Ok what am I doing wrong?

[BIKEAWAY]

My heart monitor is my best friend. I tried Gatoraide for a 2o mile trail ride yesterday and that really helped.
Never give up !!!!
Thanks for all advise and I am looking into everything

[RoadRaven]

Gatorade is big in the States, huh?
Isn't it just a juice or cordial? Or is it actuallyan 'official' sports/energy drink?

I have never used anything but water... and also that gel muck you can add to water (I don't suck it outta the satchet, I always choose the dilute option) but have never used carboshotz etc unless in a situation where I am pushing it - like when time-trial training.

Everyone I know locally that I have talked to about fluid intake uses heaps of water - not flavoured drinks.

[Technotart]

The danger in just water on long or particularly heavy rides is electrolyte loss through sweat, replacing lost fluid and electrolytes with just water means that you dilute what electrolytes (mainly salt) you have left even further, thereby resulting in hyponatremia - which can be deadly.

Sodium is concentrated in your bloodstream, potassium is concentrated in your cells, there is some of each in both places though. When you sweat, salt goes with it (salt and water follow each other). If you are low on sodium in your blood vessels, then the water will soak into the cells - this is probably part of the phenomena - a little of it anyway - that results in swelling of your legs and other dependant areas.

so....the answer is to drink to thirst but don't OVER drink, and if you are riding for over an hour replace some of that water by using an electrolyte solution of some kind - IE gatorade or whatever it is you tolerate - in addition to a bit of water. Pedialyte (the store brand is cheaper and just as good) is a good one. It is used for kids when they can't eat due to vomiting and dehydration. It is a physiological electrolyte and fluid replacement formula designed to balance the salt, potassium and water levels in your body. It doesn't taste good, but then niether does Gatorade for the most part!

[skibum]

Gatorade is big in the States, huh?
Isn't it just a juice or cordial? Or is it actuallyan 'official' sports/energy drink?

Gatorade actually is a sports/energy drink. A little useless trivia... it gets its name because it was originally created for the Univ. of Florida Gators football team to help them when training/playing in the miserable Florida heat/humidity.

[runnergirl]

Being that the heat index today is over 105, I'm stuck inside till at least 7...

Especially in this heat, only taking in water is downright dangerous for any excercise over an hour. Last summer, I nearly landed myself in the hospital with hyponutrimia (cramping, heart palpitations, etc) from drinking "heaps of water" because I didn't like the taste of gatorade. Learned that lesson the hard way, now I'm a dilluted gatorade with pretzels girl, but I think I may order the Clif Shot electrolyte replacement mix, since it has waaay more sodium/potassium than gatorade, which is what's really important.

[Technotart]

When its hot and dry or windy, you sweat but it evaporates really fast so you think you arent sweating much because you are still dry. Even more important to replace both water and lytes!

There are some small packets you can mix in your water bottle that have absolutely NO taste to them - if you really can't stomach all the flavored stuff, these might be a good option. Even with all the ades and lytes, you still need water too.

You are lucky! Hyponatremia is dangerous for a lot of reasons. Humans just dont tolerate very low or high levels of any salt - and it doesn't take much to throw things WAY out of whack. It's pretty amazing that our bodies let us do the things we do to them!

[Dianyla]

For those that don't like the taste of most electrolyte drinks, you can make your own homemade drink using Morton's Lite Salt. You can find this at almost any grocery store, it's in a light blue canister, and contains both sodium chloride and potassium chloride.

A basic recipe:
1 teaspoon of "Morton's Lite Salt"
1/3 teaspoon of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)
10 teaspoons of table sugar (sucrose)
1 Quart of water

I believe you must have a certain amount of sugar in order to facilitate absorption of the salts, but not too much. If you decide to flavor this with something already sweet like juice you may need to decrease the amount of sugar you are adding. Google on "morton's lite salt" and "electrolyte" to find more recipes.

[RoadRaven]

OK... thanks skibum. I go to bed a little wiser today - I love trivia and I am sure knowing that Gatorade was developed for the Uni of Florida Gators will stand me in good stead to surprise someone here one day

I honestly thought it was a cordial drink (like raro or refresh... if you have those half a world from here)