Training for the Men's 4-Miler Race 2013, Charlottesville, Virginia

I'm back, and training for this year's Men's 4-Miler Race on June 16, Father's Day. I hope a lot of Charlottesville area men will sign up. It's a great race, and a worthy cause (men's health initiatives at the University of Virginia Medical School). My overall health has been very good. Last A1C was 5.9. How are you doing? I hope this post finds you in good health, and that walking and/or running are making a difference in your overall improvement in blood sugar control and mental health! Stay safe out there. Rob

Brand new pair of Nike Men's Running Pants for sale:

Consistency is the key

I have been following the terrific running podcast "Phedippidations" for many years, and have even recently been enjoying his short(er) diatribes called "Intervals." Right now, you can hear it in Steve Runner's voice: Even Steve is struggling with keeping his running consistent. We've all been there. For me, my "regular" runs became more inconsistent after finishing a very satisfying 13.1 mile race in early December. I backed off on my running on purpose, in part to recover, in part to see how my aging body would feel after a demanding schedule and race, in part to literally "enjoy" the holidays after obsessing for 3.5 months on getting all of my runs in four days a week. But now I am at the point where the weather is warming, the days are getting longer, and I need to set some new, if even modest, running goals for myself. So I signed up for the Martha Jefferson 8K on March 10 and have programmed my "training" schedule backwards. It is not a long race, but a great fundraiser and one of the largest local races in Charlottesville I have yet to run. Depending on how my training is going, I'll either run it "just for fun" or I'll let'er rip on race day. Steve Runner always encourages us to "pick a race." It's great advice. Once you do, you'll realize that the most important part of your running is not how you do on race day, but how consistent you are in getting your runs in amongst your daily schedule. Make running a priority. Put it in your calendar as a standing appointment. Make running as fundamental as eating and sleeping. I look forward to reporting back on my progress, and giving everyone a pre-race assessment. Until then, check your blood sugars and hit the trails with some sport beans and water at the ready.

Today is my New Year's start at keeping healthy for another year! Last year was my best running year thus far, so my hope is to be able to repeat that experience. Keeping the pounds off is at the top of my list. How about you? Are you setting some reasonable goals to make 2012 ear your healthiest year yet?

The Men's 4-Miler, June 19, 2011

Well friends, the new race course and event were fantastic. On Father's Day this month, about 500 men in Charlottesville lined up at 7:30am in the parking lot of Scott Stadium at the University of Virginia to run the revamped (men's only) 4 mile race. My personal record for this event (back when it was held in Free Union) is 31:58. I was nervous about the new course, hills, etc. but what slowed me down more than anything was the humidity. It was fairly brutal, at 90 percent humidity and air temps of 72 degrees. My finish time was 32:48, or an 8:12 pace per mile. Not bad, but not a personal record. I started out well, with a mile 1 split of 8:05 and a mile 2 split of 7:59, but then I lost a lot of steam. (Note about the course: While the reports were that the first two miles are slightly uphill [true] and the last two miles downhill [untrue]. Some hill training at miles 3-4 would definitely help. My final two miles were slower than the first two, not exactly a recipe for a PR. But what a great event. Here in Charlottesville, the Women's 4-Miler is such a mega-event, selling out in 48 hours. It's nice to see the men improving on their participation, and for proceeds of the race going to the Department of Urology at the UVA Medical School for prostate cancer research and overall support of men's health initiatives. Hope to see more of you next year. Who knows? Maybe the men's race will become the super mega-event like the women's race!

I'M BACK!

After a long respite from blogging, I'm back. It is 10 days before the Men's 4-Miler race here in Charlottesville, a wonderful event that I would not miss. Injuries are minimal to non-existant at this stage. Yoga could be the missing link in my running lifestyle. A couple of quick tips that come from listening and reading from other people who know diabetes management and running much better than I do:
1) Hydrate. It's hot out there already (heat index today in Crozet is 105). It is almost impossible to drink too much water, so drink it all during the day so that even if you run in the early morning, you will not dehydrate during your runs of one hour or less. More than one hour? Take water with you.
2) Practice breathing. Tara Stiles, yoga guru, inspires us each day to learn that a good, deep breath helps your body relax. Lord knows life is stressful out there, so add some routine to your days where you practice being quiet, breath deeply, and let go. If you add yoga positions to that, all the better. Check out her website at www.tarastiles.com

Anterior Tibialis Tendinitis

My running the past two weeks has been inconsistent, due to a recurring and extremely painful left lower leg injury. I have been trying to diagnose it myself, and think I've found the answer (isn't the interweb wonderful?). I think I have something called Anterior Tibialis Tendinitis, most likely caused by an extremely tight soleus muscle. I should have kept massaging the soleus in both legs during the latter stages of training for the Charlottesville 10-Miler. By restarting my soleus-targeted massaging (using the wonderful devise by www.tptherapy.com) the pain has started to subside. I ran 6 miles yesterday virtually pain-free, and hope to rebuild slowly and maintain the massaging 2-3 times per day throughout my next stages of training. My fingers are crossed in hoping that the pain will stay away, and I can continue to run throughout the summer and fall.

