Hello everyone. I've read a lot of the posts everyone has been replying to others, and though I'm not in the situation yet it's been very helpful for me. I was wondering though. I'm a 23 year old female and I'm wanting to get into shape again. I am trying to lose weight and because I had gained so much from all of the insulin I've had to take in order to get on track it's so much harder to lose it. I've got quite a lot of weight to lose and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get off of Insulin. There's a marathon on March 27th 2010 that I want to run and it's a half marathon 13.1 miles which has to be completed in 3 hours. I've never ran a marathon in my life. I'm a T1 on the insulin pump. If you check out my intro you will see the hell I've been through in the past few weeks. I currently am maintaining my own basals 12:00am 1.70, 8:00am 1.80, 4:00pm 1.90, 10pm 1.80, 11:30 1.65 total of 42.90 for the 24 hour perioud not including whatever I have to use for a bolus for meals, snacks, or even corrections. I refuse to see the pompous Endo whose not very helpful and had refused to even sign off on the paper work and fax it back to the MiniMed rep patient advocate! I'm not seeing a NEW endo until December 16th, and then after I see her I will be at another one because it's a 'see me first, before you can go here' type of place.

Since I'm in all of this mess I'm trying to stay healthy and get back in shape. I've never been a runner or jogger and because the weather was so wonderful in Tx for once on Sunday I did a 3 mile walk/run/jog because I was bored and didn't feel like doing my homework, not to mention I was taking advantage of daylights savings. About halfway through the 3 miles I was feeling horribly crappy, but because I didn't have my meter on me I had to continue. Before I went I checked and I was 556, I took 12.1 as a correction. I waited, had one bottle of water 16oz and then went out. I got home and I was only 416 which of course irked me because I was still high, still feeling crappy, but more so I was dizzy then anything. My problem is I know I need to carry my meter with me, I just don't know what to carry it on, because I don't want to do a fanny pack, but I need to know also what to use for hydration. I've got a camel pak, but it's leaking and I want to know what will help me stay in shape while running.. Sort of like an emergency pack. I need light weight stuff so that I can have it on the go. I'm looking for protein goo's or something that will help stabilize blood sugars as well as not feeling like I'm going to pass out and die.

I run a lot, and I like long-distance running, and I think long-distance running is a good way to stay healthy. However, I think it's the sort of thing that you want to build up to gradually. Very gradually.

Running a half-marathon is not a good goal for beginners. It's sort of like saying "I'm thinking of taking piano lessons, and my goal is to be able to play Beethoven's Emperor Concerto by Christmas". Starting with something shorter and easier would be a much better idea. If running/walking/jogging three miles lands you in a glycemic crisis, then running 13.1 miles (and it will really have to be running for the most part, because you won't be able to walk much of it and still finish in 3 hours) is probably going to be way too tough an assignment for you right now. Dangerous, even.

Also, you sound as if you mainly want to run in order to lose weight, and unfortunately that's the one area in which exercise is much less useful than most people think. Exercise is extremely important to your health, especially if you have diabetes, but you won't shed pounds just because you started running. (I've often gained weight while training for a marathon, because all that running made me hungry enough to cancel out the extra calories I burned, and then some!) Eating less food is the only thing that works for weight loss, so please be realistic about that.

Also, a word of caution: some runners will get really mad if they hear you refer to any race less than 26.2 miles as "a marathon". If it's a half, be sure you call it a half!

I don't mean to discourage you from running, but work on very gradually building up your distance, and learning how to keep your blood sugar under control while you do that. If you want to set your sights on a race, please sign up for a shorter one (maybe a 5K), and see how that goes. Then think about a 10K. I think you should plan on spending a couple of years on this gradual buildup process before you'll be ready to take on something as challenging as a half-marathon. I did a half on Saturday, and I can testify that it's a long way to go on foot!

Please listen to Tom.

You posted you had trouble with a 3 mile run/jog/walk. Can you image what you'd feel like after 13+ miles? And how did you feel the day after?

