Sweat Rate - Triathlon Week

sfricks · 06-16-2005, 09:36 AM

HELP... All this drinking is killing me. I'm wondering if I'm calculating wrong or just have a tiny bladder.

Here's my dilemma. I have measured my sweat rate numerous times now. I average a loss of 63-67 oz per hour via sweat (is this normal???). This means I have to consume 16oz of fluid every 15 minutes of moderate exercise to re-hydrate. This rate of consumption leaves me racing to the porta-potty. I lost 5 lbs in a Half Ironman in May despite drinking as much as I could tolerate (didn't measure but did stop twice to urinate). I've tried sodium tabs and they don't help.

I'm sure this level of dehydration hurts my performance but I can't seem to stop it. Trying to schedule that much fluid really screws up the nutrition plan too. I have never read that climate is a factor but FYI, I live, train and race (mostly) in the Caribbean. Temps mostly 80-90 (27-32c).

Up to this point, I've simply dealt with it but I'm ready to find a solution. So... other than another trip to the doc or racing and exercising with an IV in my arm, does anyone have any suggestions? (Thought about putting a bag or two of saline in my SN bags but don't think the race officials would approve.)

Thanks in advance for your input.

rhino52 · 06-16-2005, 06:07 PM

good luck with your rate but tracking sweat isnt my fortay i drink when the thirst becomes really appearant>an d i take small quantities good luck rhino

Bucky · 06-19-2005, 07:15 PM

Hi Scott,

I don't really have an answer to your dilema, other than to say I empathise. My ability to convert from metric to Imperial isn't great, but I think I'm in the same boat as you. From my sweat tests I lose 2 litres per hour, and subsequently I'm supposed to be drinking 500 mililitres (which is about 16 oz) every 15 minutes. I've tried increasing the amount I drink while training, but during my first race this season I still felt like the water I took in was just sloshing around in my gut.

Good luck finding a solution.

sfricks · 06-20-2005, 03:26 PM

I did get some advise from another forum and tried 200 mg (2 pills) Lava Salts 1 hour before my workout with some level of sucess. Preliminary results show need decrease of 1/3. That's pretty significant. Also, have been measuring bike needs at anaerobic heart rates. When I stay aerobic the needs are reduced even further. Will have to play around with this but it may not be as bad as I thought. I will keep you posted. Thanks so much for all the help and comments!

Zylo · 06-27-2005, 12:28 PM

I don't think too many people track their "Sweat Rate"

I've never even heard of that and I've been involved with sports all my life.

sfricks · 06-28-2005, 09:15 AM

Zylo,
I have never kept track of it before either but from what I've read it makes a lot of sense, especially for events over 4 hours where you run a serious risk of dehydration. I lost 5 full pounds during my last 70.3 (Half Iron) event despite the fact that I drank enough to urinate three times on the course. I believe this stemmed from electrolyte loss and poor planning (drinking too much at once rather than a little very often). For the record, I could not perceive a loss in performance although I'm sure there was.

I do my first Iron Distance Race in October and I just want to have a good grip on my hydration needs. Obviously I can't afford to lose 10 lbs in that race.

The good news is I have recently resorted to a dual measurement on my brick workouts and have found the following...

I loose about 45 oz per hour on the bike (easy to take up) but about 67 oz per hour on the run (very difficult for me to take up). This may have a lot to do with my training environment (I live in the tropics and never run under 85 degrees) but I have never measured it in any other environment for comparison.

So… that’s why I’m here. Still looking for the easy solution and open to advice. So far that advice has been “drink early, often and much”. Really sounds quite easy doesn’t it?

triparadise · 10-18-2005, 01:01 PM

Very-important....It's definitely possible to over-hydrate and cause hyponatremia or even water intoxication.

Our bodies are smarter than we give them credit for. I would suggest paying attention to your thirst as you train so you are comfortable when you race.

The biggest problem we have as triathletes is that we are all over-achievers. The down side of this is that we tend to over-train, over-think, over-study, and yes...sometimes overhydrate.

