Monday, May 14, 2012

Watering the Grass

Happy Monday! I am off to Bikram yoga. I’ve been avoiding yoga lately because my PT tells me it is not good for my hamstring. All of those forward folds really pull on the ham hock, which is apparently not conducive to healing a tear. I have dearly missed yoga, however, so I will just alter my practice to avoid pulling or stretching the hamstring too much. Hot, sweaty crack yoga – here I come!

On a different note -  sometimes I am astounded at the stuff that goes on that we don’t realize is going on. If you think too much about it, it will make you kind of edgy, even a bit sick.

An example would be when I read in the local appear that a teenage couple was caught copulating at midnight at a local park on the same slide where my children play. Ick, just ick. Those are the really gross sneaky things that make your skin crawl. You begin to get a complex that whatever you touch in public has been somehow made gross by someone. Don’t even get me started on hotel room comforters and remote controls.

Then there are the funny sneaky things that are totally harmless and give you a chuckle. Let’s focus on those because the other stuff sucks.

This week I got an email from a reader who needed to pee really badly during her half marathon, but didn’t want to waste time by stopping. Her solution? At the end of the race she sat in the grass to stretch and let it flow. Yep, just right into the grass (and, I suppose her shorts). This would be an example of a time when you definitely want a change of clothes in your car.

I have done this many times while in the ocean, but never on the grass. In the water I love to have conversations with people while I am peeing because they never know that it’s even going on. I feel as if I have some great little secret. “Ha! Yes I would love to go to dinner at the steak house tonight! And did you know I am peeing right now? It is likely flowing onto your leg just about…….NOW!” Mind you, I do not pee in pools, although I did this until I was at least fifteen. I’m just lazy that way.

Anyone want to go to the beach with me?

If you have to pee during a race, do you ever just go while running or biking? I have a friend who is a competitive runner and she does this all the time. She just rinses off her leg with water at the aid station and tries to remember to not use Gatorade by mistake. I tried once, but no flow. Haven’t been able to do it on the bike either.

On a different note, I want to welcome my newest blog advertiserRethreads T-Shirt Quilts (see right sidebar). I love this concept, and you may have seen it before. You can repurpose your old race shirts by having them made into a memory quilt like this:

What a creative alternative to leaving all those shirts stuffed in your bottom drawer or using them as dusting cloths or toilet paper. What a fantastic gift for that runner/triathlete/cyclist in your life!

Hop on over and check out Rethreads T-Shirts Quilts. You can get 10% off through the month of May by typing “SUAR” in as your coupon code.

What do you do with old race shirts? I usually give them to my kids if I don't wear them.

SUAR

30 comments:

  1. How does one "just go"? I need a quiet place without potential observers. I could never just go.

    As for the tshirts - we save up our race cotton ts and then in the summer, we go downtown and hand them to the homeless - that's why it seems like Austin has the most active/healthiest homeless people on earth -- they are all wearing running Ts!

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  2. No wonder the ocean temp is going up.

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    1. SUAR supports global warming. Don't forget it.

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  3. That's sweet of you to introduce a new advertiser in the "pee yourself" post. I'm giggling like a school girl.

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  4. Gross about the peeing...I just couldn't do it!

    I just made a t-shirt quilt for my son who is graduating from high school tomorrow. It's made from all his soccer jersey's and other school t-shirts..it's awesome. I can't wait for him to see it!! I put in some long hours and that sucker :)

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  5. My son peed for the first time in the lake. He loved it. He is four, so this was one of the highlights of trip. It was cute watching him sort of squat there while my husband stood there to tell him it's okay.

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  6. I had to stop in the middle of a marathon for a toilet break (in the bushes, so classy). I had heard of people just letting on on the run, but don't have to gusts to actually do it; I feel like I would totally notice if someone in front of me were peeing right in the middle of a race.

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  7. It was not on purpose, but I totally peed myself at the end of a 5k once. I was running really hard and forgot to go before the start, and by the end there was just no way to keep it all in.
    This also happened at the end of my first marathon. Water and gatorade at every aid station plus no potty breaks was a dangerous combination, I guess. I made a point to visit the port-o-potties wi maraon #2!

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  8. The T-Shirt quilt idea is awesome!! I'm actually in the process of giving my Grandma my old racing shirts I don't wear to have one made... Its cheaper and its more memberable having her make it for me.. :-)

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  9. Don't even get me started on how many times I have peed on myself during a race, whether intentionally or not (thank you childbirth). When I was heavy into triathlon, I would pee during all three sports. Yep, no shame at all.

    Enjoy your return to Bikram.

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  10. I can't pee and run at the same time. Too much bouncing around and I don't feel relaxed enough while I'm running. I've peed on the bike multiple times. Way easier than stopping in the bushes. Just rinse with water and no one is the wiser!

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  11. I've not had to go during a race or a run, but don't think I could just 'let it all out' while in motion. On the ground, that I could see, but I'd definitely need that change of clothes handy.
    That said, I always protect myself due to the {insert any action here} pee. The run pee is totally fabulous, but, running skirts certainly make it a less embarassing issue.

