So the old adage goes, if you want to make God laugh, make plans? Or something. I'm too lazy to look it up.
I left you after my Body Pump workout. Blood sugar problems after a clot, yadda yadda. Thursday, I awaken to legs that didn't belong to me. Legs that had been obviously beaten with a tree trunk and then runover with a pick-up truck. Legs that I was going to have to use to run. I mean, I had made a Facebook running date. I can't break that, right?
I did my normal routine of eating peanut butter whole wheat toast and coffee with my new fave supplement, GNC Meta-Ignite. It seems to give me that extra "oompf" just when I need it (ie, about half-way through my workout). I'm always super pumped at the beginning and end of just about every workout, but that middle is tough for me. Meta-Ignite really seems to give me an edge, particularly yesterday as I was not excited at all to do any form of physical exercise ESPECIALLY exercise using my poor, abused legs.
I have no clue what I did at pump to warrant this pain.
Anyway, I was at the designated meeting spot 5 minutes early. 5 minutes later, I took off. SOLO. (Turned out it was a miscommunication, no big deal. She thought I meant next Thursday). I had planned to do 5. Meta-Ignite planned to do 15. We compromised and I did 6.2.
I ran the course of my June 9th race - a very hilly course - and beat my former time by 7 minutes. Did I mention I love Meta-Ignite?
Nevermind the fact that all of yesterday, I cried every time I had to move from sitting to standing and whimpered at every staircase. I had one of the *BEST* runs I've ever had.
My blood sugar? Not so much. I bounced all over the place yesterday. One of the things I failed to mention is that I love carbohydrates. I love bread, chocolate, chips, yogurt, fruit. Mmmm. But they really shoot my sugars to hell, so I do my best to avoid them and eat boring things like chicken and eggs and salads. Don't get me wrong, I love all that stuff, too but if you were to place a delightful salad with oodles of carrots, cucumbers, chicken, avocado and all that yumminess in front of me and ask me to choose between a huge salad and a sliver of a brownie? I'd choose the brownie. No contest.
Anyway, like I mentioned, I can't eat that stuff. But I crave it, want it, yearn for it all.the.time. So yesterday, because I was feeling so sorry for myself and all the pain and tears, I allowed myself to have some Doritos. And 3 mini-Hershey bars. And a sandwich. YES, I ate bread yesterday. White bread. The unholiest of the unholy.
And I suffered. My blood sugars were in the 260s-300s for most of the day yesterday. I also skipped out on my evening p90x workout. I think if I had done it, my legs would have fired me and found a nicer runner to work with. As for the glucose, I finally reined them back in today around noon. I ate an egg white omelet for breakfast (blood sugars hovered around 150-250 this morning). A salad with ham for lunch (blood sugars hovered around 150). And I will be eating a steak and some steamed broccoli for dinner (right now, prior to dinner, I'm hanging at 117).
Today, I slept in. I have been so exhausted lately that I needed the extra 90 minutes this morning. I'm hoping to get the p90x yoga in tonight but I've had a really bad day and a glass of wine is screaming my name. I may yogahhh then wine. That is what I plan to do, but I hope I don't jinx this one...
BTW, 11 burpees done. In heels. At the office (stuck late on a Friday).
Friday, May 18, 2012
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Training Plan, Goals and Site Clots.
One of the myriad consequences of diabetes for me is that it's almost impossible to lose weight. I am very active and eat healthfully most of the time. Granted, I do like my wine and I really do love cheeseburgers but I normally eat a balanced diet. I eat heavier on the protein, about 50% of my daily calories, and divide the rest with fat and carbohydrates. I find that this keeps my blood sugar more stable throughout the day.
But wow, the scale never seems to budge. It hasn't budged in the past 3 years, after losing most of my second daughter's "baby weight." I didn't go back to pre-baby weight with her and still cannot get there. It has become my obsession because one of the easiest ways to get faster as a runner is to weigh less.
While I do not want this blog to focus on my weight obsession (I'd rather focus on my running and diabetes obsessions), it is really tied into both running and diabetes right now. I want to be lighter and faster and I think it would be beneficial to lose 15-20 pounds as my BMI is hovering around 25.2 right now, which is currently listed as "overweight."
Which brings me to my current workout schedule. I started P90x two months ago and fizzled at the end of last month. I decided to recommit to it because I honestly feel much stronger. As a matter of fact, I did 2 pull-ups at the park last week. I have not done an unassisted pull up since middle school, damn you Presidential Fitness Test. My arms are more defined and I just really like the program, although it is exhausting. I started P90x classic routine yesterday, so I will be working out at home 6 days a week. I am also following the p90x meal plan as it is easy, I like the recipes and it is basically the same carb-protein-fat ratio that I use.
On Monday nights, I do Spin or Body Combat and on Wednesday mornings, I do Body Pump at Golds Gym. My rest day for P90x is Monday. I also run outside or at the gym on Thursday mornings and try to do at least 2 other runs during the weekend.
