Hi everyone
Could someone give me some advice regarding hydration? I live in a hot climate and do work that is quite physical so I sweat a lot. I suspect I may often be running on borderline dehydration, even when I'm going training. Can anyone give me some advice on how much fluids I need to keep up with to maintain proper hydration without going overboard? If some of the advertising for sports drinks is to be believed I should be drinking 4L of gatorade every day....
David
My rules of thumb are, "if you are thirsty, you're dehydrated."
I try to have almost clear urine, especially before swimming to help with hydration and prevent cramping. I am constantly drinking water in those nalgene bottles. I carry them everywhere. During practice, I will have 32 ounces of watered down Gatorade and some OJ for extra potassium.
The problem is that thirst is a late indicator,by the time you are thirsty you have lost a lot of fluid.Yes there are problems using urine color,but it is a good rule of thumb.
Former Member
I also live in the Phoenix, AZ area, where I swim in outdoor pools, run outside, and recently began biking outside. Hydrating myself was never really an issue...I always have a glass of water with me, and drink regularly. A few hours before a workout, I'll start drinking a little more than normal, especially if I'll be outside when it is especially warm.
When I'm outside doing a long run, I'll have certain points when I drink, whether or not I'm actually thirsty. Generally at least twice a mile, even in the early parts of a run, and even when it is cold. It helps later on, especially when outside working out more than an hour.
I only use sports drinks when working out more than about 75 min. I'll start sipping about 40 min in, and then rotate between drinking water and the sports drink (sometimes chase the drink with water since it sometimes leaves a bad taste in my mouth). I don't see much benefit drinking vast quantities of sports drinks, they mostly seem like empty calories to me. I'll usually go for a low-cal/low-carb option.
What time do you typically run?
Here in Boise, it can get hot in the summer. It's a high desert here. If I am going to run, I make it before 10 AM, or else run later, after 8 PM. I can't deal with the heat. 6 AM to 8 AM is the ideal time. It can be quite nice, dry and in the 60s. I carry a hydration pack when I run.
Another nicety is that Boise is extremely far west in the mountain time zone, so it can still be light at 10 PM. If you are up in the foothills at 10, you can make it back down by 10:30 when the sun goes down.
