Odd running question

[crazycanuck]

Hi there,

I've not run for a while with our group as my bowels start working just as I want to run.

What can one do to alieviate this problem? I find I can't eat a single thing nor drink anything before & while running as i just have to find a tree or a loo.

I tried drinking Up & Go breakfast drink but that just made me stop at the petrol station rather quickly to use thier loo.

Is this common? Can you help me? This is why i don't run...

C

[mimitabby]

When i first started riding, i had this problem too. I had to eat HOURS in advance and even then it didn't always help.
When i did the STP i was a mess. it's a double century, 100 miles one day and 100 the next. Including the night in between i was up and down all night... When i was done with that ride, I was certain i could do ANYTHING if i set my mind to it; to be able to finish 200 miles sleep deprived, sore and with a totally messed up digestive system...

So maybe you are just doing too much?

[whippetgirl]

I have had this problem in the past, too. I discovered that my morning cup of coffee with milk was the problem. I soon discovered that I had developed lactose intolerance. I notice if I eat any dairy the night before (cheese, etc.) I have the same problem. I also have the same problem if I eat dinner too late the night before. I have found it helps to get up an hour before I run, drink my cup of (black) Peet's coffee, wait a bit and go to the bathroom first! I hope you find a solution to your problem. If all else fails, run around the block first, go to the bathroom and then resume your run!

[Grog]

I think it's a fairly common problem. I read in some recent Runner's magazine that stomach/bowel issues were really quite important in runners. (September 2006, by Kristin Bjornsen, p. 53)

I also find myself to have much more... hum, active bowels when I run a lot. And I can get a pretty nasty "slushy feeling" sometime that just makes me want to stop. My case fortunately doen't stop me from running.

Maybe if you ran first thing in the morning? I can't run for more than, say, 45 minutes on an empty stomach, but that's a start.

Otherwise I also think there might be something in the lactose. Examine your diet... I NEVER have any milk before I run (although I do have yogourt).

Here are some items taken from the aticle:
- Eliminate dairy 24 hours before running (milk, cheese, ice cream)
- Try acidophilus milk and yogurts with live and active cultures, or replace by soy, rice or almond milks;
- REduce fiber intake (to reduce gas and cramping); replace high-fiber fruits and veggies by low-fiber fruits (ex: cantaloupe, tomatoes)
- Some sweeteners cause GI trouble, stuff ending in -ol. Avoiding gels with fructose as first ingredient.
- Avoiding cruciferous veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage...).
- ... and beans

Emphasize carbs the night before running.

Be careful with caffeine.

Other things they say: "Easy to take : Sidestep stomach aches with these foods:
- Digestible dairy
- Low-fiber produce
- Refined carbs
- Healing herbs (mint...)
- Root remedy (ginger)."

Good luck. That's terribly annoying. I've found that cutting off milk in the meals immediately before the run solves the problem for me but YMMV...

[Tri Girl]

Great advice above. If it happens everytime, it's probably something food related. Maybe it's the surface you run on? Just a thought, but my training partner can only run on the trails or she has serious bowel/stomach problems. It's the surface that causes her agony- on the trails or soft surface she's fine- but put her on pavement or concrete and it's trouble-central down there. Doc said it's the pounding on the hard surface that "shakes things about" (obviously that's not the medically accurate explanation- just my summary). It's nothing she eats, just the surface she runs on. Probably isn't your problem, but again, just a thought.

[Bluetree]

I believe it's called "Runners Trots" and it seems fairly common among marathoners. I think there was a recent article in Traithlete about it. I'll try to dig it up.

[colby]

One of the things I've had to do when I'm running in the mornings is to teach myself to go to the bathroom first thing, otherwise I'll get up, get ready, get moving, and then... have to go. UGH. I try to keep a schedule and if I'm good about it, my body can be ready. Sometimes just activating my metabolism activates my entiiiiiiiiiiire body process. ARR.

Good luck. Let us know what works for you, maybe it'll help the rest of us. :)

[crazycanuck]

Thanks ladies for your help :)

I'll try and answer some of the info you've provided.

First, all the sessions I (rarely :( ) go to are at about 545am.I normally spend quite a bit of time in the loo before i drive to a run session. Sometimes i have to go again & stop at the only open petrol station at that time of the am, down the road.

I don't eat or drink anything prior to leaving my house & can't drink anything while running as i just have to find a tree to pee behind too often.

Our sessions are on pavement but sometimes on grass.

I will look at going back to the running sessions in due course but this is what keeps me away :( :o

I read about brown moments in the Tri & multi sport magazine, i'll dig it out & see what it said.

Thanks again for your help.

C

[KnottedYet]

I usually get really bad celiac gut symptoms in the spring (something about the spring makes it worse) which made things difficult on the bike more than once.

Doc I saw last year suggested a few things, one was avoiding lactose. (on the theory that lactose was just one more irritant pushing my gut over the edge).

So far (knock wood!) staying away from lactose seems to be helping.

Might be worth a try?