Hydration

[Jeepmonkey]

So this morning I ran 9mi (longest to date, barefoot) and I think I was dehydrated towards the end. Actually, I know I was, as I've been dehydrated before and I know what it feels like. I'm just curious at some other peoples drinking habits when they're running. I don't really want to carry my camelback, but how much do I need? I know it will vary from person to person, so, I'm just looking for some other experience.



It was kind of funny because at mile 7 I was really starting to feel invincible and was actually planning my route so that I would've gone 10mi instead. Then around mile 8 are started getting a headache real fast and I was beginning to regret going that far, let alone trying to go 2 more miles.

 

[pbarker]

In summer I alway carry

In summer I alway carry hydration if I am going more than 5k. That is the way I race so I keep it consistent.

In colder weather I drink less. I suspect you were dehydrated long before you set out on your run.

Try to keep hydrated all the time not just leading up to longer runs. OK probably to much information but do not let your urine get dark.

I was severely dehydrated once after a half ironman. I was disoriented, dizzy, nauseated and unaware that I was dehydrated. Medical personnel told me to drink ~6 cups of water, one after another and within an hour I had recovered.

Now at end of long races > 4 hrs I head straight for the water station at the finish and drink 3 or 4 cups before doing anything else.

 

[ajb422]

 I drink on pretty much any

I drink on pretty much any run over 3 miles. For runs less than ten I'm lucky and have drinking fountains about every three miles so I don't have to carry anything.

Right now for anything over ten miles I'm carrying this

http://www.nathansports.com/our-products/hydrationnutrition/race-vests/hpl-020

Which is awesome and I do love it. But it is alittle excessive when I go on the running paths (basically I only need it for one 5-7 mile stretch with no water). When I'm on the real trails I'll use it and drink all of it and I love the pouches. Its very well designed.

Either at Christmas or shortly after I'm going to get one of these

http://www.nathansports.com/our-products/hydrationnutrition/raceelite-series/elite-1-plus

For my running paths days. I figure its not as excessive but still gives me lots of water to drink. I stay very well hydrated but I still like to drink a lot of water. I could never go ten miles without any water. The one time I thought I could make my 13 miler without bringing something along (longest no drinking fountain stretch=5 miles) I ended up having to find a garden hose laying at this closed daycare center and gulping water .

Everyone here seems to love the handheld water bottles. It's by far the most common thing I see on the running paths, but I hate having things on my hands. I don't even like having to run with gloves.

 

[Jeepmonkey]

I have a few camelbacks from

I have a few camelbacks from my deployments. I'll start carrying the smallest one and try to start drinking more. I know it's what you're supposed to do.

Pbarker-I forgot that I had a few beers last night. I'm positive I was dehydrated before I started. .

 

[zapmamak]

My personal limit is about 8

My personal limit is about 8 miles without water. I hate to carry water with me and when I hydrate while running I have to pee which is annoying. I always try and be well hydrated the day before and night before any race or run.

 

[Joshh]

I learned how to run in the

I learned how to run in the 80's. At that time no one had camelbacks or ran with waterbottles, etc. In practice we'd run as much as 18 miles in the hot California sun without water (unless there was a stream we could drink from somewhere) and no one ever passed out, got heatstroke, etc.

I moved back to America after almost 20 years of living in a place where running wasn't an option and after moving back several months ago, I can't help but notice how much stuff people are buying to go running.

I think it's important to think about hydration and drink when you can but it seems to me that we would do well to trust our bodies a little bit more and second guess the value of the running industry's next flavor of the month.

 

[miqie]

People always think of hot,

People always think of hot, humid weather as for as dehydration is concerned. The cold dry weather can be just as much of a problem. Just cause you're not dripping with sweat in winter does not mean you're not losing vital fluids. I drink as much before and after my runs in winter as in summer.

 

[jschwab]

Yes to miquie - it's cold and

Yes to miquie - it's cold and dry here and even just hanging around I am drinking more fluids than normal. My limit is about ten but that was with "training" to get used to taking less and less.

