on running and toilets (to be blunt)

Ran 18 this morning -- this is only the second time in my life that I've run this distance, and thankfully, today's run was much better than my previous attempt. There were no scary drunk people, and I didn't finish with a walk-limp pace. I also got to practice my newly-learned ChiRunning skills (and yes, even though it looks ridiculous, the hill technique truly works).

But I wouldn't exactly call today's run pretty. (And you should stop reading here if you get grossed out easily.)

About 12 miles in, I had to use an outhouse, and while I was trying to squat over the disgusting toilet and avoid touching anything, I accidentally peed down the back of my running tights. And there really was nothing else for me to do but pat them off with toilet paper and hope my running partner (god bless her for suffering through the remaining six miles with me and my pee pants) didn't notice.

And then at about mile 15, I realized I had ingested too many electrolytes and energy gels. Long-distance running involves the tricky act of eating on the go, and it's not easy to figure out what the right balance is. (See all the weird powders and sticky things in the picture? I depend on a mix of that stuff to get me through and help me recover from each run.)

Eat too little and hit the wall. Eat too much and, well, start praying that you don't crap your pants.

I'm experimenting right now with electrolyte drink, which is something I don't usually take while running. But I've noticed I tend to lose a lot of electrolytes (you know the salty face thing?), so I thought it might be a good idea to drink something. I brought some Ultima, which is what they're going to be serving at the aid stations at CIM (even more reason to try this stuff out), and used it for the second half of today's run.

These last nine miles were significantly hotter than the first half, so I drank almost the whole bottle of Ultima. Add three GUs to that, and my stomach was not happy. Thankfully -- oh so thankfully -- nothing horrible happened, and I survived. But it was tough and very uncomfortable.

Remarkably, despite all of this, my running buddy still wants to run with me. We're planning a 22-miler in two weeks.

Now that will be interesting.