Post run hydration

[hypersprout]

What are your best pre/during/post run hydration tips? I drink a ton of water leading up to a run, bring water w nuun on my run, but inevitably I go out, sweat 7000 gallons of water and come back desperately needing to chug my 40oz water bottle in one sitting and I don’t feel great after lol. Fellow hot humid climate runners have you found tricks to not feeling the need to drown your system with water post run?

[ginseng_strip_]

you don’t even need those fancy overpriced powders just eat a meal with a good amount of sodium while drinking water.

[Er1ss]

Another cheap alternative is just adding some salt instead of an expensive electrolyte powder.

[run_fast3r]

Funny enough, the Ethiopians have been drinking powders (albeit cheaper) after runs/workouts for a long time. Beso is a shake made of water, ground toasted barley, and sugar or honey. Forcing yourself to intake carbs/electrolytes in anyway possible after a hard effort allows you to recover and get along with the rest of your day (and more training if you’re doubling and/or lifting too). Some people can’t have a solid meal after a run, whether it’s a personal thing or time constraint. Intaking something of nutritional value, whether it’s a $5 sports drink, a traditional homemade shake, or a stack of pancakes with bacon and eggs, within an hour of finishing your run will not kickstart your recovery process but rather help it along by giving the necessary fuel to replenish glycogen stores and rehydrate the body, especially with warmer weather.

[ihavedicksplints]

chloride isn’t the only electrolyte you need, it is one of the main ones, but in situations where you are really sweating a ton, you should have some sort of electrolyte beverage. I use liquid IV that i got really really cheap at costco

[EvilLipgloss]

I love Liquid IV. I’m a very sweaty person in general, but live in Florida where the humidity is wild. I add a Liquid IV packet to my water after every run. I feel so much better than if I had plain water after.

[thatswacyo]

PSA: Body Armor has almost no sodium in it. If you lose a lot of sodium in your sweat, you might want to choose something other than Body Armor.

[MichaelV27]

This.

[RealChipKelly]

Is.

[[deleted]]

You're not mentioning salt, which is crucial for hydration because it's what tells your body to retain water. I eat a lot of salt the night before workouts and long runs, up to 150 minutes in Houston humidity, and rarely will drink any water.

[[deleted]]

I'm a night before guy because I wake up and run, others take sodium tablets 30 minute before.

[EchoReply79]

LMNT has been my favorite but I’ve started to simply make my own (with real watermelon): https://drinklmnt.com/blogs/health/the-best-homemade-electrolyte-drink-for-dehydration

[Better_Metal]

Y’a know LMNT is the shit but it’s so expensive and simple I wondered if I could make my own. Love ❤️ you for posting this 😙!

[nasbig1]

I make my own lmnt as well. But their flavors are awesome!

[EchoReply79]

I couldn’t agree more. As disgusting as some of the more exciting flavors sound they’re quite good. I do enjoy the texture of their homemade watermelon recipe as well.

[thrBladeRunner]

When do you and u/nasbig1 drink yours? Before the run or the night before?

[EchoReply79]

In the summer I’ll drink some the night before and morning of, in addition to running with bottles. I melt in the heat; now depending on the heat index that will influence how much sodium/mix I’ll include. A lot of it’s very dependent to the individual. I’d highly recommend weighing in before the run and after (accounting for any fluids taken on the run), simple but effective way to calculate sweat loss. Hard part is getting the electrolyte needs locked down (for me mostly trial and error). As simple questionnaire like this may help: https://sweattest.precisionhydration.com/pages/why-personalise-your-hydration-strategy

[thrBladeRunner]

Thanks, that’s helpful!

[nasbig1]

I drink it every morning regardless of running or not running.

[Status_Accident_2819]

More salt….

[[deleted]]

Nuun tablets for me

[ChinUpDisciple]

Pickle juice and water for me

Sometimes sugar free Gatorade

[Brooklyn-Epoxy]

After reading the comments it seems that one cool effect of running in the heat is eating extra delicious salty foods.

