I went on a long run today ~ 10 miles. It was a good run. It was hot.
Here are some random thoughts I had…
- I have terrible chaffing on my inner thighs after today’s workout. I did not get this last time I ran. Heat / Sweat related?
- I had the need to poop during my run. I hate that feeling. Luckily I ran past a gas station with a decent bathroom. It reminded me of my 1/2 ironman race last summer. I had to stop at a porta potty a couple of times during the run to poop. This is something I need to figure out before my next 1/2 iron. I’m sure it’s related to what I eat in the days prior to race day.
- It’s been a struggle running in the heat the past few weeks. Is heat acclimation necessary? I googled heat acclimation running and found some interesting web pages about it. Some runners who train for badwater do crazy stuff like run with winter clothing on in order to train their body to handle heat. I don’t think I need to worry about this. Since my races are in the am, and I generally train mid-day, my races are cooler temps than training. So, no need to do anything other than train normally.
- I ran past a woman with three dogs today. She had all three on a leash, and kept them under tight control. One was barking wildly at me, and she apologiized, and pulled out a water squirt bottle, and explained she was training her dog not to bark at people by spritzing it with water. I really appreciated her efforts at keeping her dogs under control. Thank you, whoever you are.
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Hey - I have found something that helps with the pooping problem. I tend to have a bit of constipation issues, so I tried that Dannon Activa yogurt. It really works. I go every morning like clockwork now :-)
Sorry if this grosses anyone out!
As for the chafing, you might try some bodyglide. You can get it at nashbar or local running stores. Vaseline works too but it just sort of feels nastier and is messier if you use it in transition areas.
I don't have good advice on the poop. Please share if you figure it out.
I had my first half marathon this past weekend and I was worried because it was first thing in the morning, 6.00am start. Right at the time I usually have my morning routine.
I had an incident out on a morning run about 45 minutes from home where I was thankful for some wet leaves, so I changed my running time to the evenings ... and I was worried about it happening during the race, but I just ate really early the night before, a bar just before I ran and I had no problems.
how funny that my blog about pooping has gotten the most comments of all my other postings - LOL!
Just thought you might try calcium citrate. My father has Parkinsons and it helped him from "going" too often. The doctors tried everything and my mom was going crazy. After I gave her calcium citrate he was back to normal.If you have the opposite problem and get constipated you want to take magnisium...it also helps you sleep better and relax you. It has to be calcium citrate NOT carbonate. I had to go to the health food store to locate it. Sorry about the strange subject matter but you brought it up.
Heat acclimation is definitely necessary for racing in hot weather. Time in a sauna is one way to do it, the other is to arrive at your race a few days ahead of time to get used to the heat.
Glad your leg is back in business.
re: pooping (sorry to chime in on this subject!) I think animal products (meat, milk, cheese) make you unpredictable. Going without for the last few days before a race or long run may help.
I've been told that heat acclimation can be developed by spending time in a sauna. A little bit at a time (like once or twice a week, max) until you can handle an hour. IF you do this, make sure you have lots of drinking water with you so as not to dehydrate.
good luck
Hearing about the woman with the dogs reminds me of something Baboo told me, something like, "dogs are the reason bikes have two bottle cages"
I'm always dreading that long run need to go, too. I won't even leave the house until, um, things have been vacated.