Confidence

Back in the explorer mode today as I continue to look for new places to run or at least new routes. It struck as I was running today that I really had no idea how far I was going to run and I really didn't care. Whether the run was 8 miles or 16 I knew I wasn't in any danger of not making it. Simply put all this training has given me the confidence I need to run solid race.

Today's run was truly fun for me as I've had alot on my mind, children and work will do that, and it allowed me to clear my head a little. That's one of the hidden benefits of running and also one of the dangers. Sometimes you get in such a zone that you start to lose yourself in the run only to be awakened by a very alert driver honking their horn when you run into traffic. Yes this has happened to me in the past which is why I do my best to avoid major streets.

The weather is also getting great for running, nice and cool. While I'm sure we'll get one or two more 90 degree days, Chicago weather you gotta love it, fall is approaching.

Well that's about all for today - have a great start to your weekend- after all tomorrow is Friday.

Setting a personal best

Although I have never been overly concerned with speed and what time I run the race in - I would like to set a personal best in New York. So far I'm pleased with what my average pace has been. The big concern as I head for the home stretch is to avoid any major injury over the next few weeks.

Basically I am race ready and have just one more long run (15+ miles) left to do. After that each week leading up to race day is nice easy runs and nothing longer than 10 miles. I will not run at all the week of the race and let my body heal up.

Thanks to all my tools I will have enough information prior to race day to plan my insulin delivery rates.

So for now I'm just enjoying myself and trying not to get over anxious.

Always interesting to try new places

You know you've been training awhile when you start looking for new places to run - as much as I like certain trails or routes it can get boring running in the same areas all the time - so today I headed to a totally different area for a nice change of pace and scenery

With just six weeks to go I'm just about ready - bought my race day shoes already and will break them in gently over the next six weeks - besides one more nice long run all that's left is staying in shape and carb load

Hope everyone has a great week

Take a look

As promised I have taken the data from two of my devices - the Dexcom CGM and the Garmin GPS - to give you a graphical look at what my sugar levels do during a long run - in the next day or so I will combine the Dexcom and OmniPod data - but for the time being lets look at what happened.

As you can see by the chart my glucose level when I began my run was at 153 - honestly this is a little low for a long run but I knew I had the Dex4 instant glucose with me so I wasn't to worried about going low. Basically I have highlighted where my levels on the hour and at the end of the run- based on my pace that day you can safely assume I ran about 5 miles or so every hour - a few things are obvious here

1. My levels go down the longer I run (almost forgot the weather was great 54 degrees when I started)

2. After about 10 miles my levels appear to be steady

3. Thank goodness I carry Dex4 instant glucose

As I pointed out during yesterday's post this data can lead to over analysis - one thing I will try on my next long run is changing my basal rate (this is amount of insulin my OmniPod delivers on a regular basis) - currently my pod is set to deliver 1.10 units of insulin per hour - based on what the Dexcom device is telling me I could change it so my basal rate decreases every hour until the run is over -this would prevent me from getting too low

Right now I'm still experimenting as I don't have enough data to fully understand if this is what my body does on a consistent basis- like I've said before when you have diabetes no two days are exactly alike - who knows it could be 73 degrees when I start my next long and my beginning levels might be 190

Whatever the conditions the one thing I do know is I feel great and ready for race day

Why Diabetes Can Be Maddening

The more I play with all this data I have the more I realize just how complex controlling my diabetes can be. Reviewing my Dexcom sensor readings for my long run last Sunday I noticed that I was basically fine for the first hour or so and then dropped to levels below where I should be. During long runs I try and hydrate every two miles - I start with water at miles 2 and 4 - then move to Gatorade at 6 and 8 - then alternate water/Gatorade

I also carry the liquid version of Dex4 -which provide instant glucose - normally I know when my levels are dropping but there are times when I run well I get in a zone and just become oblivious to what's going on - in reality I really should take my Dex4 before I get too low so I can maintain a good pace

Not to be forgotten is my OmniPod - which gives me the ability to change my insulin delivery rate - now that I know how my body reacts to a long run I can program my Pod to deliver less insulin at different times during the run

But it doesn't stop there - also factoring into all this are things like the weather - cooler is better - what I ate the night before or that morning - stress - etc. Honestly there is no straight line when it comes to diabetes - 2 plus 2 does not always equal 4

I must admit that with all this new data it makes the process even more crazy - I have one more long run scheduled before race day and I will compare notes with my first long run - hopefully I can maximize all the various factors and have a great run - then again with all this data I might just end up with a major headache

Getting the most of all my tools

While it took me some and I'm not quite there yet - all the various tools I use are beginning to yield some great data.

Let's start with the Dexcom continuous glucose sensor - after a rough start I finally wore a sensor for seven straight days - and let say the data was enlightening - having never seen how my sugars react during a run it was interesting to see how they reacted during my 20 miler this past Sunday. The receiver that records my readings connects to my computer via a USB port so I can download all the data- I can use the software that Dexcom provides - which is pretty good - or I can export the data to Excel which for me is even better

My next step was to take the data from my OmniPod PDM (the device that controls my pod) and add it to the spreadsheet - this revealed several things - first since I manually check my levels before I eat the readings from the meter that's part of the PDM give me some idea how accurate the Dexcom device is - so far it appears fairly accurate - next I enter my carbs and how much insulin I took with each meal - this will give me some idea how my body reacts to different food groups and whether or not my settings are correct

The next step is to add the data from my Garmin GPS device - my goal is to see how my levels change during a run - the Garmin software is also pretty good so I can track what my levels where as move from one mile to the next

I realize this a great deal of data so I'm hoping to put it all on one nice neat graph that I can share with everyone.

