Do you know what volume they drained from your catheter once they put it in?
You can think of your bladder as basically a big muscle (it is just that) and once it becomes over distended, it can no longer contract down to empty your bladder. This can be made worse in conditions such as prostatic hypertrophy etc, so even though you had previous surgery this may have contributed. This is relatively common after certain types of surgery and in both males and females.
With your symptoms it sounds like you had over-distension of your bladder. You have to be careful with this as it can cause long term issues. How long did they leave the catheter in for after draining your bladder? Sometimes we need to leave them in for a few days to give the bladder time to recover and establish normal function again.

Thanks so much for your response...i was in such discomfort/pain that i did not pay attention to how much came out but i should have. They left the catheter in overnight and it came out in the morning and i was able to pee without issue....going forward i am going to be really careful as this was in itself pretty unpleasant and i understand what you are saying in terms of the possibility that this could cause longer term issues.....i really wish i was one of those people who can pee while riding....thanks again for your input....it was very helpful

Not a problem....I can't pee on the bike either (yet!).
You may well have over-hydrated a tad in that race....!!!
Your discharge summary from the hospital should include information about how much they drained initially as your urologist will probably want to know that information. It is good that you did not continue to race with it like that, it could have ended up far worse for you. Basically the distension gets to a point where your bladder has no ability to contract and generate the force required to empty...trying to think of a good analogy to describe the way muscles contract but nothing springs to mind quickly! Maybe think of what is like to try and do a bicep curl with your arm out completely straight and elbow locked versus with it at 90 degrees, you can generate a lot more force at 90 degrees because the muscle fibres are optimally positioned.

Amnesia,
I'm guessing from your user name you're an anaesthesiologist. I never experienced the op's issue in triathlon, but I have experienced it following surgery. I've had 3 knee surgeries; one in my mid 20s, one in my late 30s and the last one in my early 50s. Following my first surgery, which was inpatient, I could not urinate that day after trying for a few hours. They cathed me later in the evening. Took it out the next day and I was fine. A dozen years later I had similar knee surgery, now outpatient. Later at home, bladder got full and tried for several painful hours before I was able to go. Almost was going to go to the ER to get cathed. And then a few years ago had my third outpatient surgery. Same story. Full bladder early evening. Several painful hours of trying before able to go.
Thoughts? Is this common following surgery? Can anything prevent/minimize this if I have surgery again?

I am not sure if its related but I struggle to pee after marathons. I think its a salt/water balance problem where my body starts to retain all the water it can. The clear danger is that water retention can lead to a much more serious problem of overhydration which at its extreme can lead to kidney failure.

I have started to be far more intentional about getting solid food on board and including salt in the recovery process. Counter-intuitively this does seem to have helped me but I still do struggle even being careful with my intake levels. It is possible the catheter was a physical override to your body trying to retain water and once you got it drained your body was able to recalibrate. In any case the relationship between hydration and fluid intake is not in my experience as simple as water in water out.

Yup..i was thinking the same sort of thing in terms of a muscle being at a point where it just can't move because it is totally extended....or distended in my case.... ha! thanks again for the help....

I am going to be much more aware in the future...i think these things happen sometimes and in some ways when it is not that serious it is an opportunity to learn and prevent something more serious in the future....

Sorry to say but this is not really the case in terms of the relationship between your bladder and what you are referring to. The bladder is pretty independent in the sense it really is just a reservoir from what the kidneys are processing and sending out, this is where salt intake etc can alter what the kidney returns to your blood stream versus makes in urine, but suffice to say in the OP's case it is not really related to a salt balance issue, almost purely mechanical/obstructive in nature. The OP changing salt intake etc will not stop this from happening in a general sense, it is more about not letting his bladder get past the point of being able to empty itself.

You are spot on re my job.
What you describe is not common at the ages you have described it. It sounds like you avoided getting a catheter with the more recent surgery?
Some of the medications we use can inhibit your ability to pee after surgery and that, combined with the fluids we give you can contribute to the over distension.
In terms of preventing it in the future....a few things I would suggest:
1. It may be worthwhile seeing a urologist to have some things assessed
2. Before your next procedure try not to be over hydrated prior to the op. Try and pee as much as you can just before you go in. Try and pee ASAP after the operation. If the op is likely to be long it may be worthwhile considering having a catheter put in as part of the procedure. Don't be discharged until you have passed urine properly!

Bladder story kinda Ironman related: had radical prostatectomy after last Ironman in October :) . I was told I would have catheter for 7-10 days afterwards. I was not looking forward to having one that long and I woke up from successful surgery with catheter in-place. Over the next few days I came to not mind it and actually enjoyed being able to sleep all night long without having to get up to go pee. Fast forward to post op visit 7 days later and surgeon says I'm ready to have it out. Catheter removed and I was told to go home and drink plenty of fluids which I did. First pee without catheter no big deal, second pee was kinda funny feeling, third pee was ooh that kinda hurt, fourth pee was that really f#king hurt, fifth pee I was calling the doctor telling him something was wrong. He told me to try to work through it. Fifth pee I'm laying on the floor rolling around in pain. I did not want to try to pee again. Was told to go to ER and there they put a cath back in. Everything fine. Had it for another week and it was removed. I was very anxious peeing at first and fortunately all went well and no problems since. I was told my bladder wasn't ready to work yet and I was having a bladder "spasm". Up to that point the worst pain in my life was a kidney stone. This "bladder" spasm was way beyond that. Think of getting a bad calf cramp that you can't stretch out only this cramp is right where your bladder is. You don't ever want that type of pain!

I used to see this when I worked in the ER. Old guys go out fishing in open boat with some women. Have to go pee but too embarasing to go over the gunnel so they hold it. Get to shore and cannot pee. Come to emerg and we drain off a litre or two.

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They constantly try to escape from the darkness outside and within
Dreaming of systems so perfect that no one will need to be good T.S. Eliot

This thread is making me extremely nervous! I'm on the Flomax routine which works pretty well so far but the idea of anybody sticking anything up my urethra makes me swoon. I had to be anesthetized for them to do the "look / see" scope. I'm just fucking dreading the inevitable and putting it off as long as I can.

And I can relate to the fishing story - I don't fish anymore.

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"They know f_ck-all over at Slowtwitch"
- Lionel Sanders

Hopefully you're done with surgery in that neck of the woods, but if you're in that spot again, 2 meds maybe you can have the doc write a prescription for before discharge (I don't know that either is available over-the-counter) is pyridium pills, or belladonna suppositories. Both can help relieve bladder spasm pain. Pyridium turns your pee orange, that's the only weird thing. Well other than just generally using a suppository I guess.