Tag Archives: Hydration

Apr23

Gatorade, A Giveaway and More!

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Hey Guys! I hope you all had a fantastic weekend!  I spent much of this weekend relaxing, decompressing, getting organized and studying.  It was exactly what I needed to do and I feel so much better starting out this week.  Can I tell you? It was amazing to sleep in, make coffee and breakfast and just enjoy the day.  I loved Team in Training and running with them but it was really nice to have an entire weekend with no plans and nowhere to be.  I also have taken the whole week since the marathon off to recover.  I’ve really enjoyed the break and can tell my body is thankful for it.  I’m still debating about taking one more week.  My initial plan had been to take 2 weeks off to rest but I’m  craving yoga so we will see.

Before the Boston Marathon I was approached by Gatorade.  I was pretty excited to receive an email from them since I’ve bought Gatorade products for years and years and have always used Gatorade as one of my forms of hydration for all of my races.  I think if I were to go back and tell my 15-year-old self standing on the pool deck drinking Gatorade before her 100m Fly race that in 10 years I would have this blog, receive an email from Gatorade and get to work with them I wouldn’t have believed it.  When I opened my inbox and saw the email it was definitely a moment as a blogger where you think ”wow this is so cool” immediately followed by “never did I ever think I’d be receiving an email from Gatorade”! I was even more excited when I found out there was a giveaway for my readers!

On Friday afternoon when I was at the Boston Marathon Expo I stopped by the Gatorade booth for a Sports Nutrition Feedback Session.  I was given the opportunity to meet with Matt who is a scientist with Gatorade and ask any and all questions I may have about the Gatorade product line.  Lucky for Matt I had LOTS of questions.  Their new line is very detailed and I always wondered if I was using the products correctly.  Matt was so nice and answered all my questions.

Matt and I at the Gatorade Booth

My first question related to the heat that many runners were going to have to face on Marathon Monday.  We spoke a lot about how many runners would lose much of their salt content.  Lucky for us, the Gatorade Endurance Formula was provided along the course.  This formula provides more than 2x the salt, and 3x the potassium that regular Gatorade provides.  It’s recommended that runners and athletes alike should replace fluids so it is equivalent to their sweat rate.  For example, if you lost one pound for every mile you run you have a very high sweat rate.  You should be drinking about 16 to 24oz. of water to replenish what you’ve lost.  Matt and I then got talking about the entire product line and how if used in combination it can help to aid athletes with high sweat rates.  We talked about the products in the Pro line but Gatorade also offers the original series, a fit series, and a natural series to meet all your needs.  Here’s a breakdown of the Gatorade Pro line and how each product can help you perform your best:

Prime. 

There are two products in this line.  The Prime Drink which contains 110mg of sodium and 30mg of carbohydrates.   You would drink this about 15 minutes before the start of your run or the night before.  The idea behind this product is it increases your sodium and carbohydrates to help you perform better for longer.  It also contains Vitamin B which helps converts carbohydrates to energy.

The Carb Energy Chews are similar to Shot Bloks or Gu and can be eaten before a workout or during for those long training runs and race days.  A package of 4 chews will provide 120 calories, 105mg of sodium, 50mg of potassium and 31g of carbohydrates.  Coming from someone who was downing straight salt during the Boston Marathon I can tell you, I would have much preferred these.  I tried some at the expo and they were delicious! The texture was very smooth and it made them easy to swallow.  They kind of tasted more like candy than chews!

Endurance Formula.

Like I said early, this formula provides 2x the sodium and 3x potassium of regular Thirst Quencher Gatorade.  The benefits of this are that it will help replace your electrolytes you sweat out but also helps to maintain fluid balance.  When I first tried the endurance formula I noticed the salt and was nervous about using it on race.  With the high temperatures during the Boston Marathon the extra salt tasted delicious and I didn’t mind it one bit!

I should also note that if you look at the servings you will only get 14g of carbohydrates in one serving.  If you do the math to determine how many grams of carbohydrate per hour a runner should consume you’ll find you’ll likely need more than 1 serving.

Body weight in kilograms (BW in lbs/2.2) X 0.7 = grams of  carbohydrates per hour

So for a 140 pound woman, that’s about 40g of carbohydrates per hour which is just over 2 servings of Gatorade.  Something to keep in mind as you determine how to fuel your body for success.

Gatorade!

Recover. 

My first experience with this product was after the Chicago marathon and I was not ready for the taste! The drink contains both protein and carbohydrates so the taste is not like typical Gatorade.  It has a consistency of regular Gatorade but is designed to help replenish your glycogen stores and promote protein synthesis in your muscles.  Both of which will help you to recover quickly and will make those sore legs feel better much sooner!  The drink contains 8g of protein and 20g of carbohydrate, 105mg of sodium and 40mg of potassium.

