Recovery | Go Without Your Gut

Marathon After Total Gastrectomy

It’s been 2 years and six days since my total gastrectomy due to CDH1 gene mutation and Hereditary Diffused Gastric Cancer Syndrome. During the first few months after surgery, I would have thought I would be finishing the Charleston Marathon in 4:11:45 in two years.

It was a warm day (low 70’s) and the race was hard. Knee pain started at mile 4, and only got worse. By mile 20, and after drinking over 115 ounces of liquids to keep from cramping, my legs were extremely sore and tight. I felt worse when I walked through the aid stations, so I picked up the pace and just suffered through the finish line. My goal was to finish under 4:30:00 so I was thrilled!

I went by a pop-up IV place and got a bag of fluid after the race. It didn’t help too much as I had a headache for around 48 hours following the race. I suspect due to dehydration. My legs are super sore, and the mental fog is intense. Recovering from the marathon is much more involved than I thought. With all the pain and difficulty, it was worth it.

I have no idea if my method will work for others, but I did a lot of things differently:

Training:

3 runs a week. Short, internals one day. Tempo runs the other day. Then, lastly, a long and slow run on the weekends. I choose this unorthodox approach because I would be very sore after my long runs and I needed extra rest to recover. I forget where I found this plan but I had to edit it to 3 days and make some changes. I also didn’t follow it 100%. *Disclosure: I didn’t make it myself.

Nutrition:

I took a 51 oz water backpack with me on all my long training runs and decided to use it for the race as well. On top of that, I had two 16 oz bottles on me that had 1.5 scoops of Hammer Nutrition – Perpeturm with a Nuun electrolyte tablet in each bottle. After I drank those, I added another electrolyte tablet in each bottle, with two GU Tri-Berry Gel’s and filled with water. Finally, after all of those, I had one last Gel with water to finish the race. PLUS, I would sip a cup of water at each aid station. Perhaps this is way too much, but I didn’t cramp, and it was a hot day so I consider it a victory to me.

The marathon was a big test for me. I’m not sure what I will do next but I think I’ll take a break from the long races for a bit. They are a big commitment and I’m looking forward to relaxing with the family more than racing long races.

Thanks for reading!

Stomachless Marathon

Join me Saturday, January 11th, for the Charleston Marathon. This will be my first marathon without a stomach. Training has been interesting and I’m currently battling a cold. I’m excited to give it my best and encourage you to follow along.

You can follow along via this Facebook Event:

Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/536198883597869/

OR via the website/app:

Live Tracking for Charleston Marathon – Saturday 7:10am ET

Live results will be posted online to www.CharlestonMarathon.com/Results OR free live tracking through the Sportshive Live App!

For Android Users: The App is available in the Google Play Store. To download, search by keyword “Sportshive Live.” Once downloaded, search for the “Charleston Marathon 2020.”

For iOS Apple Users: The App is available in the Apple App Store. To download, search by keyword “Sportshive Live.” Once downloaded, search for the “Charleston Marathon 2020.”
Follow Along!

Search “Dylan Davison”

Thanks for your support!

Do You Want To Do Something Important?

You can make a difference and help me raise money for important Stomach Cancer Research during Stomach Cancer Awareness Month!

A fellow stomach cancer survivor, and stomachless friend, Camden Linstead has challenged me to raise money and race him in the Charleston Marathon on January 11, 2019. Show your support by donating $26.20 (number of miles we will run in the race) or more to one of our campaigns. All donations are tax-deductible and go to No Stomach For Cancer. Stay tuned for training updates as I’m behind schedule.

DONATE HERE: https://www.justgiving.com/team/dylandavison

Charleston Marathon 2020 Without A Stomach

I registered for the 2020 Charleston Marathon! This will be my first Marathon without a stomach (2nd overall).

I’m excited about this race because I’m going to join another stomachless friend who has the CDH1 Gene Mutation and had a total gastrectomy 10 years ago and he will be racing with me.

Keep looking for updates. More exciting news coming soon!

The Charleston Marathon Starts Downtown Charleston

12 Mile Run in Tucson AZ at 2,500 Ft Elevation

I know, I know. 2,500 ft elevation – who cares? Considering I have done almost all my training in zero elevation in Charleston, SC, it was great to get a bit of elevation into the mix without completely failing. I was impressed the added elevation didn’t hurt my performance too much. I stopped a few times for water breaks and I ran through town a bit so I had to stop for cars. That made my time a bit slower overall.

If you visit Tucson, AZ and want to run/bike – I highly recommend visiting “The Loop”. It’s beautiful, paved, clean, and safe. Pictures below!

NEW PERSONAL RECORD (PR) 5K TIME

I had the pleasure of running the 2019 Turtle Trek 5K which raised $70,000 for Sea Turtle protection courtesy of the South Carolina Aquarium. What an incredible fundraising success story!

The 5K included a flat beach run in the hard sand and it was a simple out and back course. There was about a 10-15 mile per hour headwind on the way out, but a nice tailwind on the way in. It was hot, but that’s expected this time of year in Charleston, SC.

