January 14th, 2011. A ‘L-O-N-G’ week in the training program. The long runs occur every other Sunday now and ramp up two miles with each iteration (up to twenty miles for the longest training run). Seems unfair there are four runs during these weeks when the “off” weeks (when the Sunday run ratchets back to six or eight miles) only require three running days. I suppose it has something to do with a stress and rebuild process that improves performance, but I appreciate that more in the OFF week, lol.
Just completed my third run this week and face a fourteen miler in two days…the longest distance I have ever tackled. Will share the anxiety I have around these long runs. As opposed to most folks, these jaunts are potentially disastrous to my well being. It isn’t simply a matter of throwing in the towel and walking home if I get too fagged out. The risk of low blood sugar and becoming disoriented while running along roadways can lead to great peril and I have to coach myself to pay constant heed to my thoughts during these extended slogs.
Minding your head is the persistent dilemma for Type I’s and although I live with this every day, the risk escalates significantly when you go out running for several hours. Thus far I’ve been consistent in regularly asking myself how things are going while moving my legs, but it only takes a single screw up to turn the lights out. Before these long runs I find myself questioning the sanity of this whole endeavor.
I usually resolve the dilemma by realizing the blessed curse I endure. Yes, it is arduous having to jump through hoops 24/7/365 with no chance for a vacation, but consider the alternative. If I didn’t need to pay heed to these concerns I wouldn’t be around at all. So
I am blessed and the extra focus I devote during extended runs carries over to day-to-day existence. Further, I really want to overcome this dread and be able to successfully report to others in the same boat that diabetes isn’t a limitation – you don’t need to endure an ultra-marathon, but if I can meet that challenge, the hope is that it helps fellow diabetics put their challenges into perspective.
We each develop our own coping mechanisms and I want to reinforce my monthly note cards have really helped me keep day-to-day cautions fresh, preventing them from languishing on the sidelines due to routine drudgery. Reciting a pair of reflections each month really does bring them back to the forefront, as much as the time I start thinking about what will be appropriate for the coming month (my mind always starts mulling over possibilities at the end of each month and that exercise alone reinvigorates consideration of the many cautions a diabetic needs to keep in mind).
One side of my monthly notecard for January
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