Until yesterday, I'd never taken a supplement for my diabetes.
Mind you, I munch on a small handful of pills with my breakfast. Things that promise optimum recovery, endurance, etc. The types of pills one finds when wandering the drug store aimlessly while one's wife and daughter decide whether they want to buy autumn chestnut or summer sunset to give their hair a little something-something extra.
But I've never bought anything specifically for my diabetes simply because most of those supplements say they help you even out your blood sugars, and (thankfully) I got that covered.
But then commenter Jed from yesterday suggested I add Cayenne pepper to my program, saying that he uses it and it reduces the amount of insulin he needs. Truth be told, I wouldn't care how much insulin I need, except for the crux of my argument, which was: more insulin = more weight retention = heavy marathoner. Here's a link from a guy who seems to think Cayenne fixes pretty much everything except the economy.
Because I'm very impressionable, I stopped on the way home and bought two bottles of Cayenne pepper tablets and have added it to my routine.
Thus far, all I know is my ambient temperature seems to be elevated and I appear flushed. But here's hoping it brings down the insulin and weight a little.
What supplements do you take, either for running or diabetes?
Thursday, July 09, 2009
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
Harder Than an Ironman?
I don't know about that, but I think the Vermont Death Race might be trickier to train for. Here's hoping it's a sweet t-shirt.
Thursday, July 02, 2009
Naked in the New Nike Free
I'm currently rotating three pairs of shoes: Asics Hyperspeed II racing flats, Asics DS Trainers and the Nike Lunar Trainers. I've been totally out of my orthotics for nine months now.
Shin-wise, I'm in a good place. Haven't been injured in a few months, which I chalk up to rotating shoes and keeping the miles fairly slow.
That being said, I didn't really want to buy the Lunar Trainers, but I needed a new pair of shoes a few months ago, and the New Nike Free wasn't out yet. It is, now, and I can't wait to need a pair.
That being said, I might train differently in them than the crew in this hilarious Nike spot:
Shin-wise, I'm in a good place. Haven't been injured in a few months, which I chalk up to rotating shoes and keeping the miles fairly slow.
That being said, I didn't really want to buy the Lunar Trainers, but I needed a new pair of shoes a few months ago, and the New Nike Free wasn't out yet. It is, now, and I can't wait to need a pair.
That being said, I might train differently in them than the crew in this hilarious Nike spot:
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
The Flipside of the Dexcom
So I've been on the Dex for nearly three weeks now. My blood sugars have never been in better control. The machine is mostly reliable and I've learned how to feel like less of a robot with a second thing plugged into me. I've got one complaint and it's a complaint I wouldn't have (I don't think) if I wasn't a marathoner:
I've gained 4 pounds.
Before I sound hopelessly anorexic, I know that this gives me a theoretically "ideal" BMI. I also know that my wife also likes this me at this weight and no longer feels she's "cuddling an ironing board."
But if you've run marathons, you know what I'm getting at. Carrying 4 extra pounds (on top of the 4 I planned on shedding at the start of marathon season) means I've got 8 pounds that are gunning to keep me from a sub 3:15 Allentown marathon, and the Dex is somewhat to blame.
The reality is this: insulin causes weight retention. The more insulin you use, the heavier you'll be. (In one line, I've told you what the Atkins diet is all about.)
When I went on the insulin pump, it was a far more efficient use of insulin. My insulin requirements went down and I dropped 12 pounds without doing anything.
But it stands to reason that if my A1C is 6.5, the only way to get it down lower is through a bit more insulin. And the Dexcom has been telling me when and how to take that insulin. And in return, I've found 4 pounds.
This isn't a panic post, mind you. Based on my diet and my forty miles a week, I doubt I'll gain much more. And I'd also bet you my next A1C will be substantially less than 6.5. But in the meantime, I've got 4 (ideally 8) pounds to consider. And it appears the Dex won't necessarily be helpful in shedding them.
Of course, I could start by cutting out the beer, but it's too early to get silly. In the words of Lance Armstrong, it might be time to start "skipping lunch and drinking shakes."
