How much water do you really need?
Everyone’s needs are different, and vary depending on age, sex, activity level, and environmental conditions. As a general rule, the Institute of Medicine recommends that men consume 3 L (13 cups) and women consume 2.2 L (9 cups) of water from all sources per day. This includes food!!! Approximately 20% of our daily water needs come from food, and with a conscious effort, you may be able to replace a glass or two.

Fluids by Food Group

Fruits and vegetables are a great source of water. Water however does not only come from fruits and vegetables- you can get it from every food group! Water content will vary depending on the processing and preparation methods. For example, although both made from milk, yogurt has a higher water content than cheese. In preparing a bowl of oatmeal or plate of rice, one must ensure the exact amount of water is used for best results- you then eat that water! Other preparation methods, such as searing meat in a frying pan prior to baking, helps to seal in the juices (aka the water!). The followinf table has some other examples:

Still not sold on water? Drinking fruit juices, coffee, flavored water, and sport drinks may help those of us who do not love water, and will therefore not drink enough throughout the day. Other tasty treats such as fruit smoothies are a great way to drink your daily servings of fruits and hydrating at the same time. Cold soups such as gazpacho can be a great meal and help cool us down at the same time.

With the heat of summer already upon us, here are some fun and creative ideas to help eat your way to 8 cups a day:

Fruit Smoothie:

• Add your favorite fruit combination (melon, pineapple, kiwi, mango)
• Use regular milk, soy milk, or silken tofu instead of yogurt
• Use less of your favorite fruit juice to get a thicker consistency (or more to make it juicier)
• Use frozen berries if your blender doesn’t crush ice cubes well to keep it cold on those hot summer days
• Sneak vegetables such as spinach into the smoothie- the kids wont even taste it!

Zucchini Curry Soup:

Gazpacho:

Why are fluids important for distance runners?

• Drinking prior to and during a distance run can help with temperature regulation by preventing heat illness and dehydration.
• Drinking post-run is essential to optimize your fluid balance and ensure that you have enough circulating fluid to maintain blood volume, rehydrate intracellular water and maintain overall water balance.
• Drinking sufficient fluids throughout the day ensures that your kidneys have enough fluid to flush out all the waste products of your metabolism.

Before your run:

• While water will help to ensure adequate hydration before your run, sport drinks not only help to rehydrate, but also ensure that your first source of energy, your blood sugar, is topped-up and ready to race.

• Whether during training or competition, being adequately hydrated is a huge advantage. The following chart can be used as a guideline to ensure you are drinking enough before you run.

How long before a run? How much?
4 hrs BEFORE….drink 5-7 mL/kg body weight
2 hrs BEFORE….drink 3-5 mL/kg body weight

During your run
Sweat rates can range from 0.4 Litres up to 1.8 litres per hour in a heavily sweating, big bodied person. Sweat rates also depend upon on the weather, the duration of your training session, and your training level. With this in mind, some runners find it difficult to consume enough fluid while running to replace the amount lost in sweat and prevent dehydration.

• As a general guideline, drink 0.5 to 1 cup (0.4-0.8L) of fluid per hour.

• Endurance formula sport drinks contain the same amount of carbohydrate as regular sport drinks, but almost twice the amount of electrolytes.

• Although beverages such as enhanced water or low calorie sport drinks help to ward off dehydration, they do not contain carbohydrates, and therefore do not provide adequate fuel during a run.
• Ideally, 15-20 g of carbohydrate per 250 ml is sufficient, with the type of sugar being glucose, sucrose, or maltodextrin with some fructose.
• Too much fructose, such as that found in fruit juice, has been associated with symptoms of upset stomach, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea in some athletes.
• 125-175 mg of sodium, and 20- 50 mg of potassium per 250 ml is ideal.

After your run
Replacing fluid and electrolyte loses is not only necessary for rehydrating post-run, but essential for athletes in training who may be running again the next day. Sport drinks help you to refuel and rehydrate at the same time.

• Runners should get in the practice of weighing themselves before and after a training session, and monitoring the conditions of their run in order to recognize and replace fluid loss, and ultimately maximize performance.

