First 10 km race while being diabetic

Hi,

It was that past Saturday 23rd of Feb, 2013, that I finally was able to break that feeling of fear of participating in a 10 KM race while I am diabetic and in insulin Therapy. 

This dream was in my mind for about 5 years but I did not take any actual steps to do it because of the ordinary excuses that we all planting inside us - things like:

• Come on, I have no time, everyday I am back home at 8 pm from work.
• I am diabetic and I am weak.
• I may be collapsing while running or walking.
• I may get Hypo..NO NO NO.
• I am overweight.
• I will not lose weight no matter what I do because I am in insulin.
• No one is encouraging me.
• Etc......

Do you have some of the above in your mind. Do you?

To be honest with you, in this kind of hectic daily life that we are all immersed in it - squeezing exercise in a daily routine of  insulin dependent or non dependent diabetic or even non diabetic is not easy at all, it needs an extraordinary commitment and a burning desire that pushes you always to do it, day in day out, and it needs a proactive character that pushes you to do it and then stick to it; even if you have no encouragement at all.

It is something that you will be addicted to it later on, just if you stick to it enough to start see results in your overall fitness, weight, toning, shape and better management of your diabetes - which what exactly happened to me.

In 2012 I was exercising but never regularly, ie. in some times I work out 2 days / week, sometimes once a week and other times none at all...And of course this kind of inconsistent work out does not show you any results and usually disappoints you; because you can not see any results in doing it this way and at the near end you will quit it all completely.

You want to make exercise an habit in your life, then read this coming lines carefully:

As Stephen Covey said in his great book the seven habits of highly effective people that; if you want to gain an habit, then three circles have to intersect together to form this habit as follows:

1. Desire (Are you willing to do it or no)
2. Knowledge (What you want to do and why you want to do it)
3. Skills (how to do it)

Unless you have these three circles intersecting together; you will not gain an habit - on the contrary you will only exercise once or twice and then quit, then a month later you will do it twice or so and then quit again and so on...it will not happen because It is not an habit.

In our cases as diabetics, exercise is not a luxury but it is a necessity, it is a must for better life hoped to be lived, it is part of treatment (natural treatment).

It is a tool in your hand to counter attack the dis-ease (you see; dis-ease...by exercising you are trying to make it ease only .... not a dis-ease).

For Type 1 & 2 Diabetes - Exercise will help you a lot in losing weight along with the right diet, it will also help you be fitter, it will improve your cardiovascular, respiratory, circulatory systems, it will reduce your LDL and increase your HDL cholesterol, it will help you promote your self esteem and it will help you feel happy most of the time.

And if using insulin, exercise will enhance your sensitivity to insulin, reduce your resistance to insulin and it will definitely assist you in injecting less insulin.

Here what I did, try it if you like it:

Start with walking 30 mins for 5 days in a good pace for two weeks then increase your time to 45 min for a week, then a week later speed up your pace (same 45 mins in  a faster pace).

Automatically in about 4 to 6 weeks you will find yourself able to jog the same time comfortably, do it please if you can, relax no rush here.

Then three weeks later you will be able to run maybe 8 Km or so in about 7 to 10        mins /Km - it depends on you. then enroll yourself in a race or a group running so you can have a goal to aim for, that will help you a lot to keep being enthusiastic.

I will give you an example; when I reach the running phase, I measured the 10 KM (jogging) and it was 1 hr 34 mins, then two weeks later I measured it again and it was 1 hr 22 mins, then 10 days later it was 1 hr 12 min, then 1 hr 8 min, then 1 hr 3 min (in all these measurements I was improving my numbers clearly and it gives me a beautiful feeling of goal achieving every time). in between all these measurement, still I am running for 5 days a week at least 1 hr a day with stretching exercising.

And finally, at the race, my finishing time was 1 hr 33 sec. (almost 1 hr sharp). It was a great achievement for me - I am grabbing it and will not let go and I hope you will start practice the sport that matches you, the sport that you like whether it is walking, running, biking, rowing, swimming, the key here is to stick to some aerobic session where your heart rate should be around 60 to 70 % from your max. heart rate at least 30 mins - 5 days a week; so you can get the expected benefits and see results in your overall health and in your diabetes management.

Let me tell you this;  If your goal is losing weight - sometimes it seems very tough to continue while your weight is stand still even when you are working out.

Insulin users find it hard to lose weight most of the time - but the reality is that you need to just stick to exercise and good eating habits (both together) and you will see a different toning for your body after 1 month or so; while weight will start to come down in about 3 months or so -  maybe in slower and gradual basis, but it will happen.

Start do it, start exercise, commit yourself to it, it will make a huge difference in your life and as a bonus take your wife / husband with you  - it is a great bonding experience between both of you..Take your kids with you. as a matter of  fact - me , my wife, my two daughters and 1 son - all of us ran the race (first time for all of us !!).

My wife and I ran the 10 KM (she did amazingly 1 hr 7 mins) and my daughters ran 3 KM race and  each of them got the 2nd position in each age group category that they participated in and so did my son.. we all came back home with medallions..... great isn't?

It was  a great bonding experience for all of us and we can't wait until we hit the ground for the next race after two months. 

If you are non diabetic and have a child who is diabetic - encouraging him to work out and doing that with him while he is young; will create the sport's sense and spirit in him mentally and he will consider exercising as a necessity in life not a luxury and it will be with him all life long and definitely it will support him later in his way of diabetic treatment. you are doing a great favor to him by encouraging him to be an athlete.

Believe me there is no better than the satisfaction and fulfillment's feeling that you feel when you cross the finish line in a race like 10 Km - that feeling is overwhelming you with happiness and self complacency and that itself will push you more and more to continue on the road of exercising and better managing of your dis - ease.