Oh, wait. I do that now. Marvelous.
Well there's always "light" beer.
In other news, you know what I just realized? June was the first month in I don't know when when I didn't miss a single workout. I planned on running five days per week and I did that. I moved a couple workouts around but didn't flat out miss a one. Most months life gets in the way 1-3 times, but not in June. That's mighty cool heading into a mileage-full month or two.
I've gained 4 pounds.
Before I sound hopelessly anorexic, I know that this gives me a theoretically "ideal" BMI. I also know that my wife also likes this me at this weight and no longer feels she's "cuddling an ironing board."
But if you've run marathons, you know what I'm getting at. Carrying 4 extra pounds (on top of the 4 I planned on shedding at the start of marathon season) means I've got 8 pounds that are gunning to keep me from a sub 3:15 Allentown marathon, and the Dex is somewhat to blame.
The reality is this: insulin causes weight retention. The more insulin you use, the heavier you'll be. (In one line, I've told you what the Atkins diet is all about.)
When I went on the insulin pump, it was a far more efficient use of insulin. My insulin requirements went down and I dropped 12 pounds without doing anything.
But it stands to reason that if my A1C is 6.5, the only way to get it down lower is through a bit more insulin. And the Dexcom has been telling me when and how to take that insulin. And in return, I've found 4 pounds.
This isn't a panic post, mind you. Based on my diet and my forty miles a week, I doubt I'll gain much more. And I'd also bet you my next A1C will be substantially less than 6.5. But in the meantime, I've got 4 (ideally 8) pounds to consider. And it appears the Dex won't necessarily be helpful in shedding them.
Of course, I could start by cutting out the beer, but it's too early to get silly. In the words of Lance Armstrong, it might be time to start "skipping lunch and drinking shakes."
Oh, wait. I do that now. Marvelous.
Well there's always "light" beer.
In other news, you know what I just realized? June was the first month in I don't know when when I didn't miss a single workout. I planned on running five days per week and I did that. I moved a couple workouts around but didn't flat out miss a one. Most months life gets in the way 1-3 times, but not in June. That's mighty cool heading into a mileage-full month or two.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
If You're a Runner, Buy This Book...
Hardly a out-on-the-ledge pick, as Born to Run, by Christopher McDougall is currently ranked #61 on Amazon. Still, the PR department at Knopf can't take all the credit. This book is insanely good.
Here's the deal:
The author stumbles across a mysterious trail guide who takes him to see the Tarahumara, the famed reclusive Mexican runners of the Copper Canyons. While there, he learns the secrets of their injury-free (and FUN!) running. You could stop the book there and still have it be a good read, but noooo..
From there, the author returns to the Copper Canyons to compete in a 50 mile race against the Tarahumara, Barefoot Ted, Scott Jurek, Jenn Shelton, et. al.
Not convinced? How about cameos by Joe Vigil and some of the best theories of Why We Run sprinkled in for fun? Oh yeah, there's nutrition, too, as evidenced by the two bags of chia seeds I just bought. It's been a quiet summer for running books, but this one makes up for it. It's truly 2 (or 3) great books in one.
Lancaster County connection: Though the story takes place mostly in Mexico and in other places, McDougall hangs his hat in Peach Bottom, PA.
Here's the deal:
The author stumbles across a mysterious trail guide who takes him to see the Tarahumara, the famed reclusive Mexican runners of the Copper Canyons. While there, he learns the secrets of their injury-free (and FUN!) running. You could stop the book there and still have it be a good read, but noooo..
From there, the author returns to the Copper Canyons to compete in a 50 mile race against the Tarahumara, Barefoot Ted, Scott Jurek, Jenn Shelton, et. al.
Not convinced? How about cameos by Joe Vigil and some of the best theories of Why We Run sprinkled in for fun? Oh yeah, there's nutrition, too, as evidenced by the two bags of chia seeds I just bought. It's been a quiet summer for running books, but this one makes up for it. It's truly 2 (or 3) great books in one.
Lancaster County connection: Though the story takes place mostly in Mexico and in other places, McDougall hangs his hat in Peach Bottom, PA.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Tiny Post....
