So, Ive recently gotten my hands on an 09 P2C, been Retul’d and have slapped a new ISM saddle on there and am working my way into TT racing but am in the training stages right now. Ive been riding the distances pretty much everyday and have started working on the speed/ power side of things. The real question is how much should I big drinking? I went for a serious ride yesterday and think I drank too much as I started to cramp a little. Bicycling mag just released a thing about how much water you should be drinking while riding. So, Ive got a 12-14oz aero bottle and thats it and sometimes, that doesnt seem like its enough. How do you all handle your hydration? Keep in mind that Im not going to be doing tris, just TT’s. Thanks.
While biking I’ll drink ~ 20 oz of plain water / hour. If it’s really warm I start to creap towards 60 oz / 2 hours.
Running is slightly less, but I can’t ever really go over 20 oz/hour no matter the tempeture without stomach issues.
It depends on intensity, duration, length of ride, environmental conditions, personal choice, etc. I probably wouldn’t even get on the bike with only 12 - 14 oz. of water. Where did you start cramping? If it was in your calves, you probably didn’t consume enough liquid. If it was in your stomach, it might be becasue you are not used to drinking and being in the aero position. What is a “serious” ride by the way?
For a workout/race under 1 hour I don’t drink.
For a workout over 1 hour I take 1 bottle and often don’t finish it.
If you run out of water 20-30 minutes before you finish, then it was just right.
I assume that your TTs won’t be over 40k? Don’t race with water.
Short of putting my health at risk, I wait and fully hydrate after my workouts.
I generally take one 25 oz bottle for a 1-1.5 hour ride. I’m good with 2 up to 3 hours and longer if its cool out. I find my time on the bike a good time to get fluids so unless it is really hot out, my bike hydration volume on the shorter rides is partly make up for the fact I don’t drink enough during the day. I often am drinking more during a ride than I need just to get through that particular ride - I’m trying to get through the whole day and be ready to go tomorrow. I don’t have any trouble adjusting to a lower intake in races.
I try to limit myself to a six-pack…
One beer per twenty minutes of intended running; i.e. three beers before last Friday’s hour and ten minute run. This approach is especially effective for hill runs - it’s amazing how much it can lower your perceived exertion for climbing.
I got uncomfortable while in the aero position so it might be that maybe Im just not used to it yet. Ive been working on speed so serious for me was a 20 mile ride with intervals of about a mile each of sprints at about 80% MHR. Yesterday, I did cramp in my calf during a long hard sprint.
I average 5 oz of fluid every 15 minutes. A little more if it’s super hot like Hawaii.
I keep a flask of Jack in my back right jersey pocket. Always keeps me motivated and it really feels great and kicks in the last 5 miles.
I drink as I want to…Just like Noakes recommends.
jaretj
I have a set of tables and graphs I keep in my bento box. Every 5 minutes I plot my current exertion level along with the ambient humidity, temperature, pressure and 20 other variables to determine my fluid intake rate (to the nearest microliter/s) for the next 5 min period. I have another set of tables for CHO and salt intake.
How much you should drink depends on a lot of variables such as your size, how much you sweat, ambient temperature, exercise intensity, duration, etc. At least 1 pint of water per hour is a general starting point but you’ll probably find that you need more. Drinking too much shouldn’t cause cramps; that’s likely a different issue. Too much fluid intake results in discomfort such as a bloated, sloshy feeling or frequent urination. Drink plenty - a pint to a quart per hour. Maybe even a little more if conditions warrant. If you have to pee a lot then reduce your intake accordingly. Be sure that you’re replacing electrolytes especially during longer sessions and/or when consuming a lot of liquid. Don’t rely on sports drinks for that, you need a solid form - gels or caps.
For training rides, I carry a 3 liter Camelback with a diluted sports drink and a bottle of water. I can drink it all during a 3 hour ride with no bladder breaks and still be thirsty when I get home. In a race, I use a Profile Aerodrink with diluted sports drink and also carry a bottle with plain water. If I need more fluid, I refill at the aid stations. In a sprint race, I sometimes just carry the bottle of water. I have the water handy for washing down gels and such as well as for those times when I just get sick of the sports drinks
One of my best results last year was the Hurl Mile, where I ran a mile and drank a 6-pack of beer in 6:08, taking the overall win (trophy: a bucket. No, really). I’ve extrapolated that winning formula in anticipation of my upcoming marathon, and plan to drink 157 beers over the 26.2 mile course. Extrapolation to the half IM distance is tricky, but I’m anticipating a 70.3 race being a 250-300 beer effort.
On the bike, I drink ~ 1 large bottle an hour.
The real question is how much should I big drinking?
Right now I am drinking a Brick Brewery Wheat Beer.
However, this morning during a hot and hard 100K ride I drank almost exactly 4 standard( smaller) bottles of water. Drank two to the turn at 50K, where we stopped briefly to get water and then drank almost the other 2 on the return trip - I think one bottle was half full at the end. That seemed about right!