Back to the Races

sort of

I ran a 5K this morning, the first race I’ve run since March. The short version of the race is that it wasn’t a great race, but it wasn’t terrible; it was a good workout, though. The course was hillier than I would have liked (more elevation gain for a 5K than I normally look for in a half-marathon), and it was a hot, humid morning, even though the rain held off. It was a very low-key, neighborhood race, so I was able to support a local organization, which is always good, but that also means that there was no chip timing, overall results, or age groups/awards. Thus, it felt like a glorified workout, which is how I was approaching it.

My real goal is simply to try to get faster for this fall when I’ll take another swing at a half-marathon. I’ll try another 5K at the beginning of August, just to see what I can do there. Given that it should still be pretty hot and humid, I don’t know that I’ll be able to take a shot at a PR, but we’ll see how I’m feeling at that point.

Since I was running the race this morning, the runs this week were shorter and easier. I did 4 x 400s on Tuesday, and I was able to pull a couple of them down under 1:30, which is my goal right now. Thursday was easy running, with a few strides at the end. This morning was the race, of course.

The glucose numbers this week were a real challenge due to an equipment issue. At the beginning of the week, everything looked great, as I was in range last week at about 95%, my highest week in months. That continued until Tuesday when I changed out my OmniPod. I used the end of a vial of insulin, and I think there was more air in the pod than insulin. Thus, my numbers would steadily rise after every meal, ultimately hitting above 300 on one day (which I know isn’t high for some diabetics, but it is for me). I should have changed out the pod as soon as I figured out what was going on, but I hate to waste them. Once I changed to a new pod—a few hours earlier than I normally would have—the numbers have been much more manageable.

I’m also trying a new insulin, one that’s slower acting (Novolog, as opposed to Fiasp) to see if it will help me manage my weight better than I’ve been able to. I have to remember to give myself a bolus about 15-20 minutes before eating, which hasn’t been a problem so far. The numbers have been a bit higher than on the Fiasp so far, but they’ve still been within range. I have a half prescription for the Novolog, so I’ll get to try it for a couple of months to see how it goes. I can then evaluate how I want to move forward by the time school is starting back.

So, some challenges this week, but I was able to run a 5K without my calves giving me trouble, which led to a solid workout in not great conditions. That’s fairly typical for the summer, so I’ll take it, then keep moving forward.