Lacking Motivation...

One problem I have had of late is I am lacking a bit of motivation. It is part of why I haven't posted in a bit.

As of the last few days, I got a shorter run in at the gym on Saturday, a break day happened on Sunday, and  yesterday was a short weight workout; Big Bear took me through some basics! I am not a huge fan of weights, but I am sure going more will help push me.

Yesterday I did a run, and that brings me to my lack of motivation. You know that feeling when nothing seems to be going right? It has been the last week for me. I have had bad sugars (mostly over the last few days) where I am constantly up and down. I have a feeling I am becoming less sensitive to my insulin pump routine, so my carb ratio needs to be smaller. However, I think my correction is too much, because it seems I go low with every correction. Ya, as I said, bad week.

Not only that, but my run didn't go so well. I have been less into running of late. I think it has to do with taking on a 10k that I feel very unprepared for. Also, I have been having pains recently. Every time I run, my foot feels tight and cramped and hurts a lot in the morning of the next day. My hip and shoulder both have had feelings of a pinched nerve. So in general, each time I exercise something else seems to begin to hurt, and bringing myself to run is getting harder. I want to do well in my 10k, but I feel so off of my previous times, I am down on myself.

I want to be excited, I want to get outside, but I want to stop hurting. Tomorrow is a new day! I want to get back in everything, I need to push into the positive thoughts. Sorry for the lack of posting, and positivity, and I will work to come back with something more fun and driven!

Sherlock, my little crested gecko!

For now, enjoy part of what keeps me happy. Big Bear is a huge part of my happiness, but this is a picture of my pet gecko, Sherlock, who always manages to put a smile on my face!

New Workout!

I update today because I wanted to try out my new workout before posting. And let me say, I am excited for the coming weeks! 

My man (who I will now refer to as Big Bear) and I went on our new run routine (for the week) on Wednesday and it went relatively well. I was a little worried with regards to my sugars...I was at 11 (198) earlier in the afternoon, which was making me tired and my mouth dry, so I took a very small bolus. Well a little while later I was fine, down to 10.5 (189), but then things started to change. I am pretty sensitive to my sugars and I could feel them dropping. Wouldn't you know it, when I got home my sugars came out to 8.8 (158.4)! Now that might not seem low for a lot of people, but for me, my runs greatly effect my sugars. I reduced my basal to 38% and ate a piece of licorice and decided to go for the run. And it felt great! I had a 15 minute run, 1 minute walk (x3) this week and I was pretty happy with myself as the run totaled 4.44m (7.8km). I am having some very tight calf and feet issues, so I had to stop twice for tightness pain, but otherwise it was great! I ended up with sugars at 4.2 (75.4), so I drank a good glass of chocolate milk to finish off a good workout!

Tired me looking out over the valley
in the middle of my run

I got a chance to use my new Endomondo app on my phone, which I am still deciding how much I like, as the paces are a little wonky. They spike up and down a lot, but I get a general sense of where my pace is. I couldn't truly determine my overall pace (but that was not the apps fault, it included my walks), but I know I was going well and trucking along. I will still use the app, it is the phones problem, not the app. I can feel my fitness level going up and it makes me so elated! I am starting to feel better about the Stampede Road Race on July 7th and I can't wait to see how it goes! However, currently, I am not sure about doing my run today as walking on my foot feels extremely tight and when I woke up it was painful to walk. I don't want to quit because Big Bear is also doing well getting ready for his 5k (at the same race) and we like training together. It might just be a gym trip today for a less calf conscious workout.

Big Bear and I after our run

As for the new workout, yesterday the two of us tried a class at the gym (we are peas in a pod these days)! It was known as BodyCombat and we were not disappointed. I went for a similar basal reduction, down to 35% because of rushing around trying to get to class along with sugars at 6.9 (124.2) and a sugary snack pack on the way home. BodyCombat is an hour long cardio class, and it was tiring! I felt good afterwards, punching and bouncing around on my toes, but it hurt my foot and calves quite a bit (even more tight). We went home quite exhausted last night, and that is why this post is a little delayed. My sugars came out to 8.2 (147.6), which was a little better than on the brink of a low (as with runs). Though, I was ready to pass out after a long day. We will continue to do this class and we will also try out some of the other classes (I need to get over my hate for spin classes). I am excited to have joined the gym for the summer and I look forward to finding fun things to do. 

