# 15 miles short track, hydration pack vs bottle



## cityjackit (May 13, 2015)

Afternoon all,

Just got done with my first race of this year. It was a CaneCreek Cup15 mile short track of sorts. 50+ CAT3 here. I finished 13trh out of 15.

One thing I noticed was that I was the ONLY guy out of 15 who had a hydration pack on filled with 40oz of water miixed with Tailwind. After the race, I might have had a mouthful left in the back pack. How in the heck are these guys doing this race at a 2 or 3 minute faster laptime than I with only a single 20 - 24 oz bottle? Admittedly, I was not expecting a sprint start so that ste me back of the pack. I figured I'd get into my groove somewhat into the 1st lap, catch on to the rear of the lead group of ten or so then start to feel good.

Never did I see them again after 10 minutes after the start. I have been riding 10 to 15 miles once a week. Obviously they were ready and I was not. But 20 ish oz to my 40? Granted, I wasn't always thirsty, but I was relying on that Tailwind mix to get me through. How do I get use to that fast pace or faster than my pace and keep it?

Thanks guys.

Sid


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## J.B. Weld (Aug 13, 2012)

How long was the ride? 1 small bottle should usually be enough for a 1 to 1.5 hour race imo.


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## 834905 (Mar 8, 2018)

The faster you finish, the less water and nutrition you need.


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## Jayem (Jul 16, 2005)

cityjackit said:


> Afternoon all,
> 
> Just got done with my first race of this year. It was a CaneCreek Cup15 mile short track of sorts. 50+ CAT3 here. I finished 13trh out of 15.
> 
> ...


I'm usually a proponent of a camelback for longer events and ease of getting water vs. rough tracks where there's just no real way to get at the water in a bottle IME. When it comes to something as short as 15 miles though, I don't need much. Pre-hydrate with electrolyte mix, you can probably take down 30oz easy, maybe even 40. A bottle is generally plenty sufficient for me for a race this short and it's possible or even likely that I won't even use it, depending on the course. The lighter you are, the less water you need. Also the more conditioned you are for the environment, the less water you need, so a heavy guy coming from a cold climate might blow through crazy amounts of water. I remember when I was heavier, in AZ, not even in the hottest part, 100oz/hr was pretty normal and I could exceed that. You have to worry about getting enough salts at those rates, but it was simply the rate I needed given how fast I was sweating to keep cool. Don't shortchange yourself if you need this water, it's much healthier to be hydrated.

I'm going to go do hill climbs after work today, 1300' feet up over 3 miles up, repeat 4 times. I don't need more than a water bottle to do this, but some pre-hydration helps a lot.


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## jimPacNW (Feb 26, 2013)

I think this leads to your answer " I have been riding 10 to 15 miles once a week": You're pretty 'under-trained' for racing, so it would make sense that you'd be feeling more thirst urges. If you're going to stick with that as a riding schedule, don't worry about what the other guys are doing and bring as much drink along as you feel like you'd want to drink. If you start riding a lot more frequently, I think you'd eventually be able to go an hour pretty hard (in cool weather) without a drink. I'm 55, I typically do 1:30 races in cool weather on a half a small bottle and I have to remember to take drinks, but like Jayem mentioned, being hydrated before helps a lot, and I try to be well hydrated before.
One good tidbit I got from reading Carmichaels "the time crunched cyclist" was that he said drinking (a large bottle or so) of your carb drink within the 90 minutes prior to your start is crucial, so I'll usually start sipping on a big bottle at the 90 minute to start mark. .


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## cityjackit (May 13, 2015)

J.B. Weld said:


> How long was the ride? 1 small bottle should usually be enough for a 1 to 1.5 hour race imo.


Thanks JB. I finished at exactly 1:20 and some seconds. There were a couple behind me at 1:30 and 1:40. Top six were like 1:03 to 1:07. Next six were 1:08 to 1:17, then me at 1:20.


