I’ve never really got to grips with re-hydrating properly. It always seems a bit of a hit and miss affair for me. I did a race yesterday and although it wasn’t all that hot and it only lasted 1hr 40, I felt awful afterwards.

I drank plenty beforehand – tea and fruit juice with breakfast, bottle of gatorade before the race(perhaps too much?). During the race I got through 1 1/2 litres of water with a weak electrolyte solution (2 Nuun tablets which should be fairly hypotonic?) but had a sore head from lap one onwards. I felt I had no energy on the last two laps and afterwards the sore head persisted right up until bedtime. Post-race hydration was another two bottles of Gatorade, a couple of glasses of water and a glass of watered-down apple and mango juice. Still felt a bit pish this morning.

Nuun tablets seemed to work a treat for 10UTB which was 6 hours of fairly fast-paced riding in pretty hot conditions, but perhaps I got the concentration wrong yesterday.

Does anyone have a sure-fire hydration & recovery method – pre/during/post ride? I need to get this right for the Transalp or I’ll be dead by day 3…

ISn’t milk supposed to be good? or is that an urban myth?

Isn’t that where these for goodness shakes things sprang up from?

I would say that you may have been drinking too much before and not enough during the race. I would also have used less in the way of Nuun – for me 1 per litre is perfect.

Afterwards – go for the chocolate milkshake.

The key to hydration (IMO) is making sure you are hydrated properly in teh DAYS before hand not the hours. Make sure you drink your 8 glasses (minimum) of water in the days leading up and nothing diuretic like coffee and tea. Put Nuun in a drink BEFORE bed – i find that if i do that i wake up more refreshed the next day.
Immediately after a ride i dring a pint of SKIMMED milk with protein powder. Then 3 pints of water over the next few hours.
If its too much i piss more, if not i drink more – simple!!

Why skimmed milk?

Make sure you drink your 8 glasses (minimum) of water in the days leading up

for me at least that would be pointless. I think I tend to under hydrate normally, and sometimes get a headache as a result. One evening last week I tried drinking a lot for a change (which nearly made me vomit), and I was going for a pee every 30 minutes – from which I conclude it just runs straight through – after all, we are not camels.

Why skimmed milk?

No fat?

Smee – Member

Why skimmed milk?

Because there is no need for excess fat

I usually do the protein powder/semi-skimmed milk thing after rides but didn’t have any with me yesterday. I assume the choc. milkshake thing is the same idea? This will help with muscle recovery but not sure about re-hydration. It’s the sore head and general malaise feeling I want to get on top of.

I’m probably neglecting the hydration in the days before a race, but this is going to be difficult for an 8-dayer!

simonfbarnes – Member

Make sure you drink your 8 glasses (minimum) of water in the days leading up

for me at least that would be pointless. I think I tend to under hydrate normally, and sometimes get a headache as a result. One evening last week I tried drinking a lot for a change (which nearly made me vomit), and I was going for a pee every 30 minutes – from which I conclude it just runs straight through – after all, we are not camels.

As usual SFB that totally contradicts its self. You are UNDER hydrated but if you drink more you pee more?? Therefore you are hydrated surely??

But why wouldn’t you want the fat from the milk? You will have burned fat during any race and milk increases the amount of fat that you burn.

Therefore you are hydrated surely??

Well, I’ve always assumed the occasional headaches I get are dehydration related as they go away when I drink something, and seem to correlate with darker pee. Sometimes it won’t occur to me to drink anything till mid afternoon. However, my point was that you cannot store up water reserves from days before as your body will just dump any excess pronto.

You are taking in far too much liquid during the race itself.

1500mls of essentially water during 1 hour 40 minutes of effort is just daft!

How much water does Paula Radcliffe drink in a marathon?

How much water do people drink in a 1 hour cyclo-cross race?

Quite apart from having to carry 1.5 kgs of liquid!

How much liquid will your stomach/digestive system actually process in that time, given that your muscles will be asking for a considerable amount of blood flow, and your digestive system will essentially be on hold while you are going hard?

Think about the needs of your body; if you set off adequately hydrated, you can manage at least an hours exercise before drinking anything at all, and then, the need is for energy, not 1.5 litres of water.

