I think it's about time I address this (with my basic knowledge), especially because, as I've mentioned before - if I can run a marathon, anyone can.
So, how do you run a marathon with diabetes. Well, firstly, let me express the fact that is not as hard as you may imagine - it just takes a little bit of thought and planning ahead of time. The one thing I have done from the beginning is my fanny pack (the one I hope will someday be a real runner's belt so I don't have to deal with the bouncing and chaffing).
In my fanny pack I carry the following items (and yes it's a pain and heavy and generally annoying, but you gotta do what you gotta do): 1 glucometer, my driver's license and health card, 3 or 4 hard candies, 1 granola bar and my cell phone. I also carry my iPod and keys, but that's unrelated. Keep in mind too, I'm on an insulin pump. Otherwise I might be inclined to carry a syringe and insulin in case of an unexpected, but perfectly plausible, high reaction.
Glucometer - I have yet to need to test my sugar on a run, but when the distances get longer, it will be a must. So, I carry the glucometer as a precaution and for training to carry it on me during my run. I'm sure this brings up some questions about how I test while in motion (like drinking water and drowning on dry land), but I'll deal with that later.
Driver's license and Health Card - God forbid I get into real trouble on my run and pass out on the trail. With these two cards on my person, I won't become a 'Jane Doe' at the hospital. Phew!
Hard Candies and Granola Bar - If you have never met a diabetic, allow me to cover this in brief. Exercise or too much insulin causes a diabetic to go 'low' (Scientifically: hypoglycemic). Lows result in confusion, dizziness, headaches, weakness, fatigue, and possibly fainting, seizures, comas, or death. A hard candy has enough sugar in it to give a little burst of sugar (not so much to swing me all the way to Sugar High Mountain) that will keep me going for about 10 minutes. That's just enough to have that granola bar that I'm carrying, which has a bit of sugar too, but primarily, fat that will take longer to burn. This means I can most likely finish my run, or at least get home safely.
Cell Phone - This is a no-brainer. If I'm a couple km from home, feeling weak, and out of snacks, I need to phone someone to come get me, whether it's a cab, a friend, or an ambulance.
Ok, so back to that testing in motion thing.
Really, I don't know how it's done myself. Although I do have some skill in doing the whole thing in my hands, I'd be very afraid of dropping the whole thing. Whether I drop it by accident or not is my little secret.
Anyway, I'm just skipping the whole testing in motion thing. Call it cheating if you want. Instead, thanks to my insulin pump, I can put another needle in my body and have my blood sugar tested automatically every 3 minutes for several days. Pretty cool, I know. The sensor talks to my pump, so if I go low, my pump will beep at me. Basically, when I get to the longer distances, my sensor will become like a little coach on my shoulder telling me to drink some electrolytes or something.
Other than that, I always eat before I go out. I know this is against the general rule of thumb since eating before exercise causes cramps. I usually wait about half an hour to an hour though, and once my distance gets longer, I may wait longer before going out. Haven't had a cramp yet!
Blood sugar wise, I try to be over 5.5 before I go out. My normal range is 4.0-7.0, so I'm giving myself a little cushion to work with before I may go low. Some may say it's better to be high and burn the sugar. This I don't agree with. I find if my sugar is high, my muscles cramp, so I won't want to run, firstly. Secondly, being high is a bad thing for my long-term health. So, I say it's better to stay within the range, but away from the low end.
After my run, I usually have a snack to be safe, and reduce the base amount of insulin coming into my system for the next hour.
Diabetes-wise, that's about it! When I'm actually out there, on race day, I know I'll be drinking lots of Gatorade to keep me going. Like I said, not much to it really.
But remember, if you aren't a diabetic, look at all the stuff you DON'T have to do when you're on your run, and tell me that it's too difficult.
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