Exercise Induced GI Distress

I'm up late tonight, getting reading to head into work for an all nighter. Up to a couple hours ago, I was wondering if I was going to be able to pull it off. We are having a major system upgrade, and it wouldn't be pretty if I didn't show up.

What happened today is something I've battled since I started racing. It's severe abdominal cramping following a strenuous workout. Today I ran 10.5 miles at about an 8:30 pace. I actually felt good until about the last two miles, and then I felt like I "had to go". Nothing urgent, just could feel slight discomfort. After my run, I did "go" (and go, and go, and go), with severe cramps the entire day. Ughh...

Last year following a half marathon, it was the worst I experienced. I had severe cramps for about 10 hours following the race. That time I didn't "go" at all; it just felt like my intestines were being ripped out. Today I decided to Google the condition and find out what was going on; I'd say on average I suffer after half of my races or extra long or strenuous workouts. Today, after a 1.5 hour workout, it was a little surprising. But I did push to get a good time, and I am not exactly in great (race) shape yet.

What I found out after a little research is that I am far from alone. Depending on where you read, 60-70% of endurance runners suffer from abdominal cramping during or after a run. Cyclists also have a high rate, although less than that of runners. Women seem to be slightly predisposed to the condition. It's amazing what happens to your body when you push it as you do on a hard run... the intestines receive up to 50% less blood flow than normal as the body directs blood to the muscles that need the oxygen most. The impact on the intestines can be distressful, to say the least. Dehydration also has an impact; it reduces blood volume, which further exacerbates the situation.

The recommendations were to wait 3-4 hours after a meal to run, and to make the meal you eat before your run a low fiber one (fiber takes longer to digest). Hydration is where I really fall short, especially given my propensity to sweat. I don't worry about food or drink for a run less than seven or eight miles. I take off when I can, and usually I'm fine. This morning I got up and had one piece of toast and two cups of coffee (caffeine is also a culprit if you deal with this issue), and a couple hours later I took off. With hardly anything to drink last night, I really didn't hydrate well enough (um... at all). I won't even say anything about proper nutrition...

You can bet I will be paying more attention to this stuff; today was terrible. Oddly enough, what seemed to finally help me tonight (in addition to pushing water all day), was a swig of Pepto Bismol... and two Advil. I know taking Advil (ibuprofen) for abdominal cramping is totally counterintuitive, but I really think it worked. Thirty minutes after taking it, the cramping subsided.

Now I'm off to work! :(