June 28, 2013

How to Completely Dehydrate Yourself: A Gulf Coaster's Guide to Misery

Three lessons that should never be forgotten- mom knows best, and coach knows best. And the fiancé's head shaking means I am doing something really wrong. Moving forward now.

I try very hard to keep my b*&ching and moaning about the weather to a minimum. I mean, I chose to live here, and come January I will be enjoying a mild winter in running shorts, while my northern friends are running in snowsuits. But it's not January, and can I just throw in one little comment here, IT IS SO HOT AND HUMID! I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed, so if someone could please explain this to me- how is it NOT raining when the humidity is 100%???????

So, onto my guide to dehydrating yourself. I was in Jacksonville for the track meet for 4 days. Holy mess, it was hot there, too. And I'm pretty sure this is where my dehydration hole began. I came home feeling pretty tired and thirsty. Monday I felt kind of yucky during the day, but it really hit me when I ran with a few from the group Monday night. Nothing like doing "the waddle" to the nearest gas station to bring out the best in a training run.

I was sick all Monday night, couldn't even eat dinner. And for me to skip a meal means something is definitely wrong. LOL. It wasn't just that upset-stomach-during-a-run, it was move-into-the-bathroom-for-24 hours deal. I couldn't even run Tuesday! I usually ride my bike or run WITH my high school kids, but Tuesday morning, I had to take my CAR on the path. I just felt that bad.

Coach said, "Take it easy; don't bury yourself. Skip the workout, if you need to." I think I heard that as, "Womp womp womp, run run run run."

My mom said, "Drink water until your pee is clear!" I heard, "Blah blah blah, mom!"

And Keith shook his head in disapproval when I set my alarm to run Wednesday morning.

Cue Wednesday. I felt better, really I did. I did my workout Wed. morning and it felt OK. I got a little dizzy towards the end of it, and I knew I was probably dehydrated. No biggie, I went home and drank everything in sight. And then I did a double, running again that evening. Um, yeah, against coach's order. And Keith shook his head in disapproval. IN MY DEFENESE, I wanted to make up the runs and get back on track with my schedule.

I ran easy with the girls. We did 8 miles, putting my mileage for the day over 15. After the girls and I ran, we may or may not have had some wine. And I may or may not have had more than one glass. Oopsises.

Cue Thursday. I definitely woke up with a headache, but I ran anyway! And then I had full intention of riding my bike with the high schoolers, but we got a new person (and she's really only in middle school), I wanted to actually RUN with her. So then there's that. And then I was REALLY feeling like total crap, so I decided to go work in the yard for a few hours. *Sidenote to say that Keith said he would take care of the yard, but I felt badly because I'm just home doing nothing while he's working some pretty stupid hours right now.

IN MY DEFENSE, I was having some sort of inner OCD attack at how the beds looked in yard. They needed to be dealt with ASAP, and the bushes needed trimming badly. I think it was 10:30 a.m. and I nearly passed out by my big willow tree. My shirtless, beer gut, wood whittling, old man neighbor shouted over to me, asking if I was okay. He held up his beer to offer me some. No, I think I'm good, thanks. (LOL, not really, but he does usually drink beer on the porch; he just didn't offer me any.)

Ugh, my mom, fiancé, and coach were right. White flag thrown.

Unfortunately, I couldn't totally nurse myself back to health. I had to hurry up and get to a technology workshop. I did take a bottle of water, and then hammered another one during our break. I felt a little better last night, but once again, outside with the WINGS kids.

Too much outside. Too much heat and humidity. Too little to drink. But how do you really drink enough? I literally can't drink enough to keep up. I'm outside roughly half the day with coaching both my teams, my own running, and sometimes yard work. I can do better, though.

This morning? Well, I have a tempo workout today. I decided to sleep in, and I slept until 9. I'm going to hit the treadmill in a few hours. And yes, I despise the treadmill. You know what, though? I need to get this under control. Going outside and sweating off 8 pounds isn't going to be good for me right now. And I needed sleep. The only time it's NOT over 85 is when the sun is down. Which is why I've been doing my runs at 4ish.

So... I'm off to do a pee test, hoping for lemonade, not beer.

Run Happy, friends!

5 comments:

  1. Water is great, but when you are dehydrated it helps to drink something with electrolytes to help get you back to normal. Good luck with the treadmill tempo and hope you are feeling better!

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  2. Ugh, something I REALLY struggle with during the summer months and it's not nearly as warm here. I've started getting a slurpee on my long workout days and that seems to help. . . Nuun is also a godsend for me.

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  3. Sidenote- I *do* know how to hydrate with electrolytes, etc. Adding to my struggles is that so many drinks are "off limits" for me, as I've had bad experiences with them. I will NEVER drink Nuun again. IMO, it was the reason for my Projective Vomit Show put on while pacing the P'cola Marathon. Gatorade is also out for the same reasons. I do use UCAN before workouts and races, but use it sparingly because it's so expensive. I also use Endurolytes before LRs and may start incorporating them on shorter runs, too.

    Every athlete is different, and what is great for one person, won't work for another. It's a trial and error process!

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  4. Good point above. Per the beer vs. lemonade comment-your urine isn't carbonated too, is it? I kid, I kid.

    Insert BF rolling her eyes a quarter turn along with the other three things you mentioned;)

    Here's to learning experiences. I am packing my Electrosalt (my electrolyte of choice) in THREE WEEKS!

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  5. Running in that kind of heat/humidity sounds tough. Along with water, make sure you get salt tabs, endurolytes or something like that. I think for someone who is outside as much as you, there is no such thing as too much water!

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