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| Hydration on the Long Run |
| Thursday, February 21, 2008 |
Probably the most fundamental part of marathon training is the "long run." Those that don't put time on their feet getting ready to run 26.2 miles almost always pay for it on race day. One of the biggest challenges of the long run is staying hydrated, which also gets your body used to taking in fluids and using them while running.
In a well organized marathon you can expect "hydration stations" at regular intervals along the course. Such is not the case on your long training runs. What to do? Personally I hate carrying water. I have two water belts, one of which is over 25 years old. I use them only as a last resort. Speaking of water belts, there is a phenomenon associated with them that I don't understand. When I'm carrying bottles of water in my belt they are heavy, I can feel the weight of each one. When I drink a bottle, the water or Gatorade is now still on my body, just in my stomach, yet somehow the weight of the liquid is gone. Has anyone else noticed this physics defying phenomenon?
So if you're like me and hate to carry fluids, what else is there to do? Option #2 - leave stashes of drinks at intervals along the route. This saves carrying the drinks, but requires time before the run to make the stashes and time afterwards to retrieve the empties. Depending on the route, that could mean lots of time in your car.
My favorite is Option #3 - find a central location with a variety of loop options of around 30 - 40 minutes each. That way you can park the car, leave all your drinks inside and return to the car every 3 - 5 miles for refreshment before heading out for another loop. I employ this option quite often at Taconic-Hereford State Forest, aka "909".
A couple of other options you might try: find a friend to carry a backpack full of drinks while he or she accompanies you on a bike; plan a route that passes some friends' houses and have them put drinks out for you. Many years ago there was a regular Sunday morning long run from AHS and we could always count on a cooler full of drinks in front of Charlie Sprauer's house at the top of the hill on Rossway Road.
At this year's Turkey Trot I overheard one runner espousing the idea of doing long runs with no fluids as a way to stress the body to get it ready for a marathon. He claimed he never drank anything on his 20 mile runs. My advice - don't even THINK about trying that. |
posted by Steve @ 9:19 AM  |
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