type 1 Bill Carlson Diabetics Endurance Pioneer
Brian Foster
Sean McKendry
Jim Murphy
Mark McCullough
Reid Stewart
Sebastien Sasseville


Second of all..."Good Job to each of you for extending your capabilities and training your tails off to get there". Good luck and focus this Sunday. As I tell myself sometimes..."Dream it, du it, push it." Have a good time this weekend and laugh a little during the event, you've earned it.

Wednesday - Notes

    Well, it's the downtime of the season for me now. While others are close to it with tapering for IM Arizona, I'm in a slightly longer taper mode. I've got a charity ride this Saturday, but that's about it. I'm looking for a few fun runs to do this winter and planning out my schedule for 2010. The Wednesday night runs will be the norm for a while, except this next week when I'll have some pleasant running around Vegas and hopefully at the Grand Canyon and Zion National Park also. I'm looking forward to this trip. It's funny, most people really seem to be pumped about going and experiencing Vegas, I however look forward to checking out all the parks I can see. I could care less about the music, shows, glitter, stars, gambling, and all of that other hooha. I just want to go get lost in a few parks and enjoy views I've never seen before. If I luck out I'll take some great photos also.

   Secondly, in my thoughts of late would be insulin issues. I switched to Apidra for the duration of one bottle, and then went back to Novolog. During the one bottle use of Apidra, I #1 was sick during much of it's use and #2 was experiencing many prolonged highs. I cannot rule out certain factors during this period of use, so I will again use another bottle of Apidra after I've finished the current bottle of Novolog. I would like to know how this will react in my system in a baseline environment.

Wednesday Nights with the Nuts

     There are those in society who thrive on pushing themselves, pushing hard sometimes, and even pushing in a group setting. Heck, share in the pain right? Camaraderie is a great thing when you know you won't be alone in the pain cave. That's what I see Wednesday night trail runs as. The horn blows and you're all off down the trail, jibbing each other, letting the faster folks pass, trying to pace yourself or just pushing mad, monitoring your heart rate for zone limit, and waiting (OK resting for some of us) at the turns to make sure the last runner makes the right turn. Afterwards, slapping a fellow runner on the back as you laugh ridiculously at what you've just done...rock and log hopping in the dark, light-footing it down technicals through mud slop and wet rock, avoiding the lanky outstretched fingertips of the green thorn vine just waiting to draw blood, and all of this on a wet trail that's covered with freshly fallen leaves. A surprise with every footfall. Funny how this makes a person feel good.

    So, last night we did about 6 miles worth of mild trail torture. Thanks Dreama, a route well chosen (no sarcasm). Man, the fall colours were rockin' last night. The sun was going down at the beginning of the run, lighting the arms of the amber and yellow infused tree tops as if beams of sun had been absorbed by the leaves. With this above us and the broad view of the sprawling city in the valley miles below us...we had a rather beautiful run. I wish I had trails like this off of my back porch.

    I got all but one thing correct last night...I forgot my gel flask. I started with a BG of like 126 and the basal rate was at 40% of norm. So, I ate 3 PB&J crackers and started stretching out, forgot my gel and left with the group. About 1/2 mile into the run, I mentally slapped the side of my head b/c I knew what I had just forgotten. So, I monitored closely and pushed hard so that my efforts were more then typical and would get the liver to help me keep my BG at a sufficient level. Man, it worked like a charm. While I would never forget gel on purpose, the tactic that I applied worked very well to maintain my BG. When I got back and did a finger stick it was 130. Freaken perfect man. So, I bolused 3 units and bumped my basal to 150 % for 2 hours, as I could feel the BG going up already, since the liver keeps doing it's thing even when you don't need it anymore. This is the formula that seems to work for me post run. All-in-all....a great Wednesday night run...in fact the last one to be started in daylight, as time falls back one hour Sat. night.

Sunday - Atomic Duathlon

PRE-RACE:

     Today I was not optimally ready to go, pre-race. First, we were a bit late to the race location and 2nd, my bg was ~350...auggghhhh! Not a good place to start. Pre-Race adrenaline got to me more this time then last race. It wasn't breakfast that was for sure. Breakfast, along with the bolus for it, were gone about 2 hours beforehand. Oh well, I got everything set-up in trans and ran into a few familiar folks from our local multi sport/cycling club. I walked to pick-up and got my goods and numbers and then hoofed it back to my transition spot. This would be the fastest prep before a race I think I've done yet. It helped to have previous race experience. So, I was ready to go in about 5-8 minutes.



RACE:

    If I had failed to mention yet that the weather was a bit less than optimal....well it was a good bit challenging, that's for sure. So, just keep in mind that during this race the temp was like mid to high 40's and the wind was kickin from the Southwest at ~ 25-30 mph. Line-up and off goes the horn/gun. The first run was nice. I wasn't warmed up yet for it, but hey I was late. I was doing about an 8:15-8:30 minute mile for the first 2.4 miles. Transition to bike. Let me say that I had no delusions of having any stellar bike time. It was windy as heck out there no matter which direction you were headed. Once I warmed up after about 5 miles, I kept it in the big ring for as much as I could, except hills. That helped me a bit and it wasn't killing me. My hands and toes were a we bit cold and numb when I got back, but that warmed up in the sun on the second run. It took me about 23-25 minutes for the second run. Man I hate that cement leg feeling when you start your second run.



FINISH:

    This is where things were different for me for the first time in a race. I usually finish with hardly a soul around me and no one every really close to me. This time was different however. All but the last 1000 ft dash to the finish were uphill, so I kept pacing myself reserving...it was my last race of the year so for what I don't know, but I was pacing myself none the less. Up the last hill 2 guys that looked my age pass me. Then 2 women pass me and then pass the 2 guys who had just buzzed me also. The girls were moving pretty fast. So, I made a quick decision to hold the gap with the guys....10-15 ft...not a problem. Meanwhile, I'm telling myself "pace it or got for it. Pace it or go for it. Pace it or go?" Then on the last 100 ft of the hill I decide I remember I have nothing to loose here so I kick it in gear and pass the 2 guys going up the last of the hill. I'm on the heels of the first girl and were going downhill now to the finish...."that's it man...Go!Everything drop it in right now". So I did. "This is cool" I'm thinking. I pass the first gal and and on the heels of the 2nd girl and she knows it. We're flat out for the finish. She holds the gap and we finish about 1 second apart from each other. "Man that was fun". I need to get faster so I can have more of that experience more often. I finish at 01:58:...and change and a bg of 87mg/dl. I'm good with that. I finished, I didn't walk or crawl, and I wasn't injured. All was good. I got 3rd place in the beginner category. Cool. This will be my last beginner race. So, now I have to race for the prize with the big dogs, and my AG is very competitive.

Insulin Temperature - The Review

This is of course purely from the users mindset. Having come to cooler temperatures this fall, the issue of body temperature and external temperature factors effecting my insulin and its effectiveness have come to mind again.

All three of the more familiar insulins, (Apidra / Novolog / Humalog) for type I Diabetics, appear to all be on the same page as per temperature levels for storage and insulin pump use.

