Anyone have a problem with having to urinate 2-3 times in a marathon? anything available/advice to stifle the urge?
Seems likes it’s better to have to pee than to be dehydrated. If you gotta go just let it fly…although I’m probably one of the few who can actually pee while in full stride. If you have to stop at the porta-john or nearest bush, it takes what, 10-15 seconds?
Depending on your age it could be prostate,in the older population, or another thought would be hydration. If you take in more fluid than your body needs then it has to go somewhere and that means pitstop. Where hydration is obviously a real issue overhydration is a problem. Some marathons have spaced out the water stops to cope with this issue. I have experienced dehydration and overhydration in the same race and neither are very pleasant.
During my first marathon, I stopped at a potapotty. I wasn’t trying for anything special. The following year I didn’t have to go, which was good, since I was qualifying for Boston. Races like Boston are a pain in the ass, for both the racers, and the neighbors. Everyone is pissing on people’s lawns. Then you have to get into the corals for what seems like ages. I hear of people pissing into water bottles. I had to pee right after the start. I waited until about mile 1.5 where the crowds were thinner and there was an empty lot, there were about 20 guys pissing in the same spot.
You have to get well hydrated before the race, but don’t be chugging down 32oz’s of Gatorade 10 minutes before the start. Once you are ‘clear and copious’, you can stop 30 minutes before, but keep hitting the portapottys.
When I have to piss more than once, it is because I am not getting enough salt and water is flowing through me rather than getting absorbed. Everyone’s different and some people just piss a lot so that may not be your problem but if you are drinking a lot, pissing a lot and still dehydrated or feel your stomach sloshing, salt might be worth thinking about.
Overhydration causes hyponatremia,low salt concentration, because of a dilutional factor.
If I understand what you’re saying (and I’m not sure I do), I kind of agree but only kind of. Drinking a lot of water certainly will dilute or wash salt out of your body and this can cause hyponatremia. That does not necessarily mean you are “overhydrated” though. You could be but you also could, depending on how hard you’re working, how long you’re out there and how hot it is, be taking in the right amount of water and still washing or diluting the salt out of your body until you achieve (for lack of a better word) hyponatremia. Sometimes the answer is drinking less but sometimes (and I would venture to say usually) the answer is to get more salt to replace what you’re washing out. If you do that, you can continue to drink the same amount of water (which you may need if it is hot or for other reasons) and you will actually absorb it rather than having it slosh around or pissing it out.
Your not realy washing the salt out it would be diluted in a bigger volume of water. Replacing sodium is a good idea especially for some people but not always the answer. Taking salt as a preventive measure is a good idea as long as it’s a reasonable dose if you need it or not. What you will have to do is see what works for you(I know that is said a lot ). In training try running with less water consumption and with the same water and salt tabs along with other combinations and see what works. Another suggestion would be to consume more electrolyte drinks instead of all water for hydration prior to event( I’m talking like the week before) and during event if avalable.
Washing might be a poor choice of words but you are definitely not just diluting your salt, you are losing it, certainly in sweat, possibly in piss. In a short race you will be done before this catches up to you but if you’re doing a long slow race on a hot day, you are going to have to replace some of what you’re losing. I think all your solutions are good ones and there’s certainly nothing wrong with using training to see if you can function effectively on less water but you have to remember that actual numbers you see in training (i.e. ounces of water per mile) are out the window in a race because your pace and the ambient temperature are likely to be very different.
The sweat factor as you state is very important and definately factors in but the question was ie peeing. The race I mentioned was Texas Hill Country(1.5mi sw, 48mi bike, 10mi run) in early sept so you know it was hot. The year I dehydrated I finished the race approx noon(5thage group) drank upwards of 2 gallons of fluid and didn’t pee till 8pm at the post dinner. Had cramps so bad I couldn’t even lay down to take a nap. The year I overhydrated had cramps coming out of the water but not on the bike this was the first time I had to pee on the bike then multiple times on the run and immediately after finishing did a little better this year 3rd but wasn’t national long course championship that year. I guess my point is both conditions can cause multiple problems.
Good Luck mike
That’s normal for me. I can do it without breaking stride. I take it as a favorable sign that my hydration is on schedule.