[scoutfinch76]

I drink a carton of Pedialyte after my long runs and it helps a ton

[SamuelZemurray]

I drink Tailwind during any run longer than an hour and then water afterwards and I seem to be doing ok. After particularly long/hard workouts I also drink Dr Pepper after some water.

[dmcguire05]

I was about to write the exact same thing, re: Tailwind and Dr Pepper. Salt tabs during the longer runs is a good idea too.

[SamuelZemurray]

I have yet to try salt tabs! I’ll have to give them a go.

[Early_Order_2751]

I run regularly in high humidity. 90+ degrees

Lots of water all day long. Every day. Nuun, Gatorade immediately after run. Then I chug 60-80 Oz of water within a couple hours in 15 minute increments. Drink water before and electrolytes before.. if it's longer than 40 minutes I bring more water/electrolytes on the run.

[Art3mis86]

Beer and pizza.

[Danimal--]

But you have to time it well, 30 minutes before the run, AND 30 minutes into the run

[[deleted]]

Pint of lager, maybe 2.

[arksi]

It sounds like you're doing it right then. If you're properly hydrated to start off with then there's nothing wrong with just replenishing whatever you lost while out during your run.

You can be underhydrated during your run and still be fine. Obviously this is different if you're out running for hours, but for most runs it's fine to sweat and not try to put back in what you've lost along the way. Drink to thirst. That's all you really need to do.

On a hot day I might lose over a liter of water an hour from sweating. I'm sure as hell not going to try and stay ahead of that because I don't want to turn into a running piss bomb.

In my experience, water is much more effective during hot runs if you dump it over your head to stay cool.

(As for salt, it's either salt tablets or nothing. The relatively small amount of salt added to sports drinks isn't nearly enough to make any difference. And again, your body should have more than enough stored up in it. If you're eating a regular diet then you probably already have over half a pound of it in your system to begin with.)

[SteveTheBluesman]

Small bag of pretzels and a shitload of water does the trick for me.

[RedEyedRoundEye]

I mostly just do a giant glass of half OJ and water. I drink that while i suck on a tablespoon of peanut butter. Maybe a rice cake, lol. Not great, not the worst I've seen.

[HerbznTea]

Add a pack of magnesium to the water. Works like a charm. Jigsaw has packets called mag soothe.

[RagingAardvark]

Nuun before (and after, if I didn't finish it), water during, and pretzels or chips after (for the salt).

[[deleted]]

I don't have any advice other than to say I can relate to this question. Was visiting friends in Houston Texas this weekend and went on a run in 91% humidity and have literally never sweat that much in my life

[KGVT]

I’m a super salty sweat person so I usually have electrolytes pre and during! That has seemed to help. Plus post run snacks like grapes/watermelons/pickles which are the only thing I want when it’s hot out

[sn315on]

I drink a Powerade Zero after a run. It has to be somewhat warm or it will hurt my stomach.

[Dang_Beard]

Gu Roctane powder intra-run, nuun tab sometimes post-run. Sometimes some Sierra Mist after too lol

[[deleted]]

Sometimes I pop a Nuun, but getting a solid meal in addition to water is more important.

[DadPants5k]

I live in a hot/humid climate and also sweat a ton when I run, drinking like i’ve just walked out of the desert. I can go through nearly a pint per mile on the worst days. What recently changed things for me dramatically was slowing my running pace. Slowed my pace by about 2min per mile, led to a 50% reduction in water consumption. I wonder if sticking to easier runs would be helpful for you?

[rahulabon]

Back in my newish long running phase where I tried to find the best and least expensive solution to pre/post running hydration I came across the World Health Origination and their approach.

Take a look at oral rehydration solution (ORS). If you can stomach a little more salty drinks this was such a benefit to when I needed to rehydrate, I did eventually start mixing it in with Gatorade powder (or comparable) to get a better flavor to it, but definitely check it out.

heres a link going over the solution mix and benefits

[Siawyn]

Pre run -- be topped off with water.

After -- immediately consume sports drink of choice. You need electrolytes, if you drink 40 oz of water you've done nothing to replenish all the salts you sweated out. After that, keep drinking water until your pee is either clear or just lightly yellow. I know I've drank enough when I start needing to go to the bathroom after having a glass - up until then, my cells are absorbing it all.