New Bottle to Insulin Pump Use

• Apidra-------------------- 36 - 98.6 degrees F
• Novolog------------------- 36 - 98.6 degrees F
• Humalog------------------ 36 - 98.6 degrees F

So, a poll of user issues with this is not really necessary I feel. What I do feel is necessary is to do some testing myself. So I shall proceed and write later about this when I've obtained some results later under varying conditions. The main question here seems to be in my head..."What is the percent of deterioration, in effectiveness of the insulin, over time in an insulin pump cartridge while being exposed to an average variance of daily temperatures"?

I may not be able to obtain data about remaining effectiveness for the insulin, but I can obtain data about temperature levels from environmental and body variances on the insulin in my cartridge. After all, most of us are very active individuals and throughout our daily routines I'm sure we all come into contact with environmentals that exceed the temperature limits for our insulin. Let's see what I find.

Transitions

    Well, I'm on the last bottle of Novolog I'll use for the warmer part of the year. It's cooled down significantly here and so training doesn't get so hot anymore. Time to transition back into Apidra use in the pump. I brought this issue up back in April and made some notes and changes because of it.

   I'll post a survey on here about insulin usage that I would be very interested in reading results from folks. Let me draw it out and make sure it's appropriate and it will be posted sometime today. Thanks.

Sunday - Mystery Mountain Marathon

Pre-Race:

• 04:30 - 05:00 - "Get up Soldier!!" BG was 137 "Awesome". Ate the pre-race meal that works for me (fresh ground wheat pancake topped with "peanut-only" natural peanut butter, dribbled with maple syrup, and some 2009 applesauce I made a month ago). reserved for Friday's only and race days. Bolused the normal dose of insulin before 05:00.
• 05:00 - 05:45 -Since my gear was packed the night before I did a review of gear and ran through the checklist. Good to go. I answered the phone twice before leaving home as nature calls early on race days. Packed the pooch and the wife and I left for Funville at about 05:50.
• 07:00 - 08:00 - As we pull into the park, "Fort Mt. State Park", we see a long line of cars waiting to get past the gate. Registration was suppose to start at 06:00, but the ranger responsible for opening the gate I think slept in a little. Oh well, ends up we didn't start late. The gate opened as I just finish walking to the front of the line to see what was happening...ha. Registration was moved to a larger building this year overlooking the lake and was much more suited then the smaller one used last year. My phone rang again...nature had called one last time before the start. Good that sets me in a good place for GI issues. Picked up my packet and goodie bag. Finished dressing for the race and stretched for a bit. BG check and I'm at 136 mg/dl...."praise the Lord" perfect! My buddy Ed had decided to run the first 12 miles with me....but he left his shoes in the driveway...nice. Lucky for him a fella there had a spare pair that barely fit. Awesome. I was very pleased so far..my friend was able to keep me company and my BG and GI issues were in check compared to last year. We're good to go and head to the start line. Quite instructions, a few pictures, and off goes the start gun. My wonderful wife takes a few snap shots of us as we slug by her in the crowd and I step back and give her a kiss before I leave realizing "I can't believe I almost began the most difficult run of the year without thanking her and getting a good-luck kiss". Duh.

The Race

• Miles 0-11 - The warm-up loop around the lake is always an enjoyable first mile. I'm in no rush and my buddy is running my pace. It's flat and rooty, a little wet, and crowded, but par for the course. Chatty and relaxed every one still remains. Ed and I keep a decent pace passing and being passed by a few speedies who took a wrong turn. Only saw two falls on this race and both were in the first 11 miles. No body hurt so no big deal. We carouse through rocky, rooty, cambered, and wet trails with varying elevation gain and drops...but by far not flat, yet not difficult. In fact, the first 11 miles are like any typical moderate trail run I've done dozens of times. We stop and take a look at an overlook deck that gives us a view of the cloud filled valley that seems thousands of feet below us. That was the view of heaven. Climb a few sets of trail deck steps, trudge up sections of 200-500 ft rocky uphill trail, dance a quickstep downhill many times, and in a blink we're at the half/full split aid station. The Gahuti was good to us. Sweet! Ed's got a mile left, so we say goodbye and good luck and he powers home the last mile passing many around the lake back to the finish. Just before he leaves he got a good look at what I had next. About 1000 ft of pure uphill in the distance of about 1/4 mile following a power line. Now it may be a little less then that, but from my viewpoint it looked pretty big.
• Miles 11 - 18 - The first big uphill after the break wasn't all too bad. It was however only the beginning of my fun. I thought that when I got to the top of that big hill I'd meander around it a little bit, maybe where the radio tower was, and then somehow head down and around the mountain a bit. Silly, silly boy. "Don't you remember talking and reading others notes of the difficulty of this race?" This is where I remind myself that I am a man among giants. So at the top again here I am. I turn right and maybe run 100 feet. I head up a small heavily bouldered hill and begin the ~1 - 1.5 mile downhill. Downhill that is a good bit steeper then the uphill I just did. Now, at this point I'm thanking a few friends I run with for maybe unknowingly giving me a little pre-warning about downhill running. I'd run hard downhill before past a few in our group runs on Wednesday nights and they laughed a little at me, but I knew there was more to that then met the ear. So, during the first 11 miles of the race I had adequately reserved my strength and had only powered down one small downhill section of railroad tie steps. I wanted to play it safe and I'm glad I did. In retrospect...I should have probably taken even longer up and down this section of the mountain and remained even faster and feeling better for other beautiful running sections of trial. Well, by the time I got to aid station, I think it was #5 or #6, my knees were aching and pretty much becoming hamburger meat. Dang it...that's not what I needed...but I wasn't going to let it stop me. At the farthest out aid station on the 301 loop I make the turn around and return to the top of the mountain. At this point I'm walking down hill and doing moderate running uphill. My knees are done for and my feet, which are sporting a pair of Injinji toe socks, are getting a bit sore...but they're not really the problem. It's the knees. Man I haven't seen this portion of the pain cave before.
• Miles 18 - 26.2 - At this point I should note that I was paying very close attention to two other important things. #1 being my BG levels and #2 being hydration and nutrition. In the end, I felt like I paid good attention to this and did the right things, except for forgetting to take enough insulin once after refueling and the BG getting to about 230 mg/dl. In total, I ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, 1.5 bananas, 2 nutrition bars, a handful of pretzels, 1.5 oranges, 5 Endurolites, 4 oz. of Hammer Gel, and 7 liters of fluid (both plain H2O and powerade) during the whole run. Moving on...the volunteer at the 18 mile aid station was so right. The next 3.5 miles uphill felt like 5 miles. In fact, it seemed, time wise more like 6 or 7 miles. I power walked...though it probably looked like power crawling, up the distance with some occasional fits running. At the top, and now at the second to last aid station, I was told I had 3.9 miles left. Don't ask about the math here. Those are the numbers I was given. So, I refueled and headed off a little happier...thinking "Man the worst is done. You're headed to the home lane bro. Good job. Now don't stop and keep your feet running or moving quick and for goodness sake, "Don't fall or trip". I ran what seemed like the 2.9 miles I had before the last aid station and came upon an aid station, or what kind of would have appeared to be one, but things just didn't seem right. I made a quick attempt at contacting my wife again, as I knew I was at one of the higher points of the mountain again and signal strength would be good, and left her a message that I felt I was about 1 mile from the finish. Don't take everything you hear for truth Mikey boy. I ran another 1-1.5 miles uphill and came to an opening in the woods that looked familiar. As I got closer I couldn't help myself. I said it out loud like the trees would talk back to me or something..."You've got to be shitting me". I looked around almost embarrassed I'd said it out loud..yet at this point I really didn't care. I was at the top of that beautiful ~1000ft hill I had climbed earlier right at the half/full trail break. Guess what I had to go down? As soon as I got to the opening at the top the volunteers at the bottom start yelling..."Runner...whao hooooooo!!!! Come on down! Come on down!. At this point two thoughts go through this thick skull of mine. One, "they have no idea. They really don't." Two, "This is the most torturous thing you've done to your body every...to date...Mike. Don't do this one again. Once is enough. Now finish this damn thing." At this point my knees and feet were in so much pain...I just didn't care. Not a lick. Crawling down that hill I'm also thinking..."How is it the folks who did this in like 6 hours and came across the finish line smiling did it. I mean this is where I really do feel like a man among giants." At the bottom of the hill I stumble and trip through and somehow do not fall into a small creek crossing before the last aid station. I don't stop. I head toward the lake for the last mile home. There's a babe at the finish line waiting for me and someone better have saved me a bowl of that promised hot chili. I run 3/4 of the loop around the lake. I finish the run across the line to a crowd who, picks up from my wife my name and is screaming, "Come on Mike...good job!" I crossed the line. I cracked. Someone, a girl I guess, handed me a glass. My medal for finishing. I tried to say "thank you", but I couldn't breath in. I felt like a fish out of water. My face felt wet but I just thought it was sweat. I started hyperventilating. I just wanted to hug my wife and sit down. 20 seconds later I was breathing like a human again and headed for the lake. Soke those legs and then get your chili.

