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Too Much Water Can Kill You!!!
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Thanks for your replies. (i've been on holiday, so haven't got back as soon as i would have done so).
I think my point in the middle was about the quote in the article saying that NN% of people finishing the MMM Marathon were slightly overhydrated. I found this troubling to my mind the case hadn't really been made.
For 1:1 re-hydration. How do you tell before the run if you are optimially hydrated or not... apart from pee colour. If its by pee colour and we are aiming for clear, I could down 2 litres of water about 30 minutes before a run, weight myself, be 2 kgs heavier then run and put back the extra 2 litres too much (as it were). (If I could run after drinking 2 litres :-)).
As to the drink when you are thirsty argument, this doesn't seem to work for me either. I have on several occaisions drank only when I am thirsty, but this is not until I am de-hydrated. Not so good for performance. In fact on one bike ride in the Yorkshire Moors I pretty much didn't have a thirst even though I was massively underhydrated.
On the whole, I am of the opinion that this is another of those areas where the extreme cases start to crowd out the general situation. Yes it may be heathlier to be slightly overweight than slightly underweight, but the majority of the population have problem with excessive weight, not lack of it. It is healthier still to be at an 'on target weight'. Probably, the same is true here, it may be healthier to be drink exactly the correct amount of water, but most people won't be drinking their 1.3L (or whatever) a day anyway... and very few drink the 4L plus without taking in some electrolytes.
Cheers
djb