Dirty Little Secret *may not be suitable for all readers :)

Well...it is over.  I am saving my "I Did It" post for later this week.  I have something else to address first.

One of my favorite parts of participating in these events is the ability to break the rules.  Two of my favorites is littering and running red lights.  When you come up to a water station sometimes there just isn't a volunteer with a garbage bag in sight, so you get to drink your water, crush the cup and throw it on the ground!  It might sound a little silly right now, but when you are running and desperate for a distraction...littering is a treat!

Same thing with running red lights....it is fun enough to run thru an intersection when cars are being held back by the helpful police officers, but it is like a triple word score when you get to run thru the intersection AND the stoplight is red!  Such rebels we are!

This is all widely accepted in running culture.  But since I have "officially" become a triathlete I have learned that I can take the rule breaking to whole different level.

For me it all started at Copper Creek.  Standing in the water, in my wetsuit, just minutes from the start of my wave I realized I had to pee.  Well, I certainly couldn't get out of the water, find a port-a-potty, take my wetsuit off, go potty, put the wetsuit back on and get back to the water in time.  What's a girl to do?

I had been briefed by my fellow triathletes that if you have to go in your wetsuit....you just go...that's right IN YOUR WETSUIT.  But could I actually do it?

Let's be honest here....I was in a dirty lake...as much as we wish we could pretend we were swimming in a clean, clear, chlorinated pool, we all know it isn't and there are far worse things lurking in that water.

I will also have you know that not only do triathletes pee in there wetsuits, but in the case of longer tri's peeing also happens ON THE BIKE and WHILE RUNNING!  Talk about commitment!

Back to Copper Creek...in the water, wetsuit, waiting for the gun....what to do...what to do....well, I am happy (?) to say that I did it!  And I am glad that I did.  I felt great for the whole rest of the race...no pit stops necessary.

So, at Hy-Vee on Sunday I was a little concerned because it was a run in start, so I wouldn't have those precious moments in the water to find relief if necessary.  And very soon it became VERY necessary.  In case you hadn't guessed, wetsuits are very tight.  As we were waiting for the start I swear I was watching my bladder fill by the second.  By the time I ran into the water I was in PAIN (it hurts just thinking about it again).  As I started swimming I realized that as much as I was trying I couldn't "go" while I was swimming.  I tried swimming slowly, I tried stopping and treading water, but it just wasn't happening.  I was swimming pretty slowly for the first 150 meters or so, but finally I gave up and just started swimming.  But the pain wasn't going away.  As I am swimming I am trying to come up with a plan B.  I really didn't want to stop and use a P-a-P before going out onto the bike course.

As I ran out of the water and thru transition I knew I had to do something QUICKLY.

There are typically 5 timed areas in a tri....swim portion, T1, bike, T2 and run.  The "T's" are your transition times...the amount of time it takes to get out of the water and on your bike (T1) and then again to get off your bike and out on the run (T2).  Transitions are important because if you're not careful they can really eat up time.  It is important to be focused and quick!

My T1 time was over 4 minutes.  That is because for probably 2 minutes of that time I was standing in my wetsuit trying to do as much as I could with the wetsuit on because I was peeing.  That's right, I said it.  It HAD to be done.  I am sure I looked like an idiot.  Standing with my wetsuit half off, putting on my helmet, taking a drink of water.  I wonder if anyone was watching and thinking "She know she needs to take that thing off, right?".  Unfortunately my transition time suffered,  but I was able to bike and run comfortably (in that respect, at least), so I know I saved myself time in the long run.

Please try not to judge.  As much as you may think you could never do that....well, you just never know!