The Danger of Over Hydration

This post does not refer to water intoxication, but rather the stupidity of just drinking too much before a race. It's kind of a TMI post, so I apologize, but I have tried to keep it tame.

This morning I ran the annual 5K Freedom Run. In an attempt to hydrate, I drank quite a bit of water early this morning and just before the race. I was going to use the bathroom before heading out but decided against it, since I knew they would have porta-potties set up at the starting location. Big mistake.

This is not my photo, but it looked exactly like this.

I arrived at the starting line 6 minutes prior to the start and there were at least 12 Honey Buckets set up to accommodate the crowd. The problem was I had forgotten how popular this race is and that over 5,500 people were running it. There was a line of well over 20 people in front of each Honey Bucket. I'm no math expert, but I could tell there was no way I'd have time to use it before the race started.

After seriously weighing the risk of getting a ticket for urinating in public, I decided to just run the race with a full bladder that was stretched to capacity. It was not fun but, surprisingly, I still got my best 5 K time in 10 years. Maybe the motivation to run fast so I could use the bathroom was the secret. I would have enjoyed the race much more and probably would have done even better if I had used my head.

Remember hydration is important, but you also need to plan ahead. Hopefully, you can benefit from my stupidity.