Trail Running

My new favorite love? Trail running. This week I ran three 4-mile loops, mostly groomed trails near our house, and my knees and joints are quite happy. There are so many advantages to "going off road":
1) No traffic
2) Nature in abundance
3) Softer and kinder surfaces
4) Body works on twists and turns of trails, thus strengthening the "support" muscles not often exercised when running on straight pavement surfaces
5) You must slow it down, which has its benefits.
I encourage you to hit the trails this weekend and give it a try. This month's "Trail Runner" magazine (May 2010) is dedicated to beginner trail runners, so pick it up and give it a whirl.

Running For Fun

I am focused on running for fun right now and I must tell you it is, well, fun. I have a schedule that is fairly loose, running four days a week and keeping it around 18 miles per week. Last Saturday, I biked to Mint Springs Park (about 4.5 miles one way) and ran 3.5 miles of trails (very slowly) then biked back for a total of nine miles. It felt good to do something different. I am also running more miles "off-road." Mt blood sugars have been a little irregular, but I attribute that to too much snacking than anything else. Happy spring running, everyone!

Recovering

Dear fellow runners and people managing diabetes: It is now ten days since the ten-miler, and I feel good. My recovery runs have been fine, following the advice of Runner's World magazine so I am running four days a week, but using slow durations runs (20, 30, 20, 30, 30, 40, 45, 50 minutes over two weeks) as my guidepost. I have not been running for distance or speed, just easing in and listening to my body. The body has not complained too loudly, and the soreness I feel is not race related, at least that's what I think. I will begin building back slowly and maintaining my running, but I might mix in some combination trail biking and trail running to spice things up. I definitely feel better when I run on softer surfaces. Looking forward to watching the live streaming of Monday's Boston Marathon. I'd like to see Ryan Hall win in the men's division. He is awesome. Sorry that Kara Goucher is not running this year, but maybe we'll see her again in Boston before too long.

The Charlottesville 10-Miler Race

Friends, family and colleagues have all been wonderful, and politely asking me "How was your race?" I have hesitated in answering because I'm not yet sure. The race itself is a wonderful event, great atmosphere, well organized, a true fundraiser for the local food shelters, etc. But the course itself? It's brutal. The hills are sneaky tough, but I ran them fairly well, never stopping at any point in the race. So here is a summary of some race stats: Pre-race blood glucose was 262 (a little high from eating a light breakfast and purposely not over-bolusing two hours before race-time), post-race glucose was 122 using a 50% of normal basal rate for 90 minutes. I finished the race with a chip time of 1:30:07, about 2.5 minutes below my training target rate. The course measured 10.15 miles on my GPS watch, which leads me to believe the course is a tad longer than 10 miles. I am sore. Next time I run the race, I will bring my own small water bottle. It is too chaotic to run by tables and attempt to drink out of cups while one is running, and it does slow one down! I am looking forward to recovery runs this week, staying on track for about 20 miles per week, and finding some new races for the fall. I might run some shorter races for fun, just to keep me honest on speed work. Happy spring everyone!

Tapering

The Charlottesville 10-miler is only three days away! My training plan calls for running 4 miles (Monday), 3 miles (Wednesday) and 2 miles (Thursday). This process of backing off my mileage is considered by many a standard method for allowing the body to be fully ready for race day without incurring injuring. The process of "tapering" also allows the body to recover a bit from the intensity of training for 18 weeks. My experience is that my legs muscles begin to "coil" up--in a good way, and they usually feel fresher and stronger on race day. Blood sugars usually run normal during this week of less intensive training. I am still doing strengthening exercises on my off-running days, and my appetite it still good--but I need to make sure I don't pack on extra pounds during the final week. If you're running this historic race, good luck and I hope to meet you at the finish line. If you are still training, hang in there. The final weeks of training are usually tough, but very satisfying during your final taper weeks.

