"No Conk Out, Hydrate"

Hi Gang,

Soon we will be doing longer runs on Saturday preparing for long distance. Hydration is very important to our performance out there, so here is a short writing from Sports Performance online. Good choices are Cytomax, Amino Vital, Gatorade, etc. Invest is a good hydration system, especially if you plan to do Kona where you will be doing a non-stop race of over 2 hours in the hottest environment.

Aloha,

Gary

Rehydrate: Replenish: Refuel

We all know one of water's most extraordinary property – the ability to stop our bodies overheating by evaporating via the skin in the form of sweat. This is particularly important during exercise, when heat output increases dramatically.

Following my comprehensive hydration strategy involves ensuring good hydration before training/competition, maintaining it during exercise and then replacing any shortfall as soon as possible afterwards.

However, hydration isn’t just about water: fluid loss via among other things, sweating involves the loss of electrolyte minerals – calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium and chloride.

Electrolytes serve three general functions in the body:

1. They control osmosis of water between body compartments


2. Many are essential minerals


3. They help maintain the acid-base balance required for normal cellular activities

There are many reasons why replacement of these minerals via an electrolyte mineral containing drink may be better then drinking pure water alone.

Drinks containing electrolyte minerals – particularly sodium - are known to stimulate thirst, thereby stimulating a greater voluntary intake of fluid. There is also evidence that drinks containing sodium stimulate the rate and completeness of re-hydration after a bout of exercise.

Although the amounts lost in sweat are generally in proportion to total body stores, prolonged heavy sweating can lead to significant mineral losses (particularly of sodium), which has been linked with such side effects as cramping.

Drinking pure water effectively dilutes the concentration of electrolyte minerals in the blood, which can impair a number of normal physiological processes.

An extreme example of such an impairment is ‘hyponatraemia’, when low plasma sodium levels can be literally life threatening.

Pre Exercise

Make sure your normal diet contains plenty of water and a minimum of other substances known to impair hydration

Post Exercise
Drinks containing electrolytes (especially sodium) stimulate the desire to drink and may therefore be preferable to plain water. There’s also evidence that these drinks are absorbed more efficiently from the small intestine, especially when carbohydrate is present

Hydrating Yourself DURING your event

Weather and exercise intensity affect fluid needs; the higher the temperature, humidity and exercise intensity, the greater the rate of fluid replacement required.

Never experiment with a new drink during competition. Try it in training first to see how your body tolerates it!