I plan to use the full line of products when training for my next marathon now that I feel more comfortable with how to use each.  I think it would help aid with hydration and additionally recovery.  Recovery specifically is something I could focus on.  And speaking of marathons Gatorade has offered to give away 1 Entry to a Rock n’Roll Marathon of the winners choice! (note: the giveaway is just the entry fee and does not include any travel or additional expenses) Check out the complete list of Rock n’ Roll marathons here.

To enter, leave a comment telling me about a win from within moment! Gatorade believes that athletic achievement is driven from the inside out.  An example from a win within moment is pushing through the wall at mile 22 of a marathon to PR!  Or for all you Boston Marathoners, pushing through the heat and stress and finishing that marathon!

For an additional entry you can tweet the following (be sure to leave a comment telling me you did so!):

@LiveRunLoveYoga is giving away a Rock n’Roll Marathon entry courtesy of @Gatorade! To enter visit http://wp.me/p1E9ET-JL!

Entry closes Wednesday April 25th at Midnight! I’ll randomly select a winner and announce them on Thursday!

Do you use the Gatorade Pro Series to help hydrate you for your training runs and races?  What is your favorite flavors of Gatorade?  Have you tried the Recover drink?  Do you like it?

Nov8

The In’s and Out’s of Staying Hydrated!

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The In’s and Out’s of Staying Hydrated!

I hope everyone is adjusting well to the time change! I still feel as if my internal clock is off.  I keep waking up a bit earlier than normal and am not loving the 5pm darkness. It’s really cramping my running style. I do however enjoy that the sun is shining and I now get to wake up in daylight. Nothing beats those long summer days!

Yesterday I spoke a bit about how Michael and I need to adjust some of our eating and working out habits to make ourselves feel healthier.  We are over our marathon recovery and it’s time to get back into the swing of healthy eating and regular workouts.  I also mentioned that I am going to give up coffee.  I’m not sure I can give this up for good and never have it again but I definitely need to make it an occasional beverage rather than an everyday occurrence.  I think coffee will be a once a week thing for me.  I have since thought about what I would replace my usual morning coffee with, for now I am going to start with a smoothie.  All this beverage talk got me thinking about my hydration as a whole.

We all know that drinking enough water is important but why? Is my water bottle on my desk that I fill once a day is enough?

Some fun facts for starters:

  • Water makes up 55 to 75% of the human body.  This can be even higher if you are lean.  Why? Your muscles hold more water than fat does.
  • Our lungs expel two to four cups of water a day! This does not include your run or workout either.  And this could be more if it is cold out!
  • If you sweat, not from exercise, that is about two cups of water.
  • If your feet sweat, that is another cup!
  • And just think about all the times you go to the bathroom!

According to the article Benefits of Water on Shapefit.com there are three main ways to replenish your water.

  • Replacement approach. The average urine output for adults is 1.5 liters a day. You lose close to an additional liter of water a day through breathing, sweating and bowel movements. Food usually accounts for 20 percent of your fluid intake, so you if you consume 2 liters of water or other beverages a day (a little more than 8 cups), along with your normal diet, you can replace the lost fluids.
  • Eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day. Another approach to water intake is the “8 x 8 rule” – drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day (about 1.9 liters). The rule could also be stated, “drink eight 8-ounce glasses of fluid a day,” as all fluids count toward the daily total. Though this approach isn’t supported by scientific evidence, many people use this basic rule as a guideline for how much water and other fluids to drink.
  • Dietary recommendations. The Institute of Medicine recommends that men consume 3 liters (about 13 cups) of total beverages a day and women consume 2.2 liters (about 9 cups) of total beverages a day. These guidelines are based on national food surveys that assessed people’s average fluid intakes.

Any of these work well but you should definitely aim to have colorless to slightly yellow colored urine and a normal amount.  If you don’t go regularly or your urine is dark yellow, you should look to hydrate more.

So what other factors can affect your hydration?

Exercise.

Most of you know this, hydrate when you exercise.  Drink water before, during and especially after.  You need to replace the fluids you sweat out and then also maintain your regular hydration.  If your running a marathon or half-marathon the intricacy of hydration gets more detailed and that’s a whole other post.  But I will say if your workout is intense and you sweat A LOT you may need sports drink to help replace the sodium you sweat out.

The Weather.

We all know to drink more water and stay hydrated when it is hot and humid out.  Your sweating more than normal and the water will help to keep your body temperature lower.  But this is just as important when it is cold out! You go grocery shopping or to the mall and you still have your parka on. It’s hot in the store and inevitably you sweat a little.  You need to replace that fluid.  Running the furnace can dry out the air, which dries out your skin and lungs.  Drinking more water helps to keep your skin moisturized.

Illness.

It’s cold and flu season.  Drinking extra water helps to wash out toxins and bacteria and keep you feeling healthy!

Can I get water from other sources?

