I was surprised to see something this week on ultralist that wasn't related to pepper spraying dogs or chafed balls.

I was surprised to see something this week on ultralist that wasn't related to pepper spraying dogs or chafed balls.

The last thing I would think to do with chafed balls is apply pepper spray, but hey, maybe those ultra guys are on to something. Hair of the dog, and all that.

I overdo S-caps, but I also drink like a mo-fo usually 40-50 ounces per hour ~ I have never had a sloshy stomach, so I must be able to process it.

Nausea has never been an issue and I have taken 30-35 S-caps in 24 hours. But I am way out of balance by the end and if I do not drink at lease a gallon of water post race - I will be passing out every time I try and stand up.

Nausea has a lot of causes.  I think ultrarunners overdo salt in general, and tend to blame poor performances, cramping, nausea, headaches, puffiness, you name it, on too little/too much salt.  Just my feeling and I know everyone is different.

 

There are some scientific studies that support this, and this article (and related articles on the same website) seems to be well written:

http://www.sportsscientists.com/search/label/hyponatremia

 

I think most runners are going to go with whatever works/feels good for them to hell with research!

 

Joe (who has been known to take 3 salt sticks at one time when he fell on the ground with uncontrollable leg spasms at mile 30 during Superior 50)

I overdo S-caps, but I also drink like a mo-fo usually 40-50 ounces per hour ~ I have never had a sloshy stomach, so I must be able to process it.

 

Nausea has never been an issue and I have taken 30-35 S-caps in 24 hours. But I am way out of balance by the end and if I do not drink at lease a gallon of water post race - I will be passing out every time I try and stand up.

 If I drank 40-50 ounces of water per hour, chances are I would be stopping to pee every hour.  Do you sweat it all out or do you have a 200 ounce bladder?

Ah, finally, part II; I have been waiting for that.

I wish I had read Waterlogged before Western States. I was quite aware of the issue of EAH; still, I am pretty sure I overhydrated, drinking too much Gu2O in an effort to keep a steady stream of calories coming. (I peed 23 times!) I finished, but much slower than I had anticipated. (Final sodium was 137, low, but not too bad.)

After WS I read Waterlogged (my pacer put me onto it). Since then I have run a marathon, a hilly 50K, and a hilly 50M. In all three, I followed Noakes’ advice, specifically from the last chapter of his book: drink 600ml / hour, consuming 60g carbs / hour. That’s conveniently one 20-oz. handheld, and 3 gels. I drank 1/6 bottle every 10 minutes, with half a gel from a gel flask. I used Hammer Gel, because it has minimal sodium (20mg per gel). I took no other electrolytes. I also started each race with 400ml + 40g carbs in my stomach.

I was happy with the results:

- In the marathon (flat), 10 days post-WS, I ran a very comfortable 3:07 (PR is 2:58).
- In the 50K, 10 days later, I ran a very comfortable race, beating my goal by 10 minutes, 1AG. Lots of quad-pounding downhill, but I was able to fly down the last long downhill, several miles. No cramps or anything approaching cramps.
- The 50M was tougher (White River), and I was pretty beat up towards the end, but I did manage to beat my goal time by 13 minutes, and my previous White River time by two hours. Again, no cramps, though I was on the edge a couple of times.

I was very fascinated to read in this article about Uhan's experience with salt at WS (he says it helped), and Noakes’ comments on salt and performance. Perhaps I might have gotten a boost late at White River with some salt. The previous time I ran White River, I was frozen solid with quad cramps at M37, until someone ran by and gave me a salt pill… within 30 seconds, I was running again. That was not enough to convince me that salt has anything to do with cramps, but I’m looking back now with a new perspective.

I was planning on following the same fueling strategy for Cascade Crest 100, but there is no crew access or drop bags after M73, so that means muling an awful lot of gel if I want to stick to that… looks like solid food it will be. And I will have to reconsider salt.

Like you all, I am experimenting also.  I've definitely been drinking less fluids.  I've been running up to 3 hours without any fluids or calories on 75 degree days, and losing about 3-4 pounds during the run.  I can feel the lack of calories in fatigue the last hour or so, but I'm only a little thirsty.

On the 5-6 hour runs I'm drinking less and feeling better.  I did a 5 hour run and only drank 55 ounces (temp about 70 degrees) and lost 6 pounds.  I took in about 1000 calories.   I actually felt pretty good.  A little thirsty.  I took no salt tablets.

Not sure how it would translate to a hard 50 miler (or longer)  with higher heat/humidity.

For Superior 50 I'm not going to take any salt unless I "need" to ie. muscle spasms (which usually start around 6 hours).  I suppose if I'm sweating alot I will take a few salt tablets, but less than I usually do.

all those formulas they taught you in grade school/high school, well they weren't really accurate.  Close, but no cigar...

You are talking about relativity, right?

The last year or so I've been reading about string theory and how it is able to explain both quantum mechanics and general relativity.