Is water enough? page 2

[RitaRose]

Water is all you need. I consumed only water during my 5h trail marathon.

Don't overdrink, and you don't need electrolytes. Tim Noakes' newish book "Waterlogged" explains all the science in excruciating detail, but this review of the book covers it well (and is a highly recommended read):
Waterlogged – A Dogma-Shattering Book?

Um... not always. Yeah, he probably doesn't need anything but water in this case, but when you're sweating for 5 or 6 hours straight in the desert and literally drinking 2 or 3 gallons of water only when you're thirsty, then you can easily end up with a brutal headache from electrolyte loss.

[Dr. Bork Bork]

If you're really very concerned, you can have coconut water or add a nuun tablet to your water
When I do half marathons, I carry a 70 oz camelback with nuun tablets in the water bladder. My favorites are fruit punch & tropical.

[skorpion317]

Add a splash of lemon and lime juices, and a pinch of salt to a bottle of water. Citrus fruits are high in electrolytes. It's like Gatorade minus the sugar.

[WeldingHank]

Add a splash of lemon and lime juices, and a pinch of salt to a bottle of water. Citrus fruits are high in electrolytes. It's like Gatorade minus the sugar.

Came here to post this. Lemon/lime has your potassium, and the salt your sodium, the 2 things you lose the most of from sweating.

[teach2183]

Add a splash of lemon and lime juices, and a pinch of salt to a bottle of water. Citrus fruits are high in electrolytes. It's like Gatorade minus the sugar.

Thanks! That is exactly the type of thing I was looking for. Will give it a try next week!

[TrPAssasin]

Um... not always. Yeah, he probably doesn't need anything but water in this case, but when you're sweating for 5 or 6 hours straight in the desert and literally drinking 2 or 3 gallons of water only when you're thirsty, then you can easily end up with a brutal headache from electrolyte loss.

I hear Tim Noakes on the Ben Greenfield Fitness podcast. He stated that as long as your sweat is salty you have nothing to worry about. The idea is, from an evolutionary perspective, the only reason that your body would be getting rid of all that salt (electrolytes) is if there was an excess. Essentially your body should retain it if it was necessary to your health.

[vb66]

Unless you're an athlete where optimizing performance is the most important thing, stick to water.

[RitaRose]

I'm still saying (from personal experience) that water only = massive headache for me, but a small amount of coconut water = no pain.

Again, that's only because I'm sweating profusely and drinking a couple of gallons of water over 6 hours or so, but hardcore athletes aren't the only ones that sweat a ton.

[kap]

For long efforts RitaRose is right on the mark. If you are working hard for more than a few hours, water alone can be dangerous...even fatal. In this years Texas Water Safari (260 miles paddling in late June), the first fatality in the 50 year history of the race occurred. The cause was hyponatremia. The poor guy was drinking plain water, thinking that was what was best for him. He was peeing a lot (one big indication of hyponatremia) so he thought that he needed to up his water intake, making the situation worse until it turned fatal.

Victoria Advocate | Too much water kills Texas Water Safari racer

[Barefoot Gentile]

The only kind of fluid I drink when running marathons is water. And during a long training run anywhere between 2-3 hours I just drink water, I stay away from any type of electrolytes.