23 replies to this topic

[russell2pi]

Just curious as to how much people drink when on a long run? Can you estimate how many mL per how many minutes?

I lost about 3 kilos after running 21.1 for the first time today. (Bearing in mind my slow pace.. 1 hr 56 min). This was despite drinking about 700 mL of water before I left and 600 mL of gatorade during the run, half at 8 km and half at 16 km. This is the first time I have stashed liquids on the route, I thought it would help but obviously I have vastly underestimated my rate of sweating by about a factor of 5 !!  Weather conditions, 18 C and mostly sunny, reasonably humid. I expected to get home a little bit dehydrated but 3 litres is surely too much!

[Bellthorpe]

I don't drink at all for a run of that length. But it would not surprise (nor would it bother) me if I lost  or 3 kg. It would all be replaced over the next few hours, as I drank to thirst. Some days that means almost nothing, other days it means a couple of litres.

[rohan]

 russell2pi, on 21 April 2011 - 03:07 PM, said:

I expected to get home a little bit dehydrated but 3 litres is surely too much!

It's a percentage of body weight that counts. I am 74 kg and can come home from a long run 3kg lighter (though typically that's during a 30+km run), and would not be worried, but would consider it the high side, but to a 90kg person that would be a lesser percentage.

You seem to assume that it's all water loss, there's also some fat loss, muscle protein loss etc.

[MarkO]

Depends on the weather - 21km run in cool conditions - I would take nothing - in summer, in Adelaide, probably 1.5l which is what my camel pack holds - but I would run in the evening with no sun load

Never bothered to weigh myself before and after a long run - have to try it one day - mind I am not sure how accurate my scales are - they seem to vary by over 0.75kg within 10 mins

Another thing would be to define how thristy and dehydrated you feel - listen to your body - and your body gets used to running on less water - just like it get used to running in 30 degree heat - it adapts

[russell2pi]

Yep rohan I'm also 74 kg so by your books 3 kg is nothing to worry about?

Fat loss-- just thinking out loud for a sec... SportTracks says 1700 Calories approx, if fuelled all from fat that's only about 200 grams. Only some of that gets exhaled as carbon dioxide, the rest is water. Similar argument for glycogen, or protein consumed as fuel. Other tissue broken down probably wouldn't be excreted until you go to the toilet...

Edited by russell2pi, 21 April 2011 - 05:09 PM.

[Bellthorpe]

Oh, and Russell ... congratulations on getting to that distance.

[Unlikelyrunner]

Im 85kgs and dont drink until I go beyond the half marathon.  Mind you, I run in Brisbane, so the amount I drink differs based on the season.

In winter, I would take 2 small water bottles with me up to 28km, and 4 beyond that.  I dont take 1 or 3 ever because it unbalances me

Anything beyond 40km and I refill somewhere along the way.

Also, 1:56 for a 21.1km "long slow run" isnt slow at all.  I would rarely go that harder than that unless it was a tempo run whilst training for a marathon.

[jockster]

Horses for courses really, something suits everyone a little different... and largely dependant on climate!

I think I remember reading somewhere the general guideline is 5% of total mass.  Be concerned > 5%, under is ok.  You should be replacing as soon as practical afterwards though.

For me, I usually only have a drink stop if running > 25k (if I am running with bigkev and less than 25k then i may "sip" whilst he stops to replenish his camel hump).  

I often head out for 30-35k training runs with nothing (no gels or water); but will have a quick water fountain stop on average once per hour.  So a 2hr 30min run will have 2 or 3 stops.

Marathon races are different stories, I will usually have a little water/interchanging with electrolytes at all aid stations, and up to 3 gels.

[russell2pi]

 Unlikelyrunner, on 21 April 2011 - 06:18 PM, said:

Also, 1:56 for a 21.1km "long slow run" isnt slow at all.  I would rarely go that harder than that unless it was a tempo run whilst training for a marathon.

yeah, I decided to to pace it at the upper end of comfortable (but certainly still comfortable). It's still a long way shy of what the McMillan calculator predicts should be HM race pace for me (1h46->5:03/km instead of 5:30/km).

I must admit I'm a bit confounded about the different theories out there on suitable training paces but I figure it probably matters very little for a beginner like me as long as I enjoy myself and avoid injury.

[Shankate]

I am 54kg female.

Wear a camelback for runs > 30ks. Fill up to about 1.5L (find it more comfortable with a bit of weight) and drink only about 400mls. Might be up to 600ml on a humid day.

No where near enough according to literature but have never had a long run affected by dehydration.

Take a 100ml gel flask with water on my weekday 15 km runs and fill it up once. So 200ml total.

I run first thing so like to 'sip' as i generally wake up thirsty.

[Tony123]

 russell2pi, on 21 April 2011 - 06:49 PM, said:

I must admit I'm a bit confounded about the different theories out there on suitable training paces but I figure it probably matters very little for a beginner like me as long as I enjoy myself and avoid injury.

Spot on, as a beginner its a good idea to just get out there and run to feel.  Dont try to stick to a certain pace.

[Ponytail]

Like all posts on here, you will see a miriad of replies because we are all different. I ran a half marathon the other weekend and there was a bird lined up next to me ready to run the 15k leg with a camelback and I thought she was mad at first.  Then I reminded myself how different we all are and we all need to listen to our bodies.  I don't tend to sweat too much until after I finish my run and therefore don't require the hydration that some of the drenched runners I pass on my runs

[russell2pi]

 Bellthorpe, on 21 April 2011 - 05:10 PM, said:

Oh, and Russell ... congratulations on getting to that distance.