• Aim to drink 1 – 1.5 L of fluid/kg of body weight lost during exercise.

Powerfuel™ Hydration Tip #1
Ice may improve your hot weather running performance.
Maintaining your running performance in hot weather may be as simple as drinking a slushy drink (ice-slurry) pre-run. Australian research suggests that a slushy drink could give you pretty significant performance benefits due to its effective cooling action compared to water. Runners drinking ice slurries pre-run were able to run for longer than when cold water was taken – likely because the runners were able to absorb more of the heat produced during their run then when cold water was consumed. So……load up on ice chips for your pre-race water bottle when running in the heat.

Powerfuel™ Hydration Tip #2
While water is often adequate, sport drinks are often more effective and provide additional energy and electrolytes to improve performance. Sport drinks are a great way to maximize fluid intake for athletes who do not enjoy drinking water, and therefore ingest inadequate amounts. The electrolytes in sport drinks also help to lock the fluid into the body.

Powerfuel™ Hydration Tip #3 – Train your gut (not just your legs) to run fast!
Training in an environment similar to where you will be competing is critical. Plan to acclimatize yourself to the weather conditions, the time of day, and the sport drink or gel used at that race. Surprises are part of the challenge (and the fun!) but training to your race will ensure that there you can handle anything that comes your way without jeopardizing your performance. Lastly, if you do not know which sport drink will be provided at the race, or if there will be any left when you get to the next station, BYOB (bring your own beverage)! This will ensure that your competition closely mimics your training and you will be prepared for anything. Remember, this is what you’ve trained for (and paid for), so enjoy it!

Nutrition surveys suggest that most master athletes (anyone over 35 yrs of age) do NOT consume sufficient energy to support needs. They have a tendency to supply needed energy AFTER it is needed mainly because they are poor planners with many work, home and sport commitments or they are restricting their intake to achieve too fast a rate of weight loss leading to disordered eating patterns. Training on too few calories can lead to chronic fatigue, poor immune function, loss of muscle mass and decreased performance.

• Practice makes perfect

Your digestive system (as well as your muscles) needs some training to be able to keep you well fueled during your training sessions (and competition). If you want to be able to eat and drink comfortably during your marathon (or longer) event, you need to be practicing that in training. Exercising hard while eating and drinking are not things that your body would normally prefer to do at the same time – but just like skiing fast, eating is a learned skill that requires the same amount of practice and attention to detail. If you plan on consuming 200-300 calories an hour and 1 litre of fluid (for example) during your race you need to practice consuming both of these in your training. Don’t skimp on fluid or calories during training!

• So why do so many of us train on too few calories (and fluids)?

All it takes is getting dropped by the pack when the pace picks up or on a hill climb during training and it’s easy to start thinking that “if I just lost a couple of pounds I would be able to stay with the pack”. The problem with trying to diet while training is that the lack of calories and specific nutrients (especially carbohydrates) wreaks havoc on your muscles and immune system and makes you prone to injury. Taking in far fewer calories than what your body requires may result in the body attacking it’s own tissues, resulting in a a weakened muscular and immune system. Training, building muscle and following a sound diet are the best way to lose weight because it comes off slowly.

• How much do you need to eat?

Track your intake for three days – don’t change anything. If you are able to answer yes to the following questions then you are likely eating enough:

• Can you train without undue fatigue (i.e. you can train well throughout each training session)?
• Are you maintaining your body composition (i.e. not losing muscle or gaining body fat?)
• Do you have a fast recovery between training sessions (i.e. you are energized for each training session)?
• Do you have optimal biological functioning (e.g. regular menstrual periods for women, able to sleep well, concentrate on the tasks at hand, etc)?
• Is there an absence of health & performance issues?

If you answered YES to any of these questions then there are changes you can make to your eating patterns, food choices and timing of food intake to improve your health, your ability to train well and achieve peak performance in your sport.

My words of wisdom for optimal health and performance for master athletes are:

• Get enough sleep
• Eat snacks before and after working out
• Rehydrate, refuel, rest up for recovery
• Train properly
• Keep a sport nutrition checklist