Fluid Facts....the "where?"

Thanks for the great questions you're asking via comments on my earlier posts! To give those questions more visibility, I plan to create a separate post for each question....stay tuned and I'll get those posts up soon.

This morning I just want to write a quick entry to continue on my Fluid Facts theme. We've covered the who, what, and when.....today we get to the "where"....

Where?

Well, clearly, in our case the "where" is going to be on a bike! And on the MS ride I anticipate that the "where" will include a lot of long rural roads. Although the "where" is obvious, I think it is still important to discuss because coordinating drinking while driving a bike is not a natural skill for everyone.

When biking outside, it can take some practice to feel comfortable reaching for the water bottle, drinking, and then getting the bottle back in the cage on the bike. Use your training rides to practice this. Truly. Practice works! I am not a naturally coordinated person, so I am an example of a person who had to practice to get comfortable with this skill... When riding on rural roads, I find that it's easiest to do this when I'm not in a big pack of riders and when there is minimal traffic. It's also a lot easier when on a slight incline because the bike is going a bit slower--I avoid drinking on the downhills (not that Illinois has that many "hills"!) For me, trying to grab the water bottle while going downhill is much more unnerving.

Of course, there is always the option to pull over and stop to take a drink. It can be easy to just keep going when you're biking ..... but if reaching for the water bottle while riding makes you uncomfortable, please do stop pull over and stop for hydration breaks. Remember, the MS ride is not a race, and for me the destination is not as important as the time on the road. On large rides like this, stopping from time to time can be a fun opportunity to cheer on our fellow riders as they pass by and ring those bike bells...... And also a chance to meet others who may very well take your lead and stop to hydrate as well.

I also am an advocate of backpack-type water systems (i.e., "Camelback" and other brands). With these you carry the water on your back and drink through a long bendable straw—the “hands-free” way to hydrate.

Next Fluid Facts......the "why" and the "how much"....

Ride on!
Shelley

More Fluid Facts...the "when"

My last post on Fluid Facts covered the “who” and the “what”. Now let’s talk about the “when”….

Before exercise:
Many guidelines recommend that you “pre-hydrate” before an event to make sure you start out well-hydrated: drink approximately 16 ounces of water 2 hours before a long ride, than another 6-8 ounces just before you start.

During exercise:
During your ride, you should aim for drinking 8 ounces of fluid every 15-30 minutes. If you’re riding more than 2 hours (which, clearly, will be the case on the MS ride!) some of that fluid should come from sports drinks. You certainly don’t have to chug 8 ounces at once—taking a few swigs from your water bottle every 5-10 minutes is probably a better idea.

After exercise:
After riding, be sure to drink another 8-16 ounces within about an hour.

It may seem strange to talk about timing of fluid intake, because most of the time we just follow our thirst and drink when we feel thirsty. But in the case of exercise, particularly endurance events, it’s good to consistently remind ourselves about fluid.

When we’re not exercising, we can usually safely rely on our thirst to tell us when we need to drink fluids. Exercise is a different story. Often our thirst senses will be suppressed during exercise, so it’s best to try to hydrate before we feel thirsty. Some people say that thirst is actually a marker of the first stage of dehydration. Other clinicians dispute that statement as an exaggeration. Regardless, I can say from personal experience that my own sense of thirst does not always kick in and is not a reliable in reminding me to hydrate. I have a speedometer on my bike that also has a clock…so when I’m on long rides I keep an eye on that clock and make sure to drink something at least every 10 minutes.

Next post….the “where” of fluid facts.

Ride on!

Fluid Facts

In what seems like a former lifetime--before I went back to school to study nutrition--I earned a degree in journalism. So, whenever I try to explain a topic, I usually revert back to my journalistic roots and the “big six” questions:

1. Who?
2. What ?
3. When ?
4. Where?
5. Why?
and
6. How?
(or, in the case of fluids, “How much?”)

My next few posts will use the “who, what, when, where, why, and how much” format to explain the facts on fluids and endurance exercise.

1. Who? Well, this one’s easy to answer. Obviously, the “who” is YOU! But I also think that the “who” in this case is the whole team, and everyone riding on the MS Ride. It’s important that we all look out for each other and make sure we’re all hydrating enough.

2. What? By the term “fluid” we usually think of water, and much of the time when we exercise water is all we need. In general, for exercise lasting less than 60-90 minutes, water is perfect. But when you’re exercising intensely for longer periods of time or in hot weather, you need to add a sports drink to replace the electrolytes that you’re sweating out and the carbohydrates your body is using to fuel your muscles. There are many brands of sports drinks, and all are similar in their electrolyte and carbohydrate content. But some people find that one brand or another just doesn’t “agree” with their digestive system. Different carbohydrate sources seem to make a difference to some people. In my experience, though, most people do great with any of the many brands of sports drinks. Even so, it’s better to try out different brands during training to find out what works (or doesn’t work) for you. Please share your own experiences with different sports drinks by posting a comment!

Next up…..the “when”, “where”, “why”, and “how much”…..I’ll post later on those….

Ride on!

Hey Team Lakeview!

I’m looking forward to training with you this spring and riding through cornfields in June. I want to introduce myself as a resource for any nutrition questions you might have in your training. I am a registered dietitian and have done several long rides like the MS Ride in the past. (I’m realizing that I just had my 10-year anniversary as a member of the Lakeview YMCA—I joined in February 1999 when I was first beginning to train for the AIDS Ride that year.)

I’ve been talking with Mira about doing some sort of nutrition/hydration seminar for our team, so I’d love to hear if you would be interested in that. I’m also putting together some brief handouts covering the basics of fueling your body –i.e., food and fluids to fuel yourself for an awesome ride.

I created this blog page as a place for me to share some ideas about hydration and eating for training for long-distance cycling, as well as other random advice from my experience with longer rides. (I have personal experience with hyponatremia, so I plan to share that little story with you so you can learn from my mistakes!) :o)

If you have any questions about fluid or food in regards to training or for long-ride days, please post ‘em here or feel free to contact me via email. (Click on the "About Me" link on the bottom left of the page and you can get my email--I'd put in here in the text, but I'm trying to prevent more email spam than I already get!)

You’ll be hearing from me again soon, but in the meantime…. Ride on!

Shelley