Water

[kel72]

ok, lets just say i'm pretty bad when it comes to drinking water......

like my cups of tea, and a bit of a pepsi max fan - usually only 1 can a day but i know i should be drinking more water



I heard someone say that their new years resolution was to drink 2ltrs a day and it changed their life - but never heard how or why.



Tell me what are the big benefits of drinking water and how much do you drink?? i know its good for hydration, but does that impact how you run??



any thoughts appreciated

[Em]

Good info here from the Kidney Foundation - http://www.kidney.org.au/KidneyDisease/Drinkwaterinstead/tabid/703/Default.aspx



The message is essentially drink to thirst and there is no merit in trying to cram in 8 glasses a day.



Don't forget we also get stacks of water from the food we eat, especially fruit and veg.



Maybe the person who started drinking 2 litres of water a day also stopped drinking 2 litres of beer a day and that's why it changed their life

[tiger boy]

kel - you need to be well htdrated to run, dehydrated runners find their systems shutting down, or they cramp up or all sorts of other things.

But as Em said, there's no point cramming in too much. Hydration is something you need to work out for yourself, because what works for some doesn't work for others.

I find the biggest problem in trying to keep well hydrated is nu,erous trips to the little boys room (or behind the nearest tree if I'm out running ).

Like most other things, try out what works for you in training rather than wait until race day to see, and potentially encounter problems.

[gymbunny87]

If you are thirsty, it means you are already in the first stages of dehydration.



It is important to drink water even when you are not thirsty.



And when you are thirsty, it is important to drink only water - not something else like juice or softies.

[Dewberry]

The way I learned to think about hydration was to count each hyradating drink I has as a +1 and each dehydrating drink (alcohol, coffee, coke, anything with caffeine in it) as a -1. Since a lot of people drink coffee throughout the day, a lot of people are chronically dehydrated. It's not literally the case that their body gets rid of a glass worth of water every time they have a coffee otherwise some people would be dead from the amount of coffee they drink. But I think their bodies just become accustomed to caffeine and being dehydrated and this slows down our metabolism, zaps your energy, reduces alertness and concentration and all of that.

I don't necessarily think you have to have 2 litres of water a day, but you should aim to have a good positive score (maybe like a +4 or +6 or something) by the end of the day.

[jocelyn1]

I like your thinking dewberry!

[Stu Mac]

I like water, I don't eat as much garbage throughout the day. When ever I have any bug I increase the water and it the bug is 'wee'd' away

I would easily drink 2-3 litres each day without even thinking about it.

[Rowey]

WC Fields was asked about water- about why he didnt drink it....
His answer was something along the lines of : "Because my dear, fish _________ in it !"

If I filled that blank it would be my last post ( booted out at exactly 600.....hmmmmm ? )

cheers

rowey

[margot]

It must be an individual thing because I'm always puzzled when I see walked out with their bottles of water... as if they think they're going to die of deydration going for a 2kms walk.

I think I drink a lot less then other runners and know I should drink more, but think I function ok despite that...
That is, I know I run better and generally feel better (and my body recuperates better) when I drink more... but I don't go out of my way to drink a set amount and I don't take a drink with me when running unless going over the 21kms mark and even then, don't really drink a lot.

[gymbunny87]

i DEFINITELY think i drink too little for a person that runs (lol i am not yet accustomed to terming myself as "a runner", so to be politically correct....)

I went for a 12.8km run today (72 mins approx) at 11:45 am in 14 degree heat on 200mL of water and 2 coffees since waking at 7am this morning.

I felt hot from the start and severely dehydrated at the end (to the point of almost dry reaching and having to sit down).

But this doesn't usually happen to me. I can run on minimal water during training and never take a drink from the water stations while racing or fun-running.

I have only ever run up to 85 minutes at a time but have not felt the need to hydrate during this time yet (except today lol!).

do you think it is a bad thing to train your body to require minimal hydration (is that even possible?) ?