 

[sloutre]

I have a similar

I have a similar experience.

This weekend I ran my longest distance ever, 10 miles. Temperatures in the 30s and windy. The last few miles were hard. I had no major pain but felt very weak. I didn't bring anything to eat or drink and was probably not very well hydrated when I started running. Once I was back I drank 1.5 liter of water with 2 Nunns and forced myself to eat some breakfast. I felt much better after that and a shower.

For those of you who run in the morning, how do you make sure you are hydrated enough before your run? Do you get up at night to drink?

I will probably get an hydration belt for Christmas. I hate buying stuff and carrying stuff but I hope having somethign to drink and eat will make my long runs more pleasants. I don't like to finish so weak.

 

[miker]

sloutre, when I get up in the

sloutre, when I get up in the morning, I will usually have a cup of coffee or tea, and maybe drink 8 oz. of water. This is all I need up to about 8 miles. I'm probably slightly dehydrated at that point, but not to where I feel it. How thirsty I am has a lot more to do with the outside air temps and humidity.

I also hate wearing water bottles. They bounce around too much for me. 'Course that was when I ran shod. I might ought to try it again now that I'm running bf. For my long runs, I try to run on some of the local trails that have drinking faucets every couple of miles. Doesn't work in the winter, but I don't feel like I need it as much in the winter.

So I'll usually drink a lot of water soon after running. One time I ran 20 miles and stopped at mile 18 to buy a 20 oz. Gatorade at a convenience store. I wasn't even that thirsty, but I figured I should drink something. But it was late October and overcast that morning, so it was nice and cool.

In a race, I'll usually just get some water every other water stop. I never drink the Powerade/Gatorade because I don't want to slop it all over myself and get sticky. And I do tend to "wear" about half the water in the cup. ;-)

 

[Matt]

My rule of thumb is to worry

My rule of thumb is to worry about hydration if the run is longer than 2 hours. But given that I never run longer than 2 hours, I have never gotten to that point. I think a little dehydration is fine. Part of a long run is learning how to pace myself in terms of effort and energy. And in the Summer, I tend to run early in the morning.

If I was going to race longer than an hour, I might start thinking more seriously about hydration, especially if it was during the Summer in the middle of the day.

 

[ajb422]

Joshh wrote:I learned how to

I learned how to run in the 80's. At that time no one had camelbacks or ran with waterbottles, etc. In practice we'd run as much as 18 miles in the hot California sun without water (unless there was a stream we could drink from somewhere) and no one ever passed out, got heatstroke, etc.I moved back to America after almost 20 years of living in a place where running wasn't an option and after moving back several months ago, I can't help but notice how much stuff people are buying to go running.I think it's important to think about hydration and drink when you can but it seems to me that we would do well to trust our bodies a little bit more and second guess the value of the running industry's next flavor of the month.

The only time I ever bonked a run was when I decided that I didn't need water and could make it 7 miles between drinking faucets. I managed to do it today but it was cold and I stopped at the last drinking fountain and drank for seriously around 5 minutes before continuing through the non-fountain stretch. My entire life I've been the person who drinks 3 large glasses of water with every meal on top of carrying a water bottle around with her. I think some people just NEED more water for whatever reason. It doesn't matter how much I drink the day before or the day of I still get super thirsty on a run. I've woken up in the middle of the night just because I was so thirsty it woke me up. I'm glad in this case the running industry has given me options or I'd be duct taping bottled water to belts or some other ridiculousness in order to get the water I need.

 

[Joshh]

Yeah, different strokes for

Yeah, different strokes for different folks, I 'spose.

 

[migangelo]

ajb422, have you been tested

ajb422, have you been tested or feel you may have diabetes? they extreme thirst is a sign.

how extreme? of course there is no set guideline for that. i drink a lot of water. 1/2 gallon at least daily, more in the summer and more when i'm active. of course i urinate a lot but that's to be expected.

my uncle taught me when i was younger that you need to drink a glass of water when you wake up. it's a habit i'm trying to teach to my girls but since they don't live with me i can't make sure they're doing it.

so i wake up, drink a glass, have some green tea and then for a run. usually just a half hour because of school. sometimes up to or just over an hour. i never carry water but in the summer make sure there are spots for my dog to get a drink. i have water in the car or at home for both of us and seem to do just fine. i'm sure when i go over an hour and a half i'll look at getting something to carry along.



