u/Natebernstein

Hi. I'm scheduled for laparoscopic colon resection surgery in October. I'm 54M and like to stay active, including running several times per week, running a few 5K-5 mile races each year, strength training and yoga. I know I'm going to have to go through a period immediately following surgery where I'm not doing much more than walking. My surgeon says generally he clears his patients for full activity after about 4 weeks. I'm sure any return to training is going to have to be slow and careful, though.

My question for all of you who are athletic/active and have had the laparoscopic surgery is: how long did you have to wait before you were able to get fully "back" to approximately the training load you were bearing prior to surgery?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts!

Hi folks,

First, let me say how glad I am to have found this subreddit. I've suffered from DV for almost 10 years and am 99% sure I'll be having elective surgery soon to correct it. There is such a wealth of helpful information here. Thanks to the creators/mods/contributors.

I'm wondering, though, have any folks here experienced a relationship between running and DV? I've run on and off for the whole time I've had DV, but only over the past 6-7 months have gotten more serious about it, usually running about 10-15 miles across 3-4 sessions per week. Previously I'd only run like once a week or even once a month or every 2 months. During the short period since I've gotten more serious I've had three flares.

The first was very early on in my training ramp-up. I was still only at 2 runs and 5-6 miles per week. The second came after my highest-mileage week to date (17), while I was training for a 5-mile race. I went to urgent care, got the CT scan, augmentin, etc., felt better and resumed training after taking 4 days off.

About a week and a half later, a couple days before the race, I started getting a bit of diarrhea but still felt fine overall. I woke up on race day feeling well, ran it and performed well. By the time I got home, ate something and began to digest, the DV pain started and I was in urgent care that night (technically this could count as the third flare of four but my GI thinks it was the second one that didn't fully resolve). This time docs prescribed Cipro and Flagyl, and I took more days off before getting back to running. I was able to ramp back up over the next couple weeks and successfully ran a 5K.

After this I slowly ramped up a little bit more, in preparation for another 5K, which is happening tomorrow. By last Wednesday (9 days ago), though, I had another flare. I haven't run since 2 days before that flare was diagnosed. Today's my last day on Augmentin and I feel fine (though it took me longer than I expected to start feeling better), but I decided to skip the race and haven't gone back to running yet. Just a couple of easy/moderate indoor cycling sessions and a light strength workout over the past 3 days.

I had a consult with a surgeon recently who said that long-distance runners can sometimes get ischemic colitis, a lack of blood flow to the colon, but that this primarily affects marathoners. He didn't think that my shorter-distance training and racing would prompt it, but also didn't eliminate it as a factor.

I have had many, many flares over the past decade and most of them were before I became a serious runner. But I'm starting to wonder whether running more is an aggravating factor that can trigger flares. I've asked my surgeon whether I should hold off on or scale back on distance/intensity before the procedure, but haven't heard back from him. I'm also wondering whether I'll be able to run after the surgery. I've really come to enjoy running and the way it makes me feel — physically and mentally — and would hate to give it up.

Love to hear anyone's thoughts/experiences in this realm. Thanks!

Been thinking about using Runna for training. Had it generate a plan and even when choosing ‘steady’ and ‘balanced’ options it’s spitting out plans that are a bit higher volume and more intense than I’d like. I have seen plans via Runner’s World and used Chat GPT in the past and these seem to take into account more context like my age (54M) and seriousness (would like to improve times and challenge myself but not going to be on any podiums lol). I’m also comfortable using my Apple Watch to pre-program and follow workouts and pacing for races. Those of you who have used Runna - am I missing out on any big benefits or improvements over what I’m doing now? Does syncing with Apple Watch change the Apple Watch workflow/experience a lot? Is this more of a tool for more-serious or younger athletes? Appreciate any feedback!

Does anyone know if there is a set schedule or hours for public access to the track at Kehler Stadium? I've run there a couple times in the past when it just happened to be open outside school hours and other people were using it, too. But not sure if there's a set schedule for when it's open/available or closed, and can't seem to find anything online (i.e. the school district website).

Hi folks! I am running a 5-miler Saturday and it looks like it will be chilly and rainy. Right now forecast calls for 54 Fahrenheit, winds off the ocean at 13 mph (gusts to 24), a 35% chance of rain and a "feels like" temp of 45 at start time. I've run this race a few times before and usually the weather is much nicer, so I'm not sure what to wear.

Last year, for example, it was a similar temp outside but not windy or rainy and I wore shorts with a long-sleeve tech shirt and that was perfect.

In case it matters, I'm M/in my mid-50s and not particularly fast. Target pace for this one is about 9'25-9'30, which would be a PR.

Wondering if I should go with tights/pants instead of shorts or layer with a short sleeve and 1/4 zip, or maybe even add a hat and gloves, considering the wind and rain. The "what to wear" tool on Runner's World is telling me to wear all of that but I'm interested to hear what people here think, too.