Cold Weather Hydration

Its oddly deceptive. You go for a run or walk in the cold and figure you're not going to sweat as much and so that means you don't have to consume as much liquid.

Wrong!

In fact, it may come as a surprise to find out that you may need even more water during colder climates.

Before we continue with this train of thought, lets talk about what water, which makes up 60 to 80 percent of your body, does that is so important. In the blood, water helps transport nutrients, oxygen, glycogen and more to the cells, all of which are used to produce energy and keep the cells running efficiently. It then carries waste products away from the cells. In sweat, it is the evaporation process which helps the body to cool its surface which in turn cools the blood which lowers the overall body temperature.

Why is this important? Without the essentials for energy production eventually your body will stop operating. Without the removal of waste products, your body will slowly poison itself. If your body temperature rises over a high of about 106 degrees Fahrenheit, your cells will actually begin to cook themselves.

Needless to say these are just a few of the reasons we need water in our bodies and yet alone each one should be motivation enough to keep hydrated.

Something you might not think about, lower temperatures “inspire” urination. That means a greater amount of your consumed liquids are passing directly through your body without the opportunity to be absorbed.

It’s a fine line you run in the cold! During a cold weather run or walk you face two different problems. Overheating (too hot) and hypothermia (too cold). You will walk a thin line from your first step. Initially, you will experience the cold. Generally this initial cold is not much more than a distraction as your body begins to heat up and acclimate to the lower temperatures.

The next phase is overheating due to lack of sweat evaporation. In cold climates sweat which is designed to cool the skins surface by vaporizing takes longer to do just that than it does at warm temps; That pooling of sweat initially causes your body temperature to rise abnormally as it is trapped under layers of clothing.

As the clothing gets saturated with moisture the problem quickly turns in a different direction… too much cold! All of this cold begins to drop the temperature of the skin surface extremely fast. As you are likely dehydrated at this time all of your functions begin to slow down. Dehydrated cells deliver less of the fuel needed for energy production and at a slower rate which in turn means less energy production and ultimately less heat, a by product of energy creation. As your body continues to drop you experience hypothermia and a shutdown of your bodily functions. This is why often when you hear of victims of cold weather accidents they are both dehydrated and hypothermic.

All of this to come back to… how to stay hydrated and safe in cold weather. Although you may not feel like it, you need to approach cold weather hydration in the same manner that you do hot weather hydration. Experts recommend approximately 6 oz. of cool water 30 minutes to exercise and then 4 to 6 oz. every 20-30 minutes.

As with warm weather exercise you need to drink before you’re thirsty. The sensation of thirst is triggered when your body senses a concentration of certain elements (such as sodium) in your body. When this occurs, you are already at least mildly dehydrated and if you haven’t been taking in fluids it can lead to serious consequences.

Want to get more exacting on how much fluid you need to take in? Try this simple method for determining how much water you lose during exercise.

Since most weight lost during exercise is directly attributed to sweating weighing yourself before and after an exercise bout will tell you how much water you are loosing.

Let’s say you run for an hour and lose 2 pounds of bodyweight. That two pounds represents 32 oz. What this tells you is that you should be consuming 16 oz of fluid every 30 minutes. That number may be a little high but everyone is different. Some sweat more, some less. This method will give you the most accurate answer to how much to hydrate.

Yesterday, I ran in temps near the upper 40’s plus a windchill. It was cool. I never really felt myself get warmed up and as such I couldn’t really tell if I was sweating. I stopped for a minute a the trailhead of a route I had never run and the sweat came dripping down in great big drops. It was a classic case of what happens when running in the cold. The sweat continues at it regular rate but instead of evaporating as it would in warmer temps, it pools on the surface of your skin. If I hadn’t been taking in fluids, I would have found myself dehydrated in spite of the fact that I couldn’t feel it.

If your runs aren’t going as well as you think they should while its cold out it could be that you’re a little dehydrated. Increase the fluids and you may just find your cold weather training going to a whole new level.

Training for an Ultramarathon

I’ve always enjoyed running. Not in a competitive, have to beat everyone every time sort of way, rather, in a this is something that is some of the best therapy in the world sort of way. If you don’t get that feeling in my humble opinion, you’re either running too fast or too slow or you never have. If you are going with the flow of how your body feels on a given day it is the most incredibly rejuvenating experience you can have.

That does not mean that I don’t want to compete or improve. What it does mean is, if I did not first and foremost gain true pleasure from my running, I simply would not do it.

One thing I realized very early on in my running life is I am not that fast. That meant that while I enjoy participating in 5ks and 10ks, I was never going to find real satisfaction in them because they are not much distance to me and although I could improve my speed somewhat, I was not going to be finishing at any level of notoriety in any of the races I did. Not a big deal and yet, if the distance isn’t a challenge for me then what’s the point?

As long as I can remember, I was intrigued by running a marathon. That intrigue finally lead to my completing 4 of them. Again though, I’m not that fast and also I know that pretty much any day of the year I can walk out the door and run 26.2 miles. I have always been curious as to the boundaries of human capability.

In 2004 my brother shared an article in the Los Angeles Times about a guy nick-named "TheUltramarathon Man". His real name... Dean Karnazes. After reading the article I immediately went out and bought a copy of his book of the same title; Ultramarathon Man.

I was hooked! The things he did and continues to do, running through the night, running relay races intended for teams of people as a solo participant absolutely captivated me. I mean, if he could walk out of a bar on his 30th birthday and run 30 miles into the night, why couldn't I?

At that point I still had not finished a single marathon. Four years later and four marathons later, at the age of 45, I had a heart attack. Seems the "best laid plans" has more truth to it thanI had ever realized. I had pushed myself through marathons with little or no actual preparation. Utilizing not much more than sheer human will power to complete them. In fact, I completed my fourth marathon just two months before my heart attack.

Life became a little more serious for me after that point or at least my health did. I found a renewed love of running and an even greater desire to become an ultra-runner. This time though it would not be a simple case of show up at the starting line a go. This time around I would be prepared.

Oddly enough, more for environmental reasons than for health reasons I had gotten rid of my car even before my heart attack. I became a run-commuter! Very cool. I would run to work 10 miles round trip 5 days a week. Then on weekends, I would throw in some longer runs.

Still I didn't have a real plan.

Sometimes life has a way of presenting opportunities when you least expect them. I recently made the move across country from Southern California where I have lived for the last twenty years back to Michigan where I was born and raised. A million reasons: family, friends, change of venue amongst a few.

This leads me to where we are right now...

It is my hope that I will be able to share some of what I have learned about one of the most humanly natural activities... running. More specifically: ultra-running. I will bring you all of the best and latest information on running and fitness in general. From technique to fueling to hydration to gear to personal anecdotes to profiles of the best in the sport to reviews of races and I am hoping to eventually bring an ultramarathon to western Michigan more specifically Holland and I will share my experiences in the creation of just such an event.

If you're just interested in running a 5k or maybe a marathon or perhaps even just walking a race in your local community, its likely that you will find tidbits of info that will be useful for you as this all unfolds.

I chose running ultras for the love of running, an improved lifestyle and the outright sense of freedom that comes from walking out the door and running as far as I want. I also want to know the outward limits of my physical capabilities and this is a sport that will certainly give me that experience and... it is an activity that I will be able to do for the rest of my life if done right.

Whatever your personal reasons I hope you enjoy this blog as an entertaining and informative resource.