electrolyes
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vanjames posted 8 weeks ago.
IMO you don't need tablets just don't water down the gatorade or any electroyte drink. Instead alternate between sipping electrlytes and water if you need to. Determine your sweat rate by weighing yourself prior and after a session and add back the fluids you drank to detemine net fluid losses. Everyone is different when it comes to salt tabs etc. I choose not to use them. Infinit/Carbo pro and water with nuuns added in are perfect for me.
You may find that solids are tougher to process on longer races - again this is an individual thing. I only go liquid or semi solid (ie clif bloks) for all races - although I have a friend who likes subway in his special needs bag.
The hotter it is the more important getting your electroytes, too diluted or too much water = hyponatremia and that's just plain shite.
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trigirltina2 posted 8 weeks ago.
Practice what you think you will do race day! How you race, how long will you race and how will you recover should dictate what you do on race day.
If you have not used salt tabs, perhaps do so while you practice to see if it works for you. How much white coating do you have on a hot day on those black shorts?
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miner06 posted 8 weeks ago.
jtrimom wrote:
McTri wrote:"It's what plants need!"
I must be slow, I don't get it
It's a reference from the movie "Idiocracy". There is a sports drink called Brondo, that is also used for watering crops. "It has electrolytes. It's what plats need!"
Glad that someone else enjoyed that movie.
"The only way to discover the limits of the possible is to go beyond them into the impossible."
- Arthur C. Clarke
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jtrimom posted 8 weeks ago.
thanks for the edification
still don't get why people are taking the pills instead of using drinks or food to replenish, though
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RV posted 8 weeks ago.
I started taking Enduralytes after had some leg cramps in hot weather coming off the bike in a HIM. You shouldn't take 'em just to take 'em.
And sweat rate really doesn't tell you if you need to supplement - it tells you how much fluid you lost and therefore how much you need to replenish.
After lots of experimenting I have really stopped using the tablets as I now use Infinit - customizable sports drink - and formulated the drink with the electrolyte levels that are appropriate for me. I actually discussed my levels with the founder of Infinit as I was trying to dial it in.
Still if super hot and doing a long day or IM - I will bring some extra Enduralytes as a just in case.
Whether you need to supplement and how much is so dependent on you and the conditions that you are training in. I think that the dosage for Enduralytes is something like 1-6 per hour, so it is all over the board.
You really need to experiment with what works or doesn't for you in training.
RV
It takes a long time to get good. - Scott Molina
Slow is smooth; smooth is fast. - Rich Strauss
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trigirltina2 posted 8 weeks ago.
jtrimom wrote:
thanks for the edification
still don't get why people are taking the pills instead of using drinks or food to replenish, though
Sorry..
Thermolytes have 300mg in two tablets; Gatorade 440mg in a 32oz bottle. You can drink a lot and feel the gatorade or take the two tablets. Food to replenish can be too much food. I get side stitches when I eat then run.
I sweat a lot. The tabs help replenish the minerals I've lost while I train.
It is a personal decision to take in X calories and only you know how many calories you expend or what you have already in the tank. In theroy, you test and test and find what works best for you. I would love a 4-5 hour 1/2 but I hit the 5-6 hours and that is a lot of calories burned.
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kylie posted 8 weeks ago.
Just to clarify based on something said above, Nuun is also electrolytes, and Infinit can be. Carbopro is not.
The best way to figure out what you need, as has been mentioned, is to try things in training and see what works for you. I have a pretty strong stomach and have raced on a number of different foods and drinks. But I find I just feel better using an all liquid diet. I make sure to get some electrolytes in there, but only if it is really really hot out.
Another thing is that your body does adapt to electrolyte levels. For salt in particular most Americans get plenty from food, but if you take salt tablets in training your body will learn to love them and need them. I train with nuun on long rides, or sometimes gatorade, but don't suplement electrolytes other than that in training. When I race (Ironman) I sometimes carry some with me (endurolytes are my choice) but I only take them if for some reason I don't want more Gatorade and have switched to water on the bike.
So if what you have been doing is working for you, great! If you feel it isn't working, change it up a bit and see what does. Nutrition/hydration can be very individual, and I find that experimenting with them and nailing down what works for me is one of the most important parts of training.
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jhudalla posted 8 weeks ago.
RV wrote:
I started taking Enduralytes after had some leg cramps in hot weather coming off the bike in a HIM. You shouldn't take 'em just to take 'em.
And sweat rate really doesn't tell you if you need to supplement - it tells you how much fluid you lost and therefore how much you need to replenish.
After lots of experimenting I have really stopped using the tablets as I now use Infinit - customizable sports drink - and formulated the drink with the electrolyte levels that are appropriate for me. I actually discussed my levels with the founder of Infinit as I was trying to dial it in.
Still if super hot and doing a long day or IM - I will bring some extra Enduralytes as a just in case.
Whether you need to supplement and how much is so dependent on you and the conditions that you are training in. I think that the dosage for Enduralytes is something like 1-6 per hour, so it is all over the board.
You really need to experiment with what works or doesn't for you in training.
Infinit is the best stuff I've used thus far. I do however still hit up the enduralytes but will probly only use'm for marathons or full IM distances. They really helped me put off that monkey on your back feeling at mile 22 of a marathon.
Weary is the path that does not challenge.
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theShiba posted 7 weeks ago.
jtrimom wrote:
McTri wrote:"It's what plants need!"
I must be slow, I don't get it
Can someone please educate me about electrolyte intake while training/ racing for 3-6 hrs. At this point, I am drinking water, watered down gatorade, taking power-gels- which say they have the equivalence of an electolyte drink, and eating cliff bars, powerbars, sport beans and whatever else I can stuff into my bento box/ pockets. I am usually not too hungry when I get off the bike and can do a 5 mi run "comfortably" (digestively speaking) afterwards...I am working up to a HIM in November and right now when I am doing long bike rides it is in the 100s in Houston, so I probably fill up my water bottles a couple times in a 3 hr bike ride.
Soooo, my question is, what is the benefit of taking electrolye tablets? Am I getting what I need from what I am consuming? Or should I get the pills and work with those in addition to what I am using?