Dehydration: Why You Want to Drink Lots of Water

Clay from Fleet Feet in Decatur sent out some great information on staying dehydrated.

The weather is changing, the temperatures are increasing – beware of dehydration!

By the time that you are thirsty, you are already dehydrated
With dehydration comes many unpleasant manifestations, including muscle cramps, fatigue, faintness and overheating
A THIRSTY MUSCLE IS A TIGHT MUSCLE. And tight muscles can lead to painful joints!
Dehydration is related to heat exhaustion when body temperatures get too high.

Hydration Tips:

FIND A BASELINE FOR YOUR SWEAT RATE – Weigh yourself before and after a run to establish how many pounds/hour you lose. You will need to drink to replace what you lose – a pound is equivalent to 16oz of liquid
DRINK BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER YOUR EXERCISE
WHAT AND HOW MUCH YOU DRINK IS DETERMINED BY MANY VARIABLES – These variables include length of run, temperature, pace and your conditioning. It takes about 2 weeks of training to acclimate to hot weather and that generally means you will sweat more in order to keep the body cool.
DRINK SMALL AMOUNTS AT ONE TIME, BUT DRINK OFTEN – This will allow for proper absorption. A drink that has electrolytes is recommended for runs over 40 minutes because it increases the fluid absorption rate into the body. This means you need to CARRY FLUIDS with you using either handheld or belt bottles.