I don't want to discourage you if you've found a sport you love. But start out slow. Work up to running 30 minutes without stopping or walking at least 4 times a week. Don't worry about how far you've gone. Once that becomes comfortable, then you can start running in terms of getting to running a full mile. And then look to increase it weekly. Before you know it, you'll be able to run a 5k (3.2 miles) no problem.

As someone who takes insulin, going hypo is a real threat. Even non-diabetic long distance runners can suffer from a hypo, if they do not take in enough carbs for energy.

If you're actually just trying to get fit and lose weight, you would be better off adjusting your diet for weight loss and using exercise for cardiovascular health.

Good luck.

I am listening to both of you honestly. The thing about me is I've always had people tell me "You can't." so I always have tried to prove people wrong no matter what the case is. I do however realize what your saying, and I will be going for the 5k of this race instead of the full half-marathon. I don't want to send myself into hypos and I think the whole 'idea' of wanting to run this has gotten to me, but I do know that I need to take it slow in the beginning and train to build up to the half-marathon and marathon. So for now it's just being able to build up the stamina for the 5k and continue on after to build up even if it takes me a year or two years to get to where I need. As the saying goes.. 'Slow and steady wins the race' I need to remind myself that each day.

Thanks for your advice and all has been taken to heart.

Sorry for being late to the party, but thought I might be able to help.

In my pre-d life (type 1.5), I used to do triathlons, centuries and marathons, so I know a little about running .

Running is a great way to stay in shape, although if you take insulin, you definitely need to beware of the hypos. I was recently caught 5 miles away from home and suddenly I didn't know who I was or where I lived. Very scary.

Like the 2 above posts said, take it slow. If you want to lose weight using running, you should combine it with weight training. Doing cardio alone + cutting calories causes your body to become catabolic, meaning you burn muscle instead of fat. It takes fewer calories to maintain fat than muscle, so your body will use fat as energy first. SO although you will initially lose weight just with cardio, you won't look much different.

However, if you've injured your muscles (weight lifting causes micro-tears in the muscle tissue, which the body repairs with protein), your body will spare the muscle tissue and begin using fat as energy.

My advice for weight-loss (I use this method before summer to get 6-pack lean and I usually go from 10% BF to about 6 - 8%, so trust me, it works) is to circuit-train with weights for about 30 minutes then hit the treadmill for 30-45 minutes (this is only assuming, of course, you're in proper shape to run at that capacity). Combine this with low-carb, high protein diet and you should lose weight.

I'm well aware that taking insulin makes it harder to lose weight (I have the same problem these days), but this should help. If you can't run, walk or bike or use the elliptical! Just move! It makes you feel better too!

Thank you for your response.

When you all have done the exercise do you take a fanny pack with you to carry your supplies? For now I'm not on the sensors and transmitter I get that in Jan of 2010 so I know I need to take stuff with me, but I don't want to get it in the way. What about hydro-packs do they have space for a meter and glucose?

I don't do road running much any more - I find that it drops my BG frighteningly quickly when compared to treadmill miles. One thing I do when I run actual road miles is use an iPod arm-band to stuff my meter, glucose tabs, and a few test strips in and carry that with me. Very unobtrusive - you just have to watch out for strips falling out of the charger-hole in the bottom, but that's easily fixed with some electrical or duct tape.

I personally find it VERY hard to run with something on my back, so if you can manage that, more power to ya! Unfortunately, most of the CamelBaks I've used don't have enough storage space for a meter, emergency syringes, glucose, etc.

You could look into carrying a small bottle in your hand. Nathan makes hand-pack water bottles (http://www.roadrunnersports.com/rrs/products/NTN118/) that look like they may have space for a small meter and a glucose gel, OR try the FuelBelt systems (www.fuelbelt.com). Those are pretty easy and designed to be worn in endurance events. I have one that I used to use for runs longer than 5 miles.

Good luck with the running, and hopefully you'll find something in the above to help you stick it out until you get your CGM!