Marine Corp Marathon Here I come..

It is official. As of 11:55 am yesterday I am registered to run the MCM '11. This is exciting and scary at the same time. I will have 247 days as of today before the event to train and mentally prepare. This will be my first ever marathon. I am hoping to be able to complete it in around 4:30:00. That would be grand but I am really striving to just complete it.
I will have my wife and dog there and possibly my parents if they can come. This event is huge. So huge the registration usually closes in the first week. I am proud to be running for Hiddenwounds.org and am looking to recruit runners for this event. I love my marine corp and want to help all those who served and are still serving.
I have not been struggling at all with my Diabetes since I have gotten a pump. My sugars still drop when I run but not as extreme. If I run for longer than 30 minutes I will disconnect the pump. I typically take about 25 carbs before the run and 25-30 carbs every 30-45 minutes after I start. I have started a supplement to help my muscles recover. I am taking Elite Recoup by Dymatize. The blue raspberry is very tasty and I am starting to see a difference.
I worked out with Dan from Hiddenwounds.org this past Sunday. He kicked my butt as well as his own but I nearly blew chunks after the run. We did sprints for about 50 yds with 8 reps. The first 5 were great after 6 I was getting dizzy and after 8 started coughing and dry heaving. My hamstrings were sore the next day but it is all worth it if I can improve.
I will be running another 10K event this Saturday and hope to finish in under an hour. Wish me luck.

Hidden Wounds

Well since my last post I have seen a Dietitian, received an insulin pump, and ran my first race. The craziest thing happened; on m first race, my pump ran out of insulin. It was beeping like mad. Every 5 minutes that thing was going off. One of the runners that it was a heart monitor. To top it off I lost my driver license. What a race! Well at least I stayed true to my pace. I finished 11th from last but it was a 10K and my first race.

I have found a non-profit group to run for. I have a friend from a former employer that is working for the Hidden Wounds organization.  The mission of Hidden Wounds, a non-profit organization, is to provide peace of mind and comfort for military personnel suffering from combat stress injuries such as PTSD, TBI, and other psychological post war challenges until such time as the Veteran’s Administration or the Veteran’s Affairs agencies are prepared to deliver long-term services to our clients through government programs.  Hidden Wounds also seeks to save lives through fund raising efforts that allow Hidden Wounds to provide counseling and act as a liaison between counselors, veterans, and families, and to provide publicity to dispel fear, lower the stigma, and grant the will to overcome emotional and psychological challenges to our military heroes. hiddenwounds.org
They are joining up with another organization to run the Cooper River Bridge Run. I will start training with one of the guys next week. I am not sure what his pace might be but I will try to keep up never the less.

I had a run today that before I started my BG was 83, I consumed 25 gm of carbs and after the run my BG was 94. The run was only 3.12 miles so I will need to consume 50 carbs during a 10K. I will need also to have a high carb meal before a race. I have been cleared through my doctor to race a marathon and am counting down the days til the Marine Corp Marathon.

New Year

First run of the new year 2.2 miles. I wasn't able to record he run due to having new shoes. I put the Nike sensor in my shoe laces but fell out before the first quarter mile. As soon as I turned the corning Nike was saying workout paused. I didn't have a clue that the sensor was gone. I tried to resume it but it couldn't find the sensor. So I continued to run, about a mile down the road I decided to look at my foot and noticed it was missing. Well at lease I got to run. The new shoes feel great. I got Mizuno running shoes and they are very cushioned.
I had a great Christmas full of friends and family. I met with an animus rep on the Thursday after Christmas and it was awesome. I am really looking forward to getting a pump and being free of worry. I will be getting one at the beginning of the next week and then it will be official. I will be a pumper. I looked at the omni pod but I like the freeness of the animus pump. I will not have to remember the remote. That is the last thing I need, something to remember.

