Hydration

::)Wondering about recomendations for training before going in the water, or other suplement, in regards to hydration,?'? Water?, ?gatorade? What do you recomend?
Thanks

In the words of Nike, just do it. Hydration is very important, and whatever you can do to make sure you are sufficiently hydrated will help tremendously.

I try to drink well over a gallon (4 liters) of water the day before any race. The day of the race, I try to drink at least 1/2 gallon.

I mostly drink water. I never use gatorade, far too much sugar. I do use Cytomax light because I like the taste.

I use Fast Fuel, not sure if it's available outside South Africa.

www.fastfuel.co.za

They've posted some guidelines on hydration.

I drink 500ml before a race, take some every 30 minutes. I try to drink about 200ml per hour.

Fast Fuel have a couple of formulas - Sports Fuel for general hydration, which i use when training. They have something called Race Fuel which I use for... races.

Cytomax is a well known alternative. It's important to try them during training because if you're not used to them, they can make you feel nauseous...

See also (just one of many articles):
www.brianmac.demon.co.uk/drinks.htm

Recent research by Prof Tim Noakes of the Sports Science Institute in Cape Town showed that many athletes overhydrate, which can be more dangerous than underhydrating. Robin's formula for hydrating is sensible, but it is often difficult when wearing a "camelback" style of fluid carrier to know how much you are using. An alternative is to be guided by your thirst. If you are thirsty - drink. If not, wait a bit longer. You can also check your hydration by checking the colour of your urine (difficult to do while actually paddling - both to pee and to check the colour!) If your urine is dark, you are probably dehydrated. If it is clear, then you have too much fluid on board. It should be a light yellow, like sauvignon blanc.

Drinking 4 litres of water the day before a race as HI Paddler does is probably not necessary. Your kidneys are highly efficient and the extra water would have been excreted by the time of the race. I would recommend having at least 2 litres a day as normal hydration the day before and then following Robin's race day protocol.

Another factor is what conditions you will be paddling in. In Hawaii, the heat results in significant additional water being sweat out, in addition to what would be sweat out by exercising. I'm not sure what the ratio is, but when I am racing most times I will not void any water even though I have drank quite a bit of fluid, so clearly much of the water is coming out through the pores.

In colder climes its probably not necessary to drink quite so much fluid. I know for me its essential to avoid dehydration. And there is nothing worse for me than getting dehydrated during a race.

Another thing to consider is how much you sweat! Everyone is different. The more you sweat the more rehydration you need, plus you need to replace the elecrolytes (salts) you are losing.

Some stuff I have gathered as a runner, cyclist and paddler living/training in the tropics 365 per year

- You are 100 times more likely to be dehydrated than over hydrated (it's actually quite difficult to over hydrate). If you do over hydrate it can be dangerous though as you flush your system of stuff your body needs (not sure of the technical stuff) and you stop absorbing the water you take on. A guy died at last years Boston Marathon of this (mind you 150 were hospitalised or needed urgent attn for dehydration).
- When you feel thirsty you are already dehydrated and up to 15% below your max performance as a result (your blood has thickened etc etc)
- Pure water is only half the equation on long workouts, salts (sodium and potasium etc ) are required, fast carbs also help. I find 50/50 sportdrink and water is a reliable fuel with salt supplements in gels if required.
- Hydrating the day(s) before long workouts is as important as on the day (8-10 glasses of water min).
- You can go from mild dehydration to hospital case in 30 minutes (real life experience).
- Someone who is dehydrated or suffering bad electrolyte imballance is relatively easy to spot. Unable to focus, incoherent, staggering, seems 'drunk', can't answer basic questions, name, date of birth etc.

The last one may be tough towards the end of a long session!