I just got my Spi-belt and will never wear another belt for running again. Simply put, they're ridiculously better than anything on the market:
1. When nothing's in a pocket, the elastic pocket is sleek and small.
2. When putting things in the pocket, it expands quite wide (enough for my BlackBerry storm in one pocket and my DexCom in another)
3. It doesn't bounce. At all.
Big fan. You need something to carry your stuff? Look no further. I've used a couple other belt/bag combos but previously tended to favor my RaceReady shorts over belts and bags. I'll still use the RaceReady shorts sometimes, but a BlackBerry and a DexCom are a tight fit and you get a little bounce in the RaceReady. You get none of that with the Spi-belt, plus the feeling that everything is safe and secure. And for the fashion conscious, the Spi-belt looks way cooler than the RaceReady shorts.
I'd expect to use the Spi-belt for my average runs, and a combo Spi-belt and RaceReady shorts for the 15-20 milers requiring lots of gear and gel.
1. When nothing's in a pocket, the elastic pocket is sleek and small.
2. When putting things in the pocket, it expands quite wide (enough for my BlackBerry storm in one pocket and my DexCom in another)
3. It doesn't bounce. At all.
Big fan. You need something to carry your stuff? Look no further. I've used a couple other belt/bag combos but previously tended to favor my RaceReady shorts over belts and bags. I'll still use the RaceReady shorts sometimes, but a BlackBerry and a DexCom are a tight fit and you get a little bounce in the RaceReady. You get none of that with the Spi-belt, plus the feeling that everything is safe and secure. And for the fashion conscious, the Spi-belt looks way cooler than the RaceReady shorts.
I'd expect to use the Spi-belt for my average runs, and a combo Spi-belt and RaceReady shorts for the 15-20 milers requiring lots of gear and gel.
Chasing Ghosts
"Time and tears ago,
I chased my dreams without a single fear
That I'd ever miss the treasures of my youth.
But recently I thought I'd take a trip back through the years
And it hurts me just a bit to face the truth." - The Rarely Herd. Part of Growing Up (That Gets Me Down)
Last weekend was the 3rd Annual Solanco Alumni XC Meet (which I also waxed poetic about last year).
Highlights:
1.Last year, I lamented the fact that I was one of only 2 guys from the White Snake era. This year, we had four additional runners from my time, 3 of which I can take credit for (though Facebook certainly helped). I cajoled local legend Connie Buckwalter into coming, as well as Chris McAndrews and Alan Martin - the two guys who handed me my hat week in and week out during the late 80's.
Just seeing Chris for the first time in twenty years was a HUGE highlight. It sounded as if he hadn't changed a bit and that's one of those things I say as a sincere compliment. He cracked me up back then. He cracked me up now. Though he didn't run, he looked fit as could be and I'm hoping he comes back next year.
2.Seeing Dr. Tom Regan. In addition to being my former dentist, the good doc was the brother to Kevin Regan. Kevin was another great Solanco runner in his prime, who died in an accident far too young. An award was named in his honor for a student athlete, particularly in distance running, and I was fortunate enough to receive that award at my graduation. It's a special honor from my past and seeing the doc always reminds me of Kevin and receiving the award.
3.Seeing my high school coach. Young men may be fortunate enough to have a few people responsible for making them who they are today. Art Harrington was one of those guys for me. He was a hero to me back then and he's still a hero to me now. He was our Lombardi. We feared him and loved him at the same time. Over time, the fear factor diminishes (though it never goes away) and the love goes up proportionately.
4.Chasing ghosts. Last year, I wrote about chasing former state champion Glenn Wimer. This year, I beat Glenn. It could've been the downpour, or the fact that he's 14 years older than me, or the fact that he - like many runners including All-Americans - don't go all out in this race. Either way, I came to the line before him this year and that was kind of cool. It's the cross country version of going to an Old Timer's baseball camp and ripping a line drive off a former big leaguer. It doesn't mean you could've done it in your prime, but it's fun to do it that day.
On the other hand...
