I’ve read multiple threads on this and tried different solutions and still have not had success. If the race is cold and/or wet, I have to pee constantly every 15 minutes or so. Like bursting bladder after 30 minutes. How do I stop this so I can just race? And do I keep hydrating if it does happen? (yes, it makes it even worse if I continue to hydrate). It seems better if I stop racing, afterwards I may not pee for hours.
I figured it may be caffeine or my sodium levels the day prior, but just had a race over the weekend and had plenty of sodium the day before and had NO caffeine the day of or the day prior.
Here is my most recent race where I peed constantly, and pretty similar to prior experiences:
45/50 degrees and rainOne super tiny sip of water the morning of the race800 cal of sugar doughnuts breakfastNo caffeineDuring the race:
Liquid: Gatorade EnduranceFood: Maple syrup with sodium citrate - I average 220cal/48g CHO/333mg S an hour of this
This specific race I only had 2 bottles of gatorade endurance for the entire 90 mile fondo, which is significantly less than what I would do on a trainer and/or outside rides typically (I usually aim for 24oz/hr or more on hot days). I did not bonk or have dehydration effects. I immediately had to pee during the race (dispite going 4 times that morning including twice within the 10 min before the start), and it continued the entirety of the almost 6 hours every 15-30mins.
I also had significantly less fluid in my most recent Ironman which had similar conditions and worried moreso for those races, because if I back down on fluid intake then it may come back to bite me at some point. And also the performance aspect, Porto john stops are 60-90 seconds, peeing myself can sometimes be worse because I find it hard to do unless walking or stopped lol.
Has anyone had this problem and actually solved this? Do I just need to warm myself up somehow? Is it just nerves? Do I need less carbs for breakfast, I generally train on smaller meals?
Don’t necessarily have the same problem, but I am a bit older and have to pee consistently overnight. I’ve found no food or drinks after 6:30 (ish) helps. I’ve also found this is especially true with sugar. If I have a Red Bull, for example, I will need to pee shortly (less than 30 min) thereafter. Looking at your pre-race food intake it looks like there is a lot of sugar there. I realize this is for the carbs, but I think I’d start with re-balancing your pre-race nutrition with less sugar/carb loading.
I’ve had the same problem for years and tried most of the same suggestions. For me, the worst is a marathon where the first half is run through a populated area. All the porta potties along the first few miles have super long lines and no place to hang it out. Interesting enough, the bus ride at Boston was the worse due to the long lines waiting for the bus and then the long bus ride. But by the time the race started I had hit enough porta potties that I just need one stop about halfway through (when the porta pottie lines are too bad). Triathlons are much better because I’ve learned to pee in the swim, although I do have to slow way down and concentrate. After I get through the first hour or two I won’t pee again until the end of the race or later.
I could be all wet but I feel I see this problem with athletes who are hyper fixated on being well hydrated leading up to the event. I’ll do a couple of nervous pees in the hour before the event and then paddle 7 hours while drinking 5 plus liters and never stop to urinate until after the finish. My paddling partner on the other hand who never misses a chance to sip their water bottle during the course of any day needs to stop 4 or 5 times during the same time period. I’m a drink to thirst advocate not a drink, drink, drink proponent in the days leading up to an event,
You’re saying you drank a tiny sip of water and then peed nonstop during the race?
At a certain level, I’m pretty sure your fluid intake and pee are almost directly related - right?
So if you want to pee less, drink less fluid
I find when I’m nervous, I have to pee. So I just plan to pee a couple extra times before a race. But during a race, I usually cool down to normal (whatever that is)
A couple things I do that make me pee less
more sodium the day before = less pee
less alcohol the day before = less pee
I stop drinking ~90 mins before the race. I found thru a little trial / error that I tend to pee ~90 mins after I chugged a bottle of water.
You’re saying you drank a tiny sip of water and then peed nonstop during the race?
At a certain level, I’m pretty sure your fluid intake and pee are almost directly related - right?
So if you want to pee less, drink less fluid
I find when I’m nervous, I have to pee. So I just plan to pee a couple extra times before a race. But during a race, I usually cool down to normal (whatever that is)
A couple things I do that make me pee less
more sodium the day before = less pee
less alcohol the day before = less pee
I stop drinking ~90 mins before the race. I found thru a little trial / error that I tend to pee ~90 mins after I chugged a bottle of water.
Hope that helps a bit
This is not a fluid related issue. I drink the same I drink every other day, the day prior to the race. The day of the race, I’m already peeing like a race horse on about 1oz of water. If I had a bottle of water 2 hours before the race I’d prob burst of pee, lol. If I was in a hot race or on the trainer I maybe would have to pee once, or none at all.
Ho old are you? Could this just be a case of over 50 & over active bladder?
35 but I do get up to pee once or twice a night every single night.
If I drink a diet drink or something with stelvia I can replicate what I feel during a cold race. It makes me pee nonstop for about 2 hours but then settles back to normal.
I’ve had this same problem for years. Coupled with the fact that no matter how damn hard I try, I can’t pee on the bike.
I raced as a pro cyclist for 7y, the hardest thing I ever had to learn was how to pee on a bike. There’s nowhere good to practice. Relax, relax, relax. It’s the only way i could do it. Everything from knees to ribs needs to relax, then the flow will come. Be prepared though, once it starts there’s no stopping it.
Alternately, and done many times, just go man. Don’t unzip, don’t go to the side, just sit there for 30 sec and deal with the wet midsection after the race. You’re not gonna be smelling good anyway.