That was it. 7 hours, 41 mins, 56 secs, 14,000 feet of elevation gain and loss, 26.2 miles of heaven and hell, and a year of training to do it right...and here I was. I'd won a small victory on the pathway of giants. And that's really what it is. I am a man among giants. I've just not paid attention to the footprints left by them as they too have followed the same hallowed and painful path to where it is they are headed.

Wednesday - Group Run

   Tonight's run was to be an easy taper. 2 things here...#1 I ran a PR instead of tapering (I know , I know), and #2 my glucose dropped a little too low for my liking. According to the CG it hit 97, so I assume it was somewhere a little below that since I was a bit low on energy and the HR was a little too high. Downed some gel and off I went. Fixed it within a few minutes. In fact, after taking gel I realized I could PR the run, so I pushed it a little. I wouldn't have, but all felt well and I don't feel like I put in a hurtful effort. This AM I'm feeling like I do after a mediocre run, so all is good. I also tried a new sock tonight. Man I like'em so far. I'll try them one more time and probably use them Sunday. It's made by Injinji: and called a toesock. I received a pair of socks like this years ago as a Christmas gift, but hadn't thought of their possible use for trail running. Saw a friend with a pair the other day and asked where she got them. So, I snagged a pair before the run last night and tried them out. They wicked well and felt better then most of my current running socks. We are folks who not only as runners but as diabetics have to take good care of our feet and this is a great way to do that. I'll say if you have problems with blistering, these will help significantly.

Monday - Farther Between

     That is the distance in between my posts of late. This I can easily not care too much about. Why, because how does blogging about training effect my trail marathon on Sunday? It doesn't. So I care little about missing some posting as I have missed much. I do however want to post a few things to remember.


    I'm on taper. I'll run a little Wednesday or Thursday night...but a little and just as a reminder to my legs. I seem to find my body handles race day if I taper for a little longer then the average Joe.


    A week and a half ago my insulin pump died. It was like it was having a seizure of it's own. Buttons systemically quit working, etc. and it was a nostalgic weekend. From losing the pump for the day to not having up-to-date basal rates at the house. Two notes here for myself.

#1 - It's probably a good idea to be able to fall back on insulin shots if ever necessary. Don't forget where you've come from!

#2 - For goodness sake keep an up-to-date copy of your basal rates in the supply closet. Get one printed every time you see your Endo.



    So, I'm reviewing and preparing for this weekend. I've had a few daunting realizations during this period. One being the following statement on Marathon Guide dot com..."Ankle-twisting, knee-popping, quad-burning, face-planting, diabolically relentless climbing... in other words, GREAT!!!! Thanks to all of the support staff and organizers. I have run 40 marathons and this was by far the hardest course, but the most beautiful I have done!!" This along with an 3 time IM and ultra trail running friend, I run with Wednesday nights, saying that M3 was definitely the hardest on her list has me laughing a little at myself. I am not a seasoned athlete/marathon runner in the slimmest, and yet I somewhat naively sign-up for this behemoth. HA!!! That settles it...I've proven to myself that I've got more than one screw loose.

    Details, details. #1 - I WILL finish this 14,000 ft elevation gain and drop marathon. It will not kill me and my diabetes management will work. It's just a long trial run! Enjoy it.

#2 - I'm estimating 6 or less hours, but we'll just see about that won't we.

#3 - Think about this for a minute. I'll be packing about 3 qts of water, 2 (6 count) pkgs of PB&J crackers, 2 full gel flasks, Endurolite, 1 insulin pump, one full bg meter set-up, cell phone, and the bladder pack that's going to carry all of this. Now, the cell phone may be a little much, but it's a necessity in my mind. Think about what kind of weight this is going to be, roughly 8 lbs. Now think about the weight of what the average Joe will be carrying. You could easily drop 1-3 lbs depending on the individuals level of dependency on aid stations. Over 26.2 miles that starts to make a difference. So, I'm gonna have to work harder and maybe in the future learn how I could lean down a little. I may even only carry 1.5 qts of H2O and just refill between aid stations, but I need to think about that.

Any thoughts to share here?

Much Running

    I'll skip the data intro and just post the runs. Last Wednesday I got out to group trail run a little earlier and did a very pleasant 13+ miler. It's a ridge line run, out to Edward's Point, with some hills down to the water every once in a while. OK, so you cross water 16 times, but it's all good and enjoyable. I'm liking those long Wednesday runs, but most of the time the group isn't with me when I do that, so it kind of defeats the purpose of a "group run"...then again I'm the slow one in the group and usually don't kill myself trying to keep up anyway.

   Friday - I'll just say that I hate missing a good run. I hate it even more when it's on a Friday (I don't have to work Friday's) and it's a brick I miss as was the case last Friday.

   Sunday's run was in the neighborhood. I don't like doing this too much anymore, but it had to be as nobody would have been out there on the trails I would have preferred to run...so safety and big hills were the winners. Did 5+ miles and pushed hard. The calves were a little painful, but that's probably because I started out too hard. I also had some other issues which forced a short run, which are explained below.

   It's never fun, when the device you rely so heavily on every day, fails. And that's exactly what mine did Saturday night. So, there were a few events throughout the weekend that waylaid a good workout. I also forgot to apply the post-run bolus and temp. basal after Sunday's run. This in turn put my glucose through the roof. Before the run I was low, compensated very effectively for it, did the run, and then just slipped and forgot to take the bolus/basal step.

