HYDRATION – SOME TWISTS ON A COMMON THEME
by Rod Cedaro (M. App. Sc.)
Consultant Exercise Physiologist ACC Accredited Level III Triathlon Coach
Successfully competing in endurance sports such as triathlon – which is mostly completed in hot environments requires close attention to adequately fuelling and refuelling your body with appropriate fluids and foods consistently.
Fluids: Stay Adequately Hydrated
As an endurance athlete, especially a triathlete who trains and competes in hot and humid weather conditions, your biggest potential problem is the constant risk of dehydration. This risk becomes greater the longer you train or compete and/or when you train more than once a day – which for most triathletes is commonplace.
Some points to consider:
• If you lose too much fluid in sweat without replacing what’s been lost (in both fluids and electrolytes like sodium and potassium), you risk becoming dehydrated, plain and simple. Research has shown that even partial dehydration (2% loss of body weight) can decrease performance significantly (e.g. By 2% even at this marginal rate of dehydration).
• The best way of battling this fluid loss is by using a “sports drink” (e.g. Gatorade) which will help by replacing both fluid and electrolytes. “Energy drinks” on the other hand (e.g. Red Bull) have the potential to do more harm than good.
• When you consider (even at an age-group level) that the difference between top finishers is often less than a minute, you can’t afford to lose time due to dehydration.
There’s a right and wrong way to hydrate:
You can “over-hydrate” so have a hydration plan in place before training and competing.
• Remain hydrated throughout the day, be sure to turn up to training/competitions well hydrated. If you start even partially dehydrated you’re already behind the 8 ball. Make sure you’re urinating clearly throughout the day BEFORE you start training/competing. To achieve this start the day by grabbing a sports drink, then using water bubblers, drinking fountains, office coolers, and other beverages/dispensers regularly throughout the day.
• Hydrate 2 to 3 hours before training and competitions. Aim for 2 cups (500ml) of fluid at this time and an additional 250ml 10 to 20 minutes before you start training/competing.
• Drink to replace sweat; don’t over-drink. In-experienced triathletes, particularly those who are a little slower in competition can have a tendency to drink too much and run the risk over-hydrating, which can lead to “hyponatremia” – particularly if they are drinking low sodium beverages like water or flat Coke. The easiest way to offset the chance of suffering from hyponatremia is by knowing how much fluid your body requires (see sweat rate chart below).
Knowing your sweat rate is pretty simple. To determine your fluid requirements simply monitor your sweat rates. These can vary for each person and for the same person depending on weather, exercise intensity of exercise, acclimatization status, etc.
So be sure to measure:
How much weight you lose during exercise (in mg) + How much fluid you consume during exercise (in ml) = The amount they SHOULD drink to replace sweat losses
5 Inspirational Triathletes
There are so many athletes and triathletes that inspire us to work harder, perform better and push ourselves to the limit. There is always something to learn from those that have worked hard to achieve their goals. Here are 5 excellent triathletes that have pushed themselves to the limit and gained outstanding and worthy success throughout their careers:
Erin Baker
Erin Baker – Hailing from New Zealand, Erin is considered one of the best female triathletes of all time, winning a total of 104 out of the 121 races she joined.
Dave Scott
Dave Scott- he is a 6 time winner of the Ironman World Championship, holding the joint men’s record and is the first person ever inducted in the Ironman Hall of Fame.
Paula Newby-Fraser
Paula Newby-Fraser – she has won the Ironman World Championship 8 times, winning won 24 Ironman races overall between 1986 and 2002, later competing in ultra marathons.
Craig Alexander
Craig Alexander – Australian Craig is the 2008, 2009 & 2011 Ironman Triathlon World Champion and currently the course record holder.
Mark Allen
Mark Allen – is joint holder of the mens record of 6 wins of the Ironman World Championship and winner of the ITU World Championships in 1989.