Chuck the camelbak, put a bottle cage on your bike, use 500 mls of a weak energy drink, and tuck a gel up the leg of your shorts.

Reading womens magazines with all that ‘you must have 2 litres a day’ cobblers will not help…

Oh, and have at least two pints of beer afterwards…..

Skimmed milk indeed!!!!

simonfbarnes – Member

Therefore you are hydrated surely??

Well, I’ve always assumed the occasional headaches I get are dehydration related as they go away when I drink something, and seem to correlate with darker pee. Sometimes it won’t occur to me to drink anything till mid afternoon. However, my point was that you cannot store up water reserves from days before as your body will just dump any excess pronto.

My point is that if you are hydrated in the days leading up to the ride then you have a better chance of staying hydrated during the race

http://www.aarp.org/health/fitness/work_out/the_facts_on_water_and_exercise.html

This looks better actually

http://www.roadcyclinguk.com/news/article/mps/uan/1551

Smee – you won’t be burning fat in a race like that.

To the OP – too much water – the way to tell how hydrated you are is the colour of your pee

The headache could be too much salt or mild sunstroke / heatstroke – dunno.

After booze mine is typically a 5

trouble with that chart TJ is that monitors show different colours so not that accurate

TJ – yes you will be burning fat under those conditions.

Reading womens magazines with all that ‘you must have 2 litres a day’ cobblers will not help…

😀

Interesting that you think I’m drinking too much during the race, but how would that contribute to the sore head/malaise feeling afterwards? Unless I’m somehow upsetting the electrolyte balance towards hypertonic? I find that drinking too much beforehand is counter-productive as it just goes straight through me like turps through a sick donkey.

EDIT – much prefer to use a camelback – don’t get on with bottles.

I used to drink too much water and diluted myself essentially

Smee – no you wont burn any significant fat in 1hr 40 of exercise. Its simply not how your body works

The other thing to do, that so few people do, is train under race conditions, that is; you cannot absorb loads of water during a short race; the idea is to win, not finish optimally hydrated, so go out for the race time/distance and get used to being less well hydrated, get used to using less fluid and more carbs in some of your training.

Think about it in caveman terms; if a sabre-tooth tiger is after some dinner, are you really going to stop every five minutes for a drink, or is your body going to be well adapted enough to work at maximum for the length of time it takes to get away?

…and, slightly more contentious, dehydration, within limits, also increases your haematocrit….exactly the effect that the famous EPO has, so as you dehydrate, again within limits, you actually get slightly more efficient at oxygen delivery….

TJ – depends what you call significant and how well trained the person is.

BTW – the reason that folk recommend drinking skimmed milk is that fat slows down the absorption rates of proteins etc. Not really a problem if you are not going out the next morning to do it all again.

Apparently Lance goes for whole milk….

My point is that if you are hydrated in the days leading up to the ride then you have a better chance of staying hydrated during the race

wrong

http://www.aarp.org/health/fitness/work_out /the_facts_on_water_and_exercise.html

says nothing beyond drinking in the morning 🙂

you won’t be burning fat in a race like that.

also wrong. Think about it, if fat were never metabolised when the demand was high what would be the point of having it ? However, from what I’ve read, the rate of fat metabolism is restricted, so it can only contribute part of the demand.

I think you have yr prep wrong.

Fuel up on a good breakfast with a mixture of protein & carbos – dont bother with energy drinks as a way to hydrate (they will actually de-hydrate you if you havent taken enough h2o onboard). You wld be better off drinking 1l or more of water before hand – you should be p1ssing clear before the race, and dont worry about drinking too much either – you will either p1ss or sweat it out.

As for the race – camebak or bottle its up to you. As for the strength of the mix ) always make mine weaker than prescribed & have a gel or 2 on me if I need an extra boost.

Post race – more water (1l) & some protein asap.

ps the night before ease up on the beers plus make sure you are hydrated as well – otherwise you will be playing catchup all day.

If I make the electrolyte solution too strong it makes me thirsty!

As you say, hydration in the few days before an event is an absolute must, a good mixed carbo-protein breakfast maybe 1.5hrs before the event on the day and a weak solution during the race.

I too think you might be taking in too much during the event but
a post work-out drink on the way home won’t hurt.