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## cityjackit (May 13, 2015)

Jayem said:


> I'm usually a proponent of a camelback for longer events and ease of getting water vs. rough tracks where there's just no real way to get at the water in a bottle IME. When it comes to something as short as 15 miles though, I don't need much. Pre-hydrate with electrolyte mix, you can probably take down 30oz easy, maybe even 40. A bottle is generally plenty sufficient for me for a race this short and it's possible or even likely that I won't even use it, depending on the course. The lighter you are, the less water you need. Also the more conditioned you are for the environment, the less water you need, so a heavy guy coming from a cold climate might blow through crazy amounts of water. I remember when I was heavier, in AZ, not even in the hottest part, 100oz/hr was pretty normal and I could exceed that. You have to worry about getting enough salts at those rates, but it was simply the rate I needed given how fast I was sweating to keep cool. Don't shortchange yourself if you need this water, it's much healthier to be hydrated.
> 
> I'm going to go do hill climbs after work today, 1300' feet up over 3 miles up, repeat 4 time more than a water bottle to do this, but some pre-hydration helps a lot.


Jayem, thank you for the reply. I just could not see why they got away with 20oz or less and I needed every bit of my 40oz. Honestly, I find myself hitting the bite valve more the more tired I got. It wasn't that I was thirsty. I think I was leaning heavy on the Trailwind that was in the water.

I am 6'3 200 lbs without a stitch. I am lean. Are you saying pound 30oz of electrolyte mix right before? What is the time before race for PRE-hydrate? I'm thinking I drink 30 - 40 oz, I'm looking for a tree mid-race latest.

Thanks again Jayem.

Sid


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## cityjackit (May 13, 2015)

SingleSpeedSteven said:


> The faster you finish, the less water and nutrition you need.


This makes sense Single. But damn, to keep that pace, I'm thinking they'd be pounding water. I can only guess cuz I never saw them


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## cityjackit (May 13, 2015)

jimPacNW said:


> I think this leads to your answer " I have been riding 10 to 15 miles once a week": You're pretty 'under-trained' for racing, so it would make sense that you'd be feeling more thirst urges. If you're going to stick with that as a riding schedule, don't worry about what the other guys are doing and bring as much drink along as you feel like you'd want to drink. If you start riding a lot more frequently, I think you'd eventually be able to go an hour pretty hard (in cool weather) without a drink. I'm 55, I typically do 1:30 races in cool weather on a half a small bottle and I have to remember to take drinks, but like Jayem mentioned, being hydrated before helps a lot, and I try to be well hydrated before.
> One good tidbit I got from reading Carmichaels "the time crunched cyclist" was that he said drinking (a large bottle or so) of your carb drink within the 90 minutes prior to your start is crucial, so I'll usually start sipping on a big bottle at the 90 minute to start mark. .


Sid
Interesting JimPac. I need to check this book out you mention.

Thank you all. I like the competing. Its all I think about Monday through the next week at work.


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## cityjackit (May 13, 2015)

Under-trained JimPac. I kinda knew when they took off like they did, they were tuned up. It wasn't an "ease into it" endurance race for sure.

I look for ward to moving up though.

Thanks again


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## Jayem (Jul 16, 2005)

cityjackit said:


> Jayem, thank you for the reply. I just could not see why they got away with 20oz or less and I needed every bit of my 40oz. Honestly, I find myself hitting the bite valve more the more tired I got. It wasn't that I was thirsty. I think I was leaning heavy on the Trailwind that was in the water.
> 
> I am 6'3 200 lbs without a stitch. I am lean. Are you saying pound 30oz of electrolyte mix right before? What is the time before race for PRE-hydrate? I'm thinking I drink 30 - 40 oz, I'm looking for a tree mid-race latest.
> 
> ...


So hydration mix makes you retain water. You'll still have to pee eventually, but it takes a lot more to get you to that point. Even at times when I might think I have to pee before hand, if I start exercising that feeling goes away as my body starts to conserve water. Again, if I go long enough or drink enough, I'll eventually have to pee for sure, but the electrolyte mix bloats you up and you can take down a lot more without having to immediately pee. Still gotta pee before a race usually...but just not as much during. Yea, 30oz about an hour to 30 min before. Heck, that's really the only time I can. You do it too early and you will pee it out for sure. You do it too late and you might have that pre-race pee ending up a little too late. 

