Valintine's Day - For real this time

Valentine's for me this year = 2 hour training run. It was raining most of the morning and I was not looking forward to having to go to the gym to get two hours on the treadmill. Fortunately the weather that looked like it was going to slam us did not and I hit the trace. I was running by heart rate zone 1 / 2 which is about an 8 minute / mile pace. The first 90 minutes kind of flew by then I started to notice the fatigue. I always say this after longish runs - I need to start taking something to eat with me. I start getting tired and fatigued and then loopy. My math skills stop working and I can (not too bad) get a little confused. Like today, I run an out and back course and at one of my landmarks (a station on the long leaf trace) I noticed that I only had 18 minute to complete the last 4 miles. I could not figure out how my pace had slowed that much. I was a little demoralized and frustrated. It took me a few minutes to realize that I only had 2 miles to go (I calculated the out and back distance). I do this all the time. I finished the 15 mile run in 2:04.xx with 3 stops for water and a quick chat with Audrey from the pinebeltpacers.


I have a whole case of GU just for training but I have not been taking them on the runs. Starting tomorrow, anything longer than 90 minutes and I will take nutrition!

Blood sport -

When I exercise on bonk (no calories before or during endurance exercise) I can get rather loopy. My glycogen stores deplete and my thought processes can suffer. I generally do not notice these conditions. Others around me claim that I get very irritable and downright ugly on occasion. I just know that I get frustrated easily. This also happens when I miss meals or do not get enough calories. Although I do eat a sensible diet and get plenty of exercise it has been brought to my attention that I may have Type 2 Diabetes. Looking at the symptoms from the mayo clinic I can see several that I posses:




Symptoms - Type 2 diabetes symptoms may seem harmless at first. In fact, you can have type 2 diabetes for years and not even know it. Look for:

• Increased thirst and frequent urination. As excess sugar builds up in your bloodstream, fluid is pulled from your tissues. This may leave you thirsty. As a result, you may drink — and urinate — more than usual.
• Extreme hunger. Without enough insulin to move sugar into your cells, your muscles and organs become depleted of energy. This triggers intense hunger that may persist even after you eat.
• Weight loss. Despite eating more than usual to relieve your constant hunger, you may lose weight. Without the energy sugar supplies, your muscle tissues and fat stores may simply shrink.
• Fatigue. If your cells are deprived of sugar, you may become tired and irritable.
• Blurred vision. If your blood sugar level is too high, fluid may be pulled from your tissues — including the lenses of your eyes. This may affect your ability to focus.
• Slow-healing sores or frequent infections. Type 2 diabetes affects your ability to heal and fight infections. Bladder and vaginal infections can be a particular problem for women.

I definitely have the first two and the fourth (I wish that I had the third). So with all of the above I decided to check out my fasting blood sugar and start to track this parameter. I also think that it would be beneficial to take this fasted state reading and then do a bonk run / ride and track the fluctuations. My reading this morning was in the normal range (77). Also from the mayo clinic:

• Fasting blood sugar test. A blood sample will be taken after an overnight fast. A fasting blood sugar level between 70 and 100 mg/dL is normal. A fasting blood sugar level from 100 to 125 mg/dL is considered prediabetes, which indicates a high risk of developing diabetes. If it's 126 mg/dL or higher on two separate tests, you'll be diagnosed with diabetes.