Parkrun

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JonathanGi

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I have been a Type 1 diabetic for 57 years. I would like some tips to allow to run a 24 minute Parkrun without my blood sugar spiking. I know it's adrenaline et cetera but it's really annoying!
 
JonathanGi said:
I have been a Type 1 diabetic for 57 years. I would like some tips to allow to run a 24 minute Parkrun without my blood sugar spiking. I know it's adrenaline et cetera but it's really annoying!
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Hi @JonathanGi - have you tried running whilst fasted? If I'm playing squash (40 minutes, high intensity, a bit like park run), I just take basal insulin and drink tea / water ahead of the game. My levels stay remarkably flat and mean I can have a big breakfast and 2/3 the normal insulin when I get home!
 
JonathanGi said:
I don't eat before Parkrun. I always have to have some insulin before I start. I actually have more insulin and about the same carbs on Parkrun mornings.
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I'm relatively new to the condition (6 months) and haven't had to deal with the shifting goal posts as I'm sure you have over the years. Without meaning to sound daft, 24 minutes for a 5k is quite quick and I'm sure I'd struggle to do it - have you tried running more slowly to see if that has an effect? If I have a really hard game of squash, my BG almost always increases / spikes whereas if I'm just having a knockabout it usually falls quite quickly. You've probably thought about this already...just trying to offer my own experience 🙂
 
For a 66 year old - yes, a 24 minute Parkrun is reasonably quick. So, I assume, like you when you are trying hard at squash it's a combination of anaerobic exercise and stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline.
This tends not to happen when I am riding the bike - it's amazing how much I can eat when I have ridden 250 miles in a day!
But does anyone know how to manage the, sometimes rather prolonged, spike?
My numbers are very low. Last HbA1c was 37.
 
It's a strange condition. I think you're doing well to continue with sports and exercise. Many don't.
 
About 12. But it makes me feel so nauseous. I think I need to stop running and go back to the bike!
 
I know this is probably a strange suggestion but have you tried exercising for longer? Maybe cycle too and/or from the park run.
The way I understand it, when we start exercising, our liver does that really friendly thing of dumping glucose to give us energy. As we exercise for longer, our body (possibly muscles but don’t quote on that) start using insulin more efficiently. As a result, at the start of exercise, our BG can rise but, as we keep going, it can then start to fall.
 
I sometimes cycle to Parkrun as it's only about 8 miles away. I also run another slow lap when I finish, because you are correct, in that longer exercise times should be BG down. I appreciate that adrenaline and other stress hormones are playing their part. Maybe I'll have to put up with a bit of a spike.
 
JonathanGi said:
About 12. But it makes me feel so nauseous. I think I need to stop running and go back to the bike!
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That’s a pretty reasonable spike - I was expecting you to say 16+. If the spike is short-lived, you might just have to put up with it.

Slightly off-topic, but do you really cycle 250 miles in a day?
 
However, longer exercise times don't always work for me either. I ran Cambridge half marathon last year on the same insulin and ate only one Weetabix and half a banana. I had nothing to eat until 7 hours after finishing.
 
Inka said:
That’s a pretty reasonable spike - I was expecting you to say 16+. If the spike is short-lived, you might just have to put up with it.

Slightly off-topic, but do you really cycle 250 miles in a day?
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Yes. Quite a few times. I had to eat so much it would have been cheaper to drive a Maserati that far.
 
If your spike is predictable you may want to bolus for that and that alone, I need to do this now for reasonable length rides (though not 250 miles, yet!)

What would your BG look like if you ate the same breakfast and didn't exercise? Are you reducing bolus for what you've eaten (which I used to do, but now don't tend to do.)

I must admit I'm happier with trending a bit higher initially simply so I don't need to bother to eat so early in a ride. I don't much recent running experience, but I started today and will report back if I have something useful to add.
 
JonathanGi said:
Yes. Quite a few times. I had to eat so much it would have been cheaper to drive a Maserati that far.
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While it's OT for the thread, do you reduce basal, do you bolus at all? I'm curious as to what you find works.

My long rides tend to be 220km or thereabouts, so quite signifcantly shorter.
 
Riding the bike is different. It's slow and steady and some restful bits and will always put my BS down. Parkrun rarely does. I need a way of not finishing with a high BS. I like to start with a BS of less than 5 but I know after 24 minutes it'll be over 10. I always have a slow and steady extra lap which sometimes begins to lower it.
 
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