Triathlon Swimming Q&A: Emergency Whiz

Q: I was doing the swim at Ironman Wisconsin 2008, and had to take an emergency whiz in the middle of the race, but couldn’t go. Any suggestions?

A: Well, I figured sooner or later I’d have to answer a bodily function question!   Before I respond, I must say that I don’t endorse a pee break in the swimming pool or during an open water swimming race.  Yes, you can make the disgusting argument that pee is sterile.  It just doesn’t make it okay to others, no matter how you can justify it.  That said, a long open-water swimming race like an Ironman can create an emergency.  You are swimming for over an hour, and are really nervous, which is a recipe for urinary disaster.  So, here’s what to do when you are absolutely stuck.

First of all, swim off of the race course.  You don’t have to go far, but get away from the crowds.  There’s something in it for you even if you don’t care about grossing out the people behind you.  Unless you are extremely talented, peeing while swimming requires you to slow down.  Thus, you will have people swimming over top of you (and likely elbowing you in the head) if you start peeing when there are people back there. 

Once out of the crowds, you must relax everything below your chest.  Swimming involves an almost continual contracting of the trunk muscles (abdominals, back).  Unfortunately, peeing involves the expansion of trunk muscles.  The only way to resolve this dilemma is to relax your legs and trunk, which has the unfortunate effect of sinking legs and additional stress on the arms.  If this doesn’t work, your only option is to stop in the water and do your business.

As I said, I do not endorse a biological incident during a triathlon race or in a swimming pool.  But, accidents do happen.  I hope you can use this response to make any emergency less of a problem for you and those around you.  Until next time, happy training.

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