Posted by Lloyd on December 11, 1998 at 13:18
In Reply to: Re: How do female racing cyclists do it? posted by dejay on December 10, 1998 at 12:33
Hi, Dejay. These sightings aren't too frequent, I have to tell you. You actually see more of them in cycling and triathlon mags, both of which types of literature are included amongst those I referred to. There are some signs you could look for, though.
First, in triathlons, the idea is to drink enough before the event to have to pee during the cycling (second) leg. Sometimes, they pee during the run, but that can be a further peeing than the first. Of course, peeing after swimming (the first leg), you don't really show any wetness, but by the time they are running, triathletes are usually dry enough to show it. Sometimes, it's not all that obvious, and could easily have been just sweat, but other times there is no doubt!
Second, marathon runners usually pee for most of the event. Some, like a countrywoman of mine, Lisa Martin, even pee BEFORE the event starts, they are so highly hydrated! When an athlete is this highly hydrated, they have to pee about once every 10-15 minutes, and it's a bladderful every time, so you can see why when marathon and triathlon events are delayed even for a short while, there will probably be some wet pants out there on the field. The women are resoundingly much more obvious about this, partially due to the trend towards swimsuit style running outfits. Also, keep an eye out for women wetting themselves down with sponges - they often do this just before the have to pee or to rinse off if they already have peed.
Last, during long cycling races, you will occasionally see a competitor lift himself or herself off the seat quickly, stand straight up on the pedals for a second, then sit quickly back down again. In that time, he or she has peed a squirt - this is often all the time that a competitor has in a race. During breaks between sprints, the cyclists still keep riding, making their way to the next sprint location but this is more relaxed and allows them time to have a more relaxed "leak" (and I've actually seen this exact word used for this activity in the literature). Obviously the aim is to hold it during races and leak between, but maybe they just get it wrong on occasions...
While I'm thinking about it, I remember seeing a really fantastic photo once in an Aussie running mag, that showed a group of three female trainees at the Australian Institute of Sport, and one of them seemed to have wet her running shorts. The suspected wet patch, however, was so large, I didn't believe it possible, given that the photo was in an 'industry publication' so to speak, and I thought it must have been shadow but I got out a magnifying glass and had a good close look and could see the way the 'shadow' had RUN along the hem of the shorts both along the bottom of the material and along the stitching in ways that were characteristic of soaking wetness. There was also no way other than spreading wetness that could explain the visible part of an arc above her crotch. There was no doubt that this was not shadow at all but a really good example of how seriously athletes take their hydration - they do it ALL the time, whether racing or training!
Keep looking - now that you know what to look for, it shouldn't take too much time to spot...