   In addition to this, I'll also note that there are phases I go through that sometimes have my system requiring the same amount of insulin and other times much less insulin post exercise. Right now, I'm in a phase that requires much less insulin. It's tricky. I'm not able to keep things as exact when this happens. It has a tendency to give me what I call the "Summit to Sand" effect. In other words, my glucose levels will peak and drop often. Touchy times that's for sure.

Thursday - Oops!!

   The Summer. Where did it go? I'm at least not the only one whose training gets in the way of blogging and who has just not had time to blog. I'd rather run or ride than blog any day. So, I've lost a month of posts. Oh well. I've gotten some good training in. I'm enjoying the speed workouts at the track and had some enjoyable rides afterwards. Bricks on Friday. Those Sunday runs have gone well. At least until I pushed 3.5 hours Sunday and got some nice micro-tearing. Hmmm that's fun. It'll slow me down but not stop me. Wednesday nights have continued to be enjoyable trail runs with the gang up on the mountain. I had a steller run a few weeks ago. I was in the zone legs, cardio, blood sugars, and all. Man that was a heavenly ~12 mile almost 2 hour run. I wish I could have more like that. Just changed out the trail shoes last night also...as Sundays run tortured my feet and I knew it was time. So I slipped on a new pair of Brook's Cascadia 4's.....man those bad boys are awesome.Funny thing is it's been raining the past few days so I knew Wednesday night's trail run was going to be a degree of sloppy. The runners store had a grey and darker grey model of the shoe on the wall. I thought that would be great because man I'm gonna probably trash these poor shoes within the first 10 minutes out. Wouldn't you know it the shoe I like happens to be the Cascadia...trick is it's not grey..it's bright yellow and with with some black striping on it. I laugh to myself knowing their beauty is doomed. It's gonna happen at some point on the trail anyway, why not the first run out. Who cares my feet were in heaven at least.

Friday - Track Repeats

Run: 4.75 miles
Terrain: Flat Track
Time: 0:46:13

Pre-Run BG: 89 mg/dl
Post-Run BG: 151 mg/dl
Intake: 12 oz mango juice
Run Pump Status: 40% of normal basal

    First track session. I was soooo not feeling in the groove. The legs calves just felt like they were full of concrete. I pushed and did what I could anyway. 6 x 400 was scheduled. I eacked out 4 x 400 with 20 min. warm-up, and a 200 rest lap between pushes. I kept my 400's at 3:15 and that felt hmmm a little slow to say it modestly. I just don't feel fast these days. As if I've lost something. Oh well, I'll keep moving.

Friday - Hill Repeats (9)

Run: ~ 3 Miles
Terrain: Very Hilly
Time: 01:04:43

Pre-Run BG: 95 mg/dl
Post-Run BG: 134 mg/dl
Intake: 10 oz Chocolate Silk
Run Pump Status: 30% of normal nasal rate

    This was a rather uneventful run. I will have to say that after driving up this hill to home each day, and then running it as much as I have been, I have a new jealous appreciation for my Prius gliding up it. It's all good though. I did the hill nine times today with a 20 minute warm-up and 20 minute cool-down. This is probably my last bit of dedicated hill work for a while. I'll transition to track speed work now. My Wednesday night runs should be sufficient enough for hill work to keep me in shape. Breathing felt much better. I cannot absolutely attribute this to the chiropractic adjustment I had last Thursday, but I'll blame 95% of on the adjustment. Moving on.

Wednesday - Group Trail Run

Run: ~6.5-7 Miles
Time: 01:36:13
Terrain: Very Hilly

Pre-Run BG: 156 mg/dl
Post-Run BG: 126 mg/dl
Intake: ~6 oz Hammer Gel
Run Pump Status: 100% NBR (normal basal rate)

     It was a nice day with milder temps on the top of the mountian, so I pushed for more mileage today. I wanted to go all the way to the road that crosses this ridge I was running on. I hadn't done that yet and wanted to. The run is tough enough with 2 steep hills to come back up, but then by finishing the section to the road...yeah another killer hill. It's good cardiac work right? I'm telling you just walking up those silly hills I'm like 160-165 on the heart rate monitor. It's work man.

     As for BG levels, they were a little high to begin. Next time, I'll take a small bolus to start dropping the blood sugar begore the run when it's this high...for my Wednesday night run. The BG got to about 204 and then held there. After 2 bolus' it finally started to go back down. It dropped a little quick, two down arrows for a while, but then capped off at about 136 mg/dl. Overall, not a perfect feeling tonight while running, but it was OK.

Notes: Get a Chiropratic adjustment. Breathing should be this tight. I can't seem to ever breathe deep enough. There's also a tight spot, that's always there, in the maybe T3 region, that I know is not correctly aligned. Get it fixed. Check BP to see if it's too high, hence the harder the heart must work to get O2 out to where it's needed.

Monday - Mow Run

Mow/Run: ~1 mile
Time: 01:04:20
Terrain: Mildly Hilly

Pre-Activity BG: 153 mg/dl
Post-Activity BG: 93 mg/dl
Intake: 10 oz of Chocolate Silk
Activity Pump Status: 50% of Normal Basal Rate

    Hey, you've got to do your chores, you've got to exercise....why not a 2-for-1? So, I speed mowed the lawn. It didn't need a real serious cut anyway. I kept the HR at about 140-148 so that was worth it. It was one of my 30-40 minute alternative activity days...so why not count mowing the lawn as such. Just a problem free mild cardiac workout.

Sunday - 10-15 K Race Pace

Run: 9 Miles
Time: 01:14:18
Terrain: Treadmill

Pre-Run BG: 165 mg/dl
Post-Run BG: 142 mg/dl
Intake: 4-6 oz Hammer Gel, H2O
Run Pump Status: 50% of Normal Basal Rate

    Just a straight-up, plain and simple run. No problems and nothing to really note. All went well.

Friday - Hill Repeats

Run: ~2 miles
Terrain: VERY Hilly
Time: 0:46:21

Pre-Run BG: 253 mg/dl
Post-Run BG: 95 mg/dl
Intake: 8 oz Chocolate Silk, 4 PB&J Crackers
Run Pump Status: 100 % of normal basal


    Today had one of those beginnings no one wishes for. I woke up at 04:10 to my pump cg going off indicating I was above 200. I did a finger stick and found it to actually be 253 mg/dl. A bit too high and I was worrying a little about my run for the morning. So, I cut my insulin in half and went to run early since my alarm was planning on getting up at 04:40 anyway. It was a very nicely moonlit run. With no cars passing me, I didn't even have to turn on my headlamp. I ran totally by moonlight. Nice. Heck I was even up before the dogs wanted to be, only one barked at me from his backyard pen. After my fourth hill repeat I looked at the pump, because I felt a little funny, and what do you know...136 with two down arrows. Crap. Well, I had no adrenaline in the tank this AM, that was for sure. So, I realize I don't have to worry about high BG's in the AM. Great, but I was going to have to cut his run short. I finished 6 repeats and did a quick cool down and let my shoes carry me to a glass of chocolate silk to recover and bring the BG up. I realized I was smart to quite when I did. I can run more later, but had I pushed more this AM, I'd be deep in the pain and stupidity cave. Whew.