"The Boomerang Effect" Revisited

So I am trying to learn from my past. After Saturday's successful 12 -mile run, I decided to back off my basal rate yesterday (for 24 hours) and today (for another 24 hours) to 90% of normal. This is to hedge that I do not go low with my blood sugar levels 24-28 hours after an intensive and lengthy workout. Blood sugar levels yesterday were excellent (no lows!) and so far today they are running equally good as well. I am very excited about my road race in less than two weeks. I should be in the best physical condition for a very demanding 10-mile course. I have been training for the past 16 weeks, and last week I ran 28 miles total--my largest weekly mileage ever. Good luck with your own training and diabetes management.

The Dangers of "The Boomerang Effect"

On Saturday, I ran 11 miles and felt good--both in terms of results as well as in managing my blood sugars. My pre-run reading was 137, post-run 124. I set my basal rate at 30% for 2 hours for the length of the run, running the distance in a comfortably slow aerobic heart-rate speed of 10 minutes per mile (1:50:03). But two days later, I had low blood sugar readings almost all day long, particularly later in the afternoon. At 5PM my reading was 56, so I quickly downed a Glutose tube but still felt "out of it." I was able to walk to our office vending machine to purchase a regular Coke, drank half of it, and checked myself 15 minutes later. The reading was still only 58. I finished the rest of the Coke (39 grams of total carbs!) and my blood sugar eventually got to 72. I remember my endocrinologist telling me that there is a phenomenon known as "the boomerang effect." The type-1 diabetic body can actually become hyper-efficient at utilizing insulin post long-runs, and this can continue for 24 to 48 hours. What this also means is that one should closely monitor one's blood sugars and even consider cutting back one's basal rate (I did not) for some period of time after prolonged and intensive physical activity. I had forgotten about this potential effect, so the next time I run 12 miles (in two weeks) I will lower my basal rate slightly for 1-2 days post run and reduce the risks of low blood sugars. CHECK WITH YOUR DOCTOR before making any changes in your insulin regime or increasing your exercise program. Happy running, now that spring finally looks to be on its way in Virginia.

Barefoot Running and Diabetes

I believe the hype is real. If you have ever been injured as a runner, it begs the question: "Why do nearly two-thirds of all runners in the U.S. end up injured each year?" It's not normal, right? How can an activity that is so good for you be so bad for you as well? If you haven't heard of Christopher McDougal's book "Born To Run" you simply must read it. Furthermore, Professor Daniel Lieberman at Harvard is conducting research that sheds new light on why barefoot or minimalist shoe running is more natural and, perhaps, could reduce the rate of injuries (check our barefootrunning.fas.harvard.edu). As someone with type-1 diabetes, I really need to take good care of my feet. Even though I am in excellent health, I've read the scary stuff about foot problems and it makes me leery about pounding the road with no foot protection. The best advice I can give is ASK YOUR DOCTOR. I plan to do so on my next appointment. And I am also a big fan of shortening your stride so that you can mimic the effects of barefoot running: Try landing on your mid-foot and not your heels. This has really helped my (left) knee. So, before you go whole-hog on the barefoot running thing, ask your doctor. Perhaps the soundest advice would be to at least try a minimalist shoe or running flats to help transition your feet to a more natural running form. If you are running without injury, don't change anything right now! Consider yourself lucky, and keep up the great work.

Diabetes in the Workplace and School

Let's face facts: We do not introduce ourselves to others as we should. It's normal to hide diabetes. It's a little embarrassing and a lot weird. I hid my diabetes for years, until it was too late and I ended up in the emergency room. Don't make the same mistakes.

In 1981, I had the worst insulin reaction ever. I was working as a summer employee at Kodak in Rochester, NY, and I made a few cardinal mistakes that fateful day. I woke up late, gave myself a rushed injection of insulin, and headed out the door with no breakfast or food. I was so rattled I did not realize what was about to happen. Later that morning, I was sitting down, shaking and barely able to speak. I vaguely remember a few co-workers asking me if I was okay, and I think I mumbled yes. Somehow, I was able to walk to the cafeteria, get in line for food, and by the time I was at the register I collapsed on the floor and rushed to the emergency room. A few days later, my mother had to intervene because my supervisor was concerned about my driving the mail route at work. I was transferred to a walking route. I was not fired. I was okay. But it could have been avoided. I was dumb. I was 20 years old, and I did not take seriously my responsibilities as someone with diabetes.

