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Hydration strategies for training in the heat
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One issue that we all have to deal with is training in the heat. Whether you’re running an easy 5K or cranking out a century on your carbon fiber pony, staying properly hydrated is what will make or break your training sessions this summer.
If you aren’t mindful of your fluid intake while on the road or trail, you can experience everything from decreased performance to heat exhaustion, or even worse, heat stroke.
However, since most of us train by ourselves, there is no external force keeping us from taking water breaks or forcing us to work through the worst of the summer heat. In other words, we’re not a member of the high school football team during summer practice. You have to rely on your own common sense to make sure you’re staying hydrated.
Living in Las Vegas, my most challenging training months are July and August. Our temps will regularly peak out over 110 degrees with a humidity in the single digits. In these conditions, the air and sun suck the fluid right out of my body like a Hoover.
As a sprint distance triathlete (750m swim, 20-ish K bike, and a 5K run), I’m not outside training for hours on end like the Olympic or long course athletes. The most I will be outside in these conditions is two hours with the average training session lasting between 30-45 minutes.
These are the general rules of thumb I follow when training outside during the summer:
- Train early in the morning when the temps are at their lowest. In August, the lowest the mercury dips will be 90 degrees. That still beats the 105 degrees at 9 p.m.
- I always bring fluid with me on my run or bike sessions. Always.
- Depending on the heat and intensity level, I will typically bring one 24-oz. water bottle per hour of training time.
- For training sessions under one hour, I will drop one nuun hydration tablet
in my water bottle to help with electrolytes and to optimize my hydration. nuun has zero calories so that just means pure hydration help.
- Another option to the nuun in water is nuun in a bottle of Sunrider’s Fortune Delight, or just Fortune Delight by itself. Fortune Delight is similar to a tea, yet is high in anti-oxidants and claims to help metabolize fat for fuel. This Chinese herbal mixture (I prefer the peach or raspberry flavors) contains a neglible 10 calories per serving and I typically prefer this over water on many of my bike rides. It’s amazing how much fuel my body can pull from 10 calories of this brew.
- Since I’m also training my body to better utilize fat as fuel, I will not consume any carbohydrates ( Gatorade Endurance
, Heed, gels, etc.) during that first hour.
- For any session that goes over an hour, I’ve been experimenting with Heed this season to add some calories to give me a bit more zing.
- Last season, for my two-hour and beyond sessions, I sucked down a Hammer Gel every 30 minutes past the first hour and made sure I drank plenty of just plain water to dissolve the gel in my stomach.
If you have any particular hydration strategies that help you deal with the heat, please list them below in the comment section.
Find your edge and dance upon it.
hak
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THANKS. THIS IS VERY HELPFUL INFO. I will read it again before Friday, for my big day. Do you hwo many electrolytes are in one tablet of nunn? I think I will also plan to take one gel every 30 min, after 1 hour on my bike. Do this until I finish the race.
Robin,
First, best wishes for your upcoming race.
Second, here are stats on nuun:
“The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that people who are active for more than one hour get 500–700mg of sodium for every litre of water they consume. This is up to three times the sodium that traditional “sports drinks†provide. In fact, some experts in the field believe that sodium concentrations should be closer to the 700–1000mg range. nuun provides 700mg of sodium for every litre of drink - this amount, in addition to the other critical electrolytes contained in every nuun tablet, ensures that you are adequately replenishing your body’s stores to help you perform at your best, and stay healthy.”
Third, I do know that humidity plays a role in hydration strategies. Since I have not trained in a humid environment in, oh, about 20 years, I really can’t offer much insight on your plan…although it looks solid.
As always, your best strategies are based on your own experience.
hak
thanks.
less than two days.
oh my goodness.