Reader Advisory: Indelicate Content

Joy here...Okay, I admit right at the start that this is going to be an over-share post.  Be forewarned.  Basically I've realized that there's a gap in discussions about running in online forums and magazines when it comes to something that all women experience.  Approximately every 28 days.  Yep, you know what I'm talking about.  The Complete Book of Women's Running published in conjunction with Runner's World magazine is a book that both Nomi and I bought in starting our running journeys.  Here's what it says under the "Menstrual Problems" section:
"Although some women complain of discomfort during their periods, it is generally accepted that menstruation does not negatively affect running performance."  
This, to me is evidence of a larger conspiracy.  It's as though admitting that there are some times of the month when someone reaches inside your uterus and starts grabbing things, twisting them, and generally causing excruciating pain is somehow admitting weakness.  It's as though to admit that PMS can be painful is an admission that despite the era of women's liberation, despite three separate waves of feminism, and despite the leaps and bounds that have been made in terms of gender equity we are still "the weaker sex."  That's NONSENSE, I'm no one's "weaker sex," but at certain times of the month, I'M IN FREAKIN' PAIN.  And to pretend otherwise is just downright silly.


So this gets me to today's run.  It was just supposed to be an easy run in the final week before our 1/2 marathon this coming Sunday, and so, out the door I went, but quite early into the run I began to get cramps in my lower abdomen that radiated into my back and kidneys.  Every woman knows her own body and recognizes what sorts of pains indicate what sorts of problems.  I can tell you when I'm having a stitch due to running; I can tell you when I'm having an upset stomach due to something I've eaten; I can tell you when I'm just gassy; and I can sure tell you when I'm having those ever-so-lovely once-per-month kind of pains.  I made the executive decision to end my run early.  At this point, I'm less than one week out from the race, and there's not a whole heck of a lot that I can do to either improve or ruin my race.  And so I decided that there wasn't much point in suffering through the run.  


Here are today's PMS run stats:
Ran for a total time of 28:41:54 for a distance of 5.02km with an average pace of 5:43min/km and average heart rate of 145beats/min.


In closing, I want to point your attention to a really humorous piece that deals with this very topic.  It's an "open letter" to Always spoof that was posted online back in 2007.  I highly recommend it!


Now, maybe I'm going to go and dig into that bag of Hallowe'en chocolate...


Over and out,
Joy