I find that my best times are when I finish a race slightly dehydrated because I'm not carrying excess water weight and I'm not salt deficient.

bochertj · 11-09-2005, 03:21 AM

A couple things about hydration. One, our bodies seem to exhibit sweat fast than it takes to hydrate it. The solution that I have been using for years is a form of overhydration. The day before a big race I usually drink approximately a two or three gallon of water to replinish fluids. I have found by doing this I need to drink less during a race and I don't have the sloshing of the water in my stomach. Two, salt tablets (or other foods that include salt) are the key to long endurance events. With salt, it helps keep the fluids in the body rather than sweat it out. By using salt, it helps keep your fluids in the body so that they can be efficiently used. But use caution when taking salt as its horrible on the stomach by itself. I hope this helps.

Jeremy

sfricks · 11-09-2005, 06:35 AM

A WORD OF CAUTION!!! Beware of hyponatremia. This is a condition where too much fluid intake disrupts the bodies electolyte balance. A better hydration strategy might be sipping on sports drink throught the day for a few days leading up to the event. This serves three purposes:
1) Hydration
2) Carbo Loading
3) Electolyte Replacement
Drink only to the point where your urine is significant in volume and clear to very pale yellow. Don't be fooled here by what the color of the fluid in the bowl is. It's diluted by clear water.

Good luck and happy hydrating.

Scott

sfricks · 11-09-2005, 06:35 AM

A WORD OF CAUTION!!! Beware of hyponatremia. This is a condition where too much fluid intake disrupts the bodies electolyte balance. A better hydration strategy might be sipping on sports drink throught the day for a few days leading up to the event. This serves three purposes:
1) Hydration
2) Carbo Loading
3) Electolyte Replacement
Drink only to the point where your urine is significant in volume and clear to very pale yellow. Don't be fooled here by what the color of the fluid in the bowl is. It's diluted by clear water.

Good luck and happy hydrating.

sfricks · 11-09-2005, 06:35 AM

A WORD OF CAUTION!!! Beware of hyponatremia. This is a condition where too much fluid intake disrupts the bodies electolyte balance. A better hydration strategy might be sipping on sports drink throught the day for a few days leading up to the event. This serves three purposes:
1) Hydration
2) Carbo Loading
3) Electolyte Replacement
Drink only to the point where your urine is significant in volume and clear to very pale yellow. Don't be fooled here by what the color of the fluid in the bowl is. It's diluted by clear water.

Good luck and happy hydrating.

adidas82 · 03-20-2006, 05:46 AM

Thanks for the info on hyponatremia. But I do agree with the "liquid overload" theory. It has helped my training tremendously. Of course I stick with sprint triathlons so I usually only down about a gallon, a day or two before my race, and add some extra salt to my diet. Maybe I'll try replacing the water with sports drink.

triparadise · 03-24-2006, 09:46 AM

It's like this...You need water! You need electrolytes. Thank you Gatorade for making the term electrolytes a common term.

Everyone understands we need water to avoid dehydration, but...
Why do we need electrolytes?

Many serious athlete's understand this as well, our muscles use electrolytes for muscle contraction. Specifically, Calcium, Potassium, Sodium, Magnesium, Phosphate and Biocarbonate affect and regulate the hydration of the body, blood pH, and are critical for nerve and muscle function. When we exercise, we lose all of these electrolytes through our sweat. Taking in just pure water can actually worsen the issue, because it dilutes the salts inside the body's cells and interferes with their chemical functions. This can lead to water intoxication.

Sorry, gatorade, but sugar and salt (sodium and chloride) is only a small amount of what we truly need to replace during endurance sports. Also, dentists recommend that regular consumers of sports drinks observe precautions against tooth decay because of the enormous sugar content.

I have never found a product that really does what Gatorade implies their product does, however, I have found one product that has twice the Electrolytes and 1/4 of the Calories of Original Gatorade. There's a health company called Melaleuca that offers a mix called sustain. It has Calcium, Potassium, Sodium and Magnesium. It also has vitamin E, C and B12.

sfricks · 04-02-2006, 04:49 PM

Thanks for the hydration advice. I'm a fair weather athlete. I won't drink something beacuse someone tells me it's better for me. If it tastes like crap IT TASTES LIKE CRAP no matter HOW GOOD it is for me. I'll stick with what I can drink and like and just be a mediocre athlete :) Love to you all though!