Mike

 

[Barfuß Chelsea]

I'm a morning runner and have

I'm a morning runner and have never had any huge dehydration issues. I usually just make sure I drink a big glass of water before I head out the door and I'm good to go. The nice thing about morning runs is that it's generally cooler than the middle of the day or in the evening, so I don't loose water quite as quickly. I don't actually start carrying water with me until my runs get longer than 13.1 miles, and I'm pretty sure that's just some weird mental block.

My awesome "discovery" of the summer was my Camelbak, which I'd bought for hiking but never serioiusly considered using for running because I hate having stuff bounce around. With the straps adjusted correctly, though, the thing is amazing! Way easier than stashing water bottles and PowerGels all along a 20 mile route!

 

[ajb422]

migangelo wrote: ajb422, have

ajb422, have you been tested or feel you may have diabetes? they extreme thirst is a sign. how extreme? of course there is no set guideline for that. i drink a lot of water. 1/2 gallon at least daily, more in the summer and more when i'm active. of course i urinate a lot but that's to be expected.

I've had people tell me this before but no I never bothered to get tested since they normally describe it as "unquenchable" thirst and I don't have other symptoms. I drink alot but no more than what my parents always did and several other people I've met throughout my life. And mostly just a with meals/working out phenomena. I kept track mostly for curiousity's sake and it was slightly less than a gallon or so a day which isn't that excessive considering they say a minimum of half gallon to be healthy and thats not counting the fact that it was summer and all the working out.

 

[migangelo]

ajb422, you made it sound

ajb422,



you made it sound like a lot. that doesn't sound bad too me. i'm taking anatomy right now and asked my instructor what is considered excessive and everyone just laughed. no straight answer. part of the reason i don't trust western medicine.



i drink more water than that so don't consider it excessive. like i said i can do over an hour run without drinking water. i wonder then, are you a mouth breather? i notice that makes me thirstier.



Mike

 

[Fito]

Hydration is such a tricky

Hydration is such a tricky subject. It's much more than just keeping up the fluids. When we sweat, we sweat out water and electrolites and it's those electrolites that we really need to replace. Drinking water without eating something salty can, in extreme cases, cause hyponatremia - google it, it's not pretty. This is really a concern for the ultra's - those who are running for many hours.

The usual comment on drinking is to let your thirst be a guide - drink when you are thirsty. However, current research is countering this - if you are thirsty, then you are already getting too dehydrated to function at your peak (which is what we want when we run). You should be sipping constantly as you sweat. Again, this is not really a concern for shorter times (I talk time rather than distances) up to an hour, but if you want to run longer than that, you need to constantly hydrate, which is why the old camel back is a good companion.

I've discovered a lot about this through mountain bike racing - these guys seem to take the rehydration/food intake thing very seriously. I used to always cramp up at around the 2hr hour mark, but since drinking and eating small amounts regularly, I have been able to push through that barrier and now don't suffer cramps. I'll see how it crosses over to running as I get along.

The easist way to work out how much you need to drink is to weigh yourself just before a run and then immediatly when you return. The differance is how much fluid you have lost!

 

[ajb422]

migangelo wrote: i wonder

i wonder then, are you a mouth breather? i notice that makes me thirstier.

Yup I'm allergic to around 75% of the plants in California. Even with allergy shots I don't breathe so well here.

 

[jschwab]

I think everyone should try

I think everyone should try to function on less fluids as they progress in training. The body does come to expect more when you give it more and expect less when you give it less. But everyone's needs are really different - I see this with my kids who have very different levels of thirst (we let them self-regulate). I try to do training runs with as litte as possible, to adapt. I've only been running three years, and my needs are so much less now than when I first started.