1. My other same era buddy, Brett Shelton, kicked me to the curb this year. He put thirty seconds on me from the get-go.
2. I was thirty seconds slower this year, though the downpour conditions and tall grass make the course difficult to compare to last year.
That being said, this is the only race I do all year that is always bigger than "me," meaning I care about who's there and who I get to see more than I care about my performance. That's not an excuse, and I was ticked to come in six places lower than last year. But regardless of my time or the results, I spent the day surrounded by tradition and greatness and friends. When you do that, the other stuff fades away pretty quick. I'm very grateful to current coach Scott Weaver and fellow alumni Mike Cavanaugh for starting and managing the race - one of the highlights of my year.
I chased my dreams without a single fear
That I'd ever miss the treasures of my youth.
But recently I thought I'd take a trip back through the years
And it hurts me just a bit to face the truth." - The Rarely Herd. Part of Growing Up (That Gets Me Down)
Last weekend was the 3rd Annual Solanco Alumni XC Meet (which I also waxed poetic about last year).
Highlights:
1.Last year, I lamented the fact that I was one of only 2 guys from the White Snake era. This year, we had four additional runners from my time, 3 of which I can take credit for (though Facebook certainly helped). I cajoled local legend Connie Buckwalter into coming, as well as Chris McAndrews and Alan Martin - the two guys who handed me my hat week in and week out during the late 80's.
Just seeing Chris for the first time in twenty years was a HUGE highlight. It sounded as if he hadn't changed a bit and that's one of those things I say as a sincere compliment. He cracked me up back then. He cracked me up now. Though he didn't run, he looked fit as could be and I'm hoping he comes back next year.
2.Seeing Dr. Tom Regan. In addition to being my former dentist, the good doc was the brother to Kevin Regan. Kevin was another great Solanco runner in his prime, who died in an accident far too young. An award was named in his honor for a student athlete, particularly in distance running, and I was fortunate enough to receive that award at my graduation. It's a special honor from my past and seeing the doc always reminds me of Kevin and receiving the award.
3.Seeing my high school coach. Young men may be fortunate enough to have a few people responsible for making them who they are today. Art Harrington was one of those guys for me. He was a hero to me back then and he's still a hero to me now. He was our Lombardi. We feared him and loved him at the same time. Over time, the fear factor diminishes (though it never goes away) and the love goes up proportionately.
4.Chasing ghosts. Last year, I wrote about chasing former state champion Glenn Wimer. This year, I beat Glenn. It could've been the downpour, or the fact that he's 14 years older than me, or the fact that he - like many runners including All-Americans - don't go all out in this race. Either way, I came to the line before him this year and that was kind of cool. It's the cross country version of going to an Old Timer's baseball camp and ripping a line drive off a former big leaguer. It doesn't mean you could've done it in your prime, but it's fun to do it that day.
On the other hand...
1. My other same era buddy, Brett Shelton, kicked me to the curb this year. He put thirty seconds on me from the get-go.
2. I was thirty seconds slower this year, though the downpour conditions and tall grass make the course difficult to compare to last year.
That being said, this is the only race I do all year that is always bigger than "me," meaning I care about who's there and who I get to see more than I care about my performance. That's not an excuse, and I was ticked to come in six places lower than last year. But regardless of my time or the results, I spent the day surrounded by tradition and greatness and friends. When you do that, the other stuff fades away pretty quick. I'm very grateful to current coach Scott Weaver and fellow alumni Mike Cavanaugh for starting and managing the race - one of the highlights of my year.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Dexcom CGM - 1 Week Later
So yesterday the DexCom sent me a few warnings telling me I'd need to change the sensor soon. Hmm... I thought. I have more than a day to go. I guess that's nice to get a 24 hour warning??
Turns out I forgot that I was off work last Friday so I was on my 7th day. After three more warnings, the sensor turned itself off at 11 last night.
There's plenty of Internet chatter about restarting Dex sensors and getting 12-13 days out of them, but I opted not to for the following reasons:
1) It was 11pm. If I did a restart then, I'd need to calibrate at 1am.
