To figure out how much of what, for my first year of training for long course I took a month during the hottest weather and recorded everything that went in on my long rides and bikes. In a spreadsheet I kept track of total intake of ounces of fluid, calories, carbs, protein, potassium, sodium and caffeine; and hours bike/run.

At first I went by "feel" and some rough guidelines, and pretty quickly saw a pattern of what I choose. Then I experimented a bit above/below those levels, keeping track of how I felt with the changes.

Most gels, energy drinks do not have enough electrolytes in them. I supplement with Hammer endurolyte caps. They are a bit bulkier than salt tabs, but they have more of a mix of electrolytes. I carried them in a small, square plastic pill case (had from a pharmacy) that I could flip open with one hand (but two hands was better to prevent dropping).

Having said all of that, this year I've been experimenting with solid foods for the bike, with liquids just for hydration and electrolytes. I mix up my own drink with some sort of flavoring, sea salt, and potassium chloride (the ingredient in salt substitutes).

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No coasting in running and no crying in baseball

I like to take salt tabs - I find them easy to carry/take/digest. Depending on the temps and level of exertion, I'll take 2 every 2-4hrs when doing long (ultra) runs. For Comrades, which was very warm, I took two at 3h, 2 at 5h30; two at 7h; two more at 9h30. Don't forget you need calories not just salt! Get little baggies or use an empty mini M&M canister (these are the best!) to keep them from getting wet.

For IMC, in my bike special needs bag I had a tortilla wrap with turkey, mustard and LOTS of salt on it. Ate half at the pick up point, then munched on the rest over the next 1-2 hrs. Man that was the best tasting wrap, and gave me lots of calories.

AP

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"How bad could it be?" - SimpleS

Salt needs vary from person to person.

I've been running in 85* weather, full sun and no shade. Getting ready for a potentially really hot marathon. I take one S!Cap every 30 minutes when I'm in those conditions. I sweat really heavily so I need a lot of water. I have to balance that with the salts so I don't get hyponatremic.

That's pretty high for most people. One thing to keep in mind though, it is easier for the body to get rid of excess than it is to ingest enough quickly enough to come back from too much water. I'd go high rather than low.

I carry it in a baggie.

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Jen

"In order to keep a true perspective on one's importance, everyone should have a dog that worships him and a cat that will ignore him." - Dereke Bruce

If it's really hot, I'm taking in more water so I carry a tube of endurolytes and take 2-3 per hour. Works well for me in racing or training.

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Twitter: @jayasports
Web: http://www.jayasports.com

Salt Stick caps serve me well. Today in my long ride leading up to IM Lake Tahoe, it was a brutal 113 degrees. One cap per hour served to keep me going until I couldn't stand the heat any longer...

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DFL > DNF > DNS

Another vote for Salt Stick.

I would not worry about the "heat" at IMAZ. I've done it 2x and only felt "hot" at the beginning of the run and it was barely 80 degrees. It's no IMTX sweat-a-thon, that's for sure. I am able to get through with just 2-3 Salt Stick capsules.

My salt is built into my bike fuel - Infinit.

I train in Miami and a lot of folks supplement that with salt capsules. I tried it but I didn't really need it (I'm not a super heavy sweater). And also here's a word of caution about that the salt capsules I was taking have potassium in them which is not a bad thing. Buuut so does my Infinit and it turned out I was getting too much of that. Nothing happened to me. But I did have my annual checkup during this time and my potassium levels were really high. Apparently too much potassium can cause irregular heart beats. That would be no fun. I removed my salt tabs and retested and was fine. It's just something to watch out for when you add salt tabs to your food equation.