Early on today everything was going smoothly (this will be the theme) I awoke with a blood sugar of 72 and was out the door at 6am after a good breakfast and peaceful walk with the dog. One of my big concerns was my blood sugar after breakfast and before the race. Would the two units of insulin I took cover my breakfast but not have me low at the start. I set my temp basal at 6am and hoped for the best, a blood sugar of 237 ten minutes before the race wasn't great but I was happy with it.
As the race began I felt good, the first mile tells me how my race will go. Trying to get in to my groove took a little while, the big crowd of racers made it difficult to find space and get in rhythm. As I approached the three mile mark I could see that the clock read exactly 25 minutes, I was hoping to be at 27 but 25 was good. I felt very strong and decided to stick with the pace that I was at, why change something that is working so well. At mile 6 I was at 49 minutes, very consistent. It was mile 8 to 10 that gave me some problems, I felt good but was a little dizzy, not due to blood sugar as I stayed right around 200 all race. I just felt off and those two miles cost me a personal best. I took a packet of GU just before mile nine and as I hit the hill around mile 10 I was back. I gave that hill all I had and must say I felt great. I may not be a great athlete but when others struggle thats when I'm at my best, I can't remember the exact number but I passed a lot of people on the hill and that momentum carried me to the finish. I would finish in a time of 1:50:49, not great but respectable for me.
I posted the picture above to Facebook earlier with the caption "A half marathon isn't over until I test my blood sugar" It sounds a little cliche but it is true, my race doesn't end until my diabetes is taken care of. That wasn't always the case but I'm very happy that it is now. I say it a lot but my diabetes makes me who I am. Without it I don't know where I would be.