Hydration and Training

This week, I had access to a scale. I weighed myself nude before and after a 7-mile run. I did not drink water during my run. I was three pounds lighter after the run. Then, I consumed 32 fluid ounces of Gatorade. I weighed myself again nude, and I was two pounds heavier.

I realize that sweat rates change based on environmental conditions, but I was surprised that I had lost three pounds of water weight. I wanted to approximate the fluid ounces of water that I lost. I was reminded of high school chemistry class when the internet refreshed my memory that one milligram of water equals one milliliter (and one milliliter equals one cubic centimeter). While I enjoyed that walk down memory lane, I found a rule of thumb that 1 liter of water was approximately 2 pounds of water, and in this game of horseshoes and hand grenades, a liter of water was close enough to a quart of water. I lost about 1.5 liters (48 fluid ounces) of water in my run – three pounds – and refueled with 1 liter (32 fluid ounces) – two pounds.

This little experiment was a great reminder to stay hydrated, in general, and how much hydration I need in similar situations. That’s my running takeaway from last week. What have you learned about training? I would like to read about it below in the comments.

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