So that is my last couple days. They were quite busy, but I am feeling good and am looking more forward to each run and workout! I am feeling better about my sugars with workouts and hope they continue to improve! If anyone has advice about my feet and calves (I am planning on stretching) please comment below. Enjoy your day!

Weird Delete and a Medical ID

A couple quick things to talk about, I will definitely update later today or tomorrow on my new workout routine, but here is the deal. Something happened from my Sunday post and it left! It just flitted away and it makes me sad. That is okay though, I will just say that this past weekend included a run and chores, and the move Now You See Me (which I quite enjoyed!). 

As for the past two days, I haven't been up to much. I was dumb Monday night and worried about my sugars going low (I was at around 5.5 (99) with 4 units of active insulin on board), so I took some measures. I am really trying to be on top of my sugars since being on the pump, and sometimes I over compensate to correct. Ya, that did not turn out well. I reduced my basal and had about 6 grams of carbs. I woke up at 3 in the morning to a whopping 18.4 (331)! It felt awful and I quickly bolused and went back to sleep. I woke up  at 10.2 (184), which is better, but still not ideal. Tuesday I felt tired and terrible all day, accompanied by sugar issues (likely caused by the bad night), so it was a lazy day. 

Today, I get back to everything. I have a run today, then the man and I will be heading to the gym to get summer passes! And then we plan to start doing classes at the gym two or three days a week (on top of the running) and some weights! I am excited, though apprehensive about weights. I have NEVER been into weight lifting. This is not to say I have anything against it, actually I think it is important, I just enjoy the high of cardio over the burn of lifting. My man, on the other hand, loves it! So for him, I am trying again, but I have assigned him the duty of being my coach and finding weight routines that are ideal for running and the like, not for bulk (I am his coach for running :)!). We will see how this week goes and I will definitely update on that.

Other than that I don't have much to say today, other than a delay in shipping allowed me to finally get my birthday present from my man! A beautiful sterling silver medical ID bracelet with a gold plated emblem! It was so thoughtful as my last one was falling apart and scratching me when I wore it. I am very happy and it means a the world to me. I always like to have medical ID, and I advocate for people to wear it (I am sure I will post about it at some point).

The beautiful ID

I hope you have a good day and I will definitely update coming up. Though I have a question to present to you before I go: when do you decide you need to take preventative measures for your sugars? Or do you just wait till you are at the bad point and then correct? 

Birthday Celebrations and Bad Eating!

Well today is my birthday! I am 21 and ready to party! No, I'm just kidding, I don't party much (especially in  Calgary working full-time, and of course, diabetes and drinking is hard) so today was more about the crappy food I ate! Woo hoo!

I have diabetes, yes, but I don't believe that a birthday doesn't deserve a burger and cake every once and awhile, but let's be serious, it is hard. Also, I currently regret the burger decision, because of the previous activity.

I wish I ran this fast!

Starting from the beginning, after a long day at work, I came home to do my run (I had to delay it a day cause of lack of sleep, I am weak...) before some birthday celebrations. I was a little concerned, as before my run I had some issues with sugars going up. So even with an impending run, I took some insulin, otherwise I would have felt sluggish for the impending exercise. I followed that up with a cut of my basal, I tried for a 41% reduction, as 50% was sending me low. And guess what? It worked! Ya, that's right, today I actually felt like I somewhat knew what I was doing (you can tell I am SO confident). I came home to sugars at 4.8 (86.4), and was able to have a protein drink before going to dinner and no lows! Sweet sweet justice! I guess hard work, but whatever you prefer!

Too Tempting

Dinner was a little too greasy, and currently I am waiting to see how a burger and ice cream cake effected my sugars (I know, bad food! I just went crazy, and only had a sliver of cake). I also can feel my stomach hating me for having so much grease after a refreshing run. As for the run, I felt way better! My pace is a little bit faster, I am actually working closer to last October's half-marathon time, which makes me happy! Will I be ready for the 10k I have booked for the beginning of July? Currently, I am not sure, and wish I had more confidence. It is the Stampede Road Race (first race back running last year) and to me it signals a year since I picked back up into running.

I also have set myself up on a new phone (Samsung Galaxy S4!), so you will be seeing more pictures of my life on my posts coming up! I know this is a busy post, but I am dropping in to say hi in the midst of a busy night and a bit of celebrating! I have learned my lesson and I am going to eat healthy after runs, then I will also feel better at the end of the day.