By Rod Cedaro
41. Running is the most physically demanding sport of all for triathletes. Swimming is technically the most demanding, cycling demands the most time and running is physically the most demanding of the three triathlon disciplines. It places the most stress on your body and causes the most injuries so build up to it more slowly than the other two and ensure you have good biomechanics in it.
42. A change is as good as a holiday. Mix up your training. Don’t always do the same things week in week out. Not only will this keep you fresh mentally, it’ll also ward of the potential for overuse injuries by mixing up the surfaces on which you run, the terrains you run over and the intensity at which you go.
Mix up the terrain when training
43. Heart rate monitors are a great tool – use them. Get yourself a heart rate monitor and learn how to use it appropriately. Most people that buy a heart rate monitor have no idea what information they can get from it. Used correctly, heart rate monitoring can help improve your performance considerably.
Heart rate monitors are great
44. Refuel post exercise. Research suggests that the first 90 minutes post exercise is the most crucial time during which to restock your muscle glycogen stores and speed your recovery rate. As soon as you finish training have a carbohydrate rich food source on hand ready to eat.
Eat carbohydrates post workout
45. Fuel up during competition. Your body can store enough muscle glycogen for about 90 minutes of continuous hard training/racing. Ideally you should be ingesting (via appropriate food sources or fluids) about 60-80 grams of carbohydrate per hour of hard training or competition.
46. Recovery starts during the previous training session. Maintaining hydration status, eating adequate carbohydrate during a training session not only aids the current training session, it helps to ensure your recovery process is underway so that you can train more effectively the next time you venture out.
47. There’s no training like racing. As you get closer to your key races use small, less important events as lead up races to help sharpen and lift your performances to a higher level.
Small races are useful when training
48. Rest and recovery are just as important as training. Most novice triathletes don’t recognise the importance of rest and recovery. This should be built into your training program. Learn how to “periodise” your training program. Understand the notions of meso, macro and micro cycling your training to ensure you stress and allow adequate recovery and “down” time – a break from formal training at the end of your competitive phase.
49. Choose your running surface wisely. Given the choice running on natural surfaces like grass is better than asphalt which is better than concrete. Concrete is your worst choice to run on.
Running on grass is ideal
50. Change your running shoes regularly. The mid-sole of your running shoes, which provides them with all of their shock absorbing characteristics, have a life of between 300-500 kilometres. Replace your running shoes regularly to ensure optimal shock absorption.
Replace your trainers regularly
51. Horses for courses. Just as different race horses specialise in running under different conditions, different types of running shoes are made for different terrains. Know what sort of terrain you intend to do most of your running over and buy your running shoes to compliment (a) the characteristics of your foot and running style and (b) the sort of surface over which you predominately intend to run.
52. Know your foot type and gait characteristics and choose your shoes accordingly. There are three basic foot types: (i) pronators who “roll” in, (ii) neutral foot types who hit the ground and move evenly along the foot from the heel (point of landing) to the toes (point of take off) and (iii) supinators who “roll” out.
Pronators are the most common foot types (up to 85% of all runners) and require good “medial” support – along the “inside” of the foot. Supinators and neutral foot types are about equally as common and typically require less support but often more shock absorption as such foot types are typically rigid and stiff with poor innate shock absorption characteristics and hence prone to ailments such as stress fractures.
Whilst this isn’t the definitive/complete/exhaustive list of running do’s and don’ts, by heeding at least some of the suggestions within you’ll find yourself spending more time on the road running and less time with the physio or doctor getting over injuries.
Remember – train smarter, not just harder
Rod Cedaro
With the Brisbane Marathon on the horizon again this August 3rd 2014, I thought I would share my race times on the Brisbane Marathon Honour Roll.
The times are here: Rod Cedaro Brisbane Marathon
There are several events on the 3rd of August, including the 42km marathon, a half marathon, a 10km run as well as a 5km. The smaller distances are ideal for beginners and enable you to experience the buzz of the event whilst competing. It’s a fantastic event, with great people in a wonderful city.
Find out more about the marathon in this video:
