Training & Nutrition - Hydration woes ...

Typical week ...

1. Monday / Rest day ... 1.5 liters water excluding food
2. Tuesday / Hard training race ... 1.5 liters water excluding food, 2+ bottles HEED during race, another 1 liter after race, race lasts no more than 2 hours.
3. Wednesday / Endurance ... 1.5 liters water during work, 1 bottle/hour water or HEED during training
4. Thursday / Rest day ... 1.5 liters water excluding food
5. Friday / Easy spin ... 1.5 liters water excluding food, 1 bottle/hour water or HEED during training
6. Saturday / Hard training ride (4 hours) ... 0.5 liters before ride, attempt to drink during the ride, but usually have to pee so badly after one hour in that I stop drinking. Find a pisser after the ride and then proceed to play catch up with my hydration for the rest of the day which results in having to pee quite frequently.
7. Sunday / suffer through all of the symptoms of a hangover due to dehydration, feel like crap most of the day, suck down as much water as possible. Maybe go for a ride, most likely not.

I don't do diuretics (coffee or other caffinated foods/beverages).
I'm tired of feeling like crap on Sundays. I think the solution may be to taper the water going into Sat, but this runs counter to logic if I'm crashing at the end of the ride on Sat. Perhaps the net gain is greater when I can drink more on Sat as a result of drinking less on Friday. Thoughts?

Mark

stop riding the bike in your avatar and you'll be fine

Maybe your problem isn't hydration.

Maybe your problem isn't hydration.

salt intake? Please elaborate

Maybe.

http://riderx.info/blogs/riderx/archive/2007/08/17/the-importance-of-staying-salty.aspx

salt intake? Please elaborate

Maybe you're just tired. Fatigue from effort, lack of sleep, too much sleep? I don't know. Lots of things can make you feel unwell. But you make this big post detailing all the fluid you drink then assume that you are dehydrated simply because you don't feel so well. Since you are paying so much attention to fluid intake, chances are you are drinking plenty.

If you're peeing a lot, then you are unlikely to be significantly dehydrated, right? Is your pee pale in color? If so, then you aren't dehydrated. If not, then you need to drink more fluid. Simple.

T
6. Saturday / Hard training ride (4 hours) ... 0.5 liters before ride, attempt to drink during the ride, but usually have to pee so badly after one hour in that I stop drinking. Find a pisser after the ride and then proceed to play catch up with my hydration for the rest of the day which results in having to pee quite frequently.

Mark

It's not a race, a potty break at the two hour mark might be a good idea. I bet the whole group is simultaneously thinking "Man I gotta take a major piss! Too bad nobody else does..."

Maybe you're just tired. Fatigue from effort, lack of sleep, too much sleep? I don't know. Lots of things can make you feel unwell. But you make this big post detailing all the fluid you drink then assume that you are dehydrated simply because you don't feel so well. Since you are paying so much attention to fluid intake, chances are you are drinking plenty.

If you're peeing a lot, then you are unlikely to be significantly dehydrated, right? Is your pee pale in color? If so, then you aren't dehydrated. If not, then you need to drink more fluid. Simple.

Just because you pee a lot does not mean you're hydrated. It can also mean your rate of fluid intake is exceeding your body's ability to use it. You can only hydrate so quickly, everything else gets sent on its way.

I know I'm dehydrated because of the way I wake in the morning. My voice is hoarse and my throat is dry, my lips are cracked, and I've got a pounding headache. As soon as I down that first big glass of water, the hoarse voice goes away and I usually feel a lot better. It's pretty obvious.

I'm gonna have to follow up on that salt link. Thanks for the info.

And as far as the Sat ride goes ... if you stop, you get dropped. It's just the way it is and it doesn't bother me one bit, other than the fact that I hate getting dropped and riding the loop by myself.

Mark

Maybe.

http://riderx.info/blogs/riderx/archive/2007/08/17/the-importance-of-staying-salty.aspx

Thanks for the link, kuan. I'm going to keep the bacobits, hot sauce, and green olives in my post-ride diet.