There's also food, there are some that say you will drink more if you are not getting enough food, your blood sugar will plummet after about 30-45 min, so if you are out longer than that, you could need a gel or similar. I know that tailwind and some liquid stuff is "supposed to" also include energy, but this is more true for the lighter way more efficient guys. The further you are displaced from the fastest racers, the less this works IME.


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## Ogre (Feb 17, 2005)

20 ounces for a 15 mile race sounds about right to me unless it's crazy hot. Even if it's hot, I'd have trouble drinking 40 ounces while at race pace. 

On a 1:20 race, I doubt winning/ losing had anything to do with hydration. They were just faster than you.


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## r-rocket (Jun 23, 2014)

That sounds like frustration drinking/eating. 

Hitting more and more Tailwind the longer time it has been since you've had contact with the pack, hoping that all you need is a another gulp of Tailwind, and that will solve everything and catch you up. 

All the Tailwind you drank in the last 10-20 minutes of the race was too late to have any impact.


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## Ogre (Feb 17, 2005)

For me, doesn’t matter how much I drink, I tend to be tail of the pack. So I focus on the drinking that happens at the pub after the race.


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## NorCal_In_AZ (Sep 26, 2019)

Just to throw it out there…I’m a big boy, most of my rides fall in the 10-15 mile range in a hour to hour and half. Even here in AZ I’m good with one 20oz bottle for that time.


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## Kevin Matherne (Jul 27, 2021)

You just need to ride a lot more and when you do try and make them straight thru rides with no stops. Everything will line up fitness and hydration wise for you after you do that for some months. You will find that your hydration needs will go down with the better fitness this will give you.


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## Cary (Dec 29, 2003)

As a stopgap, you could always use a 32 oz magnum bottle. I would not want to race with a pack if I could help it.


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## Ogre (Feb 17, 2005)

I used to ride with a buddy who was serious about racing. I rode more than him but he had a plan and focus. 

I had more fun riding, but he won more races. 

Choose which is more important to you and ride appropriately.


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## bikeranzin (Oct 2, 2018)

Ogre said:


> On a 1:20 race, I doubt winning/ losing had anything to do with hydration. They were just faster than you.


This is the true answer. The difference between OP and the winners wasn’t hydration strategy. Just ride your bike more, and then once you achieve “more”, start riding harder sometimes, and then finally, worry about the incremental gains of optimal nutrition.


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## abeckstead (Feb 29, 2012)

cityjackit said:


> Jayem, thank you for the reply. I just could not see why they got away with 20oz or less and I needed every bit of my 40oz. Honestly, I find myself hitting the bite valve more the more tired I got. It wasn't that I was thirsty. I think I was leaning heavy on the Trailwind that was in the water.
> 
> I am 6'3 200 lbs without a stitch. I am lean. Are you saying pound 30oz of electrolyte mix right before? What is the time before race for PRE-hydrate? I'm thinking I drink 30 - 40 oz, I'm looking for a tree mid-race latest.
> 
> ...


I’m 6’4” and 6mo’s ago I was 200lbs. I made some diet changes and I’m down to 173lbs. It has made a huge difference for me on the bike! Also be sure to drink plenty of water everyday. Race day it’s too late to show up starving and/or dehydrated. It’s also possible those leaders had bottles handed to them on course. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## baker (Jan 6, 2004)

I used to overhydrate, bigtime. I wasted a ton of time peeing when I did Leadville back in 2003, because I had no idea how to hydrate or eat correctly. As I moved onto longer solo efforts (18-24 hours) I started to learn more about proper fueling. This guide from Hammer helped me a ton:



https://hammer-nutrition.hu/img/cms/Magazinok/fuelinghandbook.pdf



And, here is a really brief synopsis in a table:


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## J.B. Weld (Aug 13, 2012)

Cary said:


> As a stopgap, you could always use a 32 oz magnum bottle. I would not want to race with a pack if I could help it.




I don't race much and rarely ride with a pack but I kind of prefer a light pack over bottles for mtb racing because it's so much easier and safer to drink/fuel with one. Personal preference of course but a small (~1 liter) one is hardly bothersome at all for me.


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## Jayem (Jul 16, 2005)

It's really...really variable. A 15 mile race could be no fluids during the race...or for a heavier rider not in top shape in hot weather out of their normal climate with big steep climbs, a slog fest and sucking down water. I said a 15 mile was no fluids, but I've had 15 miles that were 1.5K or more feet of climbing each 5 mile lap, that's at the ski resort where their downhill is even steeper (shorter) than the uphill. But generally, that distance is such that most of the fast racers won't need more than a bottle or so. I really hesitate to say "no camelback" or put out figures though, because it's just so variable. I did a winter 100 miler a few weeks ago, 4 checkpoints, but I didn't stop for anything at the first, so 3. I started with a 100oz camelback filled up pretty much all the way. I had a bottle too. I refilled my bottle at each station, I started with concentrated electrolyte in my bottle, supplementing with my camelback. At each checkpoint I refilled my bottle, so 3x, maybe around 50oz, I never emptied it. I also didn't fully empty my camelback, maybe down to 1/2 to 1/3rd. That brings me close to 100oz for 100 miles. That is kind of mind-blowing to me, given what I know I'd use in the warm weather. But I pre-hydrated around 40oz at least with electrolyte mix. At the Whiskey Off Road the last time, I also prehydrated, started with a 100oz camelback and a bottle. I blew through the bottle and camelback and was on empty about 10 miles out, getting the last of their water at the last aid station, which was maybe a dozen ounces, still ran out obviously but I was hydrated enough to drag it in without any serious consequences. The difference there was 80 degrees and full sun in that dry atmosphere just makes water go away crazy fast for me. I should probably refill my bottle more on that race at the stations, although there aren't all that many so you really need to be more using bottles than camelbacks to make that really effective and then, IMO, you need to be a pretty elite rider to go that far on said bottles, as it's a long way to that first checkpoint.


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## KobayashiMaru (Apr 25, 2020)

Some people just need a lot of water. Even when I'm not riding in the heat and humidity and just sitting around, I probably drink 20 ounces an hour. If I don't my lips start to crack and I end up with a headache. 

I can do 30 minutes without water if I'm hydrated before. Anything past that, especially in the heat, I bring a lot more. I'll drink 40 ounces in an hour and a half, at least.

On a time trial night (5:30 PM start) where my pace is about an hour, I hydrate like crazy before because I want as little weight in my camelbak as possible. I'll put a tad more than a liter in it, and take out as much of the other stuff (chain breaker, folding saw, emergency whistle...) as I can. At the end, the water is gone and I drink a ton of water in the parking lot while everyone else drinks beer. I end up with a headache and feel like crap a few hours later, but that's what I get for trying to be as light as possible without enough water in pursuit of a fast time.

Time trial nights are usually in the 90s with very high humidity though, and I run them at max effort.


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## Rod (Oct 17, 2007)

After reading your initial post, I was going to write what Jim has already said. I expect these people you're racing against are doing significantly more mileage. Once your fitness improves you will see your water needs drop significantly. I would stick with the hydration pack because it sounds like you needed all of the fluids that your brought.

If you can up your weekly mileage that would help significantly, but if not, no worries. Go and race your race, enjoy the new venues, and meet a few new people.


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## cityjackit (May 13, 2015)

I think you guys hit the nail on the head. They were just faster. For now. 😏 I have work to do no doubt.
Im going to pick up that carmichael book and get after it.

Thank you all for your help.

Sid


r-rocket said:


> That sounds like frustration drinking/eating.
> 
> Hitting more and more Tailwind the longer time it has been since you've had contact with the pack, hoping that all you need is a another gulp of Tailwind, and that will solve everything and catch you up.
> 
> All the Tailwind you drank in the last 10-20 minutes of the race was too late to have any impact.





r-rocket said:


> That sounds like frustration drinking/eating.
> 
> Hitting more and more Tailwind the longer time it has been since you've had contact with the pack, hoping that all you need is a another gulp of Tailwind, and that will solve everything and catch you up.
> 
> All the Tailwind you drank in the last 10-20 minutes of the race was too late to have any impact.





r-rocket said:


> That sounds like frustration drinking/eating.
> 
> Hitting more and more Tailwind the longer time it has been since you've had contact with the pack, hoping that all you need is a another gulp of Tailwind, and that will solve everything and catch you up.
> 
> All the Tailwind you drank in the last 10-20 minutes of the race was too late to have any impact.





r-rocket said:


> That sounds like frustration drinking/eating.
> 
> Hitting more and more Tailwind the longer time it has been since you've had contact with the pack, hoping that all you need is a another gulp of Tailwind, and that will solve everything and catch you up.
> 
> All the Tailwind you drank in the last 10-20 minutes of the race was too late to have any impact.


R-Rocket. You were a fly on the tree. Thats exactly what i think I was doing. If I just hit this Tailwind one more time I will surely catch up. You are good sir.


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## cityjackit (May 13, 2015)

Ogre said:


> For me, doesn’t matter how much I drink, I tend to be tail of the pack. So I focus on the drinking that happens at the pub after the race.


Spoken like a true champion


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## cityjackit (May 13, 2015)

Kevin Matherne said:


> You just need to ride a lot more and when you do try and make them straight thru rides with no stops. Everything will line up fitness and hydration wise for you after you do that for some months. You will find that your hydration needs will go down with the better fitness this will give you.


Gospel, thank you. No magic potion or substitute for hard work.

Thank you. I just need to get med some sort of regiment for training in and work it around my paying job/gig.


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## cityjackit (May 13, 2015)

Cary said:


> As a stopgap, you could always use a 32 oz magnum bottle. I would not want to race with a pack if I could help it.


Hey Cary, how are you sir. I think I'm going to get the 26oz bottle for my Ripley. Thats the biggest Ibis says that will fit comfortably.

Good hearing from sir and thank you.


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## cityjackit (May 13, 2015)

bikeranzin said:


> This is the true answer. The difference between OP and the winners wasn’t hydration strategy. Just ride your bike more, and then once you achieve “more”, start riding harder sometimes, and then finally, worry about the incremental gains of optimal nutrition.


Good point. Thank you


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## cityjackit (May 13, 2015)

Rod said:


> After reading your initial post, I was going to write what Jim has already said. I expect these people you're racing against are doing significantly more mileage. Once your fitness improves you will see your water needs drop significantly. I would stick with the hydration pack because it sounds like you needed all of the fluids that your brought.
> 
> If you can up your weekly mileage that would help significantly, but if not, no worries. Go and race your race, enjoy the new venues, and meet a few new people.


This is good advice. Enjoy the ride.

Thanks man.


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## Rod (Oct 17, 2007)

cityjackit said:


> This is good advice. Enjoy the ride.
> 
> Thanks man.


Not a problem. Most of us aren't racing for more than winning some socks or a medal replica and before you're competitive you have to find the time to train in your schedule. You would need 6-10 hours a week. Until then, I suggest not putting too much pressure on yourself, learn what does and doesn't work regarding everything (strategy, hydration, fueling, pacing, who to watch out for, training). Go in being realistic, have fun, be relaxed, let the cards fall where they may, take in the scene of the race, bbq and some beer at the cooler venues, and ride a new trail system. Like you summarized it, enjoy the ride. It's the journey not the destination. Once you find the time to train and learn what you can then you can be competitive.


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## cityjackit (May 13, 2015)

Rod said:


> Not a problem. Most of us aren't racing for more than winning some socks or a medal replica and before you're competitive you have to find the time to train in your schedule. You would need 6-10 hours a week. Until then, I suggest not putting too much pressure on yourself, learn what does and doesn't work regarding everything (strategy, hydration, fueling, pacing, who to watch out for, training). Go in being realistic, have fun, be relaxed, let the cards fall where they may, take in the scene of the race, bbq and some beer at the cooler venues, and ride a new trail system. Like you summarized it, enjoy the ride. It's the journey not the destination. Once you find the time to train and learn what you can then you can be competitive.


Never truer words to live by Ros. Thank you


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## AdamR83 (Jan 21, 2021)

Left field answer... Both myself and a riding buddy have found a huge difference in hydration requirement between mouth breathing and nasal breathing. He did a 4 hour fell run on 300ml, and I've done a 50 mile / 5 hour / 7000ft MTB ride on less than a litre.

Breathe through your mouth onto your hand a few times, then do the same with your nose. Much less humid. Weird huh?

Well, not really. We are designed to breathe through our noses, and there's a bunch of functional and physiological benefits from doing so. Worth some research and experimenting...


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## Jayem (Jul 16, 2005)

AdamR83 said:


> Left field answer... Both myself and a riding buddy have found a huge difference in hydration requirement between mouth breathing and nasal breathing. He did a 4 hour fell run on 300ml, and I've done a 50 mile / 5 hour / 7000ft MTB ride on less than a litre.
> 
> Breathe through your mouth onto your hand a few times, then do the same with your nose. Much less humid. Weird huh?
> 
> Well, not really. We are designed to breathe through our noses, and there's a bunch of functional and physiological benefits from doing so. Worth some research and experimenting...


At 190bpm, no.


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## KobayashiMaru (Apr 25, 2020)

Jayem said:


> At 190bpm, no.


I've spent the winter on the trainer breathing through my nose, only because I saw a line or two in a magazine about how it might make me faster. Why not give it a try? It can't hurt anything. I've found I can do it up to about 175 bpm (my max is around 201), but that's on a trainer zoning out where I can really focus on keeping my mouth shut. I have too many things to process on the trail to think about my mouth during hard effort and I'm sure my mouth is open most of the time.

Physiologically, the nose does moisten air, helping you retain moisture, which in the long run would help in staving off dehydration. It may very well have something to do with why some people need more water than others. 

The amount a person sweats too... I know people that can work hard and not sweat much, where others can have it pouring off of their forhead if all they're doing is sitting still while concentrating on screwing a bolt into piece of machinery.

I sweat a lot. I drink a lot.


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## AdamR83 (Jan 21, 2021)

Jayem said:


> At 190bpm, no.


Have you tried it? How often do you reach 190bpm?

I max out about 176-178 and can use nasal breathing to around 165 after a little practice. My HR also runs lower when nasal breathing, for the same power output.

It works well for me and for others, for various reasons, so just thought I'd throw it out there as something that may help.


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## Jayem (Jul 16, 2005)

AdamR83 said:


> Have you tried it? How often do you reach 190bpm?
> 
> I max out about 176-178 and can use nasal breathing to around 165 after a little practice. My HR also runs lower when nasal breathing, for the same power output.
> 
> It works well for me and for others, for various reasons, so just thought I'd throw it out there as something that may help.


Yes. 

Most races. I also don't buy that there's "more" moisture coming out of your mouth.


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## KobayashiMaru (Apr 25, 2020)

I just drank 100 ounces on a 2 hour ride in the woods. It's 64 degrees outside and totally overcast.


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## Jayem (Jul 16, 2005)

KobayashiMaru said:


> I just drank 100 ounces on a 2 hour ride in the woods. It's 64 degrees outside and totally overcast.


100oz/hr was normal for me in AZ in the summer at times, mid to upper 90s.


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## J.B. Weld (Aug 13, 2012)

KobayashiMaru said:


> I just drank 100 ounces on a 2 hour ride in the woods. It's 64 degrees outside and totally overcast.




That does seem like a lot. I'd go 4 hours minimum in those conditions with that amount of water where I live.

Is it humid in your area? That can make a difference.


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## KobayashiMaru (Apr 25, 2020)

Tennessee is notorious for its high humidity, but on a day like today, I'm not sure it makes a difference. I just looked and it's 42 percent at the moment. 

I had to do some errands after the ride and spent around an hour and a half running around, not drinking water after my ride. Now I have the usual heaache that comes with not enough post ride hydration.


