My calf continues to trouble me, but for better or worse I ran nine miles yesterday and again today. I hate to resign from training with the big day so near, but I’ve also been anxious about using my Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) while running. So prudence gets abandoned and I risked further injury by hitting the road.
The downside is that the CGM is yet another device to tote along – departed in the dark this morning with my head lamp, iPod Shuffle and now my CGM attached to my person (not to mention hydro belt and the weight vest!). Hauling the CGM around is probably my biggest concern with this unit: you have to constantly carry the receiver around with you à they recommend it remains within five feet of the sensor taped to your abdomen at all times. Doesn’t seem like a big deal, but several times I’ve set it down after fishing it out to see where I’m at and then leaving it behind. You also have to consider times such as taking a shower, when there is no pocket or belt available to lug the device around…
This creates a small dilemma because when it loses the connection it seems to take a while to get back in sync. I am slowly starting to appreciate this is no big deal, but things are awkward at this early stage. If you are diabetic it is important to be aware that this device does not free you from blood sticks as you need to perform one every twelve hours and then enter the result into the receiver to keep things calibrated. A screen indicating “Enter BG” (for “Enter Blood Glucose”) pops up automatically every twelve hours to prompt appropriate action.
Of course it was during my very first time pounding the pavement with the CGM that this screen appeared. My first though was “terrific, now I am out of commission until I get back home and test my blood”, but as I ran it occurred to me what a serious design flaw this would be since you’d be completely denied using the device whenever you couldn’t poke your finger right away. So I hit the buttons a second time and voila, the usual screen appeared, displaying current blood sugars. Guess you just have to jump in to grasp these nuts & bolts.
Nothing dramatic to report as the nine mile courses never drove blood levels down into the danger zone, but if I haven’t aggravated my calf too badly we’ll conduct a thorough test Saturday morning when I’ve got a twenty-six mile run scheduled.
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