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  12. During my last race I got so excited when I happened to see a bystander who was a friend I hadn't seen in about 10 years. I literally hopped too fast and peed. Kids + excitement + running = pee pee party in my pants.

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  13. I ran my first half marathon on May 6. I peed 3 times before the race, but still had to go during. There was a line at the first porta-potties, so I planned to wait until the second set, but they weren't there! Finally I followed after two other runners and darted around a clump of trees and squatted. I didn't drop my drawers, just pulled things over to the side, so at least I didn't flash anyone. I've never just gone while running or biking though. I'm not fast enough at either to make it worthwhile.

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  14. Wow! I am completely fascinated by this peeing while running thing. So I guess if I were closer to a 3:00 marathoner I might see some of this pee action going on. Because in my 3:30ish group I never see anyone dripping in pee. I have never needed to pee during a race -- thank goodness!!

    Goal for 2013: Get fast enough to be part of the pee-your-pants pack!

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  15. People love to pee themselves running cross country races, it seems. Back in HS, I'm sure I peed myself at least a little each race. One time it was raining heavily and I had just finished pushing too hard up a hill. As I started to lose the contents of my stomach, the pee just gushed out. Fortunately, it was pouring. Unfortunately, I did not regain control of my tummy for the rest of the race. I think doing something gross while running is part of some unwritten initiation we all must go through.

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    1. So true!! When I talked about my friend who always peed - she was a big Xcountry girl in HS too. Must have learned it there.

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  16. I pee in the sea, and lots of other places outside, but reading this (which seems roughly applicable since the topic is "the stuff that goes on that we don’t realize is going on"), it looks like I might have to be abit more careful about it in the future:
    http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/05/14/are-people-peeing-in-lake-killing-fish/

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  17. funny u mention bc I am running my first full this sunday and was contemplating what i'll do when i have to pee... bc i know i will bc i plan on drinking a decent amount of water during the race and pee on every long run. i pretty much have come to the conclusion i will pee my pants...

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  18. So, the question I have is: doesn't pee in your shoes make it tough to run or prone to blisters? Knowing that gravity will draw the pee down where the feet reside, I can only assume that it would end up in the shoes. Seems like an awful lot of trouble when you could just find a bush somewhere... Am I missing something here??

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    1. I don't know, I'm no pee expert. I think the point is people don't want to take the time to stop in a bush, so they pee on the run. Blisters and wet socks be damned!

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    2. Totally true. I had to toss my shoes from my last half (due to the smell after they dried) since I basically had pee leaking all the way down both legs and into both shoes. It got a bit squishy, no blisters though. Of course, it was only the last 2 miles...luckily! All I have to say is I am thankful for running skirts and clear pee. No one knew, except my friend who ran with me as I gave her the full narration as it happened.

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  19. If you're a pro, where the minutes taken to stop and pee could cost you huge $, I totally understand peeing on the bike and run. Then there are situations where there isn't really any alternative, and I guess you live with it. But if there's a port-potty there I'll use it and I don't care about the couple minutes it takes. Or out in the boonies there are any number of thirsty bushes. If you're going fast enough, aren't your socks going to be wet from sweat already? What's a little more?

    I don't have enough old race shirts that it's a problem.

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  20. I'm moritified and I don't mortfy easily. I can not pee in front of anyone, or near for that matter--mentally impoosible.
    Talk about ick factor: if the runner is flying youve got to imagine some splatters of pee flecks will fly off and hit the runner behind on the face, arms, and llegs,
    I'd much rather hang around the fornicating slide, at least I know germs and pathogens can't live longer than 24 hours outside.
    Running my first half next month, I'm confident my bladder of steel will hold up.

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  21. I had to pee really bad during my half the other week. I seriously thought I might pee my pants. Luckily I made it, but barely. The grass...never done that one. Post race I just find a porta potty.

    I had a stack of shirts in the guest room closet that I was thinking about making a blanket with. Puuuuuuuuuuurfect.

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  22. Last summer I was running a half marathon. I really pushed myself at the end to get a PR! After the finish, when walking to the port-a-potties, I peed! There was no way I could hold it any longer. I don't think anyone noticed, but it was a drag as I didn't have a change of clothes in the car. Darn! There must be something linked to really exerting yourself in a run and not being able to hold it. Maybe this only happens to runners over 40!

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  23. It really depends on how much I think I am going to pee. I really don't want to be running with shoes and socks full of pee. But I have peed in my pants when in a race just enough to relieve the discomfort :P Oh, and on long downhills...I can't NOT pee. Part of having 4 kids later in life, I think.

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  24. This just made me giggle. While running a half last month I passed a couple that had slowed quite a bit and to every passing person the man yelled out "we've got a pee-er." I was both jealous and mortified. I'm thinking that deserved a kick in the nuts but I wish I could pee while running. I'm not a multitasker like that.

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  25. Ha ha, I do like to pee in my wetsuit while having my picture taken or talking to my friends! It's cool because we are all doing it at the same time and we know it! I am sure I can't do it while running or biking, to much concentration needed. Can't even do it while swimming!

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  26. Nice shirts. I wish I knew what some shirts looked like before I sign up fro a race. I'm a designer and the graphics have a major impact on if I use the shirt after the race.

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