I hit a new PR! I placed 1^st in my age group (out of 29), 8^th overall (out of 421) with a time of 20:31.8 which was a 6:37 pace. If you’re a runner, then you might not be impressed. But for me, this was a big deal! This is my fastest time since High School.

The sad part of the story is that I was sore for 4 days following the race. Like, super sore.

I’m still not sure if this has to do with having less muscle mass, or nutrition. I hope to figure that out soon. Success story either way in my opinion.

Thai and Stop Me Now!

This is a big update for me. It’s been about two months since I have had sugar issues! In the past, if I consumed too much sugar, my blood sugar levels would go to 280 and I would get super sleepy but have a heart rate of 110 which is high for just sitting at my desk. Especially since my normal resting heart rate is in the mid-40’s. Then – 30-45 minutes later, my blood sugar would be in the 60’s which causes dizziness, sweating, unclear thinking, hunger, and more. Neither are fun but low blood sugar can be dangerous. Thankfully, my pancreas does work – it’s just still adjusting to my body receiving raw food straight to my small intestines. For 32 years of my life, my small intestines received food after the stomach perfectly broke it down. That changed abruptly after surgery (that last sentence was written by captain obvious).

Good News:

It appears my pancreas is figuring things out! To test the power of my pancreas and my body learning how to process food, I decided to have some Pad Thai. Pad Thai has a boatload of rice noodles. Rice Noodles are very high in carbs and often compared to sugar. But – Pad Thai is also fantastic and delicious. I specifically order it Thai Hot – which is so hot it often causes hiccups or a mild sweat. It’s so good.

I’m happy to report I have tried Pad Thai twice in the last week with no sugar issues. (insert Fortnite Dance in celebration).

New milestone! It’s been 19 months and I’m very thankful for the progress that my body continues to make.

First Sprint Triathlon of 2019 – Second Place

Had a great race on Sunday for the first sprint triathlon in 2019! Snagged Second Place and it was a tough one!

How I Raced IRONMAN Florida 70.3 with No Stomach

If you are reading this, you are probably thinking, “How did you get nutrition during the race”? Great question! I feel like I got lucky. What worked for me, doesn’t mean it will work for you. But – It might!

Prerace:

I treated my days as normal before the race. I did take one GU Hydration Drink Tabs with a G2 Gatorade two days before the race and the day before, I took two GU Hydration Drink Tabs with two G2 Gatorades. I sipped on these between meals. The evening meal before the race was pad thai – not spicy. I did spike my sugar a bit (expected with me) and caught it on the way down at 58, and then ate a few gummy packs to bring it back up. But – no major issues.

Pre-race: wake at 4:00 – 3 oz of Espresso

Eat a “One Protein Bar” at around 5am (takes about 45 min)

7am: start sipping on First Endurance EFS: Lemon Lime and water (two separate bottles)

7:55am: last sip of water. Race Time!

On the Bike about 42 min later. I have water up front with one GU Hydration Drink Tab, 4 GU Energy Gel (tri-berry) mixed with water on the frame, and Hammer Perpetuem on the back.

I sipped all these every few minutes, mixing it up as I went. I grabbed water at the water stations and refilled my front water container and dropped one more GU Hydration Drink Tab at around mile 45. I also had a bag of ruffles that I started eating around mile 30 because sipping sugary drinks becomes boring. Dang – those chips taste amazing.

In transition from the bike to the run (T2), I put an ice filled water bottle (smart water bottle) down the back of my tri-suit – and took a bottle of Hammer Perpetuem on my fanny pack and 2 extra GU Hydration Drink Tab in my pack. Those were extra should it get hot. Well – it got very hot. 91+ degrees. The ice melted around mile 5, then I drank that. And I popped those extra GU Hydration Drink Tabs with water at mile 5 and 9 and got more GU Gels from the volunteers on the race to mix with water when I refilled the water.

I really expected to blow up or cramp or “fail” or something during the run. But – this plan worked very well. I walked the transitions when I needed to refill, but beyond that – I had a great race and didn’t have major issues. It was hard – but it was so rewarding! Thank you, for everyone who cheered me on along the way and tracked me live. I felt like I was getting energized by the support!

Love ya’ll. Would love to do a full IRONMAN soon. But the primary challenge is scheduling the training around family, work, etc.

Tweet me at @GoWithoutYoGut if you want me to blog about specific topics.

Race Pictures

I’m still very sore from the race. Basically – from head-to-toe. Like – my upper neck, all the way to my right big toe. But – it was worth it. I earned the pain! And I did it for you all!

IRONMAN Florida 70.3 Finishing Time: 6:05:05

Swim: 42:09

Bike 2:59:52

Run 2:12:29

Overall, I’m very happy with the race. No major issues. The wind was bad at times (20mph) and it was hot (91) but rained for about 5 minutes at mile 8 which helped for a bit. Thankfully, the IRONMAN staff was fantastic and had ice and water along the run.