Converting the running athiest

Ohmygawd! Ohmygawd! Ohmygawd! Let me just say it one more time
OH. MY. GAWD.

The man who makes fun of us runners, who laughs at us when he sees us running down the streets, calls us weird, repeatedly questions why we think running is so much fun, that man, my husband, put on his road hockey sneakers this evening and went for a run! What? Yep, that’s right, 3 km he swung his arms, 3 km he kicked his feet out, 3 km he worked up a face-reddening sweat, 3 km he ran. He’ll deny it to the bitter end though, even after commenting on how it’ll be good conditioning for his road hockey, a different kind of workout than his cycling condition, even after seeing the photo evidence, he will continue to say he did not run. He was merely “accompanying,” he says.

Oh yeah, I ran too! First time in 5 weeks and 1 day! Eeeeeeeee!!!  Can you tell I’m excited 😀

So last night Mario and I were discussing my somewhat miserable state due to my lack of running and the excuses keeping me from it, one of which was how it gets so dark so early. And out of the blue Mario put an offer on the table that he may very well soon come to rue. He said if I wanted to go running at night, he’d come with me. Now, when he put this offer out there, I never imagined he’d actually run, I just thought he’d use his super long spidery legs to stretch out his gait to keep up with me, but nope, the second we got out there, he started running. And I started laughing. As much as he makes fun of us runners, he still supports my love of running no matter what. I heart him!

We ran approximately 3 km (there was no Garmin tonight) which we completed in approximately 20 minutes. My review: my hip ache wasn’t achy at all, but I did feel a groin pressure on my right side, but when I stretched after the run, it seemed to have subsided. I’m going to continue to take it easy, but this is a start.
Mario’s review: Cycling’s easier!

The run almost didn’t happen though. As I’ve mentioned in recent postings I’ve been struggling with getting my blood sugars back to a good state of being. And so last week I faxed my endocrinologist for advice (seriously, for a guy with such good looks, he really does need to get with the 21st century – who faxes anymore?) and his secretary called me this morning telling me that he wanted me to do 3 a.m. blood sugar readings, which I’ve already been doing for a few days now, and he also wanted me to test two hours after I eat. Me being me, though, I figured I’d take it up a notch and do hourly readings – my fingers seriously felt like pin cushions!

So from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. my blood sugars ranged anywhere from 10.0 to 13.1. I didn’t have my morning snack, and I was also going to omit my afternoon snack, but then when I decided on the run late in the afternoon, I figured I couldn’t go on an empty stomach, so I ate a Laughing Cow and carrots on my drive home, of which I gave a bolus for the carrots and a correction bolus for the high blood sugar reading. By the time I got home, Mario was already prepping dinner, and I was really hungry, so I figured I’d wait on the run and go after dinner. Well, my blood sugars had other plans. A half hour after we finished dinner, after a day full of higher than normal readings, they finally dropped down – to 3.7! I had some orange juice, waited 10 minutes, they were down to 3.1. I had half a glass more of orange juice, waited another 10 minutes, they were down to 2.9. I knew they were going to come up, so I didn’t take anything more and waited another 10 minutes, they were back up to 3.7. I had half a granola bar, waited 10 minutes, they were up to 4.8. I quickly took my pump off, tied my shoes, and headed out the door before they had a chance to drop back down again. After the run, they were 5.3.

What I learned from my torture blood sugar readings is this: They do come down, but they seem to be taking a really long time to come down. What that means, I’m not yet sure, it’s only been a day. By the time my fingers are raw, maybe then I’ll know 😉

5 thoughts on “Converting the running athiest”

  1. I like the like star!! Yay, happy for you, running again! I’ve been keeping up with it, going farther and farther, longer and longer…maybe one day I’ll make full use of the garminator and track it for the world to see:)
    <3

  2. Just found your blog… I’m a D-dad. My 10 year old daughter has Type 1. I admire your attitude and love for running. Being active is so important in D management in my opinion. Keep it up and good luck with your marathon!

    Mike

    PS – Quickly going through past posts I notice that like many other runners you have been struggling with injuries. Do you have a bike? Replacing some runs with rides may help you stay healthy and injury free. It develops cardio fitness without the wear and tear associated with the impact of running. Just a thought…

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