As a runner, your health and performance need to keep an adequate level of hydration in your body at all times. Water helps to maintain a consistent temperature in our bodies, flushes out waste, contributes to the delivery of energy to our cells, cushions and protects our joints, and eliminates waste from our bodies.
Moreover, consuming adequate fluids can hasten the process of recovery, lessen the likelihood of injury and cramping, and improve athletic performance.
Dehydration Is Normal
Before we get into the core of the discussion, we wanted to make sure you were aware that the Pankh MP Half Marathon on February 26, is an effort by Bansal News to give wings to hope of young athletes under the age of 19. So, visit the website at www.mp.marathon.run to register yourself for the race.
Now moving on to the topic, many runners will suffer from mild dehydration, but this will not lead to more serious health problems. Elite athletes can get away with less water running faster than five minutes per mile. They are the runners on the course who are the most dehydrated and require hydration. Once you cross the finish line, you can reverse this condition.
Find Out At Which Rate You Produce Sweat
Before and after a run; you should find out your weight and record it. For every pound of body weight shed, the water consumed should be increased by 20 to 24 ounces. You should do this with foods high in carbohydrates and electrolytes, like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Your muscles will use carbohydrates, while the rest of your body will rely on electrolytes.
The amount of sweat that you produce is controlled by several different factors. The temperature of the surrounding air, the difficulty of the half marathon, the size of the runner's body, the runner's gender, the distance, and their fitness level all go into this calculation.
For instance, runners with a higher fitness level produce more sweat than runners with a lower fitness level because their bodies can better regulate their temperature during strenuous activity.
Therefore, finding out how much you sweat on average per day and adjusting how much water you drink to match that amount can help prepare your body for the half marathon.
How Often Should You Hydrate?
Running coach and founder of Ready. Set. Marathon Jane Springston recommends drinking “little and often” while competing in your half marathon. Consuming measured water from available water stations will allow you to achieve this goal.
Let us say you want to prevent that uncomfortable feeling of something moving around in your stomach whenever you go for a run. If this is the case, you should avoid drinking much water at once and instead sip it slowly throughout the day.
Variety Of Other Hydration Options For Runners
People who participate in running and other forms of physical activity have access to various rehydration options; the sheer number of available choices can sometimes be overwhelming.
However, we will discuss the primary categories of hydration products currently available on the market and the products that will greatly assist you in achieving your fitness goal.
1. Unflavored Water
Suppose the intensity of your workouts is moderate. In that case, they only last up to hours. You do them in pretty cool temperatures, and the humidity is not too high. Then, simply consuming water will be sufficient to meet your needs for hydration.
However, your hydration requirements will begin to shift in response to changes in the duration of your workout, the intensity of your workout, the temperature of the surrounding environment, or the relative humidity of the surrounding environment. This is because of an increase in the rate you sweat and the number of electrolytes and minerals lost through sweating.
2. Alternative Ways To Hydrate
Once you begin to sweat more due to factors such as higher temperatures, more intense workouts, longer workouts, and so on, you will need to switch from drinking plain water to an electrolyte solution to adequately rehydrate.
This is because electrolytes were originally developed to serve the purpose of replacing minerals that were lost when a person sweated heavily.
You have several options regarding the form of electrolytes that you take, and you should pick the one that works best for you:
- Pre-mixed drinks
- Tablets or powders must be dissolved in regular water before use
- Dietary supplements come in capsules and are supposed to be swallowed.
- Chewable tablets are available for purchase (like salt stick fast chews)
- Gels and chews are geared towards providing sustained energy that contains electrolytes as an additional ingredient.
There are differences between the different brands of electrolyte replacements. For example, some brands will be higher, while others will include trace minerals like selenium and copper.
The Bottom Line
Maintaining an adequate hydration level while running is critical to one's performance and health. Drink water regularly throughout the day, and pay particular attention to your hydration levels before, during, and after long-distance runs. In addition, remember that you need to consume carbohydrates and electrolytes to maximise the benefits hydration and nutrition provide for your body.
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