Long Runs and the Call of Nature

Last Sunday I did my long run—about 18 miles worth.  Whew!!!  That was a long run.

Anyway, I am not really a fast runner, and from the time I left the house—about 7 am—to the time I finished, hours passed.  And on this particular run, I felt the call of nature.

Specifically, I ran this in about 3 hours and 10 minutes (3:10).  Here’s the kicker—at mile 6.5, I felt the call of nature—of type #1.  Since I typically clear myself before such a long run, I decided to just let this ride.  I knew that this was just a feeling, and I just had to hang in there.

So all the way through the run I had the urge to pee.  Unfortunately there were no convenient place to do this for the running route that I took.  On at least one occasion, I seriously thought about going into a bush and just doing it there.

But, I hung on to the finish.  Here’s the funny thing.  When I finished the run, I no longer had the urge to pee!

The moral of the story…

Sometimes when you feel like going, it probably doesn’t mean you have to go.  If you can hold it, just wait until the finish.  If, however, you feel like you are bursting at the seams, by all means find a convenient spot to deliver.