“It only ever happens when I run after lunch”: the four hours between the sandwich and the first mile that most runners put down to the heat
That brutal post-lunch run isn’t about the weather—it’s about your stomach competing with your muscles for blood flow. When you run within hours of eating, your gut loses 80% of its blood supply to fuel your legs, turning simple digestion into a physiological crisis. The solution isn’t skipping lunch; it’s understanding what to eat and when.