To confirm …
You’re saying you drank a tiny sip of water and then peed nonstop during the race?
At a certain level, I’m pretty sure your fluid intake and pee are almost directly related - right?
So if you want to pee less, drink less fluid
I find when I’m nervous, I have to pee. So I just plan to pee a couple extra times before a race. But during a race, I usually cool down to normal (whatever that is)
A couple things I do that make me pee less
more sodium the day before = less pee
less alcohol the day before = less pee
I stop drinking ~90 mins before the race. I found thru a little trial / error that I tend to pee ~90 mins after I chugged a bottle of water.
Hope that helps a bit
This is not a fluid related issue. I drink the same I drink every other day, the day prior to the race. The day of the race, I’m already peeing like a race horse on about 1oz of water. If I had a bottle of water 2 hours before the race I’d prob burst of pee, lol. If I was in a hot race or on the trainer I maybe would have to pee once, or none at all.
Two things: First, if you know or suspect that the race will be cold and/or wet, drink much less the last 12-16 hrs before the start time.
Second, I’m surprised no one else has mentioned this but the main reason we have pee more in cold/wet conditions is that, when we exercise, we burn carbs, fat, and maybe a little protein. All three store water as part of their molecular structure so that you release water during any sort of exercise. If it is hot, then the water goes mainly into your sweat but if it is cold, it goes into your urine. This is most easily demonstrated by swimming in coldish water, biking in cold weather while not wearing enough to sweat, and same for running. As a swimmer prior to taking up triathlon, I wondered about why I needed to pee after an hour’s swim in cool-ish water so I read up on it and this is what I found. Hence I never drink while swimming and only drink on the B and R if it is warm enough to make me sweat. So, there you have it.
I figured it may be caffeine or my sodium levels the day prior, but just had a race over the weekend and had plenty of sodium the day before and had NO caffeine the day of, or the day prior.Don’t add sodium the day before. You may be sligthly hyperhydrating the day before. Then, if you have a low/moderate sodium morning on race day - and even if you don’t - you pair that with nerves and all of a sudden you’re washing out all your sodium and water (diuresis!). This is a super common problem among hydration-aware athletes who have not stumbled into your conundrum and gotten this answer, by the way.
I recommend doing this:
Reduce sodium the day before your race to normal levels. Drink normally too.Increase sodium morning of the race.Increase sodium during race.
Sodium helps you retain fluid in blood and so that it does end up in your bladder.
(Also, don’t overdo potassium. Gatorade endurance is a bit high on the potassium side of things, FYI.)
I figured it may be caffeine or my sodium levels the day prior, but just had a race over the weekend and had plenty of sodium the day before and had NO caffeine the day of, or the day prior.Don’t add sodium the day before. You may be sligthly hyperhydrating the day before. Then, if you have a low/moderate sodium morning on race day - and even if you don’t - you pair that with nerves and all of a sudden you’re washing out all your sodium and water (diuresis!). This is a super common problem among hydration-aware athletes who have not stumbled into your conundrum and gotten this answer, by the way.
I recommend doing this:
Reduce sodium the day before your race to normal levels. Drink normally too.Increase sodium morning of the race.Increase sodium during race.
Sodium helps you retain fluid in blood and so that it does end up in your bladder.
(Also, don’t overdo potassium. Gatorade endurance is a bit high on the potassium side of things, FYI.)
I would find in Ironman races that I needed to pee after every cup of fluid at the run aid stations. Very stressful and I always finished dehydrated not needing to urinate again for hours.
We sold a product in the late 90’s at our tri store made of glycerol/glycerin oil that could be mixed with water to super hydrate and reduce urination by increasing the body’s fluid absorption. It worked like a charm but it became a banned substance for masking PED’s though it was taken off the list some years ago. I believe it’s main hydration usage today are dialysis patients and body builders for vein enlargement.
There are some good articles out there on research and how to specifically use it for endurance athletes. Drinking a mixed amount at least 2 hours before exercise will help with a long hot day/race and drinking a reduced mixture on the bike will increase the duration for very long races or summer heat training.
After I did a lot of research most glycerin/glycerol products out today are not food grade or are from body building sites that contain other ingredients you don’t want. I finally bought some pure glycerin oil from Wildly Organic because it’s made in the US and it’s made of coconut not palm oil.
It works well, hasn’t caused any gi issues so far and may help reduce your urination issue in races.
What would you recommend for hourly potassium consumption? I usually just pour contents of 3-4 saltstick race ready caps in each bottle of my homemade mixture (190 mg Na and 53 mg K per cap). Thanks!
What’s your recommended sodium intake race morning and hourly during an 140.6?I made an app for that! Sorry. That’s cheeky. (and, it only addresses the intra-workout sodium hourly needs for now).
Totally depends on the person.
Before the race: 1000-3000mg sodium at no less dilute of “solution” than 1000mg/L. >1500mg/L is better. “Solution” == total sodium divided by total fluid intake from all sources of each.
During the race: generally, anywhere between 500-2500mg/hr is optimal for most folks for an IM race. If flying blind, 1000mg/hr is a good starting place.
I suggest you get a lab test as salt loss ranges for humans is very wide. I found out the hard way (2x trips to the ER post race) and have an extremely high salt loss rate. I now follow pretty close to DrAlex’s high end recommendation of 2500mg per hour when racing in hot (or even warm and humid) conditions.