Gone But Not Forgotten

One thing I have noticed of late his how little I have noticed my pump. I have come to the point in my pump career where the vessel that is my substitute pancreas on my hip is not a constant thought. Yay! However, the little things that are annoying do come up often and will never go away.

No matter the size, these are the devil!

Examples? Well first off, I seem to walk around corners without a care in the world. Though the extra inches at my waist realize that the wall is there for them to hit. No, I am not saying the pump makes you look fat (I have never been one to care about the vanity of technology), I am just saying that it likes to find corners to hit when it can. Also, the WORST is...door knobs! I have not had a lot of hooks on door knobs, maybe once or twice, but my goodness I have no desire to get my cord yanked so hard! Ya, I should mention that one of the times I got hooked was on a closet door knob while jumping into bed....never again.

Now, these little aches and pains are by no means a reason I wouldn't want a pump. There just always has to be a bad with the good. One of my major struggles this next couple months is the order for my Mio's was the wrong tube length! Again, problem, it is too short. It means every time I change, my pump won't reach the ground, and attached to my pants....I am sure you can figure it out. So I now have an issue of trying to be more aware of my pump cause of the short tube length, but at the same time finally settling to a point of forgetting about it on my hip sometimes. Ugh! Though, as an aside, I like checking for my pump on my hip as I look like a cop looking for their gun, cool right?...Right?

This was just my little rant for the day, I walked into a corner and thought I would talk about it (my life is weird)! On a better note, I have a run coming up tonight, so I will likely be posting about that coming up (cause we know I will have to do a sugars dance), but for now watch out for corners and door knobs. Cheers!

Worst Low So Far...

Ya....well here is the full story for you. It was my usual after run low, I really need to get a handle on that! The problem I had? I realized near the end of my run that my temporary basal was not set properly. I had reduced my basal earlier, but wanted to change the percentage to lower coming into my run. However, I actually had NEVER REDUCED MY BASAL. Something happened and a button was not pressed. Of course, that is an even bigger problem cause I took a bolus an hour before my run (high sugars after lunch).


I am quite proud of myself, because I was able to run 4.26m (6.85km, ya, I am Canadian, but I'm weird) and holding a faster pace. So there is that, but I was lucky to have my man on the run with me, as by the time I wandered into the house, I was acting like a zombie after I passed the drunken sailor stage of the low. A quick check of my sugars...1.4 (25.2)! Exactly as bad as I felt. And let me specify, this, my friends, is the worst low I have had since getting diabetes. It taught me a good lesson, I never want to be there again.

After this incident, I would really like to start running with a monitor (I will be set up on a CGM in the Fall), I just need to get a belt that I like, which I haven't been able to find yet. Any suggestions? Cause that sucked. I am never really too far from my home at this point with my run lengths, and I did use a backpack when training for my half-marathon, but today shows I was a little farther than is safe. I know there are iFitness Belts that look promising and I have heard good things about SPIBelts as they have cases made for pumps, I am just wondering what people have tried. Anyone have any opinions on the matter? This definitely needs to happen, cause I don't always have a running partner.

What happened!?!

So the weather decided to take a turn for a worse last week; the downpours were relentless! I seriously can't believe how bad it was. The problem I have on top of that is the fact that I have become a wimp, and the cold gets to me. I love the rain, don't get me wrong, but it seriously sucks being in the cold!

I ran this Saturday and it went great! Well great is a relative term, but I feel good after not having run for a long time and I am (partially) gaining my stride back. Sugars are still an issue with runs, I try and reduce my meal bolus before my run and I cut my basal to 50%, and I still got a low of 2.4 (43)! I had my usual glass of chocolate milk, but I still don't like those numbers.

The tubing physically came out of
the pink part above, what?!

On another note, I had a hard Sunday, to say the least. My man got food poisoning on Saturday night, and that meant a night of worry and cleaning, which I don't mind, it just scared me. I have a tendency to care alot in most aspects of my life, and the amount I worry for the people I love is immense! Though, diabetes never lets up and my infusion site managed to pull apart from the tubing...at 4 in the morning! Right before I was supposed to finally get a bit of shut-eye for the night, ugh!                  
                                                                                                                                           
This was a very mixed bag of emotions type of weekend and although diabetes isn't always in the forefront of my life, it is a constant companion that never truly goes away. So through everything, I never forget to keep an eye on my sugars and delve into my data on a regular basis. I try not to let it get me down, and diabetes has its "quirky" moments, just to say hi. Anyone have any significant quirks they have found? The infusion set disconnect is the one I found quite comical.