So, here we go, Suzanne's BLAST the last 15-20 pound plan:
Mondays "rest"/Spin or Body Combat pm
Tuesdays p90x am
Wednesdays Body Pump am / p90x pm
Thursdays Run 60 minutes am / p90x pm
Fridays p90x am
Saturdays p90x am / Run pm
Sundays p90x am / Run pm
Intense, right? So I expect results. For the next 30 days, I am also doing the 30 day burpee plan. Yesterday was 8, tonight is 9....except I forgot to do it yesterday. But I did do 8 on Monday! Regardless, tonight is 9.
As promised, this blog is about diabetes, running and other forms of exercise. So this morning, I woke up at 2:00 with a low blood sugar. I treated it and laid down on the couch to try and fall back to sleep (hubs and #2 were in bed upstairs. #1 was in her own bed, thankfully). #2 woke up screaming for me as she is a Mommy's girl so I called her downstairs to snuggle on the couch. [I get very fitful when my sugars are wonky and didn't want to disturb my poor hubs, who works overnights and only has 2 nights to sleep during the night]. So she promptly fell asleep and I watched 2 hours of Glee and the rest of the DVR'd shows I hadn't yet seen. My alarm rang at 5:30, so without a lick of sleep, I got up and checked my sugar and went to the gym.
210. Obviously, I overtreated. I bolused to correct and for my meal and trotted merrily on my way.
I worked out and it was Great! I upped my chest and back weights and really felt strong. And then my pump alarm went off from my CGM. 286, it read. That can't be right. I tested. 357. YIKES. Clot time. I put everything away and raced home to change my tubing and settings and give myself a massive bolus. It took a little over 3 hours, but I'm now at 100.
Diabetes can really ruin a great workout. Tonight is Plyometrics and 9 Burpees!!
But wow, the scale never seems to budge. It hasn't budged in the past 3 years, after losing most of my second daughter's "baby weight." I didn't go back to pre-baby weight with her and still cannot get there. It has become my obsession because one of the easiest ways to get faster as a runner is to weigh less.
While I do not want this blog to focus on my weight obsession (I'd rather focus on my running and diabetes obsessions), it is really tied into both running and diabetes right now. I want to be lighter and faster and I think it would be beneficial to lose 15-20 pounds as my BMI is hovering around 25.2 right now, which is currently listed as "overweight."
Which brings me to my current workout schedule. I started P90x two months ago and fizzled at the end of last month. I decided to recommit to it because I honestly feel much stronger. As a matter of fact, I did 2 pull-ups at the park last week. I have not done an unassisted pull up since middle school, damn you Presidential Fitness Test. My arms are more defined and I just really like the program, although it is exhausting. I started P90x classic routine yesterday, so I will be working out at home 6 days a week. I am also following the p90x meal plan as it is easy, I like the recipes and it is basically the same carb-protein-fat ratio that I use.
On Monday nights, I do Spin or Body Combat and on Wednesday mornings, I do Body Pump at Golds Gym. My rest day for P90x is Monday. I also run outside or at the gym on Thursday mornings and try to do at least 2 other runs during the weekend.
So, here we go, Suzanne's BLAST the last 15-20 pound plan:
Mondays "rest"/Spin or Body Combat pm
Tuesdays p90x am
Wednesdays Body Pump am / p90x pm
Thursdays Run 60 minutes am / p90x pm
Fridays p90x am
Saturdays p90x am / Run pm
Sundays p90x am / Run pm
Intense, right? So I expect results. For the next 30 days, I am also doing the 30 day burpee plan. Yesterday was 8, tonight is 9....except I forgot to do it yesterday. But I did do 8 on Monday! Regardless, tonight is 9.
As promised, this blog is about diabetes, running and other forms of exercise. So this morning, I woke up at 2:00 with a low blood sugar. I treated it and laid down on the couch to try and fall back to sleep (hubs and #2 were in bed upstairs. #1 was in her own bed, thankfully). #2 woke up screaming for me as she is a Mommy's girl so I called her downstairs to snuggle on the couch. [I get very fitful when my sugars are wonky and didn't want to disturb my poor hubs, who works overnights and only has 2 nights to sleep during the night]. So she promptly fell asleep and I watched 2 hours of Glee and the rest of the DVR'd shows I hadn't yet seen. My alarm rang at 5:30, so without a lick of sleep, I got up and checked my sugar and went to the gym.
210. Obviously, I overtreated. I bolused to correct and for my meal and trotted merrily on my way.
I worked out and it was Great! I upped my chest and back weights and really felt strong. And then my pump alarm went off from my CGM. 286, it read. That can't be right. I tested. 357. YIKES. Clot time. I put everything away and raced home to change my tubing and settings and give myself a massive bolus. It took a little over 3 hours, but I'm now at 100.
Diabetes can really ruin a great workout. Tonight is Plyometrics and 9 Burpees!!
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
About Me
I'm a runner. I'm a mom. I'm a wife, full-time employee, PhD candidate. And I have Type 1 diabetes.
