Sodium Intake

spabblington

What is the best way to take in sodium during a race or long training day?  I did all of my races last year (and all training so far this year) with Gu and water only and until I started pouring through the Wiki and past forum posts, I had always thought my sodium intake was adequate.  Now I see why I had severe cramps and other issues at Augusta last year.

Based on what I have read, I need to get anywhere from 500 - 1000 mg of sodium per hour on the bike??  And Gu has appx. 40-50 mg.  And having 1 Gu every 30-45 mins wasn't nearly enough.

So...  what are options for getting more sodium?  I've seen the sodium sticks/pills and see many posts about infinit.  I am wary of infinit, however, b/c sports drinks have always caused me GI issues (Powerade, Gatorade, etc).  But I've never tried something as "advanced" as infinit either.

GMAN 19030

Call the folks at Infinit and they will walk you through setting up a custom formula. They're very helpful. I use Infinit on the bike (usually supplemented with Salt Stick capsules) and Salt Sticks on the run.

penlynwilson

@Greg: Use what works for you. If Gu's work - use them.

Salt options. Your choice depends on how much you need to fill in:
- Salt Stick capsules (215 mg Na per cap)
- S!Caps (341 mg Na per cap)
- Gatorlytes (780 mg Na per packet)
- The Right Stuff (1500 mg per packet)

dotcatlin

I use infinit and SCaps!

spabblington

Thanks! For Kansas, I'll likely stick with the Gu just b/c it's easy and seems to work for the most part andl look into the salt sticks mentioned and see what would be the easiest to incorporate. I don't want to mess up anything so close to that race. But perhaps I'll give Infinit a try over the summer training sessions to see if that is easier for Augusta as I will have time.

spabblington

@Dottie - quick question, as I think about it. If Infinit is customized, why would I still need any kind of salt stick with it? I would rather just have 1 thing to worry about if I switched? Or are the SCaps for the run?

Also, @Bob, why no Infinit for the run? Is salt+water enough? Or do you switch to Gu or other type of calorie intake?

Thanks again for all your help!

stevekw

I've had great luck with S!Caps on both the bike and the run to supplement whatever sodium I'm getting from gels and on-the-course drinks

dotcatlin

I'm not sure you can customize infinit with so much salt, and depending on heat I adjust how many scaps i take. I use scaps on bike & run. I do not use infinit on the run. I opt for powergels & water at aid stations, which have more sodium than gus (I think. ONe of them has more and I use those)

Scott Alexander

 I use infinit on the bike, then add additional s!caps when temps, humidity and effort require it. That's for HIM and IM. 

 

On the HIM run course, I'll use what's on the course, adding s!caps again based on conditions. 

On the IM run course, I've been using accel gels with s!caps as conditions merit. 

spabblington

Thanks!!