Runners, how do you stay hydrated?

Tracieisfitastic

I am new to running again and I am going to attempt to conquer this Couch to 5K. While running I am always so thirsty. Last Spring I completed a 5K. I felt like I was the only one running with a bottled water in my hand. I recently purchased a hydration pack and I love it. However I get tired of having it on my back after about 10 minutes.

Any suggestions?

WickedPineapple

How is your hydration prior to running?

Jthanmyfitnesspal

Yeah, I don't think you really need to drink during a 5k. Drink before and after. If you just want to wet your whistle, bring a small flask made for runners. Lots of choices at the sports store (belts, hand held, etc.).

MichelleWithMoxie

For a 5k you definitely shouldn’t need any hydration mid run. You may not be hydrating enough throughout the day as a whole. I can run 12-15 miles without hydrating mid run, but I drink a crap-ton of H20 throughout the day outside of my runs.

Tracieisfitastic

Thanks for the responses. I don’t drink a lot of water. I mostly drink protein shakes but I am definitely going to try to drink more water.

reginakarl

Be sure to properly hydrate the day and night before a race. The day of, don't over do it, however.

VioletRojo

I don't carry hydration for anything less than 10-11 miles, but I do make it a point to stay hydrated all day long.

Tracieisfitastic

Ok, I will keep that in mind.

WickedPineapple

chante_04 wrote: »

Thanks for the responses. I don’t drink a lot of water. I mostly drink protein shakes but I am definitely going to try to drink more water.

Yes, definitely increase your water intake in general outside of your actual runs. You can track that on here along with food. This will be of greater importance the longer your runs get. I aim for pale yellow pee and drink ~16 oz about an hour before running. I usually don't drink anything unless I'm running for an hour or more (unless it's a really hot day).

Edit - An hour of running for me is 5-5.5 miles.

jjpptt2

Are you thirsty, or is your mouth dry? For the latter, try running with gum in your mouth.

Davidsdottir

MichSmish wrote: »

For a 5k you definitely shouldn’t need any hydration mid run. You may not be hydrating enough throughout the day as a whole. I can run 12-15 miles without hydrating mid run, but I drink a crap-ton of H20 throughout the day outside of my runs.

Yup, I've never hydrated during a run less than 18 miles, but I drink a gallon of water a day on average.

Philtex

I'm a bottle runner. I have always run with a plastic sport bottle filled with Gatorade (G2/ low calorie actually) no matter the distance - 5K on up to half marathon. Sometimes I too feel like the only one out there with a bottle, but I'm not. Sure you can run 5K+ without drinking anything, but why not have it in case you do want a sip? I enjoy my run and if carrying a drink is what I want to do I do it.

Chante - welcome to running and good luck with C25K - you can do it!

TavistockToad

chante_04 wrote: »

I am new to running again and I am going to attempt to conquer this Couch to 5K. While running I am always so thirsty. Last Spring I completed a 5K. I felt like I was the only one running with a bottled water in my hand. I recently purchased a hydration pack and I love it. However I get tired of having it on my back after about 10 minutes.

Any suggestions?

Unless you live somewhere really hot you shouldn't need to drink during a 5k. Are you well hydrated the rest of the time?

TimothyFish

Davidsdottir wrote: »

MichSmish wrote: »

For a 5k you definitely shouldn’t need any hydration mid run. You may not be hydrating enough throughout the day as a whole. I can run 12-15 miles without hydrating mid run, but I drink a crap-ton of H20 throughout the day outside of my runs.

Yup, I've never hydrated during a run less than 18 miles, but I drink a gallon of water a day on average.

That is well below the hydration guidelines. You should be drinking something every 10 to 20 minutes, even in the winter. In the summer it is even more important. People have died from not drinking enough water while exercising.

becky10rp

I wear a flipbelt - to put my phone/keys in. Flipbelt sells special water bottles that hook onto the belt - so you don't have to hold them. Might want to check this out.

jjpptt2

Just to offer a bit of perspective... those of you who are trained to run more advanced distances... your experience/preference probably isn't relevant to the OP. Assuming you're even posting with the intent of helping OP.

OP is new to running. You are not. OP is not trained or conditioned to run longer distances. You are. Your subtle bragging is not subtle.

kgeyser

I have a hydration pack for longer runs, I find that having it fit properly makes a difference. If you haven't already done this, put the pack on, then tighten all the straps, and see if that makes a difference in fit.