Leaps and Bounds

I have made some great progress. I was able to run 6.7 miles Tuesday with little walking. When ever I walked it was because my muscles got sore but my recovery was quick. This is so encouraging, being able to do that now will make it easier to train for the marathon.
I checked my sugar before starting and was at 98 I consumed a total of 68 carbs during the run and after I ended with my sugar at 123. I consumed a little too much but better safe than sorry. Thursday I a going to do intervals training to help me to speed up my pace. I will also be seeing a dietitian in the next month or so to help me figure out a balance between my distance running and diabetes. I have read so many articles about running that tell me to eat more complex carbs but as a diabetic I have been told to cut carbs out as much as possible. I know carbs are what fuels runners but with my body not absorbing it as it should I need direction. Do I still need to consume as much? I have also contacted DESA, diabetes exercise and sports association, they are going to forward my questions to an athlete. I thought that was awesome that they emailed me and are going to ask an athlete on my behalf.
I do apologize for any typos and punctuation errors. I am writing from my iPhone while waiting for my car.

Prepairing to Train

I have been reading up on many different things when it comes to type 1 and distance running. Much of what I read was finding the right balance for you while you train to prepare you for the race. The best Article was from NHS choices "Diabetes and sport." Gary Blakie, now 23, was 12 when he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. It hasn’t stopped him from representing the UK in the World Triathlon Age Group Championships.Surely diabetes made it difficult to train for serious athletics?
"I got into triathlon through running. I did my first triathlon in 2001, and progressed from there.
"During training the main problem is managing your blood sugar levels around your regime. When I started, there wasn’t a lot of information available, so I did a lot of guessing. I experimented with insulin injections and foods at different times around exercise. I always aimed to keep my blood sugar level steady throughout a period of exercise.
"I learned a lot about how my body responds to different types of activity and different foods. One hour of swimming, for example, tended to lower my blood sugar level by about 3mmol/l. So if I began the swim with a level of around 5.6, I guessed that I'd need something to eat halfway through.
"As anyone with diabetes knows, if your blood sugar becomes too high you’ll feel tired and thirsty, and your heart rate will rise a lot. If it's too low you’ll have very little energy. Neither are any good if you want to run, swim or cycle as fast as possible."
While this might seem like a lot of work, would be worth it at the finish line. The bottom line is take care of your body and your body will take care of you.
P.S. 1 mmol/l = 18 mg/dl for those wondering what Gary Blakie's blood glucose was.

Inspiration with Progression

I must have been crazy to run yesterday. It was 3? degrees and wind gust up to 20 mph but I did it with my fastest 5K yet. 32'33" I was amazed on the last stretch what time I was at. I am happy to see the progress I have made on Nike+ website. I would have to say having that tool for tracking my runs is going to be great for training. It is a great inspiration to come home from a run and log it into Nike+

I have recently found a running group locally that I will run with Wednesday night. The local company Strictly Running puts on these group runs. I look forward to running with them I just hope I am not the slowest. I can't wait til I am back to my Marine Corp pace of 22 minutes for 3 miles.

Please Check out NHS Couch to 5K at http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/c25k/

Marine Corp MARATHON, Here I Come?

I cannot believe I am even thinking about this. I have barely ran a 5K and haven't run any kind of 5K race and Here I am thinking about running the Marine Corp Marathon October, 2011. I would have to say it is my wife's fault. She was looking at a magazine I recently bought which has the 2011 Marathon Guide. After reading the details of the race, not the distance, she thought it would be awesome to see me finish and have a 2nd Lieutenant drape a metal around my neck. I agree with her that would be amazing but incredibly hard. I have got my work and research cut out for me. I have got to find a balance with my diabetes and distance running. I am going to have to see a Nutritionist in the next couple of weeks to see what I can do to better improve my diet with my exercise.
Yesterday I was able to complete Week 3 Day 1 without any issues. I was tired after the run and wasn't smiling as much as I was during Week 2 but I am glad I skip Day 2 and 3 of Week 2. I have really enjoyed the couch to 5K podcast NHS has put on iTunes. Having someone to tell you when to jog and when to recover is really helpful and motivating. Now I need a 5K to Marathon plan to help me prepare for October 30, 2011. One foot in front of the other and one day at a time. I think sometime in January or February I will need to run my first race to get me on the right track for my Goal.