MEET KRISTI
Kristi has lived with T1D for most of her life, diagnosed at just 13 months old. She had always been athletic growing up but recently she got into distance running. She worked her way up from a 5k, to a 10k and then ultimately a half marathon. For her, training had two components: learning to be on your feet for a long period of time and learning how to take care of diabetes when running for an extended period. She’ll admit its sort of like a science experiment trying to find the right balance to avoid going too low or too high while running and it requires a LOT of patience, but she proved to herself that she could do a lot more then she thought she could.
How long have you had type 1 diabetes (T1D)? How did you get involved in running?
I’ve had type 1 diabetes for 26 years. I got involved with running slowly; first for exercise in college then doing 5ks with my brother. Then I started listening to Type One Run podcast to pick up more tips and motivation. My friends from work also run halfs and full marathons which is how I ended up doing my first half.
You ran your very first half marathon at the New Jersey Marathon weekend this past year. How was it?!
It was amazing! The course was so flat, which was a pleasant change from my usual training runs. I thought I would be in pain at the end, but I felt good. My sugars were overall stable after the first two miles, which made things much easier. Crossing the finish line and getting that medal was a great feeling.
What technology do you wear while you run? What snacks/emergency supplies do you bring on your run?
I wear a Dexcom and an Omnipod, and have a Garmin watch. If I tape up my pump and CGM I typically don’t have issues with them falling off. I have had issues with pod failures and CGMs cutting out due to the cold. I like the Garmin because I get high and low alerts, but there’s no graph so I’m not on data overload. A good tip I learned from Type One Run podcast was only allowing myself to look at my phone for my BG every mile. This way I wasn’t obsessively checking and over-correcting.
What’s your training like for the half marathon? What’s your training like for managing T1D on a long run?
For my half marathon, one of my friends printed out a training schedule for me that basically consisted of two short/medium length runs, and one long run. They would build up in distance over time. It was a lot of building up strength and mental game for the distance. For type 1, it was a lot of trial and error. I would try certain snacks and temp basals before my long run and see how it would go. If it went bad, that would sometimes mean the run would get cut short. But then I learned for next time.
What were your initial feelings when you were at the start line of your very first race?
There was a lot of the typical first-race emotions – excitement, fear, caution. But I also felt proud that I followed through and was there at the start line, and comfortable enough with my body and my diabetes to run it.
Was there any obstacles you had to overcome while running?
There were many obstacles! The biggest one was not getting discouraged – running with type 1 is a lot of trial and error which means getting comfortable with failure and learning from it. I would often go low on my runs and my mom or dad would drive around the lake to drop me off extra gels, or to pick me up if my sugar wouldn’t stop dropping.
The pre-race adrenaline and a little bit of dehydration for the New Jersey half marathon made me spike, so I had to sort of wing it. I needed gel at mile 2 to fuel my body, but my sugar was going up. So I gave a half bolus and chugged lots of water, which thankfully worked.
What have you learned through your experience running?
I’ve learned the importance of patience and forgiveness (self-forgiveness). I’ve gotten more comfortable with asking people for help and for advice. Running has made me more in-tune with my body. Most importantly, I’ve learned that even though it can’t produce its own insulin, my body can do pretty amazing things.