Thank-you . I didn't quite realise until your congrats that I had indeed been holding it up in my mind as a major goal. It's a mixed feeling though, as in, it's only half the distance of the "real" event! Running the full distance seems unfathomable to me at the moment (except maybe at 6:30+ pace) but therein lie the rewards of conditioning especially for tyros like me where improvement happens surprisingly quickly.

[RunRabbit]

Nothing for runs up to 2 hours - try to carry a bottle of Powerade or like for longer than that.

Interestingly, if I am unfortunate enough to be stuck on a treadmill in a gym I start looking for the water after 30 minutes.

[osmium]

 RunRabbit, on 22 April 2011 - 05:44 PM, said:

Nothing for runs up to 2 hours - try to carry a bottle of Powerade or like for longer than that.

Interestingly, if I am unfortunate enough to be stuck on a treadmill in a gym I start looking for the water after 30 minutes.

This is me, except I only ever drink water. I think I hunt out water on a TM to have something to take my mind of the awfulness of the TM.

Although, I do occasionally take water with me if I've had a bit too much wine the night before...

[Huff]

Nothing under 2 hours.  Over that I may carry some H2O

[Supersam1979]

For me it depends on how I am hydrated when I head out and also not so much on the distance I run but at what pace I put out. My normal long run training pace is between 4.45 and 5/KM depending on terrain. 2 hours or even more at this pace is fine - if I go with my faster mates and they push the pace down to 4.30 ish then I find I look for water more often.

Drinking to thirst has been mentioned and this is the key - I was training a group of half marathon runners last year (many their first half) and one bloke insisted on taking a 3 liter camelpak on each run and also during the race. He also was known to consume up to 5 gels during 18KM where I don't even take one during a half. To me this is madness really, but he stuck to his guns during the race and completed it. I was just suprised that he did not get sick.

As to losing and gaining weight, I find I don't lose much in training - except if I up the sauna times in the week. Even a marathon or a triathlon is fine, but once I pass 50KM and beyond I find that I lose alot (up to 6KGs) in the days following the event - incidently this is also the only time that I tend to crave red meat. I believe Noakes likens it to the fact the body goes into shock after a big distance and then absorbs all it can for fear of facing another challenge like that depleted and hence the weight burn.

[Caterpillar]

 russell2pi, on 21 April 2011 - 03:07 PM, said:

Just curious as to how much people drink when on a long run? Can you estimate how many mL per how many minutes?

I lost about 3 kilos after running 21.1 for the first time today. (Bearing in mind my slow pace.. 1 hr 56 min). This was despite drinking about 700 mL of water before I left and 600 mL of gatorade during the run, half at 8 km and half at 16 km. This is the first time I have stashed liquids on the route, I thought it would help but obviously I have vastly underestimated my rate of sweating by about a factor of 5 !!  Weather conditions, 18 C and mostly sunny, reasonably humid. I expected to get home a little bit dehydrated but 3 litres is surely too much!

I think it may depend a lot on the temperature, humidity, and the pace of your long run. As a result, my intake varies from 1.2 to 2+ litres during a 30+km long run. I usually preload with about 700-800ml of fluids in the hour before heading out.

[CountryMuzz]

With the weather cooling off nicely, I don't drink at all (24k this morning) or take gels. I figure I will train my body to get used to that. I generally try to make sure I am hydrated the night before, and keep a drink by the bed in case I wake up in the night - so I am ready to go in the morning. Not sure whether this is the right approach, but it seems to work OK - refuel and rehydrate when I get back to assist the recovery. It sure makes the run nice and simple, just get dressed and run.

[Brendan90]

I try to get in about 3-4 litres the day before my weekly long run. I usually run first thing in the morning, so i get about 300mls of water in 60-90mins before i run with breakfast, then, depending on the heat, i usually have about 100-200mls of water/powerade every 6.5km (one lap of my route). While i've been running for over a year now, my stomach still doesn't take too kindly to a full stomach of water so i only drink as required to avoid discomfort.

[lactatehead]

I only think about drinking on hot days or if I feel thirsty. I find some people get carried away with the whole hydration thing as if they are going to fall apart unless they have a sip every 2 minutes. I drink quite a lot of water throughout the day though.

[Ponytail]

I now find that my ~20k+ long runs on Sunday mornings which I embark on with an empty stomach require the carbohydrate/electrolyte additive of a spots drink to get me through.  It's not so much a hydration requirement as it is a carbohydrate issue - otherwise I find myself depleted in energy.   Other than that, the route I run is littered with water fountains and taps as it is a popular walker/runner/swimmer area.

[russell2pi]

Just to prove those who said "drink to thirst" right --

-- ran again this morning, 8C and dark instead of 18C and sunny. Drank 250 mL at 9 km mark anyway because it was there. And soon got so busting I had to stop behind a bush at 15 km mark! No losing 3kg this time.

The run was much easier without the sun (and slight hangover   ) too -- felt so good that I decided at the 18 km mark to ramp it up a bit; 5.01, 4.55, 4.49 splits for last 3 kms, 4.5 mins quicker overall.

Edited by russell2pi, 27 April 2011 - 11:40 AM.

[42junkie]

I have always had a problem drinking enough on long runs. Generally I wouldn't have more than a few mouthfuls over a 2 hour run. Even when I make sure to pass lots of water taps I probably still don't drink enough. My issue is that I hate to carry anything, and that includes water bottles, camelbacks etc - I have road tested them all.

It's only in races where the drinks are provided that I realise how important it is to drink a lot when running. I have run all my best races when well hydrated. So it was interesting to find out during Comrades that I lost 3 kilos over the 89km distance, on a day when I was drinking a huge lot, as the aid stations are so good there.

Whenever I have run badly I have been able to look back and think that I had not drunk enough, when I would still have drunk maybe one to two litres during a marathon.