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## cityjackit (May 13, 2015)

AdamR83 said:


> Left field answer... Both myself and a riding buddy have found a huge difference in hydration requirement between mouth breathing and nasal breathing. He did a 4 hour fell run on 300ml, and I've done a 50 mile / 5 hour / 7000ft MTB ride on less than a litre.
> 
> Breathe through your mouth onto your hand a few times, then do the same with your nose. Much less humid. Weird huh?
> 
> Well, not really. We are designed to breathe through our noses, and there's a bunch of functional and physiological benefits from doing so. Worth some research and experimenting...


This is very interesting. I try man, I really try. But usually after some punch climbs one right after the other and trying to keep up, thats when the it all goes to hell and the mouth starts to open as I am craving more air. I guess I need to work on it and my breathing.

I'm trying more and more yoga with my stretch routines and working on breathing exercises. I guess its gonna just be practice and time.

Thanks man


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## cityjackit (May 13, 2015)

AdamR83 said:


> Have you tried it? How often do you reach 190bpm?
> 
> I max out about 176-178 and can use nasal breathing to around 165 after a little practice. My HR also runs lower when nasal breathing, for the same power output.
> 
> It works well for me and for others, for various reasons, so just thought I'd throw it out there as something that may help.


I definitely need to get some monitoring going. What are you guys using for heart monitoring? My son gave me a Garmin heart monitor that straps around my chest, but I have nothing to synch it to. Suggestions? Last 50K I did back in October I had my cheap burner smart phone that I used Jepster on. Maybe I can link up my Garmin to that so I can see real time whats going on. I have an out front mount for it too. I'm going to try that this weekend just to see where I am.

Thanks again.


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## cityjackit (May 13, 2015)

KobayashiMaru said:


> I just drank 100 ounces on a 2 hour ride in the woods. It's 64 degrees outside and totally overcast.


Like I said originally, I went through 40 oz in 1:20


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## J.B. Weld (Aug 13, 2012)

cityjackit said:


> I definitely need to get some monitoring going. What are you guys using for heart monitoring? My son gave me a Garmin heart monitor that straps around my chest, but I have nothing to synch it to. Suggestions? Last 50K I did back in October I had my cheap burner smart phone that I used Jepster on. Maybe I can link up my Garmin to that so I can see real time whats going on. I have an out front mount for it too. I'm going to try that this weekend just to see where I am.
> 
> Thanks again.




You could pair it to the Garmin Connect app on your phone and see it there. A garmin head unit is probably better though.


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## J.B. Weld (Aug 13, 2012)

Do you heavy water drinkers have to stop and piss a lot?


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## cityjackit (May 13, 2015)

J.B. Weld said:


> You could pair it to the Garmin Connect app on your phone and see it there. A garmin head unit is probably better though.


Hmmmmmm, thanks JB. I'm going to see if I can download that app from the google store.

Thanks


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## cityjackit (May 13, 2015)

J.B. Weld said:


> Do you heavy water drinkers have to stop and piss a lot?


I do not. Don't even need to after the 1:20 race actually.


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## KobayashiMaru (Apr 25, 2020)

J.B. Weld said:


> Do you heavy water drinkers have to stop and piss a lot?


I had thought about that last night, how I hadn't mentioned urination. I did pee once on that two hour ride, but it was a dribble. I only did it becuse I was off the bike clearing up some branches that had fallen and stuck in other branches in such a way as to take your eyeballs out if you weren't paying attention. It was early in the ride.

When I got back home, I peed, but again, it wasn't very much, and it wasn't clear at all. I thought I had done a good job hydrating before the ride, but apparantly not.

Most people are probably running around partially dehydrated and don't realize it because they don't notice the effects. I'm guessing for some people like me it's really obvious and we know we have to tank up all the time to stay ahead of it.

I wonder if muscle and body mass index has anything to do with it. I mean, I'm sure it does, I just haven't ever studied it in depth. It follows logic that a 5'10" rider at 185 lbs would need more water on a 2 hour ride than somebody at the same height that is 30 pounds lighter.


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## JohnWhiteCD (Aug 28, 2015)

J.B. Weld said:


> Do you heavy water drinkers have to stop and piss a lot?


Not typically even if out for several hours, though I do empty my bladder beforehand. For longer day rides I‘ll usually slam a large coffee before my ride as well.


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