4/14/2009 4:23 PM   

Reader Beware: This blog stinks!

I’ve been asked to put together a series of blogs leading up to the Colorado Colfax Marathon. The folks in charge of the marathon said the topics could range from training, race day tips or anything else I could come up with. I’m going with the later for this first one – hopefully the good people at CCM won’t turn up their noses.

Before I start, I have to preface by saying I lost any humility I may have possessed many years ago when I worked on the Sports Zoo on 850 KOA. My life became an open book during my six years on that show and I still have people come up to me and talk about certain topics where I was the brunt of Life’s sometimes brutal truths. This is why I have no problem writing what I’m about to write.

I love to run. I do some of my best work on my runs, like thinking of blog topics. However, this topic came about while I was doing some of my worst work on a run. I hope you’re catching wind of where this is going... if not, you’d best stop reading.

I’m not alone when I write about this, because I’ve read articles about other runners having the same problem. Unfortunately research is inconclusive as to why it happens.

Some think the up and down movement of the body stirs the bowels. Others say it’s a blood flow problem – normal blood flow to the intestines goes to the legs instead. It could be lactose intolerance. Whatever it is, it stinks (literally and figuratively) and it never happens at a convenient time during a run.

Don’t get me wrong, it doesn’t happen to me all the time, but it’s often enough that I have tried cutting out certain foods, switching my latte to soy, taking lactase pills and more. Nothing seems to help; in fact sometimes I think water is the culprit!

For those who train alone, like I do, it’s not as much of a concern as say… oh, on race day. That’s when fear kicks in because there can be a lot of people down wind.

Sometimes it can by anonymous if enough folks are around. Or it can be blamed on the closest dog. However, if the crowd is thin and you can’t find a four legged friend, my best advice: just keep running. Save your energy for the race and pretend that’s what all runners do. Chances are your stomach feels better anyway and you’ll run faster.

I know not everyone can relate to this problem (jealous). But I do know there are many who can. I’m not trying to unite (let alone ignite) a cloud of “us vs. them,” I just want people to understand it can be a fact of running.

There, I did it. An entire blog on a topic that was never actually mentioned. I feel better.

Oh, one last thing… if you happen to see me on May 17th, you can’t say I didn’t warn you.


Susie Wargin is the morning sports anchor for 9News. She is training for the 1/2 marathon distance (13.1 miles) of the Colorado Colfax Marathon for a 2nd straight year. Her time last year was one hour, 45 minutes. This year her goal is one hour, 44 minutes. 

Check out Susie's 9News blog at:  http://www.9news.com/life/community/persona.aspx?plckPersonaPage=PersonaBlog&plckUserId=6a4bec412ae34c1282d0a5774b3a17f3&U=6a4bec412ae34c1282d0a5774b3a17f3&sid=sitelife.9news.com

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