Training Day 4

Well, today the wife and the new baby came home. I took the opportunity at nap time to hit the gym. The wife instructed me to keep it short today because she wanted me back before the kids woke up. Apparently, she didn't want to deal with all three boys by herself little more than 48 hours post-delivery. I know, selfish right? I had about an hour and a halfish. That's about how long Caleb sleeps.


So, I did a 30 min treadmill jog (not incl. warm-up and cool-down). I did kick the speed up a bit to compensate somewhat. So, I managed about 3 miles at a pace averaging about 11:15.

Those of you who are good at math might be wondering what I did with the other half of that gym time. You only used 30 min of 90? What's the deal? Okay, so, I do about 8 min on either side of the jog for warm-up and cool-down. So, we're up to 46 min. That's like half right? Okay, then there is travel to and from the gym. That's another 15-20 roundtrip give or take. Ok, so were at 66 tops. Why cut the workout so short?

In a previous post, I explained that I fight a little "bowel distress." Time to explain.

I can remember back to the summer between 7th and 8th grade. I would go rollerblading for hours with friends. And right as I would leave the house to initiate such a thing, it would happen. Distress. Specifically, I HAVE to grab and toilet and hit the “twice”, “the deuce”, the “#2”… You get the idea. This happened without fail.

It still does. My body knows when exercise is imminent. I WILL have to go. Oh, I know what you’re thinking. “Just go sometime before.” My response: It does not matter. You think I’ve never thought about this? You think I’ve never tried it? Many times?? Let me repeat: IT DOES NOT MATTER. In fact, if we’re talking about extended aerobic sessions (over an hour), there may be a secondary… um… appointment. I’d say given those circumstances, there’s a 1 in 8 chance based on experience.

The question is WHY. I have no idea. Everything just… moves downward I guess. Does it have to do with being a fatty? Is it just too much for my body to handle and so my bowels are rebelling? Answer: No. How do I know? Two reasons: First, it happened even when I was at my fittest. Second, I’m not the only one. That is, there are marathon runners who have similar problems. I’ve done some research. In fact, some are so dedicated that they run right through it. I’ll let you meditate on that.

Exercise can be an ugly business. I hope your gut is more stable than mine.

For relatedish laugh