How much hydration to carry?

How much hydration to carry?

May 21, 2018

How much hydration to carry?

Runners take gears and accessories seriously.  Take running shoes. We don’t typically jump off a brand train when we find a gear that works for us.  I remember testing the Asics Nimbus after developing tendinitis to see my ailment disappear to never come back.  Was it 15 years ago? Low and behold, running on another shoe throws you into the unknown and the threat of possible ailments from the new biomechanics. Throw me a new pair of shorts or any funky running socks and I’ll run blindly until the trail ends.

When it comes to nutrition and hydration, we are cautiously open minded. We rely on common sense, personal experimentation, and advice from experienced runners.  Science has a lot to bring to the table when it comes to hydration. If the basic Science of Hydration is not difficult to get access to, very few translate it to themselves. Do you know your sweat rate? Like fuel consumption in a car, sweat rates are great personal indicator to determine how you approach a particular run.  In general, and painted with the broadest stroke, runners carry too much hydration. You've seen them, the novice runner with a 5L bladder sloshing from right to left for a 20 min run... Experienced runners have accumulated so much data on themselves, they only run with what's needed.

Severe dehydration affects performance. Less water to sweat raises body temperature.  Your blood thickens, requiring more pumping from your heart yet, a mild dehydration little to no impact on performance.  Most endurance athletes end-up dehydrated at the end of a race, to no cost to them.  It’s part of the calculation and they've done it dozens of times.  An extra pound of liquid going up and down is an annoyance. You need to push it up and stop it from racing to the ground at every step for as long as you run.

Carrying the right amount of hydration for the task at hand is key.

Decades of endurance training have shed lights on the importance of my personal hydration.  I was racing in South Florida (hot weather).  Measuring my sweat rate was crucial, especially when training for Ultras and IRONmen.  Most athletes have experienced just about every state of dehydration. I sure have. They know a 30 or 40 min runs is not long enough to lose any significant volume of liquid to affect performance.  They start hydrated, consume the buffer and replenish when needed.  If the run is sub-45 min, the buffer is large enough to run without much hydration, which is a lot more enjoyable than hauling a sloshing reservoir in your back.   

Now you know why FITLY Sub45 (for runs under 45 minutes) has no hydration included and Sub90 (for runs up to 90 minutes) has a 17 oz soft flask.  You have the ability to carry soft flasks in the multiple pockets and I often do but a 5 oz flasks is not designed to "rehydrate" but offer some liquid to wash down a gel, moist your dry throat and for some, provide you with the necessary hydration you think you can’t do without.

Be smart.  Run free. Carry only what you need and leave the rest behind! 

Jean-Marc



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