hi all you strong, fabulous runners. i have a question/challenge: earlier this week i finally broke my 12-min mile on my weekly long run (i'm training for a 1/2 marathon in the spring.) i was pushing hard for five miles, but it felt great. hard but great, kwim? anyway, immediately (and i mean IMMEDIATELY) afterwards, the colon was cramping. i had to cut my stretching to make it to the bathroom in time. i continued experiencing painful sphinctor spasms for the better part of my commute home (almost 40 minutes.) eventually it let up and i was completely fine, but whoa nelly. does anyone else get them? i'd heard about them but didn't think i'd ever run hard enough to experience it firsthand. what in the name of sweet buttered toast do you do to keep it from happening?

thanks!!!

Wow. I have to admit I've never had it that bad! I have joked that there's no need for Metamucil in this house as long as I keep running though -- guaranteed after a run (and a cup of coffee), I will be in the bathroom. (As a friend says: "At least it's nice you can schedule it.")

This may be your body adjusting to increased distances/speeds. If it keeps up to the degree you're describing, there may be something else going on that you need to check in to.

Is running hard to get started doing? I am still well over 200lbs and was wondering about this

thanks dianeofnka! we'll see - i had one run about a year ago (seven miles) where i felt the rumble, but didn't have the extended spasms. i might have just pushed it too hard, too fast for too long.

hi iianae! i didn't think so, but i started REALLY SLOWLY. it's taken me almost two years to get to this point. i have a certain amount of "push" that i like, and i don't go harder than that. haven't had any injuries yet (knock wood) but i also don't run more than 3x a week and i'm religious about getting good shoes and insoles.

I would definitely start slowly -- when I started again, I walked one minute for every four or five jogged. Definitely begin with a conservative aim, then add slowly (both distance and time spent running), depending on you feel.

Kuhl, I would be there's an element of having pushed yourself a lot on this last run. Keep an eye (or whatever ) on what sort of symptoms you get with longer and/or harder runs.

Ummm yes. It is VERY common. While watching what you do and do not eat can help it, the best course is to do what ever you can to go before you run. I sometimes get caught on a training run because I run first thing in the morning. The only cure for that is to know where every public toilet and portapotty is in town and head for one at the first sign of danger.

Before a race or long run I get up early and have food (& coffee) that for me know will do the trick. Some of us eat food that helps you go before a race other people eat "binding" foods before a race. Trial is the only course

Occasionally if you push yourself much harder than you are used to you can trigger longer lasting problems.

I've experienced the urgency, but not the cramping for a long time afterwards. It usually happens on my morning runs. My solution is the same as ennay's. I try to make sure I go before I run. Sometimes I can and sometimes I can't--I swear, sometimes it feels like my body is purposely trying to thwart me.

And I make sure I know where all the public bathrooms are on my run. The trail that I usually run has a hole-in-the-ground outhouse. It is the most disgusting thing ever, but it has saved my life on more than one occasion. Once, one of the trail maintenance people was cleaning it when I needed it and I guess something really bad had happened in there, because the guy did not want to let me go in. I thought I was going to have to kill him; I practically grabbed him by the throat screaming "I don't think you understand the urgency!" (Duh! Why would I use such a disgusting bathroom if it weren't an emergency). We finally comprised--he threw a bucket of bleach and water on the floor and let me go in.

Yes, I certainly have experienced that! It is a pretty common effect. There's something about the impact of running that gets things moving, if you know what I mean. For me, it depends on what I've been eating (up to 48 hours before) and the length of my run (the longer the run, the more likely). If I've been eating lots of fiber or too much bulky fatty stuff, I'll notice an effect on even a shorter run. It helps keep me on plan, because the aftereffects of a pig-out aren't pleasant! For my long run, I've learned to eat clean and watch my fiber intake 2 to 3 days before (no flaxseed meal muffins, not too much Fiber One cereal). I also don't drink coffee or eat immediately before a run. Before a race, I get up early enough to allow at least 2 hours for my coffee and breakfast to do their thing and hopefully clear my system before the race start (TMI, I'm sure!!)

When I was training for a full marathon and doing long runs of >15 miles, then I ended up having to take an immodium before the run. No amount of dietary adjustment prevented the problem. I wouldn't recommend that, but I was reduced to desperation, and never seemed to suffer any side effects from it. Since I'm only doing half marathons now and and never go over 15 mile runs, then watching my diet seems to be enough, most of the time.

You will have to experiment in your training process to see what works best for you. Despite your best efforts, potty stops may be required. It happens to just about everyone sometime ....

thanks for the input!

i'll take all that into account. it was a late afternoon run, and i generally am pretty cleared out by lunchtime (i've got a colon that runs like clockwork.) although my system is working through what i ate for lunch by the afternoon, there's just not much there to evacuate pre-run. if i experience the intense cramping again, i may check in with my doc. it was almost like dry heaving...(are we at TMI yet?) (how about now? )

Taking the Immodium worked? I hadn't thought of that. How far in advance did you take the Immodium--right before you started the run or earlier?

I'm never running more than 6 miles at a time, but even that distance is sometimes a real problem for me in the mornings. Usually I just restrict myself to running where I know there's a bathroom available, but having this strategy in my back pocket might come in handy if I ever want to be able to try some place new.

Yes, it worked like a charm for me without any apparent side effects. I usually took it right before I left home for runs longer than 15 miles or so -- which could be either right before a long training run, or up to 2-3 hours before a race. I didn't take it after symptoms started, I always took it before hand. YMMV, of course. I haven't needed it lately, because I'm training for half marathons or shorter distances and don't have to go THAT long any more.

Mary Beth