Well, this past week was interesting, to say the least. I didn't run Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday in preparation for a stab at 100 miles in 7 days. The plan was to accumulate the miles from Wednesday through the following Tuesday.
Wednesday started out great. I logged in 12 miles, running half of it on the trails until it got too dark, finishing the rest on the sidewalks and grassy boulevards. Then came Thursday.
I started out a bit slow and early on I had this unusually strong urge to pee. So, when I got to the trail I stepped into the porta-potty to relieve myself. However, I hardly peed at all. What was up with that? Even stranger was the fact that I still felt like I had to pee. Oh well, I figured. I hit the trail thinking the feeling would go away, which it did after a couple of miles. Then the stomach cramps hit. OUCH!! They were so bad I had to walk a couple of times. Fortunately, they only lasted for half a mile and were gone.
I continued on, dismissing the problem as gas or indigestion and started to hit my stride. Things were pretty uneventful the rest of the run, except for a little tumble in the dark (despite wearing a headlamp). Yeah, really graceful, I know. Anyhow, when I got home after 2 hours of running I drank some water and did a few stretches to cool down. I hadn't taken any water with me on my run because I typically don't have any hydration problems when running for that amount of time in mild temps. After finishing my stretches, I went to the bathroom to take a pee. This time, there was plenty of volume. However, to my surprise, it was dark. WTF!! Not only that, it stung a bit when I peed. Needless to say, I was rather concerned. I checked out the causes of bloody urine on the internet and determined that the most likely cause was dehydration and a brusied bladder. I ruled out a UTI since I had no accompanying fever. All I could do was keep hydrated and see if things improved in the next 12-24 hours. Fortunately, they did. WHEW!! That was a bit of a scare! However, the incident forced me to take Friday off and ensure a proper recovery and therefore railroaded my 100-mile attempt. I did come back on Saturday and put 12.5 miles in with no problems (I wisened up this time and brought a bottle of water), so all seems to be good. Guess I'll have to give the 100-mile week another shot, starting today!!
First big snow
5 days ago
3 comments:
ya gotta be careful of the dehydration this time of year...it can sneak up on you before you know it!
Dark red pee is scary, but it's usually just blood and most causes aren't serious. Dark brown/cola/tea-colored can be rhabdomyolysis and can be life-threatening; the fast that it cleared quickly suggests it's not too serious.
One thing to consider is that you might be passing small kidney stones - you want to pee, but can't, then do but it hurts and there's blood. If you pass a large one, you'll never forget it!
Keep drinking more fluid than you think you need to for a while.
Keith - I've learned my lesson and will be extra careful from now on, that's for sure!
Steve - Will do on the drinking. I've been hitting the water hard since then. I sure hope I'm not trying to pass any kidney stones. YEEEOUCH!!
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