Here is how I ran tough mudder while managing my sugar levels! This blog is designed to help you prepare for a race, or to inspire you to sign up to one! Diabetes never has to stop you 🙂
Training for Tough Mudder
My training changed slightly in the months running up to the race. I increased my cardio and my weight training became more focused on endurance rather than heavy lifting.
I was running 2-3 times a week, which meant my insulin doses changed due to more frequent hypo’s in the beginning. My basal insulin reduced by 2 units which prevented hypo’s in the night (this is when I tend to have them).
I also increased and practised more body weight exercises such as press-ups and pull-ups. This prepared me for the obstacles!
Before the race
I chose the 10am start time for the race, this gave me plenty of time to digest my breakfast so my sugars were settled.
For breakfast I ate a bowl of oats with peanut butter and blueberries. For me this is always a great breakfast to have before exercising in the morning as it seems to keep my sugars stable.
I had a small snack before the race which left my sugars running at around 7mmol/L.
My amazing Dad came along with me, and he carried my phone, snacks and testing kit just in case I needed anything during the race. I would highly recommend having someone there if you decide to do a race! This makes treating hypo’s and hyper’s much faster which decreases the likelihood it will impact your race 🙂
I wore the Dia-Band over my Libre to make sure it didn’t get caught on anything or come off during the race – I would also highly recommend this if sensors fall off easily on you (they do on me!).
During the race
Within the first 15 minutes of the race I unexpectedly spiked to around 9mmol/L, so I had to inject a very small correction dose (1/2 unit).
Luckily that worked really well and my sugars remained stable for the rest of the race, with no hypo’s!
This was amazing because I got to challenge myself and have fun without worrying about my sugars (yes, it is possible!) Preparation is a massive part of keeping sugar levels in optimal range and living with diabetes is all about adapting to each situation. – If I can do it, you can do it too!
After the race
After the race I had a chicken salad with egg mayo and oat cakes. For some reason my levels remained at around 7mmol/L – I think it could have been down to adrenaline due to nerves and excitement.
Because of this, I chose to stick with a small dose of insulin to begin with and a fairly low carb meal. About 3 hours after this my sugars began to dip, so I had some toast with peanut butter and another small dose.
Again this seemed to work really well for me and I managed to stay in range!
I really hope this post has helped you and remember this is the approach that works for me. There is no one size fits all when living with diabetes, it’s all about getting to know your body, finding out what works for you, and being adaptable!
Thank you for reading How I ran Tough Mudder while managing type 1! I hope this encouraged you and remember anything is possible with the right planning, type 1 diabetes never has to stop you! Be sure to subscribe and follow me on Instagram!
If you liked this post, be sure to check out Jack Iredale on managing type 1, while playing professional football! and How to handle a hypo mid-workout!
And of course I had a free shot of fireball whiskey at the end! 🙂