In this article we’re going to cover:
- Why hydration
- 14 tips on hydration
- Water only?
- Heat acclimation and fluid intake
Let’s get into it!
Why Hydration
Ever hear “You are what you eat”
Well, there’s another side…
Isn’t there always?
“you are what you drink too”
Drinking and eating are different.
If we eat all the right healthy foods but drink soda with every meal – that’s not going to do us any good.
More than 50 % of a person’s body weight is made up of water
and water serves two critical functions for our bodies:
- Water makes up most of our blood volume and serves as an “energy supply line” that delivers oxygen to the muscles to allow those muscles to perform their specific function (Just like how the water companies and electric companies supply our homes with utilities)
- And just like the radiators in our cars → Water acts as the body’s cooling system via sweating.
When we are properly hydrated, we can perform at our best, our bodies can operate optimally, repair damaged areas more quickly, and most importantly – we’ll feel great.
No headaches, cramps, nausea, etc.
Dehydration is a key factor in “bonking” or “hitting the wall”.
(The thing is, by the time you’re thirsty it’s already too late.)
The body has to do something…
After a while, it shuts down the sweating mechanism.
The body’s temperature starts climbing rapidly
You begin to experience heat exhaustion and start to show signs of a heatstroke, the latter of which can be life-ending.
So what should you do?
Here are 14 hydration tips for ultras (:
14 tips for hydration and ultras
Ultra’s and long runs are typically a few to a lot of hours long. These tips were accumulated through various resources and experience from other ultra runners.
- Hydration starts BEFORE THE RACE. Drink water and take some salt BEFORE. It is good practice to make sure that we are hydrated in the hour before a long run or race, and to drink regularly during the run, maintaining the best hydration possible under our specific situation. As a rule of thumb, here’s what I use for when I run – this is water and sodium intake per hour:
- Hot weather: 30 ounces / 800 mg of sodium
- Cool weather: 25 ounces / 600 mg of sodium
- Cold weather: 20 ounces / 400 mg of sodium
- The reason we take salt is because salt contains electrolytes. We can get salt via LMNT, rock salt, salt pills, and even table salt. Just mix it with some fluids or on your food and take it before, during, and even after.
- Sip water throughout the run, don’t chug it
- Drink even if you’re not thirsty – even in the cold.
- Don’t trust your sense of thirst in an ultra. Most people are already dehydrated by the time they register as thirsty.
- The average salty snack has only 50 mg of sodium. Most drinks are on the low side too. Sodas typically contain only 20 grams of sodium. Gatorade is at 300 mg – remember we need +/- 600 mg.
- Sweat evaporates fast in dry weather – people usually don’t drink enough during these conditions – don’t let that dryness of the body fool you
- If you do get dehydrated, take salt and water together. Your body will not properly rehydrate if you don’t have sodium with it.
- Dehydration and low blood pressure are closely related. If you jump into a hot shower after the run, the blood vessels near the skin will dilate and your blood pressure will drop so low that your heart cannot push blood to the brain for a few seconds and you will pass out in the shower.
- Dizziness and nausea are signs of dehydration. Get fluids and slow down or sit for a while.
- The runners most in danger of dehydration are those at the back of the pack who spend more hours out in the heat. Hydrate up.
- “Super-hydration” is where runners will excessively hydrate in the days leading up to the race. This may do more harm than good because we’re flushing out the body of both toxins and essential nutrients. Instead, try to stay hydrated all the time, before, during, and after a race – a lifestyle – no need to super hydrate. If anything, top electrolytes off the day before a race, this is a great “bang for your buck”
- It’s best to drink room-temperature fluids. Cold drinks slow blood flow and reduce absorption rates and with hot drinks we usually drink less than we should. We don’t have to only drink room temp fluids though. If it’s super cold out, coffee or tea work at warming us up, and if it’s hot out enjoy sipping cold water while putting ice anywhere we can to keep us cool: ice bandana, running vest, underwear, wrists, etc. Drinking a liter of ice water would probably be a bad idea no matter how hot it is.
- When in doubt, drink more than not enough. Our pace will be better and we’ll recover more quickly.
Water only?
let’s start this off with the fact that – people run without food and water during their training runs.
Ever hear of anyone running crazy far on just water though?
It’s been around, people have done it (and specifically trained like that)
But let’s be real, for the rest of us we’re not going to even try it…
Our legs would cramp, we’d feel exhausted, slowing down to a crawl…
We’ll enter starvation mode, the complete opposite of what we want to be in for our athletic feats.
The thing is, running long distances requires a supply of carbs
And since the legs, muscles, and liver can only store limited amounts of carbs, we have to get them some other way
Usually, that’s by eating or drinking during an ultra event.
Plus, we need electrolytes too.
When someone runs with only water there are no electrolytes.
And without electrolytes, eventually, we’d crash.
Is it possible to run far with just water?
People have done it, should you? Should I?
Well, that’s for you to decide, for me – it’s an easy no thank you.
Heat Acclimation and Fluid Intake
Dehydration isn’t as simple as “if it’s this hot out and you run this far without water, you’d be dehydrated.”
There’s this thing called “heat acclimation” How adapted are we to the heat?
We sweat and lose sodium relative to how heat-acclimated we are.
Here are the two biggest things on heat acclimation:
- It can take up to a month for us to get used to the heat.
- One of the best ways to get acclimated to the heat is to practice controlled exposures and maintain fluid and electrolyte intake.
For the people when the seasons change: take extra precautions when the weather goes from cool to warm to hot.
We often miss the mark on how much fluid we need because we’re used to the cooler temperatures. As it warms up, we need to drink up!
Thank you for tuning in!
I appreciate your attention, LMK anything!
Keep on stepping!
Joe DiAndrea 