2 Hydrogen + 1 Oxygen
That’s the formula for the most important part of your workout. Water!!!
You know hydration is important. Your body needs water to function! In fact, according to www.allaboutwater.org, a person can live for about a month without food, but only about a week without water. Uh, yeah. Kind of important.
If you’re working out, you REALLY need to pay attention to your water intake. It affects your performance, no matter what kind of workout you’re doing. And if what you’re doing makes you sweat a ton? You’re losing water. So you’ve got to replenish your body’s fluids!
I’ve been sweating on a whole new level with my Insanity workouts over the last two months. (I know it’s not cute to talk about, but – hey - it’s part of working out!) So I’ve been trying to down lots of water during my workouts… and really all day long.
Next week, I’ll be incorporating more running into my workouts as well, in preparation for the Run To The Shrine on Saturday May 21st! And I want to keep hydration a priority. But I also don’t want to feel all “sloshy” as I run. Sorry for the technical term, but I don’t know what else to call it! Sometimes if I drink too much water, I can feel it sloshing around in my stomach. And it messes with me!
So I got some advice from Debi Lemke, a registered dietitian with Kaiser Permanente and Manager of HealthWorks Southern Colorado. “When running, you will usually want to SLOWLY drink 20 to 30 ounces of water in a one hour period,” said Debi.
She also says the amount you should drink depends on a few things: amount of miles you’re running, the weather (is it humid, dry, hot, cold), and your personal preference.
I’m running the 5K at the Run To The Shrine. So I can probably finish in 30-40 minutes (hopefully … I mean, the whole thing is uphill! Yikes!) But if you’re training for a longer race and packing on the miles, Debi says you need to add a little something to your fluids. “For any runs over 90 minutes, you will need to drink an electrolyte containing drink as well as water,” she said.
But no matter how long your runs are, there’s one thing you MUST know. Drinking water isn’t just important on race day. It’s important during your preparation as well! “It is best to practice your hydration during your training runs and to continue with that during your race,” said Debi.
So fill up that cup! Just not too much...
