Emergency Toilet Paper

I have learned the hard way that, no matter how good you are feeling, you should always carry around emergency toilet paper while running.

I'll admit it - I got a little cocky. Being able to actually run several miles has made me feel a little invincible. Because I'm feeling good enough to train for a half marathon, I have been feeling as though I don't even have Crohn's disease. Running through the woods with no bathrooms was a fun reminder of my disease.

I was just passing one mile when I could feel a poop brewing in my lower colon. Shoot. I was hoping I could finish the last mile and make it to the bathroom in a lower cabin. However, after another tenth of a mile or so I knew I wasn't going to make it. Unfortunately, most of my running clothes are neon, and a lot of people at camp like to run. There I was, waddling into the woods, trying to get far enough back so no one could see me. It ended fine and no one knew about it, but ever since then I have learned to carry my own toilet paper so I don't have to worry about which leaves are safe to use.

I thought that I wasn't going to be able to run because I was constantly needing to go to the bathroom when I ran, but I have now found my pattern. If I run, I either have to go in the morning on an empty stomach, or I have to wait until I poop once or twice (I determine whether my colon feels empty or not). If I'm biking, I don't need to go to the bathroom.

My upcoming goals are to figure how I'm going to do my marathon. You have to take in simple sugars at some point, but I have to poop badly if I eat before running. To me, it sounds like a disaster to eat while running.

However, compared to other issues I've had with Crohn's, trying to figure out how I can manage pooping while running a marathon seems to be a really tiny issue.