UKC

As per the title, 'paula' is the name I have affectionately(?) given to my problem of needing a number 2 en route when running. I've been running regularly for around 3 years now, at first my problem seemed to be the food I ate before running, and how soon I ran after eating. I've sorted this now, I have to leave about 3 hours after eating before heading out. This is fine for runs up to about 1hr45 (basically, a half marathon) but any longer, I need some more fuel, which in turn makes me need to 'do a paula.' My runs longer than that have been in the hills so far, where it is easier to 'stop and go' but still not ideal.

I'll be gearing up to do a road marathon in October, so if anyone has any tips on what to eat en route, energy gels etc, or if you've got any advice on keeping 'paula' at bay then I'm all ears. I've done lots of googling already but thought I'd open this up to the ukc collective as well.

In reply to lizard-16-07:

A bit of food on the run is triggering the need to remove something already there (it takes time to turn food into....)

Are you clearing yourself out fully before you go out? A couple of strong coffees first thing does me for the day I find.

In reply to John Gillott:

Coffee or green tea to start as mentioned, then not much for runs of an hour or so, and then just easily digestable things like gels. Longer runs that require proper solid food require toilet breaks built into them.

In reply to lizard-16-07:

Fairly common problem my mate has. He never really found a way around it i'm afraid.

In reply to lizard-16-07:

No dairy.. or very little on race day. I had that issue dropped milk as the doc reckoned I may have very slight lactose intolerance, but enough to cause that.

Aye make sure you go before.. I go 3-4 times before a race... a last run shakes me free..

the big benefit of running is the aid it gives peristaltic motion.. i.e. clearly out your intestines, so in some ways its sort of inevitable and not such a bad thing, apart from on race day. Avoid higher fibre foods in the final 24 hours.

In reply to lizard-16-07:

I've found it's not so much what I eat in the preceeding 3hrs, so much as the preceding 24-36. In my case cooked or mature dairy (e.g. melted or strong cheese, yoghurt) can cause it (though bizarrely mild cheese seems to quell it). Cooked fats of any sorts cause problems with lubricating things too well!

Running harder makes it worse, and a fast warm up can get things moving before hand, though I've yet to find a way to clear things reliably before the start that doesn't leave the chance of just keeping the whole system too active.

I think short of experimenting with food, I'm not sure of what to suggest.

In reply to lizard-16-07:

Thanks all. I do try to have a 'clear out' before going, but I'll try the coffee and green tea suggestions. Dairy is a no-go for me too pre run, so I've already cut down on that. Interesting thoughts on the 24-36 hours beforehand. It won't be practical for me to try and watch what I eat meticulously before all runs, but certainly before my longer runs I'll try and come up with some food plans for the preceeding 24-36hrs.

In reply to lizard-16-07:

On road marathons, they do tend have lavs on route so I guess just make sure you stop at one before you have to do a paula

In reply to lizard-16-07:

Probably quite personal, but the formula that worked for me was:

- Do my long runs early in the morning
- Eat well the night before
- Avoid wholewheat/veg etc - lots of meat/dairy and little carb worked for me, but see different experiences above!
- Have a good strong coffee in the morning but no breakfast
- Give Paula a thorough workout before leaving the house

It takes a bit of getting used to to run without brekky. Often I would feel queezy as if low on blood sugar when starting, but my performance (and science) suggested that, in reality, the glycogen in my muscles/liver etc were well topped up by generally eating well during the week and getting a good feed the previous night.

I also found that taking on electrolyte supplements helped a bit; just drinking water would have Paula jostling on my shoulder pretty quickly, particularly on hot days.

Good luck.

In reply to lizard-16-07:

Yeah, the actual race day should be fine, as you say, loos along the way. Did a long fell run this weekend and didn't feel the need for a paula after having energy gels, but did after having some fatty food (much enjoyed pork pie) so electrolyte stuff + gels might be the road to go down for the training and long road runs. Cheers all for your input!

In reply to lizard-16-07:

I've suffered with this from time to time (had to run into the toilets at Vauxhall station once or twice on runs to work a few years back, and there are areas of the woods near me were things are best left unsaid).

When I'm doing a road marathon I pop an immodium - short term fix, doesn't seem to have any other side affects and you can take something to get things moving again afterwards if needed. There are lavs during the race but if you're targetting a fast time (I'm aiming for this in October too - Amsterdam) then you don't want to be faffing about - also I've never had the pleasure of using the portaloos that line the routes of marathons but I wouldn't be surprised to find a bit of a mess in there.

In reply to lizard-16-07:

This thread has been an eye opener.

Do you slack-bowelled people find the issue is specific to running? Or do you crap all the time anyway?

In reply to yorkshireman:

Pain in the arse (pardon the pun) carrying a book round with you to read on the throne I reckon.

In reply to yorkshireman:

When I'm doing a road marathon I pop an immodium

Seconded. It's really helped doing longer runs or MM's when you have to start early. I always suffer from the 'green apple quickstep' on race day and when you're starting at 5.30 you don't always have time for repeated trips to the throne. If it's later in the day then coffee is good, but not too close to the start as it affects the running

In reply to Gav M:


Thank God for internet pseudonyms eh?

In reply to lizard-16-07:

I think it may well be psycological. Used to happen to me a lot. Just had to decide to ignore it and hence break the mental link. I found that the need to do my paula occured later and later into the run, until eventually i didn't need to go at all.

It might help to try to make the mental link to have a good empty out before heading out- ie just try to go as you get changed into your running gear. It may not happen the first few times, but give it a few goes to see if it can help.

Also, think about the type of food you're eating before running- ie avoid fibre.

In reply to Days on Rock:

Immodium, ok, I'll give it a go.