I've talked about this in some of my other videos that you need to go to the bathroom before you go run so that you don't have any problems. So, you're wondering to yourself, does running actually make you have a number two emergency halfway through your run?
If you've been a runner for any length of time, you know that there's kind of like this hidden not so hidden, out in the open, maybe that's not out in the open poop culture that goes on with running. Yeah, poop culture. I said it. It's just really unspoken but often spoken about things that happens with runners all the time.
So, you're out on a long run, and suddenly you have to go and you're thinking, okay, this is gonna be because I'm running, right? Well, and you'd be right. It does have to do with you running. It isn't necessarily the running itself, but it's kind of the things that go along with running.
So, when you're running, your body is taking all of your blood supply and kind of pushing it towards your muscles because it needs them to move to oxygenate your muscles and make them function. So, it takes them away from your GI tract. And consequently, that means that that potential for GI distress goes up. Not only that, but some of the jostling that goes on with running because of the up and down movement actually creates hormones, which, in turn, makes your GI tract go, “Hey, let's loosen things up and make things move a little bit easier.”
And then lastly, kind of associated with running but not necessarily the running itself is what you're taking in. So, if you're doing extra hydration, you're taking in some kind of sugary drink; those things have effects too. So, extra water is going to make things looser, make it more easy for you to be, like, “I’ve gotta go to the bathroom right now.” And then that sugar also tells your body, “Okay, let's put more water into the GI tract”, which again makes things looser.
So, yes, in fact, running and a lot of the associated things with running does make you have to go number two. So, I'll see you next time on the next episode Runner’s High to hopefully answer more pressing questions just like this one.