Too Full

Yesterday afternoon, my husband and I went for a "date" and saw the new "Pirates of the Caribbean" (which I would recommend -- we both enjoyed the antics of Jack Sparrow) and then we went to dinner at The Cheesecake Factory where I scarfed down nearly all of my gigantic Chinese Chicken Salad. This would not be any kind of issue if I hadn't been planning on running last night.

We got home, and I let my food settle for about ninety minutes and then I was out on the road and planned to run five miles. But two miles in, I had a side ache and stomach cramps and felt like I might hurl (more than once I eyed the bushes and the hidden green of the golf course behind them). I pressed on for a bit hoping the pain would pass, but at exactly halfway I decided I had to walk (which is really a crappy dilema: walk the rest of the way on the loop or turn around? when it seems equal distance, it can be a problematic question). I thought I'd be able to walk for a bit, settle my stomach, and then resume running, but my stomach gurgled and protested the whole walk home.

Lesson learned: When planning an evening run, one of two courses of action need to be heeded: 1. Don't eat as much dinner, or 2. Eat much earlier and give the stomach plenty of time to digest.

In the end, after returning home I felt much better and went ahead and consumed half of the slice of cheesecake I brought home (had the other half for breakfast this morning); it was yummy.