Post-Colonoscopy Long Run

Monday's long run was weird for LOTS of reasons:

1. I'm still getting over a calf injury, so I wasn't sure how far was a "safe" distance.

2. It was my first run later in the day in YEARS. I ran at 5:30 pm, 12 hours before/after when I normally run.

3. It was raining... a gross 50 degree rain. So I wore tights to keep my sore leg warm, something I rarely do.

4. The night before was my first night NOT in the "night splint" in nearly 4 weeks!

5. I had recently had a burrito. 100% of my runs (except for races) happen on a totally empty stomach.

6. Before that burrito, I'd been on a clear liquid diet for the previous 46 hours (nearly 2 full days). Because...

7. I just had my first colonoscopy 4 hours prior.

Yep, I'd spent the weekend doing a super fun colonoscopy prep. It honestly wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be! I was ready to be miseriable and hungry the entire time, but that wasn't an issue. Once the "clear liquids only" diet started, it was hardest to remember not to snack! I'm a snacker, and I'd always walk into the kitchen for a handful of cereal or a pickle or something, and have to remember "Oh wait! No! I can't eat anything!..."

Friday and Saturday were "low fiber" days. I actually like to eat a lot of fiber, so that was just a bit tricky. We had pizza, I made a cheese quesadillas, and then I grilled steaks on Saturday night. I mindlessly messed up a moment on Saturday night by having a handful of raspberries, but that ended up not being a problem.

Sunday was all clear liquids only: I had 2 bowls of Jello throughout the day, a diet mountain dew, a diet 7-up, and a lot of chicken broth. I wasn't suffering. From 4-6 pm is when the fun started: I had an entire bottle of Miralax between two big bottles of Gatorade (a glass full every 15 minutes for 2 hours). I actually felt full and gross after that, even though I'd had so few calories all day. And then around 6:40, THINGS started to happen. Liquid things. Liquid butt things.

Point #4 above about not spending the night in the "night splint" was because I didn't want to take that off and on all night as I got in and out of bed to use the bathroom. I slept poorly with a gurgly stomach, but didn't get up THAT much (10 p.m., 1:30 a.m., and 3:00 a.m.). I got up early on Monday pondering if I should run, but I didn't feel up to it.

I had one more bottle of laxatives at 9 a.m. on Monday morning (and a bottle of Sprite), and then cut all liquids at 10 a.m. before my 1 p.m. appointment time.

Plenty of room in my gown.


Yes, my wife took this photo without me knowing. But I have 0 modesty.


IV in, ready to go!

I came back 25 minutes later and my wife took a lot of videos of me babbling about things I don't recall. I was back in the procedure room as the nurse started putting the drugs to make me sleep in my line, and I remember thinking "Oh, I hope they work well, because I'm not even getting drowsy yet..." and then LITERALLY the next thing I know, I'm mid-sentence with my wife back in the recovery room (we'd been talking for like 4-5 minutes), and 25 minutes had passed. No "I'm starting to get sleepy..." Just awake one moment, and then RE-waking up 25 minutes later! WILD!

Here are some clips my wife took as I was waking up. Some back-story: First, the "best wife ever" comments came from me writing that on my intake form noting who was going to be my driver. The woman at the front desk loved that, and teased that she was honored to be in the presence of the BEST wife ever. Second, I had contacted my doctor about getting a vasectomy, and we joked that they should offer 2-for-1 deals while getting a colonoscopy. So when I started saying that I saw a message on MyChart from my doctor, I thought it could have been about a vasectomy, but it was just about an upcoming physical therapy appointment for my shoulder. And third, the FIRST thing I remember in this video is saying "MyChart" at the 1:51 mark. Right before that I joked about still having to use a condom (around the 1:35 mark), and I do not remember saying that (or anything before that):


Direct link: youtu.be/Ynu2bTpz69w

We had Chipotle, picked Charlie up from school, and I got ready to run. I was hoping to do 10+ miles with 5 of those being harder in the middle, but it was cold and rainy, so I didn't know. (4 weeks ago was a normal long run of 11+ miles with 6 harder miles in the middle, 3 weeks ago was NO run as I was injured, 2 weeks ago was a 4.5 mile "test" run, and 1 week ago was an 8 mile run with a few harder miles in the middle like a normal long run [just 2 miles shorter overall with 2 fewer harder miles in the middle as well].)

But I just felt WORKED OVER. I knew I wasn't going to get to 5 miles of harder miles, but I was planning on 4.5 miles. But after 4 miles, I just found myself easing up. I was hashed from the last few days. It felt like my heart rate was high, and it turns out it was: 4 weeks ago, it averaged 158 bpm for my long run, and for this shorter run with fewer hard miles, it averaged 168 bpm. My body was over it.

A turkey near the Merriam Park Library on my longer cool down.


A wet dog after 10.03 miles.


I WANTED to run hard from split 5 to 15 (half mile splits),
but eased up at split 13 after 4 harder miles.

My "hard" 4 miles in the middle were some of my slowest "hard" miles in recent years at 6:31 pace. Usually in the 6:0xs is good, 6:10s is average, and 6:20s is bad. And that's usually for 6 "hard" miles, not just 4. I was pooped! (Pun intended.)