Riding a Century - TIS question

[Catrin]

No one has mentioned salt except for almonds before.

I just did an almost-a-century (150K) and the thing that really picked me up at 105 k was two cups of broth. Don't know why.

Good thing to bring up. I tried Endurolytes (the capsules) but I found that I just prefer eating/drinking what I need rather than taking pills. I am unsure if this is part of the equation but will think about this as well.

I LOVE your signature line

[ridebikeme]

Thanks for the imput everyone! FYI: Perpetuem has 9% sodium for a serving size.

[moonfroggy]

i have read that the more sodium in ones diet the more gets lost in sweat and urine. so the less salt you eat on a day to day basis the less you will need extra salt while exercising. i know for me the longest i have ridden is around 40 miles but i didn't need any electrolytes, i did snack the whole ride though. i wasn't sore after and didn't feel very worn out or tired. planing to finally do 50 miles soon. i know this isn't really very long compared to how many miles most of you ride so maybe doesn't really compare at all.

[Seal]

The thing about Sodium is we lose it way faster than other electrolytes. If you drink water only without replacing salt you risk hyponatremia because you lose salt and replace water which further dilutes the salt in the blood stream.

The high levels of sodium in broth used as preservative can replenish sodium levels quickly. If you drink sports drinks with relatively high concentrations of potassium the potassium may get preferentially absorbed rather than salt even though potassium is lost less quickly. Salt gets a bad rap because of what it does to blood pressure in non-athletes but salt within reason is definitely the athlete's friend especially in hot and humid conditions. If you are drenched w/sweat during a ride you really ought to be replacing sodium. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyponatremia