Spring is the time to start thinking about hydration needs. Dehydration can be a very serious matter – do you know what your signs of dehydration are??
This should help clarify some symptoms you may have mistook as something else.
Work with joanna at www.n-im.net for personalized help so you know what works for YOU, not your training partner. Take the guess work out of your race day nutrition! Joanna will help you perform better while including real food options, too.
Here is a review of the signs of dehydration in case you forgot what they were from last year’s blog post.
– slight headache
– slight nausea
– muscle cramps
– wind got knocked out of your sails = slight fatigue or you have you to back off on your gears and cannot quite keep up that power
– stiffness in hips (especially when you get off the bike and cannot stand up straight!) or in neck/shoulders
– muscle tightness – predominantly in the hamstrings on the bike, can be quads on run
– chills – this is almost 3 % dehydration. stop and get ice, shade, etc.
– heavy legs (this is mainly on the run)
– difficulty breathing or getting a deep breathe
– if wearing a heart rate monitor, the heart rate will creep up, then become jumpy on the high end
– feel like you are overheating and cannot cool down
– diarrhea
– and constantly having to pee (meaning multiple times in an hour)
– throwing up (one of my clients has only this symptom)
– slight brain fog
What has worked well for many clients is either to switch electrolyte drinks (I like the customized drink options from Infinit Nutrition. Use nutritioninmotion for your 10% discount code) as well as the GoFast or GoFar products – they have no artificial sweeteners, no stevia, and no artificial colors! I have my own custom formula with less sugar, more electrolytes (and they do have sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium!) These products will help to reduce the onset of dehydration.
If you were to get one of the top symptoms, especially the cramps, take 2 Endurolytes by Hammer Nutrition and they will go away is less than 5 minutes. I know this as I have used them! My clients have used them and are amazed at how fast they work. But they do work! There are other electrolyte capsules and powders on the market – we pick the options together.
When I work with clients, I help each client identify what their specific signs of dehydration are. Then we work on preventive nutrition so none of these symptoms appear. Then if they still do, how to make them go away during the event or training session. I optimize your hydration protocol – sometimes just modifying what you are already using, or suggesting alternatives to what you are using that may not be working.
Last year, one client was using EFS products but only had 6 weeks before his Ironman to test his products. Each week we solved one issue of dehydration, and each week we had one new symptom appear. As we modified what they were using, we also had to add another supplement to increase the magnesium without adding more sodium. We also added re-hydration protocol so the day after a long bike-run brick, they were then able to run really well the next day.
This year, I found out about Sweat & Electrolyte Testing by Levelen. I just recently reviewed results from a client and it totally changed the amount of sodium needed based on actual testing. But it is still somewhere between an art and science to find the solution. If you want to try Levelen, use NIM for your discount code to save 15% on testing and products. Then schedule time to work thru the details via phone or in person.
Once we optimize your hydration protocol and you test it in training, we can pretty much guarantee a perfect race day with the race day fueling, hydration and nutrition dialed in perfectly. But without knowing your signs of dehydration, the race results can be sporadically good or bad, more bad.