Forums >Running 101>Scared to run long distance
rectumdamnnearkilledem
Type 1 or 2? I have a bunch of type 1 friends whose brains I can pick for you. These are folks who regularly do really long bike efforts. They do have to regularly check their sugar mid-rides and be hyper-vigilant about how they feel. They still have done some amazing things, like 105 miles through Death Valley, including climbing up and rolling down Jubilee Pass.
I think there is a diabetic running board on RA, otherwise search the web--I know you're far from alone. I think the best thing you can do is progress carefully and pay close attention to how you feel and keep track of how different conditions and distances affect your sugar and insulin needs. Always run with supplies, run with someone else, and don't stray far from civilization until you have a good idea how you handle things. Keep in mind that external temperature can change how your body tolerates effort. The type 1 folks I know have to adopt an entirely new game plan when it's hot out.
Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to
remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.
~ Sarah Kay
Do you often experience lows in your everyday life due to your diabetes? Are you on medication? do you take insulin/are you on an insulin pump? what was your last hba1c result? As I'm sure you know, all these things are important in determining your situation.
In general though, being diabetic is not different from not being diabetic in that no one knows how distance running will affect them until they do it. And if you train correctly (smartly), you will find this out gradually, as you train.
When you start to train, you won't just go out there and start doing 15 mile training runs one day. Like everyone else who is smart, you'll be building up to those types of distances incrementally. That's the safe way for anyone. So do that, and see how it affects you.
I go with zoom-zooms advice as well, which is good.
The other thing i would say (and I'm not a doctor or an expert on diabetes, so this is just my feeling) is that a half is not the kind of distance that seriously effects glucose levels. I run this kind of distance with my type 2 diabetes and have no problems, but then again I'm borderline normal at this point, although i am a diabetic.