2) I'm running a 5k race tomorrow and one of the main reasons I'm doing CGM is to monitor myself better doing races. Using a sensor for a race beyond the FDA recommendations didn't sound bright.
3) Insurance is paying 100% for sensors, and it's not like they're going to cut me a check for spending their money better.
Taking off the sensor at bedtime was interesting. First off, not having something else on my belly was nice. There's definitely a bit of a pin cushion mentality when you're using CGM and a pump. At the same time, I found myself a bit bothered: Huh, I won't know my blood sugar overnight. Gee--- what if I get low or what if I get high? In other words, I was worried about something that, until a week ago, I couldn't do anything about.
But my smooth belly and I fell asleep about thirty seconds later and that was that for the worrying. And I woke up with a blood sugar of 107 so apparently I can still do this without CGM.
Now, I'm calibrating my second sensor, and happy about the fact I'll be micromanaging my diabetes in another hour or so.
During the first week on the sensor, I had 3-4 times when I lost coverage, for about 2 hours each time. Sure enough, in the Dexcom book, they tell you that on average you'll use a signal about 3 times per sensor. All of which means that everything's working fine, though I gotta tell you: if I stop losing a signal during a long run or - worse - a long race - I'll be ticked.
I also placed an order for a Spibelt yesterday. I've got other belts for running, but diabetics seem to be rather fanatic about their affection for the Spibelt and given that my long runs require: an insulin pump, CGM, BlackBerry storm and gels, I need something to carry my crap. Ideally, I would've gotten one with the orange trim (they donate $1 to the Triabetics), but I opted for the 2 pocket version, which appears to have no trim color. Oh well, I'll manage.
I mentioned the race tomorrow: it's a repeat of last year's Solanco Alumni XC race. Even though I was 1 of only 2 guys from my era last year, Facebook has helped me round up a few more old guys and even a girl or two, so tomorrow should be even more fun. Looking forward to it.
Turns out I forgot that I was off work last Friday so I was on my 7th day. After three more warnings, the sensor turned itself off at 11 last night.
There's plenty of Internet chatter about restarting Dex sensors and getting 12-13 days out of them, but I opted not to for the following reasons:
1) It was 11pm. If I did a restart then, I'd need to calibrate at 1am.
2) I'm running a 5k race tomorrow and one of the main reasons I'm doing CGM is to monitor myself better doing races. Using a sensor for a race beyond the FDA recommendations didn't sound bright.
3) Insurance is paying 100% for sensors, and it's not like they're going to cut me a check for spending their money better.
Taking off the sensor at bedtime was interesting. First off, not having something else on my belly was nice. There's definitely a bit of a pin cushion mentality when you're using CGM and a pump. At the same time, I found myself a bit bothered: Huh, I won't know my blood sugar overnight. Gee--- what if I get low or what if I get high? In other words, I was worried about something that, until a week ago, I couldn't do anything about.
But my smooth belly and I fell asleep about thirty seconds later and that was that for the worrying. And I woke up with a blood sugar of 107 so apparently I can still do this without CGM.
Now, I'm calibrating my second sensor, and happy about the fact I'll be micromanaging my diabetes in another hour or so.
During the first week on the sensor, I had 3-4 times when I lost coverage, for about 2 hours each time. Sure enough, in the Dexcom book, they tell you that on average you'll use a signal about 3 times per sensor. All of which means that everything's working fine, though I gotta tell you: if I stop losing a signal during a long run or - worse - a long race - I'll be ticked.
I also placed an order for a Spibelt yesterday. I've got other belts for running, but diabetics seem to be rather fanatic about their affection for the Spibelt and given that my long runs require: an insulin pump, CGM, BlackBerry storm and gels, I need something to carry my crap. Ideally, I would've gotten one with the orange trim (they donate $1 to the Triabetics), but I opted for the 2 pocket version, which appears to have no trim color. Oh well, I'll manage.
I mentioned the race tomorrow: it's a repeat of last year's Solanco Alumni XC race. Even though I was 1 of only 2 guys from my era last year, Facebook has helped me round up a few more old guys and even a girl or two, so tomorrow should be even more fun. Looking forward to it.
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