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Dark Urine while training
Hello all-
I've done a little bit of research online as well as searching the forums, but haven't seen anything that satisfied my inquiry.
I notice that even when I am training (3+/- hour runs, easy pace), I have tend to have dark colored urine. I believe that I am hydrating enough and by no means am I training in the heat. My routine is 500ml flask an hour (with tailwind), which gives me 600 mg of sodium. Usually later in the day the color returns to normal and after my Grand Canyon run it returned to the normal(ish) color 24hrs after.
Any thoughts?
Thanks in advance.
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Maybe you're starting off right on the edge of being under-hydrated?. Consider increasing normal fluid intake all day, every day, until you NEED to urinate at least every 2.5 hours?
Maybe try daily morning use of a scale which show %body water and % body fat? Try hydrating enough to see a sustained increase of at least 1% in body water...the "good" news is this may make your body fat %go down, although your weight might rise.
Since this is transient - color goes back to "normal" within a few hours - doubtful it's anything serious like rhabdomyolysis, where the excessive breakdown of muscle tissue from hard work, especially while poorly hydrated, causes the discoloratipn.
@Al Truscott thanks for the input. I asked because some of my research referenced "rhabdomyolysis".
There is a chance that on my long runs I am starting "right on the edge". I will be more conscience of my fluid intake on Fridays and Saturdays. With that said, during the week I drink a lot of water are use the toilet more frequently than every 2.5 hours and my urine is often clear.
My water % on my scale is usually 60-62% but again something to keep an eye out for on the mornings of long runs. And then notice the correlation to urine color.
@Patrick Large : Back in 2016 I developed a kidney stone. My urologist's advice was to drink at least 3 liters of mostly water a day, and that is just for an average adult. So I monitor my water / fluid intake daily so that I drink at least 13 - 14 cups a day (including tea and coffee) + 30 to 36 ounces / hour of water during a workout (which is my sweat rate). Believe me, the pain involved in measuring and tracking my fluid intake is nothing compared to the pain (and expense) of a kidney stone.
might be worth getting pee strips to monitor more closely. I used these to keep on top of hydration for a while, and was amazed how much time I was spending dehydrated.
@Tony Ledden thanks for the input. I have an 18oz bottle with me almost at all times. I can take 5 of those a day and it will get me 3 liters. I will do that for the rest of the week and see how my long runs on the weekends turn out.
@Dave Tallo what am I testing for with the pee strips? And this discoloration I only notice during exercise. Are you proposing I use them during exercise?
@Patrick Large you are looking for Urine Specific Gravity, USG. It's a place to start.
https://www.amazon.com/Urine-Strips-Mission-Parameter-Urinalysis/dp/B01KMS7GKQ/ref=sr_1_3?hvadid=78134098706318&hvbmt=bp&hvdev=c&hvqmt=p&keywords=urine+test+sticks&qid=1557249233&s=gateway&sr=8-3