to ride. For some reason when I have a cold I don't drink much water.
I know, I know, one of the best ways to get rid of a cold is to drink.
I just have a hard time drinking for some reason when I'm under the
weather. I don't know why, it must be a condition. Anyway, this Friday
the forecast is saying it's supposed to be sunny and 68 degrees. This
very well could be the one day of spring like weather we get around here
until July 5th. That being the case I am most certainly going to
ride.
Since my hydration level was next to nothing last week Jenny and I
decided that we would challenge each other to a hydration duel. Here's
the throw down. From Monday morning through Thursday at midnight both
of us would ingest profuse amounts of water all the while keeping track
of our personal intake. The loser would have to pay for the ginormous
ice cream cones that we plan on eating as a recovery meal after our ride
on Friday. For me these bets are all I need for motivation. I love
these kind of throw downs.
So, on Monday morning I started my work day by filling up my 44oz cup
with water with every intention of drinking water until I was silly. By
10am I had consumed 88oz and was stuck in an hour and a half meeting.
I'm telling you that was almost as tough as riding a century. I made it
to the end of my meeting but it took a lot of determination and mind
over matter. By the end of the day I had logged 164 oz of water. I was
fully hydrated and feeling pretty confident about my chances of watching
Jenny pay for the ice cream. When I asked her how she did on the
challenge she told me that her total for the day was 184oz. Ouch, how
could that be? Did I challenge her at one of her super powers? Am I
married to Hydration Woman? Does this super power come with a cape?
How did I miss this super power after all of these years?
On Tuesday I worked in a different building which means I didn't have my
trusty 44oz cup with me. Since Jenny and I were so close in the
hydration challenge I was really motivated to find some water to drink.
After combing the building with a fine tooth comb all I could come up
with was a 12oz cup. I knew this wasn't going to work for me unless I
wanted to make 15 trips to the water fountain so I kept looking.
Finally, I found a 16oz water bottle. Not the optimal solution but it
would have to do. The long and short of it is I had a dismal hydration
day and only logged 86oz of water. I'm not sure what Jenny's total was
but I bet she doubled my intake for the day.
Today I started out the day by filling up my trusty 44oz cup with water
but at the same time I also made a trip to the ATM machine to get money
for Ice Cream on Friday. Yes, I'm admitting defeat to Hydration Woman
which I really hate but I'm also going to be very well hydrated for our
ride on Friday.
8 comments:
Hydration Woman here. You found my super power... I guess I can pull out the pink cape now that it's not a secret anymore.
Mike you're a lucky guy and Jenny you're an awesome woman (I'll be on the lookout for that pink cape on my next century ride). I wish my wife would go riding with me. I think over the last three years she has logged a total of maybe 60 or 70 miles with me.
You two have the best duels! Well, at least that explains the sloshing sound that came from the Doppler radar in your area.
There is such a thing as over-hydration, don't try to keep up with a super hero.
ah, adventures in hyponatremia.
http://chemistry.about.com/cs/5/f/blwaterintox.htm
careful you don't make youself dead.
Never fear about the threat of water intoxication I gave in to Jenny. She is the reining champion of the hydration contest. She's going to pay for it on the ride tomorrow though.
Well, good luck! I want one of those ice cream cones!!! I'm sure you'll show us a picture! Rats!!
The base of the challenge had me thinking hyponatremia so a powder such as gatorade or the like to throw in occasionally (dont ask me to state exactly how much as it depends on your physical activity and ambient temperature and what you eat etc....ie: what foods are providing electrolytes)....But excellent idea just remember that the real win is when you actually just automatically grab a drink and keep the fluid up without being onvolved in a challenge
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