Since you are getting back into running, I would also suggest that you give it time. I used to have water with me for shorter runs when I got back into it, now I only need it for the longer stuff. Your body is adjusting to the new activity, and as your endurance increases, you'll probably find that you don't need to hydrate as often during a run.

girlinahat

TimothyFish wrote: »

Davidsdottir wrote: »

MichSmish wrote: »

For a 5k you definitely shouldn’t need any hydration mid run. You may not be hydrating enough throughout the day as a whole. I can run 12-15 miles without hydrating mid run, but I drink a crap-ton of H20 throughout the day outside of my runs.

Yup, I've never hydrated during a run less than 18 miles, but I drink a gallon of water a day on average.

That is well below the hydration guidelines. You should be drinking something every 10 to 20 minutes, even in the winter. In the summer it is even more important. People have died from not drinking enough water while exercising.

Do you have clear evidence of this? Only from what I understand there are NO recorded deaths due to dehydration during running. Of all the symptoms of dehydration, the very last one is death, and even that would take several DAYS to occur. Drink to thirst, not on any schedule and you'll be fine.

OP. hydrate well before your run, and you'll find you don't need water. Most runners don't feel they need fluid up to an hour or so of running, depending on the climate.

mitch16

I don't usually drink water during my 5K runs, especially not during races at that distance. I drink a lot of water before hand--I prefer to run at 3 pm in the afternoon so I'm usually 64 oz in by that time. Even if I run first thing in the morning I try to have at least 16 oz before I go to bed and then another 16 oz before I run.

I do notice that if my lips dry out it makes me feel thirsty--I make sure to slather on some heavy duty lip balm before my runs.

tinkerbellang83

I take a water bottle with me out on most runs (only able to run around 3km), I am fairly new to running (been on and off C25K since May/June) I drink 3 litres of water a day most days and still feel thirsty when running. If you do still feel thirsty nothing wrong with being the one person carrying a water bottle, don't worry about what everyone else is doing, you do you!

juliet3455

jjpptt2 wrote: »

OP is new to running. // OP is not trained or conditioned to run longer distances.

kgeyser wrote: »

I have a hydration pack for longer runs, I find that having it fit properly makes a difference. If you haven't already done this, put the pack on, then tighten all the straps, and see if that makes a difference in fit.

Since you are getting back into running, I would also suggest that you give it time. I used to have water with me for shorter runs when I got back into it, now I only need it for the longer stuff. Your body is adjusting to the new activity, and as your endurance increases, you'll probably find that you don't need to hydrate as often during a run.

@chante_04 As stated above ^^ by @jjpptt2 and @kgeyser you are new to running and your body is not conditioned so will need time to adjust to the new stress's placed on it.
Hydration/de-hydration is one of those stress's. As you progress your body will adapt and you will find that you can go longer distances with less water. Maybe try using a small bottle for a run or put a smaller amount of water in the hydration pak. If at the end of a run you have drank 16 oz why carry 40 oz in the pak? I know some runners do loops past their house or car and make a quick stop for hydration or clothing adjustments if they are to warm/cold. I think the car in a park is better - if I stop at home I tend to call it a day. Hydration Pak fit is critical - I went through 3 paks before I found one that fit me and just felt like a part of me.

There is a C25K group on MFP that is very supportive of each other.

janejellyroll

Most runners generally find they don't *need* to hydrate during a 5K (although many races will have water available mid-race). If you're finding yourself thirsty on shorter runs, I would recommend focusing on your hydration the rest of the day and see if that helps.

But at the end of the day, if you feel better running with a water bottle on shorter runs, *do that*. There's no rule that you have to run the way everyone else does. You should run in the way that helps you feel your best. Maybe it will be something you do temporarily, maybe you'll do it forever. Either way is okay.

collectingblues

During a 5K, I don't worry about it -- I can go 36 minutes without drinking.

But, during my longer training runs, I do run on a course that has fairly regularly placed water fountains. When it's hot, and I realize I'm losing fluid quickly, I make an effort to stop at each fountain and drink.