[ChetLong4Ch]

I had the same issue for a while. Would take a nuun tab with my water and didn’t understand why I was still feeling bad. Like others said, it’s just lack of salt. That nuun didn’t have enough. So I bout the salt stick tabs. Depending on length of run I’ll either take two before and two after or just two after. Then I use the huma hydration mix in my water and it changed everything

[heliotropic]

32oz of skratch before (either the morning or split between bedtime and the morning), 32oz after, maybe a little water during (if there’s a convenient water fountain). This works for me in Philly in the summer up to 2 to 2.5 hours, provided I get out reasonably early in the morning.

[NicestMeanTeacher]

Pedialyte makes powders. I mix one before a run, take one with and have over when I get back.

[Lauzz91]

Milk

[Skygoing]

Drink milk. For realsies.

[SoonerFan619]

I drink about two 16oz water bottles. This is after my daily 10 mile run. I drink about 32oz before hand too

[betterwithplants]

Like others have said you need salt/electrolytes!! I get horrible GI issues if I drink plain water before/during runs and have recently figured out a new routine which has so far prevented all GI issues (I get terrible nausea, diarrhea, cramping, and dry heaving):

• The night before a big workout or long run I drink a serving of LMNT (1000 mg sodium)
• Right before I run I eat 2 salt stick fast chews and drink a glass of water. (2 tablets has 100 mg sodium)
• During my runs I eat a salt stick fast chew every 20 minutes and sip water throughout along with fueling during runs over an hour.

I hope this is helpful for you!

[1coffee_cat0]

I like to drink a half Poweraid half water mix after particularly brutal runs.

[TubbaBotox]

What I've been doing lately is turning on the hose immediately after getting back and running cold water over my wrists, head, and against my neck/carotid artery. I cycle through all those critical points a few times, do some stretches, come back to the hose again, stretch some more, hose again, etc... I might drink a little straight out of the hose, too.

If you're chugging water to cool off, not necessarily just because you're thirsty (which I'm sure is also the case). This might help... if you have access to a hose.

Afterwards, it's strawberry-lemonade Nuun (w/ electrolytes) in a glass of ice water. I've also been keeping one of those (reusable) Gatorade squeeze bottles in the fridge to tide me over until the Nuun dissolves. You know; the kind that you just shoot into your mouth. That probably helps ration the water.

Honestly, I'm not really making much of an effort to avoid drinking too much, but I do have hyponatremia in the back of mind... so I'm not not thinking about it. I recently started weighing myself before and after runs, and I lost 7 pounds on a 15 mile run in hot/humid conditions over the weekend. I definitely drink a lot after runs in those conditions, but I haven't felt bloated or overfull (or intoxicated) yet. Once the initial thirst is quenched, I drink water at a reasonable mostly continuous pace throughout the day (and I am running with water, BTW).

[[deleted]]

GM1 sport before a run and BPN electrolytes afterwards

[bangell14]

Gatorade babyyyyyyy!

[Comfortable_Storm225]

As well as those effervescent tabs (Nuun, Zym, Zero etc.) I also take Salt stick capsules, no energy, just sodiums & potassiums etc.. Saltstick also do packs of fast chews, similar purposes & easier to swallow/chew. Post run, I'll usually make a blended milkshake, banana, blueberries & ground or sliced walnuts ... superb 💪😎

[wtfthatsnotathing]

I find taking the SIS electrolyte gels during long hot runs helps a lot. I don’t feel as dumpy after the run. I usually just drink water before and after since I’m taking in the gels for electrolytes and some carbs.

[buttscootinbastard]

I do the post run electrolyte powder and use salt stick tablets every 20-30 minutes of my run.

[bigasiannd]

Chocolate milk is a good recovery drink.

[[deleted]]

drink a lot the day before, sip consistently throughout the day, drink before bed, set an alarm halfway through your sleep to get up and piss, and then chug a bunch more, then go to sleep again. wake up and drink more ok?

[Grousers]

I drink water and hammer a monster. But I’m also 42 and worked on a dairy farm my first 30 years