I know that normally I don’t drink nearly enough, and it’s even more important for longer runs. So last night I actually remembered to drink more during the evening, and again this morning. Went to the loo 3 times before this mornings run, and still spent most of the time I was out thinking I needed the loo! What do other people do?
Written by
SueKen
Half Marathon
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I never have more than one drink in the morning before a long run, else I need the loo and the run is miserable. I often drink a lot before the dy of rce and end up having to go to the loo in the middle of the night! I do try to have a small drink at each water station though in an event and either take a bottle or pack for during a long training run.
I try to drink at least 2 litres a day, I found when I first did it I needed to per every 5 mins. After a few days my body adjusted and now I only pee a normal amount. I think it's better to hydrate the day before than trying to drink loads on a run. You can just have a few sips when out instead of trying to force loads in
I try to carry 500ml per hour I anticipate being out even if I don't use it all. I'm pretty good at drinking 2 to 3 litres every day regardless though.
Wow- that is impressive. Does this mean then that if it will take me about 6h to marathon (sorry about noun to verb there) that I would need to carry. 3L?
Yep. I carry 3l for mara runs and expect to refill too... but then I don't do events where there are usually support stations. I carry all my own supplies. It adds to the fun 🤣
ohmygoodness! I ‘m hopefully doing LDN 🤞so I hope there will be some water available, though at the back of the race I know it can sometimes be scarce. I will carry own energy (in bottles, can’t stomach gels) so will need to use some of the provided supplies en route. Will take choc / jaffa cakes for the end miles. Am trying this today on 20M to see if it works. Doing loops back to car to pick up bottles./ water with a 1.5 litre backpack
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oops - accidentally pressed send: Hope this will be ok. Thanks for taking the time to reply to me!!
It's great to train with 1.5l bladder pack as you're essentially training with weight. I don't use gels. I prefer oat based snack bars and I allocate 1 per hour with a couple being high in protein for towards the end to aid with muscle recovery, plus a few sweetie.
I have a running vest with a 2l bladder and 2 x 500ml soft bottles up front. I use flavoured water in the bladder with plain electrolytes but I use 2 different sports drinks up front with high carbs energy. It's nice to have choice when you're out for 6+ hours. I carry extra flavoured electrolyte tablets for if/ when I stop to refill with plain water (I route around either water stand pipes on the Downs or I've found most churches have a tap in the grounds too)
Good luck, enjoy the training, it can be so nice if you've got the right location! 👍🏻😁
So did 20m today(just) and ran out of water at 14M- first time ever ran out of water. luckily planned to stop at my car at 16 so filled up. I will def need 2-3L if not using the water on the course.
Fantastic! Well done! It's awful running out! 🙈 All you want to do is drink... immediately!
I've done it three times... once I begged someone in their garden for some, even though I should have been able to make it home (4 miles) second time I jumped a fence and used a stand pipe on the side of a horse trough about 6 miles from home, third time was in Spain and it was super hot, no shops or even restaurants within 6 miles, so again, threw myself on the mercy of a local householder as we had another 8 miles left!
I'd always rather carry more than worry about being short.
Hydrate well in general! 💦. I take a glass of water to bed as well as I often wake up parched. I don’t do booze so it’s not that. I blame the central heating. My husband has the stat on thermonuclear 🔥 😓. He works in hospitals 🙄🥵
Keep a water bottle to hand and drink throughout the day, not just on runs Water is fine 🙂
I drink about 2ltrs of water a day and a few gallons of coffee. I get really thirsty when I run so anything more than an hour i carry 2 x 500ml soft flasks and refill at aid stations.
I have the bladder the size of a walnut but the only time I have been caught out was when I had to run through lots of flood water and my feet got wet so I just went at the side of the lane
I can't drink before a run or I end up needing to pee somewhere and there aren't many places to pee where I run.
I am pretty good at hydrating every day - try not to guzzle it down - I find if I spread it out, I pee less frequently. In general I am awake about 16-18 hours a day - that's around 100-150ml per hour to drink if you spread 2 litres out over the day - if you have a measuring jug, measure that out and look at it - it really isn't much - just a couple of mouthfuls every hour and you make your target and you don't end up peeing so much. I find it also seems to stave off hunger pangs and keep my skin less dry (I have this completely inaccurate, but highly visual of a dried up dish sponge as my body without water, and nice and soft a supple when water is added, lol)
I try to drink 2 pints of water, at least an hour before I head out. During the week, I have one of those Hydr8 bottles that reminds you when to drink and drink 2 a day which I think is 2 litres. If I'm running over 10km, I have a hydration vest with 2 250ml bottles in it, I fill it will SIS electrolyte solution and after about 6km, take a small sip every 2 km.
Your body gets used to drinking more and adjusts and then you don’t need to pee so often. Little and often during the day is the way to go. I drink a glass every time I go into the kitchen, I take water with me everywhere I go and sip regularly and I take a glass to bed as I do wake up and sip from time to time.
I increase my intake a little in the week before a race and will take water with me for my HM on Sunday but don’t take it for 10K’s.
We’re all different so check out the colour of your pee. Aim for a pale straw colour and you’re fine!
I'm not much of a drinker at all, never water and mostly coffee, and that extends to running too. It's just how I'm built I think. Though last summer during the really hot patch I found I got super thirsty (naturally!) on longer training runs so began to fixate on it a bit (actually a lot, on one run I became completely obsessed with my lack of water), so now I do tend to take a wee bottle out with me on runs longer than about 15k just in case. It stops me thinking about it, and I often get home with it still untouched!
It depends on the time of year for me. If it is the winter, I don't drink much even on the long runs. Maybe 250ml in a small bottle. In the summer I drink a lot more. Sometimes I bring a hydration pack with 1L of Nuun/water mix. At the last HM, I just drank at the stations. It's quite personal, I think. Best to experiment on your training runs and take a little bit more than you think you'll need.
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