ONLY water BEFORE a race?

[goofeygirl]

I was told to ONLY drink water before a race. So the night before...some people like gator aid while I like crystal light water...but this person said your body has to work extra hard at doing something with the sugar from those drinks in your system. He said once the race starts then go ahead with your gator aid type drinks.

True? Not true?

 

[cewait]

This falls under the, “we are all an experiment of one” heading.

I would not drink sport drinks exclusively, but I would not rule out a drink in moderation either… Scratch that, drinking sport drinks in moderation. As an example, if one is travelling, in a park, or tends to be a salty sweater, a sport drink at some point in the day is a great way to top off the glycogen and electrolytic levels. One during the evening, or pre-race on race morning is not going to harm most folks.

Hope this helps.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

Agree with coach - I drink both Gatorade and water the night before and right up to the start of every run or race. I simply don't like water enough to drink enough to ensure that I am properly hydrated before running. I have never had any problems since I added Gatorade to my routine.

 

[paxsarah]

I agree that this varies from person to person. For everyone, we should be practicing our hydration and fueling on every long run because race day should be no different, no surprises. As to the source of information in the OP, the body certainly has to expend some energy to digest the sugars in a typical sports drink, but my response would be - why wouldn't you want to start your fueling prior to your race/workout, before your body gets busy doing something else? Once your workout starts, your digestion processes will be taking some of your body's resources away from the business of racing, but if you drink some Gatorade beforehand, shouldn't that be a good chance to top off your tank before your muscles need that energy for running? I'm certainly not an expert, though. That's just my knee-jerk response to that theory.

 

[flatlandcycle]

I was told to ONLY drink water before a race. So the night before...some people like gator aid while I like crystal light water...but this person said your body has to work extra hard at doing something with the sugar from those drinks in your system. He said once the race starts then go ahead with your gator aid type drinks.

True? Not true?

Maybe this person was talking about hypoglycemic backlash. Blood glucose can drop if you consume high glycemic index foods in the 60-15 minute window just prior to exercise.

 

[goofeygirl]

He was mostly referring to overnight drinking. Not so much the day before but at night. I tend to put crystal lite in my water because (as another posted noted) I don't like water by itself. I drink more water when it is flavored. However I would nix that routine the night before if it would help. I would drink my Crystal lite water all day the day prior but the night before just boring ole water.

It is really for the full I am most concerned with. I have only done one full and that was this year for the Goofy so I have no real experience to pull from.


I just cannot get over the fact that marathon weekend is now literally 85 days away!!!!!

 

[paxsarah]

Isn't Crystal Light sugar free? I drink low/no-calorie electrolyte beverages in the days leading up to a race or a long run and don't see it as a problem. If he's talking about the night before, I don't really see a reason to drink full-calorie Gatorade-type drinks outside of a workout situation anyway, so in that sense I would agree with him, not because of the work the body has to do to digest it but because it's just empty calories. But I didn't think Crystal Light had sugar, so I wouldn't think that would apply.

 

[FireDancer]

I only drink water or water with added Electrolytes but everyone is different. One of my friends always has a Gatorade before bed the night before a half or full. I just don't like sports drinks and even during races only grab one if it is exceptionally hot.

The key is to use your long runs to simulate race day. That is when you want to experiment, not on the night before a race. If you find you feel better during long runs if you have been hydrating with sports drink then do that. If you feel more lethargic after drinking sports drinks stick with water.

 

[taratru]

I love that "experiment of one" idea. I always have a glass of wine the night before a long run/race. But I don't generally ever drink sports drinks anyway. Just water on race day.

 

[steph0808]

I never drink Gatorade or any other sports drink - during training or before/during/after races. I stick with water and/or iced tea (those are really the only things I drink anyway). Just depends on what works for you!

 

[flatlandcycle]

For the marathoners that are only drinking water during the race:

Are you eating gels, sports beans or other sources of carbs during the marathon and long runs?

 

[steph0808]

For the marathoners that are only drinking water during the race:

Are you eating gels, sports beans or other sources of carbs during the marathon and long runs?

I do. I mainly do water before a race. And during training/races, I do water and fruit punch Sport Beans. Yummy! I also like chews, but I hate gels! The best is the trail race that puts out gummy bears and pretzels at the stops. Those are the best for me!

 

[FireDancer]

For the marathoners that are only drinking water during the race:

Are you eating gels, sports beans or other sources of carbs during the marathon and long runs?

I use GU Gels both in races and on long training runs.

 

[taratru]

For the marathoners that are only drinking water during the race:

Are you eating gels, sports beans or other sources of carbs during the marathon and long runs?

Yes. I don't really like gels, but they're time efficient and sometimes the act of chewing is just too much. I eat a gel about half a mile before a water stop, drink water, rinse and repeat every 6 miles or so.

 

[bumbershoot]

I was told to ONLY drink water before a race. So the night before...some people like gator aid while I like crystal light water...but this person said your body has to work extra hard at doing something with the sugar from those drinks in your system. He said once the race starts then go ahead with your gator aid type drinks.

True? Not true?

As far as I know, Crystal Light doesn't have sugar in it. It's artificially sweetened from what I understand, so you wouldn't have to worry about *sugar* with it.

For the marathoners that are only drinking water during the race:

Are you eating gels, sports beans or other sources of carbs during the marathon and long runs?

Not a marathoner, but yes I do eat electrolyte replacement things during a run, while drinking water. My body tolerates SportsBeans and Clif ShotBloks (especially margarita flavor with 3x the sodium) really well. I'm trying to use Stinger waffles, too, so I'm not finishing the run with just sugar on my teeth, LOL.