Too Much Water Can Kill You!!!

«13

Comments

  • It can if you are a bad swimmer
  • Don't go swimming in the 'cut'!
  • JjJj ✭✭✭
    Well - the eightx250ml is only two glasses outside my apparent resting requirement, and it says 'drink more if you run'. Duh. Doesn't seem to be a scientific equation to define 'more'.
  • Yep, seems a cut and paste job from other articles (wasn't written by FLM runner Alistair Campbell was it)?

    Juliejoo, as you say I was no wiser on how much water to drink when I run having read the article.
  • I have read that if you are running on hot days and just taking on water your stomach stops absorbing it after a while and you need something isotonic or fruit juicy to break down the stomach wall again.
    Something to do with the bodies self defense "I must save water " thingy or was this the basis of the article?
  • JjJj ✭✭✭
    Actually - having read it now at leisure, in the sun, with a nicely rehydrating glass of wine (iced for extra water), I have to say that it was well put together, well written and really rather sensible.

    What it's advocating, basically, is the classic 'moderation in all things' approach which, if everyone followed it instead of jumping on to the latest Daily Mail bandwagon, would see us all fitter, healthier and happier.

    Pass the bottle, chums...

    (but yes, barnsleyoldbean, I would like to know how much is 'extra').
  • there was a website that vittel did that worked out how much you would need to drink in a marathon

    i cant remember what it was called, but it was advertised in the final FLM magazine this year (the one with final race instructions) - sorry but i gave mine away to somebody on one of these forums who asked if they could borrow a copy
  • Shock headline my arse.

    Too much water did for Leonardo de Caprio. Do these people think we've never seen Titanic or the Poseiden Adventure?
  • Especially the night before.
  • oops - the first part of that went missing!



  • Dangerous stuff water...

    Do agree with Juliejoo about the article. I thought it was a really good piece of journalism.
  • GodzillaGodzilla ✭✭✭
    one word

    crisps
  • Jose.Jose. ✭✭✭
    two
    more beer





    please
  • I've asked Amby Burfoot, the author (and editor of the US edition of Runner's World), if he'd like to come on the forum and answer any questions about it.

    I was going to put an excerpt from it up onto the homepage, and invite questions.

    Amby's away till the 14th, but he's very keen to get involved when he gets back.

    Good, bad, indifferent idea?

    Sean, RW
  • Sean
    Congratulations!

    On your impending nuptials

    Good idea, peps are fascinated by this
  • Good idea. Er... my invite hasn't arrived yet. Are your wedding arrangements being handled by the British 10k organisers?
  • waapster, thats naughty!
  • Shucks!

    Many thanks, PH. You're all warmly invited to the wedding slide show on the site afterwards ;-)

    Take it easy on Rob, Oli and Artgod while I'm away...
  • Okay guys,

    Amby's back in the RW USA offices and he has agreed to check in on this thread as often as he can and answer any particular questions you may have about the article.

    Obviously, because he's five hours behind us, he'll probably not be dropping in for a few hours, but feel free to post questions now for him to answer later.

    So, I'll open up the floor to questions (and what DOES that mean anyway!)…

    oli roberts (RW Staff Writer)
  • Okay & thanks I'll start this one off...

    In your article you talk about the danger etc of over-hydration, and what had happened to those that had suffered, but so that we can be aware and avoid suffering, what are the symptoms?

    Thanks
  • Hi all

    I guess the big question is

    How much water is 'more'?

    Followed by

    What are the effects of
    temperature
    distance
    speed
    time on run
    on water requirements?
  • i dont think there can be an equation because everybody's different - water requirements and more importantly electrolyte depletion varies from athlete to athlete

    i read in an ironman article that salt loss through sweat can vary between individuals by a factor of 10

    isn't the advice then 'drink plenty of water, but top up your electrolytes too'

    or just 'drink plenty of sports drink' if you like to keep it simple

    NB whoever nicked my tub of 'endurolyte' capsules at hull over the weekend please would you return them?
  • BarklesBarkles ✭✭✭
    Take it easy on Rob????

    why?
  • Amby,

    just to second Crash Hamster's question - How much is 'more', how much is 'extra' for runners - is there a formula to take into account most of the more significant factors to get a good approximation - remember that the article was published in a running magazine so the 'at rest' formula on its own is completely useless.
  • ChaosChaos ✭✭✭
    Just reading andy colliers reference to different rates of sweat loss - it seems to be partially down to your hot weather acclimatization. Those training for at least a month in hot conditions will lose less sodium per litre than those always in cold conditions. Could this mean, for instance, that it might be an idea to pre-condition yourself for hot FLM weather by training in more clothing or going to the Med for a month?

    I'd be interested to hear what Amby has to say on carb/electrolyte balance as well. Tim Noakes's "Lore of Running" book appears to suggest there may not be enough sodium in many sports drinks.
  • Another question...

    Is there any benefit from what would now be termed 'overhydration' to assist with the 'excretion of toxins in the body'. For example, after a massage, or a hard workout we are often encouraged to drink lots of water.

    Secondly, the article closes with the catch all 'clear or light coloured', not dark for your pee. Can we have a colour chart to determine the when light yellow becomes too dark? :-)

    Cheers

    djb
  • I'm a bit confused by the section that says we have an "exquisitely" tuned thirst reflex, but goes on to say that as adults, we learn to ignore it. And anyway, what about our "exquisitely" tuned bladder reflex?

    I think the hyponetraemia thing is just a fad. It's the latest scare story. Picking out the only person to die of it in the history of the Boston Marathon does not make a very convincing argument. More people have damaged themselves by not drinking enough water, and then fainting away mid stride (c.f. Prague Marathon 03, British 10k 03).

    David Bennett is right. We should drink more as runners, because we exercise, and not just because we sweat more as a result. And anyway, running a marathon taking in nothing but water isn't a good idea, granted, but who does do a marathon taking on nothing but water? We're runners, not ecstacy takers.

    Bah. Mountains out of molehills.

    BB
  • Hello all: Here's a brief first response.

    * Most importantly, yes, we're all different in all ways from speed to weight to sweat rate to electrolyte loss. Every runner has to figure out what works best for him/her.
    * That said, hyponatremia is largely a female problem. They are smaller, less muscle than men, so don't need to drink nearly as much--often 30 percent less than men. Yet women--here comes a somewhat sexist but positive remark--are often more compliant than men. They have heard and believe that runners need to drink a lot, and they do. Sometimes too much, making them hyponatremic.
    * Conversely, men are more prone to heatstroke, because their weight and muscle mass builds internal temperature high and fast. Of course, I hope that U.K. weather conditions are usually not hot/humid enough to lead to heatstroke.
    * Big generalization that's mostly true: Hyponatremia strikes small, slow women running marathons and ultra distances. Heatstroke strikes "warrior" men who push to the max, and usually occurs in sub-marathon distances, like 5-K to 15-K, because we can run "harder" at those distances, elevating body temperature. Marathon pace is more moderate.

    Run long and healthy. Amby Burfoot
Sign In or Register to comment.