Half Marathon training and j-pouch question

Last year, I RAN three half marathons and many 5Ks with a disconnected jpouch and a diverting ileostomy. I found that I absolutely had to do things significantly differently than all of my coloned running colleagues. I had to focus on being hydrated and eating tons of protein all day every single day. Not just before or after running. I also had to hydrate and eat very specifically WHILE running.

What worked for me was to only use a true WHO oral rehydration powder/drink. I could never drink plain water, sports drink or vitamin water or anything like that. I drank the WHO solution all day every day and drank it while running. In a race, I never ever drank what they had, nor did I drink plain water. I always carried my own drinks. I could only carry a handheld so I knew I would be fairly dehydrated by the time I finished a half marathon. I dealt with that by drinking tons at the finish line and for the next 24 or so hours after each half marathon.

I ate 5-6 meals a day with protein in every single meal. If I RAN more than 50minutes I had to nourish during my run. I used mini luna bars. As I found all that gu, energy powders, and stuff way to surgary and chemically for my system. They just gushed right through me.

I ate protein shortly before a run, maybe a piece of peanut butter toast. And I ate protein immediately upon finishing a run, even if it was just a 5 miler. I ate maybe a full luna bar or a piece of peanut butter bread. Never could do bagels, way to greasy and fatty. Then when I got home I would eat a huge breakfast or meal. Maybe a big omelet with cheese and salmon and potatoes. Then I would eat the rest of the 5-6 meals as usual through the rest of the day.

So yes, I had to manage things differently than coloned people. So much so that I even got mocked by CCFA team challenge manager and others for being on such a strict regimine. My local CCFA people really have no clue what these diseases are like. Their experience with this diseases really is limited to people with extremely mild form of the UC or crohns. Heck they would bring granola, nuts, sugary muffins, and greasy bagels to eat post runs. Fortunately for me, the paid for CCFA running coach was not from the CCFA clique. He was a true runner, with a great coaching background and he really helped me figure out what to do for myself.

BUT regardless, you have to learn and listen to your body. It is different than coloned people, and even what worked for me, may not work for you.
good luck

The biggest thing for me was learning to drink during the run. I use a handheld bottle and carry on every run every time. I've developed a routine of taking a drink every time the music changes on my iPod. I then drink a small cup of water or sports drink whenever we stop for hydration on our long group runs. I am fortunately able to tolerate sports drinks and gels which makes things convenient. No matter how careful I am though, I always end up with a bit of a headache after running long in hot weather.

I also learned that I need a lot more sleep than most of my training partners!

yes cytomax... disgusting! and definitely wasn't good for my system.

WHO is world health organization. Basically its the exact formula used to send to 3rd world countries in disasters. I use Oral rehydration salts from Jianas Brothers. I mix one packet with one small packet of crystal light in one liter of water. You can buy it by the case and they ship it to you. Not too expensive either. Definitely cheaper than sports drinks and vitalyte. Another one that is supposed to be good for us is ceralyte. I couldn't stand the taste of it though.

Mini luna bars... at Target or Sam's Club.

I would say my 5-6 meals were each about 1/2 of what an average american would eat, except for my huge feast after a long run. (I am a small petite woman, so your needs might be different) And again... all were very protein focused. I had a doctor at the time who specialized in nutrition issues for people with IBD. And her message was... I must think protein with everything I put in my mouth. She wasn't fond of me training and running half marathons as I was clinically underweight, anemic, classified with a high output ileostomy, and other things. But she knew I was going to do it. Best part was that training for my first half, I had to get a series of nine weekly iron infusions. I would go out for a run right after an infusion as one of my favorite running spots was right by the hospital where I was getting infustions. Never told my doc that. But my running coach reprimanded me!

Many on the two TC teams I was on had crohns or colitis.. but just very mild versions thats for sure. Best one my CCFA people did was the "send off" party for Vegas half last year. Greasy pizza from a "dominoes" kind of place and ice cream. Yup... one week before running a half marathon. Pretty bad stuff for coloned people even, but absolutely out of the question for me. I could have never ate any of it with a high output ileostomy. Needless to say.. I skipped that "party"!

Sorry to hear about the run/walk coach. We had 2 coaches. A very positive CCFA walk coach who has been involved with TC since it started , and then the professional running coach. The professional run coach quit after Vegas though and now the local TC team doesn't have a good run coach at all. That's one of the reasons I never did another one with them... and well the fact that they are so uneducated about the diseases, and how terribly I was mistreated for being sick. I was even reprimanded for running out of the big pasta party in Vegas to use the bathroom before "team pictures". Serioiusly. Guess I should've just let the ileostomy blow out all over the Endurance manager's shoes. Would've been a great team photo!!!

One thing that caught me about what you wrote is that you said you do feel the "energy drain" after an hour. My suggestion would be to not wait until you feel that.... to hydrate and nourish. I think it is very hard to catch up sometimes. So better to hydrate and nourish before that stuff happens.

Lastly.. have you tried yoga to get your body more in balanced and help with the stretching? Great complement to what you are doing. And also great preventative medicine for potential injuries. Plus definitely helps with your breathing during running.. or walking.. whichever it is you are choosing to do.

