I know what you’re thinking when you hear the running man. Where is the goofy white guy who is uncoordinated… trying to dance with early 90’s moves?

Another Goofy White Guy

Well fortunately for me, there are no pictures (I’m aware of) of me doing said dance move. Although I have a friend who will likely try and doctor some up after reading this.  Or perhaps you’re thinking of Arnold Shwarzenegger and Richard Dawson in the late 80’s movie.

I'll be back

But this story is actually about… running.

Now if you would have told me a year ago that I would be paying to run every week, I would have laughed you out of the room.

But the fact of the matter is, not only am I paying money to run… I’m loving it. It wasn’t too long ago that I wrote about how much I hated running. Oh how the times have changed.

I decided that I needed to change things up a little. Long gone are the days when I thought the treadmill gave me a better workout. What was I thinking? Sure it’s nice to enter your weight and watch the LCD panel for the time, calories burned and speed.  I used to think it was keeping me going.  In hindsight, I believe it may have been holding me back. Getting outside and enjoying the scenery is an added bonus from running. Constantly seeing something different in front of my face and keeping my mind occupied on something other than putting one foot in front of the other is a nice distraction… especially for my adult ADD.

I mentioned to my wife that I am feeling that I am starting to become obsessed with running. Again, never in my life would I ever imagined those words coming from my mouth. It had always been “what’s the hurry? … or… where’s the fire?” when I would see someone running through the neighborhood. While she did not confirm or deny my statement, she offered that there could be worse things to be obsessed with. I agree. I don’t consider myself a “good” runner by any stretch of the imagination, but I have seen improvement.

So when Fleet Feet was offering a program called Beyond Boundaries, a 10K training program, I jumped in. I definitely want to continue to improve on my results.  I want to get faster and run longer. Surely I could do it on my own. However, I felt that having others around would raise my own accountability. Not only does the training program increase the mileage on the weekly basis, but there is coaching and “homework” involved as well. Another added bonus is that from time to time during the 10 week program, Fleet Feet brings in guest speakers.

This week there was a registered dietitian speaking on nutrition for pre and post race, as well as general overall healthy eating. There was a lot of good information provided. Most of it I have to say I have heard at one point or another, except for one little tidbit.  Of course, in hindsight, it’s just common sense. She mentioned that it is not a good idea to eat something high in fiber prior to running. Now I am not sure if it was the fact that she said this just before we went out for a 3.5 mile run and that’s all I could think about, or that eating multiple Kellogg Fiber Plus bars prior to running IS a bad idea. Likely, it was both!

The distance for the night should not have been an issue for me.  I easily conquered 3 miles the previous week, and managed a nice 4 mile run just a few days prior. But with just a mile under my belt Tuesday evening, I began to feel some cramping, or should I say bubbling in my stomach. I started to slip behind the group. I focused on my breathing, but the pain kept building. At one point the coach out in front asked if everything was ok. I kept it simple and stated that I was cramping up a bit.

The reality of the situation was that it was no ordinary cramp.  I had gas building up so bad that I could feel a bubble in my stomach with every step I took. Imagine a balloon half full with water, just swirling around. That is what my stomach felt like in that moment. So I purposely slacked off a bit.  I felt that if I could distance myself enough from the front of the group, I might be able to release the issue without any unwanted attention. Of course, there where a few people lagging behind me as well. I was picturing them running through my cloud and passing out like they had run through a form of noxious fumes. 

I couldn’t take it any more. I stopped running for a moment and kept a quick walking pace while keeping an eye out for the front of the pack to make sure I didn’t miss any turns. But while running through the Kentlands, there is rarely a moment when no one is around. People are milling, kids are playing, and dogs are being walked. What I wanted needed to do, could not be done quietly… and there was a chance that it would not be done cleanly. I had to make a choice.

Nutty D's (just don't eat more than 2 a day)

I chose to work through the pain. I even managed to catch up with the lead pack before the run was over. So no Fiber Bars prior to running going forward, but they are tasty.  Check out these new “Nutty Delights” flavors coming to a grocery store near you soon.

I am pretty sure the neighborhood was thankful. And I am positive the runners behind me were. It was a interesting stinky ride home.