Wednesday - Group Run

Run: ~4-4.5 miles
Terrain: very hilly
Time: 0:56:39

Pre-Run BG: 138 mg/dl
Post-Run BG: 156 mg/dl
Intake: H2O
Run Pump Status: 50 % of reg. Basal rate 1st 1-1.5 miles, then 100% of reg. Basal

    I think I had a pretty good grip on my glucose maintenance last night. I was very happy with therun. I'll see my chiro before the next good run and that should help a bit also. So, I dropped my basal to 50% 1 hour prior to the run and didn't eat anything. I'd already had plenty of fuel and H2O a few hours earlier. As stated at about 1-1.5 miles into the run, and watching my pace very carefully, I noticed I had begun to trend upwards. Immediately I put the basal rate back to 100 % and kept running. About 10-15 minutes latrer I noticed it was still trending upward with one arrow. So, I took an action that was a little risky, but I had plenty of gel with me so I wasn't worried. I took 1.5 units of Novolog and kept running. In another 15 mintes the upward BG trend was gone and I'd stabilized at about 164 mg/dl. This was perfect. I was excited to have a small grip of control on this issue as I haven't had much luck with it the past few runs. Back at the car I got 157 mg/dl from a finger stick and was happy. I cut the run short of following the group out for the full monty of 5-8 miles and did what I knew "I" needed to. I'm really changing my thought pattern here, in that instead of just following the group and hanging on - or trying to hang on, I'm focusing on me and staying there regardless of who's around me or where they're at. I think that this approach will make me stronger race day and I'm betting on it. This also makes me more of a soloist at times, but I can live with that. Anything longer for the run last night and I would have definately used the gel, but just under an hour and I'm OK with no gel.

Sunday - Long Run

Run: ~ 9 Miles
Terrain: Treadmill
Time: 01:41:18

Pre-Run BG: 140 mg/dl
Post-Run BG: 198 mg/dl
Intake: 5 oz Hammer Gel
Run Pump Status: Normal Basal Rates


    Sunday was a busy day. We're currently building a "super-mega" rainwater collection project, so much of the day was spent doing this. I say "super-mega" because it's a system with 15 barrels each holding up to 55 gallons of water. Compared to the average backyard water collector...that's huge. I decided to save time and just run at home. By doing this I was able to leave my basal rates at 100% during the run and see how I did under safer conditions. Pretty well as it turns out. So, this next Wednesday I think I'll leave my basal rates closer to 100% then I have in the past and see how it goes. I kept the HR in the 150-155 range the whole run and that felt rejuvenating also.

Saturday - Light workout

Hike: ~4 Miles
Terrain: Very Hilly Trail
Time: ~ 01:46:42

Pre-Hike BG: 119 mg/dl
Post-Hike BG: 151 mg/dl
Intake: 2 granola bars
Hike Pump Status: Normal basal settings except for a 30 minute seg. to raise BG


    It was a perfect day to share the trail with my wife so she knows what I'm running on Wednesday nights with the group and to walk the dog. This was a much lower impact workout so there were no real issues with my glucose levels. I ate something before hitting the trail to bring up the BG level a little and then had to intake another granola bar at the turnaround before heading back. Other than this all went well.

Friday - Hill Repeats

Run: ~2 Miles
Terrain: Very Hilly
Time: 0:54:14

Pre-Run BG: 91 mg/dl
Post-Run BG: 141 mg/dl
Intake: 10 oz Chocolate Silk
Run Pump Status: 50% of normal basal rate


     Just some simple hill repeats right out of the driveway. Lucky me, I live at the top of a huge hill that I get to finish all of my runs going up. Aaccckkk! Today, was a good day though. Now high issues. If I could just translate this to Wednesday nights runs.

Wednesday - Group Run

Run: ~6 miles
Time: 01:17:51
Terrain: Very Hilly

Pre-Run BG: 142 mg/dl
Post-Run BG: 230 mg/dl
Intake: small granola bar @ 5PM(run began at 6), 9 oz Protein shake, 1 Kids Cliff bar
Run Pump Status: 40% of normal basal from 5PM - 6:45PM, then up to 100%

     This sucks. I feel like type1 has a death grip on my training right now. I'm really struggling with this at the moment. I tried yesterday to make sure I had BG's, insulin-on-board, and the tail end of my last bolus done with all before the run. I finished lunch at 14:30 and bolused for it. So the insulin-on-board was dealt with. I monitored trending data from the CG and then did a finger stick at 16:45 (137 mg/dl). I also hydrated plenty until one hour before the run. In my mind I was all set-up for a great run.

    I got to where the group was meeting a little early. Finger stick was 139. Good. At 17:30 I went out a little early for a short and slow warm-up...about 1 trail mile. Came back drenched and picked some blackberries on the way. Nice.

    Met up with the group and did a finger stick one more time, 97 mg/dl. Not so great. OK, I ate a kids cliff bar. I'd forgotten my gle flask...dang-it. The group left at about 18:05 for the run and headed out at a moderate pace. At the beginning I was trying to stay focused and fall into a pace. About 1-1.5 miles into the run I look at the CG and it's telling me 172 with two up arrows. I left things as they were for another 20 minutes. Checking the CG again I am now given the 220 and two up arrows. Crap. Wrong place to be again. I'm thinking, "I'm really getting tired of this." Too many variables tonight for this to work well. I slowed back and was the last one in. I easily sprinted the downhills, slow ran the flats, and had to walk up the hills (couldn't keep the HR below 175 or so without walking). I was the thoughouly frustrated with this situation again. I am NOT giving in to this. I WILL make it work. I'd rather be low then to feel like this. It sucks. It makes me feel so pewny and small in effort compared to what I know I can do.

    Thinking about this, it seems like I'm becoming anaerobic while using the same effort levels I'm use to. Maybe it's just a fluke of events and timeing, but it sure as heck is frustrating.

Sunday - Long Run

Run: 13.5 miles
Terrain: mostly flat with mild hills
Time: 02:30:11

Pre-Run BG: 187 mg/dl
Post-Run BG: 167 mg/dl
Intake: ~8 oz Hammer Gel, 24 oz Strawberry Heed, 24 oz H2O
Run-Pump Status: 40% of normal basal rate 1st 4.5 miles, reg. basal rate to finish

   Today's' run had to happen and I really tried to make sure all things were level before the run, but about 1 mile into the run my BG started trending upward. I worked very hard at monitoring it and bringing it back into limits for performance. I've had problems lately with BG being a bit too high. Maybe that's because my work schedule has thrown me for a loop this week, my nerves are on edge, or I just haven't had time or physical oomph to get out and run. Anyway, ran a good 2.5 hours in a nice dry hot and breezy park trail. Thank goodness for a mostly shady trail. Aside from the BG begin too high for adequate performance for this run, all things went well. I continue to work on the pre-run BG/meal timing and preparation.

   With a long run as this was, I usually have to replace the tegaderm over my CG site after the run. What really holds it on very well most of the time though is Benzoin Compound Tincture - Alcohol 77%. This is actually labeled as an oral mucosal protectant, so most folks wouldn't think of using it for IV sites, but let me tell you that for a guy who sweats heavily...this stuff works wonders for me. I've been using it for most of my site adhesive for about 6 years.