Just because you pee a lot does not mean you're hydrated. It can also mean your rate of fluid intake is exceeding your body's ability to use it. You can only hydrate so quickly, everything else gets sent on its way.

I know I'm dehydrated because of the way I wake in the morning. My voice is hoarse and my throat is dry, my lips are cracked, and I've got a pounding headache. As soon as I down that first big glass of water, the hoarse voice goes away and I usually feel a lot better. It's pretty obvious.

I'm gonna have to follow up on that salt link. Thanks for the info.

And as far as the Sat ride goes ... if you stop, you get dropped. It's just the way it is and it doesn't bother me one bit, other than the fact that I hate getting dropped and riding the loop by myself.

Mark

Dry mouth, lips, throat in the morning is a sign of mouth breathing during sleep caused by nasal congestion. If your lips are cracked due to dehydration, you are probably near death.

Good luck to you.

Typical week ...

1. Monday / Rest day ... 1.5 liters water excluding food
2. Tuesday / Hard training race ... 1.5 liters water excluding food, 2+ bottles HEED during race, another 1 liter after race, race lasts no more than 2 hours.
3. Wednesday / Endurance ... 1.5 liters water during work, 1 bottle/hour water or HEED during training
4. Thursday / Rest day ... 1.5 liters water excluding food
5. Friday / Easy spin ... 1.5 liters water excluding food, 1 bottle/hour water or HEED during training
6. Saturday / Hard training ride (4 hours) ... 0.5 liters before ride, attempt to drink during the ride, but usually have to pee so badly after one hour in that I stop drinking. Find a pisser after the ride and then proceed to play catch up with my hydration for the rest of the day which results in having to pee quite frequently.
7. Sunday / suffer through all of the symptoms of a hangover due to dehydration, feel like crap most of the day, suck down as much water as possible. Maybe go for a ride, most likely not.

I don't do diuretics (coffee or other caffinated foods/beverages).
I'm tired of feeling like crap on Sundays. I think the solution may be to taper the water going into Sat, but this runs counter to logic if I'm crashing at the end of the ride on Sat. Perhaps the net gain is greater when I can drink more on Sat as a result of drinking less on Friday. Thoughts?

Mark

A few

I don't think you are down on sodium. If you were, you wouldn't have to pee so much, as you lose a little sodium with your urine, and your body tries to avoid that if sodium is scarce. You can check that by weighing yourself before and after - if you gain weight and you don't have to pee, it means you're down on sodium.

My guess is that you are just taking in far too much plain water. That will tend to run through you in a way that electrolyte-balanced (and carb) drinks don't.

Suggestions?

Well, if you are having to pee early in a ride, you're drinking too much ahead of time. Stop doing that.

Also note that the hammer stuff is pretty low on electrolytes, so if that is an issue with you, you may need to supplement.

A few

I don't think you are down on sodium. If you were, you wouldn't have to pee so much, as you lose a little sodium with your urine, and your body tries to avoid that if sodium is scarce. You can check that by weighing yourself before and after - if you gain weight and you don't have to pee, it means you're down on sodium.

My guess is that you are just taking in far too much plain water. That will tend to run through you in a way that electrolyte-balanced (and carb) drinks don't.

Suggestions?

Well, if you are having to pee early in a ride, you're drinking too much ahead of time. Stop doing that.

Also note that the hammer stuff is pretty low on electrolytes, so if that is an issue with you, you may need to supplement.


For the record, every morning I have a nice big glass of water with my vitimin and baby aspirin whether I'm riding or not. I go to bed fairly well hydrated, but I'm surprised that that one glass puts me over the top with regard to needing to pee soon after the ride starts.

I think you might be right with regard to too much plain water. I basically sip plain water all day. I'd be amenable to trying a low-calorie, higher salt fluid to replace it (during rides too). Gotta be low cal though. I'll do some digging for solutions.

Mark