You sure can! The food you consumes provides about 20% of the daily water you need.  The remaining amount comes from fluids you drink.  You can definitely get water from oranges, apples, peaches, cucumbers and other foods.  Beverages like milk and juice and coffee also contain water. Things like grains and nuts, and bread contain less water.  Alcohol also contains some water too.  Keep in mind though that coffee, some teas, soda and alcohol can be diuretic to some people and can actually cause you to lose fluids.  Going one for one is a good suggestion, one alcoholic or caffeinated beverage followed by one water.

And some other information I felt worth sharing!

  • If you feel hungry and it’s not time for a regularly scheduled meal, try having a glass of water.  A few minutes after your water determine if you were truly hungry or if you feel satisfied.  Often our bodies confuse hunger with thirst! It’s a great way to keep yourself from consuming added calories!

The most common culprits are sodas and fruit juices. An average can of soda alone can have up to 60 grams of sugar–that’s the same amount of sugar in four pieces of bread. That said, you’ll want to curtail sodas and fruit juices and learn to enjoy drinking water instead.

  • And my favorite tip! Fill a pitcher with water and add fruits, vegetables or herbs to give it a naturally delicious flavor! Lemon, Lime, Cantaloupe, Muskmelon, Grapefruits, Oranges, and Grapes are all great fruits to use!  Cucumbers are also delicious in water.  I love to add fresh mint, basil, or thyme to water to help flavor it! My gym does this and I have been doing it at home for ages. 


Neglecting your hydration can leave you feel dehydrated.  Losing as little as 1 to 2% of your body weight will potential leave you feeling symptoms like headaches, decreased mental sharpness, tiredness, dry mouth, dizziness, lightheadedness or thirst.  So next time you go for a mid-afternoon soda or coffee think instead and reach for a water.  It may just be the afternoon pick me up you need to make you feel fresh, clear and energized!

I hope everyone learned something! I’m already cutting out the coffee and tend to stay away from soda but will certainly be sure to read my tea labels and choose beverages that are best for my body!

How much water do you drink? Is caffeine something you shy away from? Do you make a conscious effort to drink enough water throughout the day and make smart beverage choices? Do you drink enough water post workout?

Sep19

The Joy of a Cool Run and Fall Temperatures!

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Many of you may have read my post on Friday Hot Summer Running Brings Fast Times in the Fall! If you missed it you should go check it out.  Part of my inspiration for that post was my boyfriend Michael.  He struggles with running in the heat.  He can never stay hydrated well enough and usually hits a wall and bonks miles before we are done.  He’s training for Chicago Marathon with me and has struggled with training all summer due to the amount he sweats.  He lost 12 pounds over a 12 mile run this summer.  That’s pretty crazy.

Michael

A couple of weeks ago we did a 16 mile run, it was cooler but still sunny and pretty warm.  Michael hit the wall and bonked after mile 13.  After that run a fire lit underneath him.  He was determined to figure out how many ounces of water he needed to consume in order to stay hydrated and finish a long run.

Here was the plan:

Consume one Clif Bar Shot Blok every 3 miles.

Drink 8 oz. of water per mile.  (yes, you read that right)

Sip Gatorade over the course of the run and as needed.

We set out on our run.  We started with about a 6 mile run to the east of the apartment then loop back and head out for the remaining 14 miles.  Michael dropped a 12oz. water bottle in a flower-pot when we set out on the 6 mile loop.  He carried three 7oz. bottles in his fuel belt.

Fuel Belt

By mile 6 he consumed 2 of the 7 oz. bottles on his belt and refilled them with the stashed water bottle and consumed his first 2 shot bloks.  We kept on running, along our route there is water fountains about every 3 miles.  We stopped to fill up at each of them.  Every 3 miles he ate his Shot Bloks.  As we approached the 13 mile mark I asked him how he was feeling.  He looked great.  He had good color in his face, was holding a pace of about 8:50 min/mile and looked strong.  Luckily he felt the same with some achy and tired muscles.

He filled up his fuel belt again at mile 14 and then again at mile 17.  At mile 17 he finished the whole sleeve, all 6 Shot Bloks.

Clif Shot Bloks Cran Razz

Michael was able to completely finish his first 20 mile run and our last long run before tapering!  He said he felt good minus the sore and achy muscles!  When he got home he weighed himself, and had only lost 1 lb.!

The fact that it was a cool 60 degrees out that morning really helped Michael’s cause.  He was able to run without sweating for a couple of miles in the beginning of the run and also maintain a more manageable sweat rate.  His hydration, and planning completely made a difference as well. Without the cool weather our pace would not have been sub 9 miles.  In fact it probably would have been closer to 9:15min/mile or 9: 20min/mile.  A lower sweat rate and cooler temperatures allowed him to exert less energy and run faster!

Multiple factors contributed to Michael’s success on Sunday but it also supports Friday’s post that Hot Summer Running Brings Fast Times in the Fall!

Did you notice the difference on your runs and races this weekend with the cooler temperatures?!