Running with Crohn’s: Great Run

Running with Crohn’s: Great Run

As in I had one today.

Today is Labor Day.  My family “celebrated” Labor Day by packing a quick picnic, lunch, running gear, and some board games into the car and heading out to Ft. Benjamin Harris (near Lawrence Indiana).

While packing for the trip, I had a typical bout of Crohn’s related issues, intermittent cramping and three rounds of diarrhea.  I try hard to reduce the impact my disease has upon the family so I took my anti-cramping medicine, Levsin (aka anticholinergic / antispasmodic), that helps soothe overactive intestinal muscles.  I also took a triple dose of Imodium (if you suffer from IBD or IBS and do not regularly use Imodium or a generic, then speak to your doctor immediately, this stuff helps a lot).  By the time we got to the park, I felt fine.

We all went for a run or walk (they walked, I ran :) ).  I did two loops of the Ft. Benjamin Harrison Trace Trail (a paved trail about 2.32 miles long).  I estimate that I walked one mile of the total 4.64 distance and completed that walk + stretch in 19 minutes, while I ran the other 3.64 miles in 39 minutes.

This course really is not that bad, 88 ft. elevation change, around 125 ft. total elevation change per loop. But because I have not run any hilly courses since my last surgery, I felt very anxious about it.  So anxious, that I had butterflies in my stomach in anticipation.  The route I chose allowed me to climb (rather than descend) the one long hill of the course.  This climb occurred a little after the halfway mark of my run.  As I approached the top of this long climb, I realized I felt fine and my heart rate never went into zone 5 (which denotes your maximum effort).  So I picked up the pace and ran the last third of the course going a whole mile per minute faster the first 2/3.

During one of the steep downhill runs, I did feel a twinge run down the outer part of the back of my knee.  It was not really painful but it was alarming.  It was alarming because it was not a "normal" feeling that I associate with running.  I am treating it by icing the area.  It still is not painful but the muscle in the area is getting stiff.

Anyway, I got a huge endorphin run from this work out.  It was a great run, the best I have had since before my first surgery this summer (so over 3 months).  I am not certain what lead to having a great run today but I suspect the following contributed:

• It was slightly cooler this morning than my training runs from the previous two weeks
• I was better rested than usual having only run two miles yesterday
• I had adrenalin (the butterflies in my stomach)
• I had fueled and hydrated properly
• I expected the run to be much harder than it was
• and we had sex today ;)

Anyway, I had a lot of fun with the rest of the family on this picnic.  We ate good food (both tasty and healthy).  Then we played games.

The most amusing moment happened when my wife suggested we pose for a picture on a sewer culvert.  Not surprisingly, the sewer smelled like a sewer.  We quickly found a new venue for picture taking.