Re: 1st timer w/ questions

Well not sure I know what I'm talking about most of the time, but yes I did learn about that while training for distance running. If you recall a few years back there was a case where a radio station was having some contest. Not sure if it was for money or tickets but they had a few participants come in and the competition was who could drink the most water, essentially wins. One of the participants died. In short what happens is that during exercise and high heat, you sweat. If you wear a black shirt, you will notice that after the sweat dries off there will be white markings on the fabric. That is salt. Your body needs it to function properly at the cell level. If you sweat a lot and only drink water, you are diluting the concentration and may develop hyponatremia which can in some cases lead to kidney, liver and/or heart failure. We measure this condition via a serum test and anything below 125 mEq/L is not good or severe. Big problem if occurs but easy to prevent with a light salty snack and water. Some folks prefer sports drinks but personally I find they add too much sugar to those. I did like to alternate between water and coconut water though as the latter has a potassium punch that is a great benefit to tired muscles.

I really like what they did at the Grand Canyon trails with signs. At least they were up there back in 2001 warning people to take water + salt or you will die, literally in those words or pictures if I recall correctly.

When I ran my first marathon I was surprised by how little water relative to the distance my body actually needed, but after the 18 mile marker, how much salt it was craving. My support partner ran up to me and gave me 3 salt tablets, which did wonders. I was taking electrolytes every 4-6 miles (those gel packs you get at REI) before then but must have been sweating more than I realized or at least losing water.