During races, I don't carry anything, and rely on the water stops. That's part of why I also only do well-organized larger races that *have* regular water stops.

victory68

Every single runner is differnt and everyone trains differently. Some people don't like to eat/drink on long runs and others like a snack every mile on the mile. However we also have different definitions of a long run. When I first started a 5k was my long run and I would want water half way through. Now my distance is much greater and my needs for water more trained. If you can plan your runs around "public water stations". I hate carrying a water bottle so I would plan my route to pass the water fountain at the school, the water fountain in the park, pass the grocery stores that offer water samples (olivers market and Whole Foods usually have these) and if I really needed it there is almost always a Starbucks closeby where I can get a free cup of water. If you don't like to carry anything there are usually ways around it. Get creative and find what works for you. Have fun out there. Just remember you are a boss! You run and that makes you awesome!

stanmann571

It's all been pretty well covered.

1. If you pack doesn't fit, it's going to be uncomfortable. Get it snug.
2. Hydrate outside of your training time, you should be able to easily go for up to an hour of work without extra hydration.

7lenny7

TimothyFish wrote: »

Davidsdottir wrote: »

MichSmish wrote: »

For a 5k you definitely shouldn’t need any hydration mid run. You may not be hydrating enough throughout the day as a whole. I can run 12-15 miles without hydrating mid run, but I drink a crap-ton of H20 throughout the day outside of my runs.

Yup, I've never hydrated during a run less than 18 miles, but I drink a gallon of water a day on average.

That is well below the hydration guidelines. You should be drinking something every 10 to 20 minutes, even in the winter. In the summer it is even more important. People have died from not drinking enough water while exercising.

Just who's guidelines are those? Hyponatremia (drinking too much water, thereby lowering your sodium concentration) is more dangerous than dehydration. I can point to cases of runners dying of hyponatremia. Can you find cases of runner dying from dehydration?

That bit about drinking every 10 to 20 minutes is bad advice. Drink to thirst. That's all that's needed.

From this research-based article: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5334560/ and condensed for brevity:

Dissemination of more appropriate hydration guidelines is critical, and we recommend that education programs stress the following concepts that are evidence based:

Excessive fluid replacement that goes beyond thirst has not been shown to decrease the development of fatigue, muscle cramping or exertional heat stroke (9).

Modest levels of dehydration are tolerable and pose little risk in healthy individuals. Studies indicate that fluid deficits less than and up to a volume approximately equal to 3% of normal body mass (or ~5% TBW) can be well tolerated (96).

Utilize strategies during exercise to prevent overhydration.

• Drink according to thirst. Because fluid losses through sweat and urine are highly dynamic and variable across individuals participating in a variety of outdoor activities, recommending fixed ranges of fluid intake is not appropriate. The most individualized hydration strategy before, during, and immediately following exercise is to drink fluids when thirsty. Following thirst as a real-time guide appears safe and effective (9, 97).
  
• Reduce the availability of fluids along the routes of exercise.

For a 5K run I wouldn't worry about it. It's virtually impossible to get hyponatremia in a run of that distance (and IS impossible to get dangerously dehydrated in that amount of time)

So, to the OP @chante_04 I would say ignore what every other runner is doing and do what you need to do to make the run a great experience, bring your water bottle, and if you're thirsty, have a drink. If you're not, don't. Better to have it and not want it, rather than want it an not have it. Over time as your body adapts, you may find you can go farther and farther without taking in water.

Be careful with drinking too much before a run or race too. I was needlessly concerned about being dehydrated for my first 5k and drank quite a bit before the race. Big mistake!! It's hard to run your best when you have to pee really bad!!

As far as carrying water, I find for shorter runs (a relative term) a waist pack with the water bottle at the back works well. Another option is a hand-held bottle like this:



With any system, be it a waist pack, hand-held, or a backpack, it will take time to get used to it, so give it several runs before you judge it. Also experiment with moving the pack around. With my waist pack I find I have to push it down low on my hips to feel decent.

Good luck with the running!

Bry_Fitness70

Everyone will tell you that you don't need water for anything less than an hour, but in reality, there are times that you will get thirsty and want something to drink, whether your body actually needs it or not. I have run 5k and 10k races where I took a water cup at mile 1 simply because it looked good.

I plan my training routes around drinking fountains or my house (where I leave a bottled water outside), and during races, I just depend on water stops. I'm not a world class runner where I care if I have to slow down for a few seconds to get a quick drink of water.