Getting dehydrated *while* racing... (Read 977 times)

I didn't take my Camelbak for my 25K or my 10mi races. I did drink at every stop though (at least half of each cup didn't end up on my shirt anyways). If I know I am doing a long run or race, I drink water like crazy starting two or three days before the race. I pee clear for 3 days. I drink water up until I leave home (it's always at least one hour to a race from the middle of nowheresville!). Every cell in my body is so filled with water it doesn't want much more by the time I take off!!

Wait, when you say "dehydrated", what do you mean?

You know, I had sort of the same question when I read this thread. How do you know you're dehydrated? Peeing something that looks like the tar they repair roads with? Or just feeling thirsty? No matter how hot you are - or slow - I'm having trouble figuring out how you could get all that dehydrated on a 10-K run. Are you sure you're not actually over-hydrating? It may seem counter-intuitive, but if you're slamming water all the time and still having hydration problems on a relatively short run, you might actually be having the opposite of the problem you think you're having. You might want to check out that thread on sodium/potassium ... maybe all that scientific gobbledy-gook will make sense to you. (If it does, you can explain to the rest of us ...) By the way - especially if you're having hydration problems - WALK through the water stations. I don't care what a stud you are, losing needed water because you can't walk for 10 seconds is silly. (Besides, you'll end up running faster if you do!) Bill Rodgers won Boston 4 times and he slows down enough to get the water actually in his mouth. Maybe not a bad idea.