Triathlon - Hydration during training & races

i'm training for my first tris this summer. i'm wondering what you more experienced folks do to stay hydrated while running - both in training and during a race. i've seen some folks out there holding a h2o bottle or using those belt-type systems - anyone have any preferences? although i could probably make runs up to 60mins without any water, as it gets warmer and more humid here in DC i'm thinking it is silly not to drink.

also, how are races set up - do they have water stations on the run like they do in running-only races, or does each person have to carry their own water if they want any?

thanks in advance!

matt

Almost all runs will have water stations at roughly 1 mile intervals. You carry your own water/sports drink on the bike and most longer bike legs (not sprints) have a water bottle handoff. Most internationals have one in the middle, most half irons have at least three, most irons have them at roughly 10 mile intervals.

Races with have aid stations on the run. Check for details on how many.

I either put bottles in my mailbox and take a drink when I pass my house or use a fuelbelt.

I use my 4-bottle FuelBelt on pretty much all my runs... Longer runs is usually 2 water/2 Cytomax sports drink. The short runs is usually 3 water/Cytomax or all water...

I take at least one large bottle of Cytomax on all my rides.

I don't mean to hijack this thread, but have those of you with Fuel Belts had any problems with the caps leaking? I used mine for the first time yesterday and had Gatorade leaking out of the cap while drinking. I actually had to stop and lean over to keep nice red fluid from getting all over me and my clothes. The caps were screwed on fine, the leak was coming from the part of the cap that pulls up, fluid coming out of the bottom of that as well as the hole it's supposed to come out of. Picture during a race when you're drinking from a cup with no lid while running. That's about what it felt like and it certainly wasn't what I was hoping for when I made my purchase. Both bottles/caps had the same problem. Has anyone else experienced this?

If I've got a long run planned, I've been known to sneak out the night before and plant water bottles along the route. Use a commercially sealed bottle to make sure it hasn't been tampered with.

see also: http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=97985

It's really important to be hydrated the day before. When I used to run cross-country I would drink as much water as I could handle the day before and keep drinking the morning preceding. You'll probably want to slow down drinking a few hours before the actual race because you'll be pissing every 15 minutes and that's not good if you've got to race.

I don't mean to hijack this thread, but have those of you with Fuel Belts had any problems with the caps leaking? I used mine for the first time yesterday and had Gatorade leaking out of the cap while drinking. I actually had to stop and lean over to keep nice red fluid from getting all over me and my clothes. The caps were screwed on fine, the leak was coming from the part of the cap that pulls up, fluid coming out of the bottom of that as well as the hole it's supposed to come out of. Picture during a race when you're drinking from a cup with no lid while running. That's about what it felt like and it certainly wasn't what I was hoping for when I made my purchase. Both bottles/caps had the same problem. Has anyone else experienced this?

I haven't had that problem but I found out the hard way that if you tighten the caps too much, they will crack wide open.

Barn,

Here's a trick that solves the leakage "problem" with the FuelBelt bottles... When you tighten the cap, make sure the valve is open. This allows airflow in and out of the bottle, resulting in a tight fit. Do not overtighten the caps! As previously stated, they will crack which means replacing them (fortunately, they are not very expensive...)

Audiojan,

Thanks for the tip, I'll try that on my next run.

I heard back from FuelBelt's customer service today. They said there was a bad production run on bottles and caps and I probably got caught up in that. They're sending replacements and all should be good. I'm glad to hear that as the belt itself was barely even noticeable while I was running.

One important point which might be redundant for most of you, is to make sure you don't drink too much water. When you sweat you're sweating out a solution similar to saline. Your body's cells need to maintain an electrical potential at all times to keep your body working. This requires salt, among other things including calcium. If you lose a lot of sweat in a long race/training session, and you only replace what you lose with water, then you are only diluting the salt levels in your body even more. If your blood is thinned too much, it can become fatal. I have a friend whose uncle died this way. He ran a long race, then drank a lot of water, and then just passed out in a coma and died.

There is a lot of research recently that's looking into how to replenish your body. If you want search for hyponaetremia. One thing to do is weigh yourself before you run, then after, and that is about how much sweat you lost. If you're losing a lot of sweat, say 3 - 5 pounds, then you probably want to take a salt tablet during your run with some water.

Personally, I just don't drink that much during my runs, but then eat right afterwards, which balances my system out nicely. The only time I really drink much of anything is when I'm doing sprints or when I run longer than a 10K. For the most part eating a meal is the best way to get your body back to normal, and you probably should be eating after you workout anyways, and not before.

I just wanted to add this, since it still seems to be a problem with beginner runners. And it really only seems to be a problem with beginning runners, runners who take 4-5+ hours to do a marathon. This is mainly due to the fact that they are sweating for so much longer than the 2-4 hour marathoners.

Depends a lot on how warm it is on race day of course but I would suggest to get in the water really quite well hydrated (and yes its not called a wetsuit for nothing) then at transition 1 drink say 500ml water or sportsdrink (even fizzy or coke) before you get on the bike then 2 or so drinkbottles during the cycle leg but NOT a lot during the last 5-10 mins of it and not too much and NOTHING fizzy before you start the running. I made the bad mistake of drinking 500ml of gatorade in transition 2 and I can assure you that on top of the rather nasty cycle to run transition (train that!) you dont want to be almost throwing up. During the run even with water stations if you are going fast and have not trained this you will NOT be able to take in a lot of fluids from the water stations so get off your bike well hydrated the 40 mins or so of running also dont need a lot of extra water I felt. Drink 2 beers after the Tri and it will as if you had 6 :-)

Other comments; 'gels' are apparently good for a little glucose boost during the run but not easy to swallow at all if you have a dry mouth during a race.

What no one told me until recently is that you have to practice hydrating while you are training. If you don't drink anything when you are training, your body won't know what to do with 12 oz of Gatorade in you tummy on race day. Huge tip - start working on a hydration schedule and practice working up to it slowly.

What no one told me until recently is that you have to practice hydrating while you are training. If you don't drink anything when you are training, your body won't know what to do with 12 oz of Gatorade in you tummy on race day. Huge tip - start working on a hydration schedule and practice working up to it slowly.

You are right about that.
Also, if i have a race coming up that will have an unusual or irregular support strategy, i start training using that same strategy as soon as i find out about it.
Had a race in which the first aid station was at 2 miles, the second at 5, then one every mile, for a total of 10 miles (or so, do not recall exactly how long the race was). Kind of bizarre and admittedly unusual, but can happen.
Otherwise, when training, i generally try to take a couple of gulps of water every 15 minutes.