And I’ll cry if I want to…

How do you celebrate your birthday? Do you have a party? tear into your wrapped presents like they’re the first you’ve ever received? stuff your face full of birthday cake, birthday cupcakes, birthday cookies, or best yet birthday ice cream cake? Us runners, we run … along with a lot little bit of everything else too 😉

(Had to use the iPhone camera, forgot regular one at home)

Happy birthday Sarge!!!

TONIGHT’S HILLS:

• 5:50 p.m. BG before: 7.4
• Temp basal: -20 per cent
• Distance: 4.32 km
• Average pace: 6:16 min/km
• Top pace: 3:48 min/km
• Average heart rate: 167 bpm
• Top heart rate: 194 bpm
• Time: 27:06
• 7 p.m. BG after: 3.0 (Yikes!)

It was hills tonight and my favourite drill sergeant (yep that’s her new name after tonight’s torture) decided we’d switch things up a bit and do the route backwards. Why? “Because it’s my birthday!” she said. But at just a quarter of the way into the run, with my calves screaming bloody murder at me (and we hadn’t even reached a single hill at this point) relief suddenly washed all over me when the Sarge announced her headache had become too much; the run would be cut short. Phew, I thought, I’m getting a reprieve.

You did notice her new name, right? Simply put, I did not get that reprieve. I think she felt bad, thought she was holding me back, and she couldn’t possibly do that, oh no. So, because I would be missing out on one or two hills by cutting the run short by 1.7 km, the Sarge found the biggest hill she possibly could and told me to give her hell. Holy crap! My heart rate was pushing 195! My legs were going like a greyhound’s, but my body is not the body of a greyhound. I was cursing that hill not even halfway up and I seriously thought I was going to hurl when I finally made it to the top. And don’t even get me started on how long it took for me to finally control the huffing and puffing and wheezing and gasping. And this, from the girl who has an affinity for hills! That was one mother of a hill!

Probably a good thing the run was cut short, because you’ll notice above that once again I failed in the BG realm, just this time in the opposite direction. And this is why I don’t always trust my decisions or the advice of others. I didn’t eat before the run, I cut my basal down by -20 per cent (was supposed to be -30 per cent; another tip from the book) but I’m thinking I probably should have kept to my usual 50 per cent reduction. Baby steps, Princess, baby steps!