Nature calls even at 16 miles

As much as I try to plan these runs, nobody can really predict how a long run will turn out. The run began with Kris and I knocking on Darren's door at 5:50 as he was nowhere in sight at "our spot" at 5:30. We jogged back home and texted him with no answer. There have been some muggings of men in our neighborhood so I was all worried! It turns out, D's alarm is set to his cd player and it was just skipping along. Phew! Once we started we were all loving how it felt almost cold outside. It felt great. About 5 minutes into our run, i had to make a quick pee break which, little did I know, set the tone for our run. Kris had to make a couple of stops the first part or our run as well and I happily took advantage. I think it was all related to us being very cognisant of staying hydrated but the cool weather greatly decreased our sweating.

Ok, now comes to the subject that all of the sudden dominated much of the second part of our training run. Poop! Yes, I said it, poop. Come on, everyone does it and it is a part of our training so I will share with you. Kris, D and I have joked about it before as Kris's cousin, Stacy (who has run a half a dozen marathons), told us all about runners trots and how people get it (not her!). I won't go into it so you'll have to google it on your own.

Running the early morning long runs it's inevitable to come into play. I was the first person to have to find a creative place to go to the bathroom during a 9 miler in Door County. Last week, we were walking home from our 15 miler and all of the sudden Kris said, "umm, I gotta go" and he took off towards home. Well, yesterday, it was D's turn. I think his quick, fire drill to get out the door this morning had something to do with it. We were about 30 minutes from foster beach which has a full facility bathroom and all of the sudden D shared that it was his turn to "need the bathroom." We offered to stop somewhere at Montrose but he said he could wait. We came upon a long stretch and he said he was just going to go ahead 'cuz he had to go. He dramatically picked up the pace and as he was almost out of site, i realized, we were at the spot that feels like we are close to Foster, but really over half a mile away! Oh no! Darren would be sprinting for a long time and I was hoping he would make it. Good news! He made it. Bad news, I don't think he felt very well the rest of the run. Very proud of Darren though because he basically gutted out the last 5 miles of our run. Talking was limited and he looked very focused.

No matter how much we train and prepare, "stuff happens," literally. Nature is nature and it's these types of things that makes the marathon training always eventful. Sorry for the gross post, but I wanted to offer full transparency :). I'm off for brunch with the ladies this morning for some much needed, non poop talk. Have a great week!