Legs Over Pancreas

I’m six weeks away from my next marathon, the Tel Aviv Marathon, and I have only two long runs left to run, with a half marathon in between, before I start to taper.

I’ve been training hard, running 55-60 miles a week for the past couple of months. I feel faster than I’ve ever been and stronger, too. I feel like I’m almost prepared. But as a diabetic runner there is another aspect of training, one that other runners don’t have to deal with – getting blood sugar under control, finding what to eat before and when to take energy gels during a run so blood sugar will remain at a “good” level – not too high and not too low (somewhere around 150) – while also getting enough energy to not hit the wall.

I have been much less successful in the diabetes aspect of my training and I feel very unsure of what to do. In the past, I succeeded in finding a pattern, which allowed me to run the marathon with out stopping to check my blood sugar. But this time around it’s as if each run is totally different. In some my blood sugar has stayed high allowing me only one gel (instead of two or even three) during 20+ miles. I would raise my basal rate (or lower it less), if not for the fact that during other runs my blood sugar behaved as it has before, dropping every 40-50 minutes, forcing me and allowing me to refuel with an energy gel two or three times during the run.

All of this has made me very nervous. It has also made me wish I had a CGM.

I’m hoping things will fall into place in the next few weeks and that luck will continue to be on my side. I will, of course, help luck along by being stricter with my diet and checking my blood sugar more often on the days before I run.

I know I have a new personal record waiting for me in my legs, but I’m scared my pancreas, or lack of a fully functioning one, will keep me from doing my best.