Although I am only two-thirds through the process I am already learning more about my diabetes - which is the ultimate goal

7 weeks to go.

Well 7 weeks from today it will be all over and today was an indication that I'm ready. A solid long run under what I hope is race conditions. All I could think about today was what race day will be like.

Right now I'm debating how to run the race - should I go for 26 straight or divide the race into two 13 mile runs - at this point I'm leaning towards trying for 26 straight. All season long I've been shooting for running longer distances without stopping. I feel good and don't want to get ahead of myself but I'm seriously considering going for it.

With just 7 weeks to go I plan on just one more long run before the race. I think I'll make my decision after my next long run. Either way I'm excited and looking forward to race day.

Getting Ready

The last few days haven't exactly worked out as planned. Was hoping to get in one more mid range run before my long run on Sunday but work and family commitments got in the way. Not to worry the forecast looks great and I'm ready.

Hard to believe but the race is just 7 weeks from Sunday. Will continue the mileage build for about two or three weeks, then begin decreasing mileage up to race week.

The one thing I don't want to do is become over anxious, peaking too soon is a major no no.

Nothing on Saturday expect watching some college football, then a nice long run Sunday - see you then.

Getting race ready

There comes a time when you realize that your body is nearly race ready and it's time to start planning for race day. That's the stage I'm at now - although I'm not 100% race ready I'm about 90%. This is the time I start to think seriously how I will run the race - you just don't run 26.3 miles without a plan - that would be like a football going into the Superbowl without looking at game film from their opponent.

I also try and visualize how I will run the race which is why I'm really looking forward to this weekend. I only have a few more long runs and the weather this weekend looks to be close to what the average temps are in NY during race week - by doing a nice long run in conditions similar to race day will give me great info on what I need to work on the last few weeks of training.

I can feel the excitement building with each run.

Well that's all for today - for all my fellow tribe members I would like to wish you a happy and healthy New Year.

Great to be back

While I enjoyed San Diego it's great to be back for the final stretch. Just 8 weeks to go before race day and the weather here is turning for the better. Today was great 68 degrees and nice cool breeze - barley broke a sweat and felt great. It's really nice not to be sweating before your even start running. As much as I like summer there is no better running weather than late summer early fall.

Looking forward to the next few weeks, the off days in San Diego reinvigorated my body. With minimal travel over the next two months I should get in all the runs I need and be ready for race day.

See you tomorrow.

Almost Sorry I'll Be Traveling

After another solid run today I'm almost sorry that I'll be traveling tomorrow and won't get a run in. I'm hoping that while I'm in San Diego I'll get in at least one run. This is the great thing when you get in a groove, you actually look forward to each days run.

I must say there's almost no better feeling when you running well. This year really has been great, while pain has been with me from time to time I haven't had any major pain. This is really a switch for me. Not sure if it's because I've been taking Joint Relief but I must say that since in my previous marathon runs I didn't take any supplements I have no other factor to attribute this too.

I must admit that I when I started taking Joint Relief I wasn't a big believer in supplements. But I figured supplements are no worse than chicken soup - like my Mom says not sure if it helps but it sure can't hurt either. Another lesson learned - Never doubt what Mom says.

Holiday and Travel make for a strange week

This week will be short and sweet as I will be heading to San Diego to watch my beloved Bears take on the Chargers. Hopefully I'll get in a run or two, but I've never been very good about running when I'm on business travel or vacation. Running away from home is tough - I don't know the routes and I really don't like packing all my gear.

With about eight weeks to go and running well a few days off aren't critical at this point. That's one thing great about starting my training earlier than normal - had I been running the Chicago Marathon which is just a month away - there is no way I could take off four or five days this close to race day - typically I follow a 16 week program that takes me all the way to race day - this year I started earlier and have actually been training for over 13 weeks with about 8 weeks to go - This month I will continue my mileage build with no long runs under 15 miles - If all goes well I'll be race ready by early October and can spend the month of October doing speed work and staying in shape

Hope everyone had a great holiday - will post again tomorrow

A Labor of Love

This past weekend was another reminder of the hard work runners go through to get their runs in. I was all psyched and ready to go for a nice long run on Saturday - figured I would get in 18 or 20 miles - rest up and then go watch the Fighting Illini, my Alma mater, play some football. I basically have two choices when it comes to long runs, Busse Woods or The Half Day Trail - both places allow me to run without worrying about traffic and have plenty of water available and restrooms.

So on Saturday I decided to run the Half Day Trail - unfortunately due to the heavy rains we had the trial was still under water and as hard I tried I couldn't find a path that would allow me to get the run in - I basically ended up running in circles trying to find a dry path - so instead of running 18 r 20 - the day turned out to be a warm up run for Sunday

Not wanting to take any chances it was off to Busse Woods for a nice long run - I really like running at Busse as I see all the runners getting ready for the Chicago Marathon which is only a few weeks away. Seeing these people is a reminder of just how dedicated you have to be to run a marathon - it truly is a labor of love.

I also have some good news - my friend with breast cancer came through her surgery well - although she won't be able to run this year I fully expect her to be back at next year - she knows the road won't be easy but she has a great attitude and strong family support - as much as I enjoyed my runs this weekend seeing her with a good attitude was the best part of my whole weekend