Electrolyte Supplements

dev123

Hi,

I'm looking into taking some sort of electrolyte supplement, such as Nuun tablets or saltsticks, as part of my marathon training long runs.

I completed the Limerick marathon at the weekend but lost a lot of salt through sweating (white beard and my navy compression top was stained white). Most of my running tops are white so I never really noticed that I lost that much salt when running.

I was wondering how do people take something like a Nuun tablet during a marathon? Berlin is up next for me and they have water in cups as far as I know. Would S-caps or saltstick tablets be better or more convenient?

I don't mind running with a 1L water bottle in my hand and I'm thinking of adding 2 Nuun tablets to that at the start of the run and sipping from that throughout.

Finally, if I am taking gels and using the Nuun-infused water bottle to wash them down do the electrolytes have any affect on absorbance of the gel?

Thanks
Dev

Marthastew

Hi Dev,

How did you feel in Limerick? Did you perform well? Did you cramp? The reason I ask is that although you sweat a lot it doesn't necessarily mean that you need salt sticks. As usual it can differ greatly between runners but unless you felt unwell I would think that you might not need extra salt apart from what you will get in sport's drinks which, if I recall correctly are available on the course in Berlin.
Like you, I also sweat a lot during marathons and I only noticed this when I wore a black top. I did use Nuun during the Connemara Ultra (I had put it in bottles of flat coke) as I felt I would need to since I would be spending more time on my feet.

As you have suggested above if you do decide to use them you should try them during training runs.


See you In Berlin:)

TFBubendorfer

I noticed a lot of salt on a lot of people's faces in Limerick, including my own. Salt on your face means nothing. If you didn't cramp, you didn't require electrolytes during the race itself.

If you want to experiment with electrolytes, I have tried Nuun in the past and found the taste very pleasant, but to be honest I don't think it did anything for me as far as performance goes.

dev123

Marthastew wrote: »

Hi Dev,

How did you feel in Limerick? Did you perform well? Did you cramp? The reason I ask is that although you sweat a lot it doesn't necessarily mean that you need salt sticks. As usual it can differ greatly between runners but unless you felt unwell I would think that you might not need extra salt apart from what you will get in sport's drinks which, if I recall correctly are available on the course in Berlin.
Like you, I also sweat a lot during marathons and I only noticed this when I wore a black top. I did use Nuun during the Connemara Ultra (I had put it in bottles of flat coke) as I felt I would need to since I would be spending more time on my feet.

As you have suggested above if you do decide to use them you should try them during training runs.


See you In Berlin:)

Hi marthastew. I struggled over the last few miles but there was no cramping. I don't think I hydrated sufficiently on the day and my heart rate drifted upwards. My stomach wasnt great which didn't help trying to keep down the water. I was wondering if the electrolytes would aid fluid absorption.

dev123

TFBubendorfer wrote: »

I noticed a lot of salt on a lot of people's faces in Limerick, including my own. Salt on your face means nothing. If you didn't cramp, you didn't require electrolytes during the race itself.

If you want to experiment with electrolytes, I have tried Nuun in the past and found the taste very pleasant, but to be honest I don't think it did anything for me as far as performance goes.

Thanks thomas. I will try nuun over the coming weeks and see if it makes a difference for me.

TFBubendorfer

dev123 wrote: »

I don't think I hydrated sufficiently on the day and my heart rate drifted upwards.

That's perfectly normal. Heart rate drift always happens in a marathon.

dev123

TFBubendorfer wrote: »

dev123 wrote: »

I don't think I hydrated sufficiently on the day and my heart rate drifted upwards.

That's perfectly normal. Heart rate drift always happens in a marathon.

It would be my understanding that cardiac drift is associated with increasing core body temperature and dehydration. I would be hoping that if the electrolytes help with hydration that I reduce cardiac drift. That and put in loads more training of course :-)

TFBubendorfer

dev123 wrote: »

It would be my understanding that cardiac drift is associated with increasing core body temperature and dehydration. I would be hoping that if the electrolytes help with hydration that I reduce cardiac drift. That and put in loads more training of course :-)

Sure - just figure out what works for you.

I tried and tested a lot of products and found that most of them are of limited benefit, but the few that do help are great.

Clearlier

dev123 wrote: »

It would be my understanding that cardiac drift is associated with increasing core body temperature and dehydration. I would be hoping that if the electrolytes help with hydration that I reduce cardiac drift. That and put in loads more training of course :-)

I would have thought that it would have more to do with your heart not being able to quite keep up with your legs. I'm not a physiologist (so grab the salt cellar) but my understanding of core temperature is that it rises a couple of degrees and then remains fairly stable when running.

N.B. I'm not saying that you're unfit/don't train enough. I just don't think that cardiac drift has much to do with hydration and core body temperatures. Of course if you're seriously dehydrated that'll cause you problems but it isn't often that this is a problem for runners even in a marathon. IIRC you're far more likely to kill yourself by drinking too much and the best mechanism for determining your fluid needs is thirst.

P.S. Just to confuse things a little undertraining can also lead to a decreased heart rate towards the end of a race. This happens when the fitness of your heart and lungs exceeds that of your legs.

dev123

Clearlier wrote: »

I would have thought that it would have more to do with your heart not being able to quite keep up with your legs. I'm not a physiologist (so grab the salt cellar) but my understanding of core temperature is that it rises a couple of degrees and then remains fairly stable when running.

N.B. I'm not saying that you're unfit/don't train enough. I just don't think that cardiac drift has much to do with hydration and core body temperatures. Of course if you're seriously dehydrated that'll cause you problems but it isn't often that this is a problem for runners even in a marathon. IIRC you're far more likely to kill yourself by drinking too much and the best mechanism for determining your fluid needs is thirst.

P.S. Just to confuse things a little undertraining can also lead to a decreased heart rate towards the end of a race. This happens when the fitness of your heart and lungs exceeds that of your legs.

Thanks clearlier,

I wouldn't consider myself unfit, just not fit enough to do the time I aimed for last Sunday

When looking up articles on cardiac drift the main thread through them all is that dehydration and increased core temperature are suspected as primary causes of cardiac drift. Thats where I'm hoping the use of electrolytes will help get fluids on boards more effectively over the course of my longer runs.