When Nature Calls While Training

Sometimes you just "gotta go"! Whether you're out cycling, running, or skiing - rain, snow, or shine - it needs to happen!

Living out in the country make finding relief easy, but it can be more tricky in populated areas.

Now, I pride myself in the manner which I conduct myself, and respecting others is a value I hold dear. However, people who say that you should just wait until you find a bathroom simply don't understand. They likely would understand if they were to walk outside, away from their television, and drink a couple bottles of water. To be clear, I'm not endorsing public urination here, I'm simply saying that relieving yourself while outdoors is a part of our sports!

Anonymous runners take a nature break on a chilly Autumn run.

In the interest of being respectful, following are a few endurance athlete tricks that can help you remain, shall we say, "cloak" yourself while doing the deed.

• Get off the road/trail. Nobody wants to bike/run/ski through your urine. Skiing in yellow snow really sucks...
• Look around to check for others. Try to hold it until no one is around.
• Find a spot on the trail/road where you can see a significant distance in both directions to keep watch for approaching people/motorists.
• If you're with a group, sometimes the group pee stop works. Everyone pees while someone watches for traffic
• Never, ever pee uphill
• Never, ever pee in to the wind
• Peeing while in motion on a bicycle is possible, but requires much practice and has a high rate of error
  
• All of the above rules apply to both males and females (maybe except for the peeing while on a bicycle one). If you're a female whom isn't comfortable urinating outdoors, you may want to check out Go Girl.