Sunday - Long Run

Run: 8.5 Miles
Terrain: Mostly flat with a few baby hills
Time: 01:27:30

Pre-Run BG: 188 mg/dl
Post-Run BG: 131 mg/dl
Intake: ~6 oz Hammer gel
Run Pump Status: 45% of normal basal rates

   I'm a little behind schedule for my long runs dew to a lower back injury. I'm on it now though. So today I did what I could, something just shy of the scheduled run. Next Sunday, I'll run for at least 2 hours, and hopefully a little more then that. I feel like I did well today though. Not only did I do my usual basal rate drop 1 hour ahead of time, but also during the run I kept a very close eye on my effort. I focused a lot more and kept the HR at no more than 150. I think this was crucial for me and I plan on doing this more often with all long runs. I took my time warming up (~ 2-3 miles) and then kept an eye on the heart rate. Not pushing the HR above 150, I have to say I felt much stronger. I think I 'm going to change the pace I've been going out at, and after warm-up, slow down a little also. I think I have been a lot closer to an-aerobic then I may known for the past little while. So, I'm going to focus on this and try to repeat Sunday's performance level and power feeling. I really did feel much stronger then I have on a run in a long time.

   The other thing I did different this time was to use the little carry pouch that came with my "One-Touch Ultra Mini" and attached it to my Fuel Belt so I could do a physical BG check during the run and get at the meter easily. That little pouch was perfect for carrying the meter for me.

Friday - Hill Repeats

Run: ~2.5 Miles
Terrain: Very Hilly
Time: 0:57:13

Pre-Run BG: 134 mg/dl
Post-Run BG: 89 mg/dl
Intake: 16-18 oz chocolate Silk
Run Pump Status: 40% of normal Basal Rate

    Just another day training, except this one is with hill work. No problems for this run. It was however one of those days where I just didn't want to get out and run. We all know though that it's these types of days when running is most important and usually when you feel the best post run. As was the case today. Today I ran 7 repeats.

Wednesday - Group Run

Run: 5.5 Miles
Terrain: Flat to Very Hilly
Time: ~60 Minutes ( there was a quarry cool-down stop)

Pre-Run BG: 200 with 2 ^^
Post-Run BG: 134 with 2 down arrows
Intake: 4 oz Hammer Gel (at about 170 and 2 down trending arrows)
Run Pump Status: 30% normal basal

   Tonight was a tough run. I hate it when I enter a run with these circs. In attempting to make sure my glucose was between 130-180 1 hour prior to the run...I over estimated and also had to calibrate the CG. So, I took too many carbs to start and didn't know I was already trending upward because of the calibration. I have got to keep a closer eye on that. The result was a crappy performing run. A BG of anything above 210-220 for me equals a high HR that doesn't come down easily and shortness of breath that just plain makes me feel like a weakling. I hate it. Aside from more accurately setting myself up before the run, I've got to figure out some strategy that will allow myself to bring things into "The Zone" and not drop me during the run. I took .9 u out on the trail because I was at 236 with 2 up arrows (trending upward quickly) and cut my compensation dose very low....just not maybe low enough. Next time maybe I'll cut it to like 1/8th of what I would normally take. I got the Tempo in, but it freaking sucked. The performance level was definitely not there. Also, once again a few hours prior to the run I had this sensation of seeming short of breath or almost like a little pressure (though it wasn't) in the upper chest. I can't explain it, but it's almost like it was a precursor to what I almost knew was going to happen...and sure enough. This happened last when I was up on Lookout Mt. , and it happened the same exact way. I've got to figure something out here and I will.

Monday - Easy 30-40

Run: 5.5 Miles
Terrian: treadmill
Time: 0:40:13

Pre-Run BG: 130 mg/dl
Post-Run BG: 101 mg/dl
Intake: 4 PB crackers, 6 oz Choc. Silk (prior to run)
Run Pump Status: 30 % of normal basal rate

    All things well, this was just an easy 30-40 minute run for maintenance and miles in the bank. Nothing to say about it really. No problems or issues.

Friday - Hill Work

Run: ~3 Miles
Terrain: Very Hilly
Time: 0:53:55

Pre-Run BG: 131 mg/dl
Post-Run BG: 98 mg/dl
Intake: 6 oz. Chocolate Silk Pre-run
Run Pump Status: 50% of Normal Basal Rate

Today, was a beautiful and cooler morning to start my hill workouts. The one somewhat redeeming factor about living on the big hill we live on is it's great for workouts (though not pleasant when you leave from the house on a 10 miler and have to finish your run up that sucker). I gauged myself perfectly. I started with an OK BG and took the Silk to bump it. I might have to find a larger hill as by the end of the last repeat I was like 40 ft from the edge of my driveway and the top of the hill. Got the HR's going and felt the push so it was a good run. The cool thing about hill work is that you literally see yourself progress as you're running, unlike a tempo run for example.

Wednesday - Group Run

Run: 6 Miles
Terrain: Hilly and Windy (Rather Intestinal Trail)
Time: 0:58:43

Pre-Run BG: 161 mg/dl
Post-Run BG: 110 mg/dl
Intake: ~6 oz Hammer Gel
Run Pump Status: 50% of normal


    Perfect weather this evening for a nice little trail run in the park. Today, I started ticking off planned runs from the training program I've jumped into. So today's run was a Tempo Run. Six miles around the lake on what I would have called a rather intestinal-like trail. I hadn't been on this park trail before and being so much closer to home....I like it. Plus it's longer then the 4.2 miler that has been the main park run close to home. Options are great. Today, I turned my basal rate down to 50% of norm 1 hour prior to the run. Got to the park did a 20 minute warm up and then took-off with the group for a 2 x ( 8t / 2e) set. So, I got moving at a sustainable "t"ough pace and did that for 8 minutes. Then, a 2 minute recovery of "E"asy running. and then repeated. After the second set I finished the run at a moderate level and slowed down at the end. The sugars were freaking perfect. About half-way through the run I rad the CG as stating I was trending downward, so I kept up with the gel. However, at the same time I felt that my glucose was actually starting to jump from glycogen usage. Indeed, this was proven when I got back to the car and with in minutes the CG graph did a 360. Good, I knew what my body was saying. Next time I'll try to remember this and either slow down on the gel or, most likely, take a small amount of insulin to bump this down. I was very happy with the BG this run.

Friday - Slow Run / Speed Walk

Run: ~7 Miles
Terrain: Moderately Hilly
Time: 01:57:13

Pre-Run BG: 149 mg/dl
Post-Run BG: 78 mg/dl
Intake: 1 trail bar, 1 plum, 2 apricots, 1 cheese sandwich, 6 PB crackers
Run Pump Status: 50% of normal

   This was a treat. It was a nice little walk through moderately hilly park woods and trails at Long Sault Conservation Area. Plenty of open field and wooded trail. I would call it a trail runners dream. My glucose got a little low at about the lunch break time, so we stopped shortly after, I refueled the glucose tank, and ate lunch. Beautiful hiking out there and perfect 70 degree weather.