A few key take-aways: 1) TELL your supervisor, co-workers and everyone close to you that you have type-1 diabetes. Don't be shy. They will not judge you, and they will understand; they will not feel sorry for you, and they could help save your life. 2) ALWAYS CARRY some fast-acting GLUCOSE with you. Since that fateful day, I always have both glucose tablets in my pocket and a gel-pack in my backpack. If you are unable to check your blood-sugar and feel weird (sweating, unable to think straight, heart palpitations, etc.), eat the glucose with some water right away. Better to have your blood sugar run temporarily high, if you're unsure, than to crash low. 3) Keep glucose or carb-rich snacks in plain site for others. My wife is a master at spotting lows in me. She tells me to sit down (which, in my stuporous-state, often leads to arguing or even yelling from me! Who am I when my blood -sugar runs low?) and she faithfully gets me some fruit juice. Minutes later, I am usually back to my "normal" self.

Remember, YOU ARE A PERSON WITH DIABETES, not a diabetic. Stay strong, stay healthy, and check your blood sugar regularly.

The Devolving Human

For me, running is one of the best ways to stave off the inevitable: We are, as a species, devolving quickly into globular blobs. We spent way too much time in front of TV or computer screens, or behind the steering wheel of an automobile.

Today's Wall Street Journal article, titled "Why Evolution Is Making Us Fatter" explains it all. The science suggests that despite the recent increases in humans spending time sitting, the body is going through a separate evolutionary process that makes us less mobile. That is a terrifying idea.

I am convinced that if we rise up off "the couch of doom" (thank you Steve Runner!), we can live a better and healthier life. Evolution may have other plans for us, but we do not need to look like the adults in the movie "Wall-E" in the process.

My 4-mile run this morning was terrific. Blood sugar pre-run was 137; post was 72. One hour after breakfast 128. Stay safe out there, run long, and check your blood sugars.

The Return Of Uncle Chubby

Okay, so I am not overweight. And I do not want to get obsessive about a few pounds. But what the heck? I'm running 20-25 miles a week, with 10 mile long-runs, and my weight is going the wrong way! I cannot figure it out. Ultimately, I would like drop five pounds by race day (April 3), to increase speed and lower the strain on my hips and knees. Will Girl Scout cookies ever go away? Will I be able to resist the large scoop of peanut butter? And can I actual "just say no" to the nightly work-week glass of wine (not unless work gets a lot less stressful . . . hello, large bequest needed!). These are my challenges. I will strive to drink more water to quell the hunger and get the double benefit of staying hydrated. I will eat more fruits and vegetables. I will get more sleep. And, I will reveal my results within. Wish me luck. Run long, and check your blood sugars. [You can see my running stats at www.buckeyeoutdoors.com and look for the username runrobrun]

Work stress and running

This was a fractured week. I got my 4 miles in on Monday, but then my left knee felt weird. Then I traveled to Arlington, where the snow is still high and the trails covered in ice and snow and, hence, unsafe for running. I could have brought my Yak-Traks, but given the uncertainty surrounding my knee, I took two days off hoping to get back on-track later in the work week. Thursday and Friday I got my 6 and 3 milers in, with no apparent discomfort to the knee (knock on wood).

Work has been insane, and running had been my salvation. The time I spend running provides me with a great sense of accomplishment, peacefulness and comfort. I am really looking forward to this weekend's long run, as the temperatures look to be back to normal for this time of year in Virginia (maybe nearing 50!). Blood sugars have been running fine, and I am glad that most of the Valentine's Day cookies and candies are nearly gone.

This is a great time of year to get outdoors and get to your running. The promise of Spring will be with you in each passing mile, and the early birds will greet you with their warbles and whistles. Enjoy the trails and stay safe.

8 Mile

The goal between now and April 3 is to run eight miles every other Saturday, and on the other weekends build up my long-runs to 12. Saturday morning. All started well, until I checked my blood sugar upon wakening: 61. Rats. I treated it with a full pack of Sport Beans and fifteen minutes later added eight oz. of apple juice (with ground chia seeds). The goal today was to run eight slow miles (aerobic heart rate of 136). I really look forward to these long run days. They are not as difficult as they were a year ago, and running them slower helps me from fatiguing and getting injured. It was a great run; cold, but great. I dropped my basal rate to 30% for 90 minutes. Post-run, blood sugar was 121! Average pace: 10:05 per mile. Average heart rate: 144 bpm. Looking forward to snow melting (it will take awhile) and to keeping strong and injury-free. I should add in some core work and push-ups on my non-running days (have not done it consistently).