Wednesday Nights with the Nuts

     There are those in society who thrive on pushing themselves, pushing hard sometimes, and even pushing in a group setting. Heck, share in the pain right? Camaraderie is a great thing when you know you won't be alone in the pain cave. That's what I see Wednesday night trail runs as. The horn blows and you're all off down the trail, jibbing each other, letting the faster folks pass, trying to pace yourself or just pushing mad, monitoring your heart rate for zone limit, and waiting (OK resting for some of us) at the turns to make sure the last runner makes the right turn. Afterwards, slapping a fellow runner on the back as you laugh ridiculously at what you've just done...rock and log hopping in the dark, light-footing it down technicals through mud slop and wet rock, avoiding the lanky outstretched fingertips of the green thorn vine just waiting to draw blood, and all of this on a wet trail that's covered with freshly fallen leaves. A surprise with every footfall. Funny how this makes a person feel good.

    So, last night we did about 6 miles worth of mild trail torture. Thanks Dreama, a route well chosen (no sarcasm). Man, the fall colours were rockin' last night. The sun was going down at the beginning of the run, lighting the arms of the amber and yellow infused tree tops as if beams of sun had been absorbed by the leaves. With this above us and the broad view of the sprawling city in the valley miles below us...we had a rather beautiful run. I wish I had trails like this off of my back porch.

    I got all but one thing correct last night...I forgot my gel flask. I started with a BG of like 126 and the basal rate was at 40% of norm. So, I ate 3 PB&J crackers and started stretching out, forgot my gel and left with the group. About 1/2 mile into the run, I mentally slapped the side of my head b/c I knew what I had just forgotten. So, I monitored closely and pushed hard so that my efforts were more then typical and would get the liver to help me keep my BG at a sufficient level. Man, it worked like a charm. While I would never forget gel on purpose, the tactic that I applied worked very well to maintain my BG. When I got back and did a finger stick it was 130. Freaken perfect man. So, I bolused 3 units and bumped my basal to 150 % for 2 hours, as I could feel the BG going up already, since the liver keeps doing it's thing even when you don't need it anymore. This is the formula that seems to work for me post run. All-in-all....a great Wednesday night run...in fact the last one to be started in daylight, as time falls back one hour Sat. night.