Also whatever you do.... in Vegas DO NOT count on hydration or nutrition being available during or after the race. Last year's race was a complete disaster. Fortunately for me, I never planned on it. But for those that were counting on using it... let's just say many ended up hospitalized. Carry your own stuff during the half and have post race stuff readily accessible and have a plan to get through the finish line mess of crowds to get what you need for hydration/nutrition post race.

Lastly, how's the fundraising going? I found that part of it so very time consuming. But between the 2halfs I did for ccfa last year, I somehow managed to raise nearly 10K.

Post Edited (ddd45) : 10/18/2012 8:01:10 PM (GMT-6)

Run4pancakes,
Taking a drink every time the music changes is a good idea. Any music lists you like?
So far I can handle Gatorade and Powerade but I do not know how effective they are as a sports drink. I will be trying Stinger Gels on Saturday. Heed Hammer on Monday. I have all the bathrooms marked out on my route--just in case!

im not a runner here but i might chime in about the sports drinks - gatorade etc... the ostomy peeps over here in australia are pretty clued in to the whole hydration thing especially with the weather here. the lady who told me about the only drink that i drink regularly besides alcohol was an avid runner. marathon chic and cycling and swimming too.
she gave me a recipe that i have been using since i first got my ileo and has treated me well since. i have never been dehydrated no matter the circumstances (even after a night of binge drinking)

i get powdered Gatorade or powerade and mix it with twice the amount of water (to cut the sugar) then i pour in about a teaspoon of salt into the mix. shake it up and drink it all day long.
if 1 scoop makes 250mls then i use 1 scoop to 500 mls of water and add 1 tspn table salt.
500ml is like a regular sized bottle of water.

they swear by this drink over here. i never drink water. if i drink water i actually get dehydrated.

maybe this recipe will help out.
good luck with your running! (i can't even run to the end of my driveway LOL)

I haven't done any half marathons, but I do a lot of trail running which is pretty strenuous. I was hoping to do the same half marathon you are doing but had some major hip issues in the beginning of the summer. They have resolved for the most part with physical therapy, but figured I had better hold off on running such a long distance for now. Hope to do a CCFA half marathon in the future sometime.

For hydration during running and other sports, I love a product called Vitalyte (I believe I first heard about it from Suebear on this forum). It isn't so sugary sweet like some of the other sports drinks out there. So far I have only found it through REI. A history of tennis elbow keeps me from carrying a hand-held water bottle, so I run with a small Camelbak filled with Vitalyte. I too have issues with losing too much sodium. In fact, my blood pressure was unusually low at a recent doctors appointment and my doc told me I need to eat more salty snacks when I run and workout. This has been a challenge. I too crave the salt when my body is deficient and sometime notice I get nauseated and sleepy when I am salt-deprived. Withing 20 minutes of eating something salty, I feel better. My doctor actually recommended carrying salty chips on workouts which I thought was funny, but it actually works! Oh my, an excuse to eat Boulder Potato Chips:) Usually for workout snacks I carry Think Thin protein bars. They have 20 grams of protein per bar. They do have maltitol (a sugar alcohol) in them which some people say irritates their digestive tract a bit. Occasionally if I eat them on a completely empty stomach, they make my output liquidy but as long as I have already eaten other stuff throughout the day they are fine for me. I like Lara Bars too but they do not have as much protein as the Think Thin. Neither of these seem very salty though so they don't help with that predicament.

I like Steph's idea of adding salt to a sports drink. When I do drink Gatorade or Powerade instead of Vitalyte, I too make it half strength with the powder mix because otherwise it is too sweet. Adding salt might be just the ticket for meeting sodium needs.

I too foam roll after runs. My PT highly recommended it when I was having hip issues and I think it works very well to get the muscle knots out after runs.

I am so happy for you that you are able to do this run! And are so close to meeting the fundraising goal. Awesome job!

I tried a cherry mini-Luna bar and it made me very ill with stomach cramps and indigestion. So far I prefer Stingers to Cliff blocks and 16 oz of Heed Perpetuem (8 ox every hour) followed by 8 oz. of water. I have a piece of bread with 1 tablespoon of peanut butter and half a banana an hour before and within one hour after five miles. The Gatorade with salt wasn't bad but I had more even endurance with the Perpetuem and no sugar let down afterwards. So far this has been very reliable. I have a few samples of gels and will try them soon. I'll try the Heed Recoverite Saturday after a nine-miler. Thank you for all of suggestions.

The Perpetuem seems to be enough. It has plenty of potassium, sodium, magnesium, calcium and vitamins. I no longer have the salt cravings afterwards. Thank you for the suggestion though. I am still having trouble figuring out caloric needs. Do we need less calories than other people doing the same exercise? I cannot possibly eat as much as my teammates.

Thank you Blueheron. It is good to hear from you. I am up to 25 miles and feeling pretty well. I won't break any records but I also won't be the last to finish! I have not tried the chips but will look for them.
I am sleeping a lot this week. I have been working on hill and interval training. Definitely need some new trail shoes. The trails have been very muddy!

Blue heron, The Think Thin bars are great!!!