I noticed there are not a lot of blogs devoted to how to manage type 1 diabetes and vigorous exercise. Most websites encourage diabetics to exercise, to walk, ride a bike, or perhaps jog for 30 minutes a day. I am a long-distance runner, I enter races and run distances from 5K's to 26.2 miles. I am even toying with the idea of ultra-running.
Yet I have struggled. I couldn't find any advice about how to balance my carb intake, my sugar spikes and my A1Cs with training and pushing my body to it's limits. So here I am.
My name is Suzanne and I am a Running Diabetic.
I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in 1989. I managed my disease as a pre-teen pretty well. I ate the right things and I was a competitive springboard diver and gymnast. And then I rebelled. Oh, how I rebelled. From ages 16-26, I smoked cigarettes. Packs and cartons of cigarettes. I drank. I partied. I stopped exercising. There wasn't just one thing that got me serious about my health and my disease. There was a cascading effect of a few life events that brought me here.
My first cousin, also a type 1 diabetic, died at age 39. He forgot to re-plug in his pump after a shower and fell asleep. He fell into a coma and died - the official cause of death was heart failure. Soon after that, I got married and oh-so-soon after that, I got pregnant. I had just quit smoking a month before I got pregnant and immediately stopped drinking. I even quit caffeine! While I was pregnant, my brother's friend, also a type 1 diabetic, died of severe hyperglycemia while on a camping/hiking trip with his father. Like so many of us diabetics know, when your blood sugar gets too high, it can mimic the feeling of a low. And that's what happened. He treated himself for a low blood sugar when really it was high. He was 28 years old.
And that was it. I got serious. I couldn't resume smoking or drinking, or at least decrease my alcohol intake. I had to start exercising. Luckily, I had started a program at the gym to lose weight before the wedding, so I was relatively fit. Through a series of "coincidences," I entered my first 5K race in September 2009.
It was awful. I hated it. I didn't do well. So I started running more, and more. And I raced another 5k, then a 10K, and on October 28, 2010, I ran the Marine Corps Marathon.
I ran it again last year.
And I'm doing it again this year.
My blood sugars and A1Cs spiked. My appetite shot through the roof and I had no idea how to fuel myself. I couldn't carbo-load like non-diabetic runners since it so adversely affected my sugar levels. And so I played around with everything. I surely don't know it all but I have a better handle on my diabetes and exercise than I did before. I'd like to use this blog to give all Diabetics (and non-diabetics) some help on their journeys. Or maybe tell some entertaining fart jokes, who knows. I'll share recipes, workouts, how I use my Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) and pump to keep my sugars in check and my energy high.
Happy Trails to you.
I noticed there are not a lot of blogs devoted to how to manage type 1 diabetes and vigorous exercise. Most websites encourage diabetics to exercise, to walk, ride a bike, or perhaps jog for 30 minutes a day. I am a long-distance runner, I enter races and run distances from 5K's to 26.2 miles. I am even toying with the idea of ultra-running.
Yet I have struggled. I couldn't find any advice about how to balance my carb intake, my sugar spikes and my A1Cs with training and pushing my body to it's limits. So here I am.
My name is Suzanne and I am a Running Diabetic.
I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in 1989. I managed my disease as a pre-teen pretty well. I ate the right things and I was a competitive springboard diver and gymnast. And then I rebelled. Oh, how I rebelled. From ages 16-26, I smoked cigarettes. Packs and cartons of cigarettes. I drank. I partied. I stopped exercising. There wasn't just one thing that got me serious about my health and my disease. There was a cascading effect of a few life events that brought me here.
My first cousin, also a type 1 diabetic, died at age 39. He forgot to re-plug in his pump after a shower and fell asleep. He fell into a coma and died - the official cause of death was heart failure. Soon after that, I got married and oh-so-soon after that, I got pregnant. I had just quit smoking a month before I got pregnant and immediately stopped drinking. I even quit caffeine! While I was pregnant, my brother's friend, also a type 1 diabetic, died of severe hyperglycemia while on a camping/hiking trip with his father. Like so many of us diabetics know, when your blood sugar gets too high, it can mimic the feeling of a low. And that's what happened. He treated himself for a low blood sugar when really it was high. He was 28 years old.
And that was it. I got serious. I couldn't resume smoking or drinking, or at least decrease my alcohol intake. I had to start exercising. Luckily, I had started a program at the gym to lose weight before the wedding, so I was relatively fit. Through a series of "coincidences," I entered my first 5K race in September 2009.
It was awful. I hated it. I didn't do well. So I started running more, and more. And I raced another 5k, then a 10K, and on October 28, 2010, I ran the Marine Corps Marathon.
I ran it again last year.
And I'm doing it again this year.
My blood sugars and A1Cs spiked. My appetite shot through the roof and I had no idea how to fuel myself. I couldn't carbo-load like non-diabetic runners since it so adversely affected my sugar levels. And so I played around with everything. I surely don't know it all but I have a better handle on my diabetes and exercise than I did before. I'd like to use this blog to give all Diabetics (and non-diabetics) some help on their journeys. Or maybe tell some entertaining fart jokes, who knows. I'll share recipes, workouts, how I use my Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) and pump to keep my sugars in check and my energy high.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)