No quitting allowed

I thought for sure when I set out on my run yesterday morning, I’d be leading this post off with a big fat ugly “Ugh!” By all accounts this run should have been a disaster. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong… that is, except for the run itself 😀

Because I was scheduled to run 45 minutes, I decided Saturday evening that this run would be a practice run for next Sunday’s race. I had intended to wake up at 5:15 a.m. (not as early as I’ll have to next week, but early nonetheless), down a Z-bar and some water, and be on the road by 6 a.m.. I had intended on getting a great night sleep. And I had intended on running with perfect blood sugars. None of that happened.

I had a horribly crummy sleep, waking up every hour from 10:30 to 2:30 fighting an over-active bladder and low blood sugars. At 2:30 a.m. I ate half an apple to combat the low. It was also at this time that I decided it ridiculous to get up at 5:15, I mean seriously, who was I kidding? I opted for 6 a.m. instead, meaning I would not get on the road until after 7:30, after Little Ring fed, meaning the practice run was thrown out the window. I wouldn’t be running super early; I wouldn’t be running on a Zbar and water; I wouldn’t be running with full, heavy breasts. C’est la vie, I thought. Sleep, after all, is also a pretty important component to a great run.

When the alarm went off at 6 a.m., I tested my blood sugars right away and was hit hard in the heart with a nasty high: 14.6. Holy freaking crud monkey, this was not good. I knew my blood sugars weren’t done their climbing, that they’d go up at least two more mmol, if not more, post breakfast, which they did. I left the loft with my BG sitting uncomfortably at 16.4. Damn you rebound, damn you! 🙁

And maybe I should have thrown in the towel then and there, maybe I should have quit. Hyperglycemia can cause lethargy, dehydration, muscle cramping, nausea, etc.. The deck was stacked so high against me and this run. But that new mantra of mine “No Excuses” kept playing over and over in my head. I had to tough this run out no matter how hellish it would surely be.

And you know what, I am so glad I did – I had an awesome run despite the potential obstacles standing in my way. The sun was shining. The music in my ears was drowning out the sounds of my strained breathing. The cool morning breeze felt good on my face. I had not one thought of quitting. And while I didn’t go the practice run pace I had hoped for, I did surprise myself a few times looking down at my Garmin and seeing a strong 5:00 min/km and 5:15 min/km pace looking back up at me.

So there you go, just another reason not to quit before you start because you just never know when your body will push you through a super duper fantastic run! No excuses indeed 😀

When the sun is shining, not much beats the beauty of my running routes 😀

YESTERDAY’S RUN:
7:20 a.m. BG before: 16.4
Temp. basal: none
Distance: 7.49 km
Average pace: 5:55 min/km
Time: 45 minutes
8:30 a.m. BG after: 11.9
BG correction: 0.75 units