Peeing

Thanks so much to my friend Kim who raised a very important subject: Peeing.

It's an interesting question and one that I myself have sought counsel on from my Running Guru Todd over at Jack Rabbit Sports.

The real pro endurance athletes spend a great deal of time looking at how their energy is consumed during an endurance event. They closely monitor their diet and intake so that whatever is consumed is burned off very efficiently, minimizing waste and the need to void it during the event. There's quite a bit of science that goes into it and measuring caloric intake is a big part of the game.

As for me, I don't have the same issues because I am not focused as much on complete body efficiency. I just want to finish in a decent time for a first time runner. My body fat index, for example, is not that great. Thus, I produce waste and will need to remove it from my body at some point. Todd told me that he has trained himself to pee while he runs and just wipes down his legs and shorts at the next water station. I don't have any plans to employ that strategy.

In my case, my body "runs hot" and my metabolism becomes very high when I ride and run. Consequently I perspire a lot more than most people. I can literally wring out a shirt at the end of a run. So, I get ride of a lot of water that way and spend a lot of time replacing it. Inevitably, I will have excess water that will need to be removed.

The bottom line is that NYRR has port-o-potties stationed along the route at the start, finish and at every mile after the third mile. I anticipate using one, if not more, during the race.

I did a 20.8-mile run on Saturday in some devastating humidity and needed to go once. The bushes in the park worked quite nicely. For the record, I did the run in 03:46:38, which is a little slower than I would have liked. I burned 2943 calories, of which 40% was from fat. That is an absolutely ABSURD number. I think I actually lost 2+lbs during the course of the day.

Despite the killer humidity, my heart rate clocked in at an average of 142 bpm. I like that number because it represents 80% of my maximum heart rate and is a comfortable pace.

I did end up purchasing the Desoto Tri-shorts the other day and they feel great.

I also purchased a new pair of biking shorts in anticipation of Sunday's 100-mile MS Ride. Looking forward to a comfortable ride in some hi-tech gear.