Thursday - Easy Run

Run: ~6 Miles
Terrain: Park Walkway - mostly flat, some hills
Time: 01:15:13

Pre-Run BG: 133 mg/dl
Post-Run BG: 131 mg/dl
Intake: 3/4 oz Hammer Gel
Run Pump Status: 40% of Normal

OK, another "walk -in-the-park", but in the park this time. This was a perfect greenway run down to the lakefront. Nice and quiet. I enjoyed the run with my wife and a few black tree rats. I'm use to seeing grey ones, so it was interesting to see the black ones. Once again the glucose levels were good. I gelled up about every 30-40 minutes. Worked well.

Tuesday - Easy Run

Run: 6.5 Miles
Terrain: Sidewalk moderately flat
Time: 0:58:32

Pre-Run BG: 154 mg/dl
Post-Run BG: 143 mg/dl
Intake: 3-4 oz Hammer Gel
Run Pump Status: 50% of Norm. started 60 min prior to run


   This was just your typical "walk-in-the-park" run down a main street in Oshawa. Descent place to run, but too much traffic in some places. It reminded me why I will run trail or park any day over this kind of stuff. The glucose was perfect and I felt great. It was an easy day, so I didn't push hardly at all.

Sunday - Run

Run: 4 Miles
Terrain: Treadmill (grade 4.5 %)
Time: 0:41:05

Pre-Run BG: 161 mg/dl
Post-Run BG: 123 mg/dl
Intake: 4 oz Hammer gel, 10 Glucose Tabs
Run Pump Status: 30 % of Normal


   I had to get some miles in the bank, so treadmill it was. Besides I was on vacation up in Oshawa, CA and the family wanted to take us to the gym. Sweet! All indoor: pool, kick-boxing, track, basketball, circuit training, Spin Room, and like 200 weight, run, and resistance machines of all variances. Pretty nice. They even had child care. We ran treadmill for 30-40 minutes and then headed to the circuit room. Shortly thereafter I began to realize I was sweating way too much for such little effort. I couldn't tell it on the treadmill, but my sugar was headed south quickly. 48 was too low to continue a good or safe workout, so I broke for snack-time. I hadn't yet started a new CG, so it was all feeling. I had also put the pump on reduced basal like 45 minutes before the workout.

Wednesday - Group Run

Run: 5 miles
Terrain: Very Hilly, Lookout Mt. Trails
Time: 01:19:31

Pre-Run BG: 173 mg/dl
Post-Run BG: 243 mg/dl
Intake: 4 PB Crackers
Run Pump Status: 1st 2 miles (0% Basal), Last few miles (50%Basal).

    OK, mountainous trail running is vastly deceiving when it comes to gauging your mileage on very hilly trials. Last night I thought and felt like I'd run maybe 8-9 miles. When calculated with a google map it's only ~5 miles. That's a big difference. So, I checked the BG before I headed out and it was 173. I figured that about 30 minutes into the run the BG would start dropping, so I ate 4 pb crackers for a buffer. My initial pace felt good, but it lead me to the "Diabetes Pain Cave" unbenounced to me. I should note that before the run I was just feeling, I don't know how to say it, but "not quite right"...bit of some head pressure and the belly felt like I'd eaten something slightly disagreeable. I should have picked up on that and taken it out slower with the group. Even if I fell off the back. Instead, I ran headlong into the DPC by tapping the glycogen stores by starting out too hard. So, the BG went up and according to the CG hung at about 200 all of the run. I took .5 units of Humolog during the run and then bumped my basal back up to 50% of norm. I was hoping what little I took would be enough to drop my BG and make the good physical feel of running come back around. It didn't happen. The HR kept jumping up too easily and my breathing was a bit too difficult. I should say our air quality around here right now is not stellar either along with some typical hot southern weather. Oh well, live, learn, laugh, repeat.

It needs to be noted for myself, for later purposes, and for other readers that the following is important floow-up on the above run.

     As can be read, my beginning BG was 173. Under normal circumstances I've come to realize that my sugar will drop within the first few miles of the run and from there it just depends on my effort level and intake. Intake was a problem here. I forgot my gel flask in the car. Duuhh. I also had the understnading that my glucose was trending downward. Hence the snack before I ran and the 0% basal to begin with. Yes, I should have just left the basal at no less than 30% though. The kicker here though, is that while getting dressed for the run before leaving work, I pulled my insulin site out just a hair. It hadn't come out that far, so I re-adhered it to my skin. All I can say is that in the past this has worked. From this point forward I will warn myself to simply replace the site...it's not worth it. This, now non-patent canula, would be the reason for the spiking BG's. My thoughts........that was stupid.

That's Life

It's Friday, ~ 8:20 AM, the wife just left for work. I've got the tri-kit on and I'm walking out the door when the cellie rings. It's work. I naively answer it, thinking my co-worker has a question about one of the imaging protocols.....not. My co--worker was actually hacking her guts up from some bad mojo bug passing around the hospital. Typical of the environment I work in. I'm always overly cautious because of crap like this. So I drop everything and head into work. This sucks. I've missed I can't even count how many Friday workouts now because something keeps coming up. Life huh*. The kicker is I had my mind wrapped around all I was going to enjoy doing Friday. It was my birthday. I was totaly focused on this work-out (a .9 mile climb on the bike that gives one a view of the Chattanooga Valley from the top) and pushing the climb 2 maybe 3 times. But alas, this game we play has many curve-balls, so instead I worked until 5:30 and went out to eat afterwards. Another workout to toss to the tri-gnomes.

Wednesday - Group Run

Run: ~7.5 Miles
Terrain: Very Hilly Mt. Trails
Time: 01:01:12

Pre-Run BG: 150 mg/dl
Post-Run BG: 166 mg/dl
Intake: Kid's fruit Powers Stick
Run Pump Status: 10% of normal

    Man, it's getting freaken hot and extremely humid here. I'd give this up for Northern Arizona anyday. Tomorrow it's suppose to be like 98-100 degrees but feel like 104-105. Definately an early AM or late PM workout schedule right now. Acccchhhhk!

   Last nights run was a little different for me. First, let me say that I run with a group of folks who ALL are faster than me. That being said, for last 4/5 runs I've split from the group and done my own thing. Working on form, adjusting to the climate while trail running again, and getting back up to speed have been the priority until I felt I could at least stay up with the group. That done, last night's run was with the whole group as it use to be. I got there early and did a 1.7-2 mile warm-up. That warm-up got me ready so I could stay up with the group evidently. Nice. This was one of the steepest runs I've done probably since M3 from last year. My BG's were perfect. Absolutely perfect it felt good. The quads and calves were a little sore when I got home so I got the Stick to them and when I woke this AM...no problems and no pain. Nice....I'd like for it to stay this wya, but we all know better then that.

Slower Days

    Somehow, I'm going to figure out a way to use my work-around-the-lawn-all-day-on-the-weekend times as exercise. I mean I wore my HR monitor Sunday from 9 AM till about 8PM and burned 3000 calories hoofing it around the yard. The way I figure it mowing a hilly lawn and keeping the HR at least between 145-160 is as good as a work-out as could be done for two hours in a hilly yard. Or take for example last night. I removed the old stain from our porch ( the deck is larger and next) and got a good sweat out of it. When I scrubbed that old crap off with the hose brush it took my like an hour. I was soaking drenched and not from the hose. That was a good 60 minute work-out also. Hmmm...maybe I'll call them "labor workouts" since this stuff has to be done (don't we all have projects like this calling our names?) and it takes away from the time I could be using for running or cycling.