Beer, coffee and to a lesser extent tea will not help you either before or after the race but a cuppa to get me moving is a given at sparrow’s fart the morning of an event. A pint or two of water over the hour before the race and a last minute pee and you’re sorted!

I rode the Polaris at the w/end in the Peaks, 7hrs & 5hrs of 20+ degrees and this worked a treat. A Gel every 2hrs and an energy bar every hour for such events as a Merida or a Polaris will see you right.

Hope this is of some help. Hydration in the 2-3 day before the event might need more scruitiny, maybe?

Tim

I dont know how related this is but lets go…
I used to suffer badly on early morning rides, lacked energy, felt horrid during the ride and usually ended up with a headache sometime after.

These symptons never ever bothered me on a afternoon / evening ride.

Early morning rides I used to hydrate prior to the ride at home and drink plenty during the ride etc – I used to drink lots after the ride at home but always felt shit…

I started taking Vitamin C every morning and cos of this when hydrating prior to an early ride used the vit c tablet in water as my pre ride drink…
Since then I have had no problems during or after an early ride.. Its now part of my routine prior to any ride.. any thoughts anyone ??

I swear by milk after exercise for muscular recovery, not so much rehydration. Worrying about the fat in milk is pointless, though. The calcium in dairy products prohibits the absorption of fat into the body. And you might not burn much fat during the race, but your body burns up more calories and bodily ‘resources’ in the 24 hours after hard exercise.

I’d agree with staying hydrated in the days before the race without worrying about an actual amount to drink. Just make sure your pee isn’t too yellow. And don’t overdo it on the energy drinks in one go. One before, one after, one later (before bed?) and another the next day. Drinking the equivalent of 4/5 bottles of hydration fluid in half a day has to be madness.

Maybe try a more specific recovery drink afterwards Stu, rather than gatorade? If unavailable the chocolate milk is pretty good. It’s a personal thing but I’d struggle to drink as much during the event. Even on a toughish road ride I struggle to drink more than 750ml in around an hour and a half.

You are taking in far too much liquid during the race itself.

1500mls of essentially water during 1 hour 40 minutes of effort is just daft!

Why? How do you know he’s using a Camelbak? I drunk 2 litres of water at the NPS at Margam a few weeks back, via a fresh bottle on each lap. I always take a new, full bottle every lap in an XC race, admittedly sometimes they don’t tend to get drunk, but I don’t think 1 litre/hour is ‘daft’. And how on earth is being dehydrated going to solve the problem!? I think you’re a bit daft!

Go to the High Five website or Torq on fuelling strategy for events this will help…you need to get used to fuelling whilst training as well to get your body used to it.There are some intesting articles on recovery drinks and nutrition for cycling on BikeRadar so have a look.

The general consensus on this thread made me think that the Camelbak encourages you to drink too much. I know I pee all the time on the MTB, reaaching for a water bottle means you don’t drink quite as regularly, but still don’t feel thirsty.

http://forums.cyclingweekly.co.uk/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/61162/an/0/page/0#61162

The calcium in dairy products prohibits the absorption of fat into the body

this is the first I’ve heard of this, but of course anything inhibiting fat absorbtion will lead to it coming out of your arse instead with unfortunate “leakage” effects 🙁

Maybe try a few different brands of energy drink as well. I seem to get on well with all the brands I’ve tried – never suffered an upset stomach when riding – although certain brands, Infinit especially, have given mates the runs!

Maybe try a few different brands of energy drink as well

Tried quite a few. High 5 is the most palatable for me, SIS is ok, Powerbar stuff is the most boke-inducing.

Lots of good advice on the SheCycles link above but the consensus seem to be that pre-hydration is pretty crucial. Thinking about it, the evidence of a sore head after just one lap points towards neglecting this.

Pieface dont worry about drinking too much – worry about not drinking enough! The effects of dehydration are a lot more uncomfortable than just needing a p1ss!

simonfbarnes – Member

“The calcium in dairy products prohibits the absorption of fat into the body”

this is the first I’ve heard of this, but of course anything inhibiting fat absorbtion will lead to it coming out of your arse instead with unfortunate “leakage” effects

First you have heard of this cos its wrong. You are right about what would happen to the fat if it wasn’t absorbed

stuartie i’ve got some torq energy i’ve been using, if you want to give it a try let me know and i’ll get some to you..