It seems that I have more in common with Paula Radcliffe than previously thought: as well as a lousy running style, we share the same best time for the New York City Marathon (2.23.12, for which she won about half a million dollars in 2004 and I collected a finishers medal in 1983, not that I'm bitter); we have both been involved in three World Half Marathon Championships - she won three, I coached an athlete who ran in three; and now, it seems, we share the frustration of living with a dairy, or lactose, intolerance ...
Whilst refraining from giving all the gory details of this unfortunate ailment, some indication needs to be portrayed to understand the ramifications of this intolerance. Over the years I've always had problems with 'gut-rot' especially when running in the evenings. I've experimented by eating more, eating less, eating at different times and different foods, all to no avail. Many years ago I accepted that my constitution was such that I'd have to live with the problem, one that is not unusual amongst runners, a fact that helped me tolerate my affliction.
In recent years my issues have become markedly more apparent: once in Venice with Bill Leggate after Wendy's World Half, I ate an ice cream and within 20 minutes was in desperate straights ... eventually I had to dash into a café and straight to the toilet - thankfully vacant - for immediate relief. I didn't leave a tip but felt sorry for the next incumbent. There have also been other times, particularly after eating out, when the ramifications of going for a creamy dessert manifested themselves within minutes, sometimes creating very awkward situations.
I've generally cut out creamy products since these escapades but to be brutally frank my stools have remained 'loose' in the extreme. About a month ago I decided to cut out milk - I liked a bowl of cereal in the morning - and the positive impact was virtually instantaneous. I've tried lactose-free milk and soya milk, both work well but I prefer the latter on the occasional bowl of cereal. I still need to adapt my diet accordingly so that I am able to replace the goodness in minerals and vitamins produced in particular by milk, but that will come with time. In the meantime I am much more comfortable and confident walking about town ... I've had some really difficult experiences that cannot be written down here. The relief is, quite literally, palpable!
Recent times have really wearied my body, there's not much left to suffer and I'm only 56. Oh the joys of running being good for your health! In the last five years I've suffered ailments to most of my body:
shoulder, neck, hip (all probably arthritis), hamstrings,
adductor, abdomen, Achilles (x2), heart palpitations, MS leg spasms
and that's before we venture above the neck ...
adductor, abdomen, Achilles (x2), heart palpitations, MS leg spasms
and that's before we venture above the neck ...
Whilst nothing compared to what some poor souls go through, that's enough problems for a runner to know when his time is probably up! No doubt the next issue will be RSI after pounding out all this nonsense on the keyboard.
Oh for the days when running seemed so easy (pic: Ranelagh ½ 1984)