OK....so this is a slightly nonsensical way of trying to count work as a "work-out" that equals training. I'll just buck-up and call it "base" or "core" maintenance.

Wednesday - Group Trail Run

Run: ~7 Miles
Terrain: Moderately Hilly
Time: 01:06:03

Pre-Run BG: 194 mg/dl
Post-Run BG: 79 mg/dl
Intake: 2 Hammer Gels, 1 bag Power-Bar Gel Blasts
Run Pump Status: 20% of Normal first 2 miles, Suspend rest of run

    Wow, the legs felt much better out there last night. I'm broke off from the group to focus on my own pace and form. I need to do that my first 3-4 runs so that I can just keep up with these crazy folks I run with. Compared to last week, calf pain today is moderate to nothing at all. Last week I was aching for days. That hadn't really happened before. My BG was like 236 about an hour before the run, so I took 1u of Novolog at that time. A few minutes before the run I put the pump to 20% of normal basal. However, I was keeping a close eye on my trending to see just how far that 1 unit was going to go. It went a lot farther then I was hoping it would have. So, at 174 and 2 down arrows (BG has changed 40 points within the last 20 minutes) - I downed a Gel. Then at 124 still having 2 down arrows-I was about 1.5 miles out from the car, I downed another Gel. Banana flavoured. Not too bad. It reminded me of banana bread batter. Did a finger stick and got 79. So, as I'm running up to the car my CG starts complaining to me "You are 60 mg/dl and you still have fast downward trending - 2 down arrows. Come on man fix it!!!" It's at these moments when I remind myself to ALWAYS listen to my body, not the CG or pump. If you do that you will be far better off most of the time. I can get valuable info from all of this "medi-mech" (medical machinery), but it's all about WHEN to listen to it. All-in-all it was a great run in the woods.

Tuesday - 1st Time on the Treadmill

Run: 3.5 Miles
Terrain: Mild Grade ~4%
Time: 0:36:01

Pre-Run BG: 141 mg/dl
Post-Run BG: 198 mg/dl
Intake: Nada
Run Pump Status: normal


    I hadn't put much thought into using our new treadmill for the first time. After Saturday night's swim attempt you would think I might have, .....but. So, I warmed up and tried to get use to a new piece of machinery. All I can say is running on the trail or road is FAR easier. This sucker feels too short also. Maybe it's all in my head, but I kept worrying about being in the perfect spot, which took me like 20 minutes to find...along with the perfect speed to stay there and get a decent run in also. This crap is ridiculous, but I needed the run. Next time I'll get five miles in then go from there. I don't recall having issues like this a the gym. That's for sure. OK, I'll stop complaining. I got to exercise and that's what counts. I can still walk. I have diabetes, but I'm alive with all of my limbs....beeeee positive. I need to use this thing in the dead of winter anyway. So I had better start liking it. No problems and I got a few miles in the bank. All is good.

Saturday - Midnight Mud Run

Run: 4.8 miles

Swim: ~ 300 meters

Terrain: Typical Hay Bay Trail and mucky swim

Time: ~65 Mins

Pre-Run BG: 135 mg/dl

Post-Run BG: 74 mg/dl

Intake: 6 PB Crackers (prior to start), 4 oz. Hammer Gel

Run/Swim Pump Status: I took the pump off for this one

    First, let me say that this was not a race. It was fun, but also a good reminder to me of some past experience and the need for training. I am not, by nature, a swimmer. In fact, not even a runner by nature. Though with much training I've become some what of a runner and with more training I may even become somewhat of a swimmer. However for now....let's just say when I was 300 ft off shore and working way too hard on the swim bec. I haven't done open H2O in years, with shoes that weighed like 5 lbs each (I'm not kidding), I had a nasty little flash-back of being pulled out with the tide in Peru with low sugar and not fully comprehending what was happening. That little Peruvian experience scared the shittaki out of me, but has me a wiser person. So, I swam back to shore and took the smarter route for myself. I did attempt a short one and then completed one of the shorter swims, but it's time to hit the open water for some practice before I attempt that again. My CG had ended earlier this day, so I opted to leave it off and to DC from my pump also..as the pump is not H2O proof. This event really was fun. Especially at midnight with a full moon and we owned the trail to ourselves. I'll do it again when the chance provides itself. It was more sweat and water than mud as this pic shows. I'll bet the folks in house boats were a little shocked to see swimmers with glow sticks and headlamps coming toward them at around midnight!

Wednesday Night - Group Run

Run: ~11 Miles
Terrain: Everything from Mildly Steep Grades to Flat
Time: 02:09:34

Pre-Run BG: 197 mg/dl
Post-Run BG: 132 mg/dl
Intake: 4 oz Hammer Gel
Run Pump Status: 40 % of normal Basal

    OK, as others have noted, today was "National Running Day" and I guess my regular Wed. night group run just happened to fulfill this. I bit off more than I wanted to chew tonight, but I just myself to buck-up and just do it. I needed to be pushing myself and this fit the bill. I haven't run anything close to 11 miles in quite a while. It was a beautiful trail run though. I'd run out there in the woods with nothing but nature around me...anyday. It's far better than running the roads. I kept the BG in pretty good control tonight. Started with a great level and ended very well too. My sugar started up a little bit at by mile 4. At this point I didn't want to experience the lovely feeling of acidic build-up in my leg muscles, as I have a few times before with high sugar during a good workout, so I took 1u of Novolog and kept plugging away. At about mile 8 I started seeing a downward trend on the meter so I had the Hammer Gel. Worked perfectly. Maybe next time I'll leave the basal rate at like 60% and go from there.

May Vacation

So, every once in a while I am allowed to get away from the daily grind and take a vacation. Though not as far traveling and glamorous (as the 3 weeker last year), this vacation was much enjoyed and photo evident as well. It began with seeing things like this that I just had to get photos of.

Need to buy any "Wud"?

When we got to the place we were going to stay at for the week we were a little disappointed. That fixed we were pleasantly pleased to find this view just outside our backdoor.

The bottom one was of Little River on the way back to the room one night. Nice little haze hanging over the river and I'd never tried to capture that on film before.

The rest of these I'm just going to throw out there. We've been to Cades Cove, I don't know like 6-7 times and have never seen more than a few deer and a squirrel. Our luck did a 360 this time as seen in the pics. We rode through the cove on two different days and were treated to mama bear and cubs each time. It's the coolest thing to see your first black bear cub and photo it. Altogether we saw probably 13 bear from those two trips. Not bad. If you went back right now one would probably be treated to the same. Bumper crop of cubs this year from what the rangers have stated.

This is a little of what was at Cable Mill at the back of Cades Cove.

The ranger informed all those watching and photographing this one that it's very rare to actually see a mother black bear nursing in the open like this. Sweet. Lucky us.

Of course these cubs were still learning how to climb. Man they're so small it was great to just watch.

The above pic was our last bear siting and this mama bear had three slightly larger cubs. I snuck around the field through a glad of trees and snapped this from the edge of the field and mama bear looked right up at me. Hmmm, not too bad for like 800 feet away.

If you couldn't tell yet, I'm very much enjoying the Olympus SP 570 UZ I got last year.