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.