H Two the O

Yup I'm a dork, but since it is summer and also super important to running, I thought I would dedicate a post to staying hydrated. Water is not my favorite drink, but I try and drink my fair share each day, and especially the day before a long run.  There is nothing more miserable than beginning to feel dehydrated while running or having a sloshy belly after a run because you drank water like a camel because you weren't properly hydrated. Trust me, I've had both experiences and they just aren't pleasant.

Now it goes without saying that I am no hydration expert, so I'm just going to talk about what works for me. If you want expert information there is a wealth of information about it on the web that tells you how many ounces you should drink a day, when you should drink, etc.  Below is a picture of my handy dandy water bottle (I used to have a really awesome one that my friend Lizzie gave me, but it got stolen one night at a bar...long story). When I'm at work I try and drink at least two of these a day. No, I don't know how many ounces it is but two of these at the office seems to be about all I can drink unless I really really focus on drinking more. I admit there are days when I only drink one, but if that happens I usually try and make up for it at home with extra water.

At home, I'm not the greatest about drinking water, but I do try to drink at least a glass a day. Yes, I'm ashamed to admit that sometimes even that doesn't happen. However, I do make sure to drink at least one and a half glasses of water before going to bed the night before a long run and incorporate some coconut water. For those of you who don't know about coconut water, you are missing out. Coconut water is awesome for electrolyte replenishment and doesn't have the extra sugars that you find in sports drinks like Gatorade. It also has crazy amounts of potassium, which is great for me because I'm prone to getting charlie horses and the potassium helps prevent them. I have finally turned the BF onto this fab product after months of resistance and now I have to remind him that he can't drink it all because I need it for my long runs.

Now to the bane of my existence, the water belt. Yep, I'm one of those people who wears a water belt on my long runs, but I do it only out of necessity. I really dislike it (although it has convenient pockets for my gum or chapstick) because it always rides up and I end up having to readjust every couple of miles. I looked into a couple of other hydration options, but this one turned out to be the best for me. The belt has 4 little bottles and before I head out on a run longer than 8 miles I fill it up. Two bottles are for water and the other two bottles are for the coconut water and they are enough to keep me hydrated through my longest runs. Some people have asked if I plan on wearing it during my race and at this point I'm not sure, I need to do some more weighing of the pros and cons.

So those are my general musings on staying hydrated and on that note I'm off to go grab a glass!