Hannah: What I've learned in the last 56 hours

I feel a strong urge to blog again. Can you feel it?

I am blown away at the responses I've gathered through Blogspot, Facebook, and Instagram, not to mention the countless texts I've received and kind words I've shared in between. I really was not aware of what a strong support group I have surrounding me. I've been showered with encouragement, love, and commiseration. I seriously love you all.

Remember that email I sent my patient? The one I posted yesterday? Well I received a response from him not long after I shared my story. He said,

"Hannah

I am so sorry your GI tract let you down during your first marathon. This was not a conditioning issue.

As you may recall, I am a gastroenterologist and I would be happy to discuss your situation if you would like. Please give me a call this evening."

Well holy crap. You better believe I called him right up. It was a wonderful phone call and I would like to share our conversation as I feel it would be beneficial to many runners, not just myself.
Note: I will not use his name for obvious reasons, and I really don't feel like giving him a fake name. I am just going to straight up apologize for the overuse of the words "He", "Him", "His", and so on. I'm aware of my poor editing.

1. He stated that every marathoner has that bad race that haunts them forever. We agreed it was good I got mine out of the way early in my running career :) He shared his experience running his first marathon and I was surprised to find out he fractured his foot and didn't get the pleasure of running across the finish line. He had to walk. This man later turned out to be a frequent Boston marathoner.

2. He shared with me that it's unfortunately very common for runners to experience GI issues during a marathon. These issues usually arise halfway into the race. My issues developed a little sooner than halfway which just goes to show that every body is a little different. If I had issues from the start, it would have likely been related to something else, be it nerves or eating the wrong food.

3. My patient then came to share with me that he has done many studies on what to eat before a marathon. This had the biggest impact on me. I have always generally had digestive issues my whole life. Random food just doesn't settle well with me and it's very inconsistent. One day I can eat gluten, the next day I'm curled in a ball because my stomach pain is so intense. Some days I can eat dairy in all its forms, the next day a cup of yogurt will throw me off. He told me the single best thing you could do is empty your colon before running a long race like a marathon.
How do you do that when you have to load up on carbs the day before?
Consume liquids that are high in calories and carbohydrates. He gave me this bit of advice from his own experience as he too suffers from occasional GI problems during a marathon.
I've been trying to come up with good suggestions to share and I think one thing I would do is make a smoothie with bananas, berries, raw oats, a little brown rice protein powder, and make it very runny so it's easier to digest. I also like to imagine that I could eat some of my GU the day before too since it's high in carbs and oh so yummy. I will ask him what he personally consumes when I see him in 2 weeks.
One thing that really baffles me about this is he told me not to load up on pasta and bread. I am not an experienced runner but I ran cross country when I was younger and I remember every Friday night before our track meets we would all gather at the school and have a big spaghetti dinner. The night before any race, even a 5K, I'll have pasta and bread. It's what I've always done. It's what my coach always told me. It's what I read to do in my marathon books. How could everyone else be wrong? I'm not doubting his advice in any way; I actually think it is quite straightforward. It's almost so obvious I feel silly for not thinking of it myself. But that's why he is a gastroenterologist and I am not.

I run so I can eat more GU. It's practically a hobby. 

4. He told me that my experience in not being able to complete the marathon was not a fitness issue. It was not because I didn't train hard enough and it was not because I wasn't prepared for it. He said it was simply a battle against the elements and that I shouldn't wait until December to run my next marathon. (!!!)
He said my body is a marathon body (how cool is that?) and even if I consistently run from now until the time I start training in the fall, my body is in peak performance now and I should begin a marathon training program soon provided I can find one that is appropriate for me over the summer.
Well I live in Peoria, Arizona and there is no way you could get me to run a full marathon after April. I'm a novice. I would have to go up north to Flagstaff. The altitude does worry me a bit though. I could deal with it for my half marathon, but could I handle it for my full marathon not having a chance to train in it at all? I am going to say no. The most I could do is run a marathon in the fall and start training for it in the summer. That will take lots of thought though.

I felt worlds better after having that conversation. Please nobody take this the wrong way but I think it was nice to receive such reassurance from somebody who isn't emotionally related to me. Now all I can do is think about my half marathon in three weeks and when I'll gather the willpower to sign up for another marathon!

Do you have any experiences you would like to share regarding do's and dont's as a long distance runner? I'm really so new to this still and I feel like I have so much to learn!

Happy evening everyone!
Hannah