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Did I drink too much?

I did a 3hr 15min ride today. I pee'd and weighed my self pre-ride at 172.5 and post ride at 177.5. This is what I drank - 

48oz cytomax

12oz gatorade

16oz monster energy

60oz water

 

136 oz total

 

== 4 liters

== 4kg

== 8.8 lbs

I only ate 1 pack of Shot Bloks and 1 gel. Shouldn't my weight be more similar before and after? Gaining 5 pounds seems like I drank a lot more than I sweated. I am trying to ensure I am not dehydrated afterwards and I am wondering if I should not be drinking so much? 

Comments

  • That's, like, 6 or 7 bottles, right?

    This is just my own experience, k? I can put away 2 bottles an hour when I'm in the warmer season and working pretty hard on the bike. It's a trial and error thing, IMO. Make sure you're getting the right amount of sodium, in addition to the other electrolytes. Play around with how many carbs per hour. But, yeah, that alot of water in the gut. If you don't make sure that it's getting absorbed, it could possibly just sit in your gut like an internal Camelbak bladder just sloshing around. And, you have to consider what it would be like running with the slosh pit stomach.

    When's your big race?
  • Thanks Chris. It is about 5 and a half 24oz bottles (the big ones) so yeah, a bit less than two of those an hour. My A race is at the end on June so there is a bit of time to figure this out. My stomach didn't feel really sloshy or bloated, maybe somewhat though, and I never ran off the bike today so I probably never noticed.

  • @David, what was the temperature where you rode today? In most cases you definitely don't need to drink as much when it's cooler out. Keep in mind though, that your calorie needs won't change. So you will need to make an adjustment between calories through hydration vs. calories through gels/food as the temperature changes.

    I would recommend taking a look at the information in the Nutrition section of the Wiki. There are some great starting points in there for half and full ironman fueling strategies. People vary widely on what they can and can't tolerate and body composition so you will need to make personal adjustments. You're definitely asking the questions though at the right time of year based on the races you have listed on your profile. The Nutrition page can be found here: http://members.endurancenation.us/Resources/Wiki/tabid/91/Default.aspx?topic=Nutrition+Central A lot of good information can be found in the Nutrition forum too where people have asked a lot of questions about fueling.

    My personal opinion...you either drank too much or your body did not process what you put in it. I'm not sure you want to come off the bike (at any distance race) carrying an extra 5 lbs and start running. You may have felt ok today but my guess is that after 10 or 15 minutes running you're going to start to feel that. The wiki suggestion for a half is drink enough to pee once on the bike. In an Olympic consider drinking to thirst only. The intensity of the run will definitely give you stomach cramps if you drink too much.
  • and what is your weight?
  • @Robin - My weight is 172.5.

    @Doug - It was about 50-55 I think. So not too warm. I will definitely read over the info in the wiki. I think are right that I drank too much and probably didn't process it. I am experimenting with drinking some water on the bike, in the past I have only start sports drink. So that may also have been a factor. I was able to drink water much more easily. Maybe water with electrolyte would work better. I never pee'd, though I probably would have used the restroom at the store I stopped at if I had felt comfortable leaving my bike unattended. I wonder if it makes sense to drink more on the beginning of the big leg rather than near the end to prevent that possible sloshing stomach. 

  • I would definitely check the sodium content of the drinks you had. That seems like very low sodium products you consumed.
  • David, I drink Skratch labs hydration drink on the bike and run instead of plain water. You might want to try it or something like it. I have problems when I try to drink my calories so I usually eat rice muffins or other"real food" for the majority of the bike and the switch to gels for the last hour of the IM so the skratch labs gives me some of the electrolytes I need and aids active absorption.
  • Huge improvement this week. I got my results for some blood work I got done and it turns out I am low in sodium and chloride. Probably from all the sweating and over drinking, right... I have been told to eat more salt and drink less water. The exact opposite of conventional wisdom.
    I have been doing that for a few days during and outside of my workouts. I have been feeling and performing much better. Cut my fluids by half today and added salt to my bottles, in addition I took some salt caps after. After this ride last week I came down with a 12 hour migraine, that has been an ongoing issue for me. I think this may have been a big part of what was causing it. So far after today's ride I have been a bit tired from the ride, but it is a good tired, not a "leave me alone, I feel like crap" tired. Fingers crossed, this is a long term solution for me. imageimage
  • David, wanna save some $ and time? 1/4 tsp of regular store bought salt yields ....590(!)mgs of Sodium!!! Yes, it will change the taste of whatever is in the bottle. But, I've had alot worse. I've grown very used to it. And, on the longer hotter days, it can't be beat. Just my experience, try it it you want to experiment some more.
  • @David- what were your sodium and chloride levels and when did you have the blood work done? Right before or after a workout? Or after an overnight fast?
  • My sodium was 138 mmol/l. Normal range is 137-145, so I was at the low end of normal.
    Chloride was 95, normal 96-109, so just out of range there.

    Glucose and RBC were also low, but the doctor didn't seem concerned about those.
    I had swam and had lunch just before the blood was taken. Doctor thought low glucose was like as a result of having just eaten.
    My vitamin D was also at the low end. So I am on a quality multi-vitamin and vitamin D supplements and adding a bit more salt to my diet.

    Any input appreciated.
  • @chris - yes basic salt is much cheaper for sure! I am adding 1/4teaspoon to my bottle and taking the salt caps with me for longer activities when I may need to refill somewhere on the road.
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