How to Maintain Your Water Intake While Taking Part in a Running Competition
As you participate in a running competition, you will put your body under a lot of exercise. As a result, you need more water to maintain your body's temperature, keep your joints lubricated, and keep your muscles relaxed. Many people participate in running competitions with their sports water bottles but not paying attention to their body's hydration needs makes them lack performance.
Even if you carry your bottle, a lot could go wrong. You must maintain water intake; here, you will learn all about it.
How to maintain your water intake while taking part in a running competition
The following are the top 8 ways that you can follow to maintain your water intake while you participate in a running competition. Remember that taking a sports water bottle alone will not get the job done.
1. Find the right way to carry your water bottle with you
The most important thing to maintain your water intake for the running competition is to keep your sports water bottle with you. It will not be easy for the longer-running competitions if you don't have something to keep the bottle on you. Holding the bottle in your hand is not a good idea as it may hinder your performance.
Similarly, keeping the bottle in your backpack will make sipping water difficult while running. So, here are some of the best options that you can choose to keep your water bottle along with you while running:
- Paracord handle with carabiner
- A waist belt with water bottle compartments
Both will ensure that your bottle is always there whenever you need it.
2. Make sure that you are not overdrinking water
When it comes to maintaining water intake, you need to ensure that you are not overdoing things. As people want to stay away from dehydration, some will overdrink water, which is not only bad for their health but also affects their performance. When you are running, you need to feel as lightweight as possible.
Drinking too much water at once will make your belly fuller and your body heavier. It will keep you from running; if you run, you will also feel pain in your belly. In the worst case, you may not even finish the competition because of overdrinking.
3. Use flavor boosters in your water to make water tasty
If you are facing issues about staying hydrated because you don't like the taste of water, then there is nothing to worry about. Under such circumstances, normal water may not taste the same, and this taste will keep you from drinking water.
However, maintaining intake is necessary, and the best way to do it is by using flavor boosters in your water. You can use one of your favorite natural or artificial flavor boosters, and these will keep the water tasty. You will never avoid drinking water when needed by keeping its taste better.
4. Calculate the right amount of water intake according to your body
Maintaining water intake means you drink the perfect amount of water throughout the competition. The right way to do it is by calculating how much water you need according to your body weight and the amount of exercise you will be doing during this competition.
For example, if you need to drink 1 liter of water daily, you can divide the number of sips you can take and the time interval. It is the best way to stay hydrated because you will neither be taking less water nor more. The best part is that you will frequently be sipping to keep yourself well-hydrated.
5. Drink water during the whole day
A golden principle for maintaining water intake for running competitions is to drink water the whole day. It is not only about the competition day, but you must make it a habit. Waking up and drinking water and drinking it right before you sleep will ensure that you are hydrated all day long.
The best way to achieve this goal is by keeping your 64oz stainless steel sports water bottle with you the whole day. It makes sure that you always have water along you so there will be no excuses for dehydration.
6. Drink water after you are done with the competition
While drinking water throughout the day and during the competition, it is essential to maintain the intake after your competition. It is the time when your body will have higher temperatures, and it will lose a lot of water through sweating. So, you need to maintain the level of water.
You can take around 2 glasses of water within 20 minutes of the competition. During the run, you may have lost up to 500 ml of water despite sipping water frequently, and the numbers further increase during the hot days. So, drinking water right after the competition will keep you safe from post-exercise dehydration.
7. Make sure that you are well-hydrated before you start the competition
Before you start the competition, you need to monitor your hydration level. The easiest way to do this is by the pee test that tells you if you are drinking enough water. The normal result of the pee test is like lemonade color. Anything darker means you need to drink more water, and having clear pee means that you are overdrinking water and taking a break.
8. Consult a professional if you are worried about the electrolytes
Running competitions are not all about water, as you may also need electrolytes and carbs. Some sports drinks fulfill the body's requirements for electrolytes and carbs. However, you must consult your nutritionist or doctor to know how many sports drinks you can take for the running competition.
Conclusion
Taking a sports water bottle with you to the running competition is the first step to maintaining your water intake during the running competition. There are a lot of other things that people usually ignore. That's why they perform well, and some even get health issues. So, following the tips discussed above will help you maintain your water intake properly for running competitions.