When Nature Calls...

Ok, I know... you're sick of hearing me bitch about the weather. I get it. But, this post isn't about *that* kind of nature. No, I'm talking about the *other* kind of nature. You know, the kind of nature that can stop you in your tracks.

I used to have all kinds of stomach issues while running. But, since I now run at fairly regular times everyday, the routine of getting up at the same time every morning... has significantly helped that matter. My body is like a well-oiled machine, baby. It runs efficiently and in a routinely manner.

So, imagine my surprise when my stomach started acting a little funky around mile 2 of my run this morning. When you are at mile 2 of an out and back route, having your stomach start to feel a little funky is like one of the worst feelings in the world (well, I guess THE worst would be if you were like 5 or 10 miles out or something, but whatever, I like my hyperboles). At first I tried to ignore it, thinking... ahhhhh, it's nothing. It'll pass (pun not intended). But as soon as the urge started to grow a little, I decided... okay, time to head back now. When you run early in the morning, in the city and nature calls, you can't exactly just answer whenever you want. There are no businesses open, no gas stations, no woods. Nothing. Except miles of cars.

You immediately think... okay, I need to think about something else. But then, you can't. All you can think about is how much worse the urge is going to get. How there isn't anywhere to stop and relieve yourself. You start to think... hmmm.. I didn't eat anything unusual yesterday, did I? Nope, everything was normal. And then you remember.... Oh shit, I did have the guy at Jersey Mike's put EXTRA jalapenos on my sandwich. Damn.

As I made my way back, the feeling subsided, but that didn't really ease my mind. You see, the next time the feeling comes back (and it will, folks, trust me, it always comes back) it will be slightly stronger and harder to resist.

It's quite the conundrum. On the one hand, you want to speed up and hurry back. On the otherhand, the extra jostling from speeding up could trigger the feelings. It's a thin line. As I made it closer to my place, of course I was feeling great. But, I didn't fall for that trap. Nope, I stuck to circling the block that I live on, so that I'm only a couple of minutes away, if needed. It's a good thing, too, because the feeling did return before I was finished and with avengeance, too.

So, I did have to cut my run a little short this morning, but it wasn't too bad and luckily, no horror stories to report.