I admit not drinking a lot of water during the weeks after the event but doing a good job trying to get as many liquids as I could, including drinking lots of COLA and Gatorade.

I'm assuming COLA is some kind of a sports/energy drink? If it is actual soda, you know that caffeine is a natural diuretic, and that by drinking it you're defeating the purpose of extra fluids?

John

Bzzzz. Wrong answer. If all you did was drink coke, you'd be fine for hydration.
http://www.jacn.org/...ontent/full/19/5/591

The Effect of Caffeinated, Non-Caffeinated, Caloric and Non-Caloric Beverages on Hydration
Conclusions:
Ann C. Grandjean, EdD, FACN, CNS, Kristin J. Reimers, RD, MS, Karen E. Bannick, MA and Mary C. Haven, MS
The Center for Human Nutrition, (A.C.G., K.J.R.), Omaha, Nebraska
School of Allied Health Professions, University of Nebraska Medical Center (M.C.H.), Omaha, Nebraska
Bannick Consulting, Isle, Minnesota (K.E.B.)

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This preliminary study found no significant differences in the effect of various combinations of beverages on hydration status of healthy adult males. Advising people to disregard caffeinated beverages as part of the daily fluid intake is not substantiated by the results of this study. The across-treatment weight loss observed, when combined with data on fluid-disease relationships, suggests that optimal fluid intake may be higher than common recommendations. Further research is needed to confirm these results and to explore optimal fluid intake for healthy individuals.

In Reply To

 

To be considered, volunteers had to be of normal and stable weight, exercise less than four one-hour sessions per week, not participate in sports on a routine and competitive basis, be willing to abstain from alcohol on specified days of the testing period, have a usual, average caffeine consumption between 20 mg and 1000 mg/day, have normal gastrointestinal function, consume a diet with no extreme food, beverage, or dietary supplement intakes, be willing to abstain from supplements during the study, be free of medications that might influence weight or fluid and electrolyte balance, be free of any chronic illnesses, live and work in an environment of ambient temperature with no significant temperature and humidity variation and have a fairly routine schedule day to day, including nocturnal sleep patterns.

Subjects consumed treatment beverages on Wednesdays. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays of each week, subjects followed a prescribed diet. They reported to the laboratory each week on Wednesday and Thursday mornings for collection of blood, urine and body weight measurements (Fig. 1). Subjects were free-living and allowed to carry on with their usual activities that were consistent with the protocol. After post-treatment data collection on Thursday morning, subjects followed their usual dietary habits, which included their normal caffeine beverage consumption. To monitor unusual variability, subjects recorded data on weight, urinary frequency, stool output and other routes of fluid loss during all days of the study period and for one week before and after the study. Any exceptions to the protocol, such as exertion (e.g., shoveling snow), diarrhea or other situations that could affect hydration were recorded. If subject experienced circumstances that could alter fluid balance, testing was postponed until the following week.

Yeah, who needs fancy peer reviewed studies when Devlin's opinion is what counts!

Thx muffin, I wonder how fit you are and how old. I'm 23 on first Half with about 6 weeks of moderate training and over 10 hours of traveling before the event. My longest run = 12 miles 2 weeks out, my longest swim 2000 mts, my longest bike = 62 miles

Unfortunately tonic water mixed with gin or vodka doesn't seem to have the same effect.

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I'm going to need some published, peer-reviewed studies before I buy that line of BS...

During the race I used a combination of Gu gels, accel gels, hammer gels and power gels, that with plain water and gatorade endurance formula.. that was it..