Go With The Flow

While returning from our family road trip to Scottsdale, I passed souvenir-laden tourists in air conditioned vehicles.  With an ailing parent and my first born about to head off to college, I was laden with emotions, not Native American tchotchkes.  I counted my many blessings and thought about things that bring happiness and meaning into my life.  Running is certainly a component of that. 

I just registered for the American Discovery Trail Marathon, which will be held one week from today, on Labor Day.  I love that course.  It is beautiful and mostly downhill, giving me the chance for a personal best.  This is the latest I’ve ever registered for a race. 

My success this past spring was due, in large part, to my questioning of widely-recognized and standardly-held beliefs.  These radical departures from the norm produced some very good race results.  I changed many variables, so it is difficult to pinpoint any key element, but the results speak volumes.

With this in mind I just finished reading Waterlogged:  The Serious Problem of Overhydration in Endurance Sports, by Tim Noakes MD.  It is a dense, one inch thick, 428 page tome that reads like a biology text book.  The premise of the book is this; we drink too much water / sports drinks which impacts our performance in a negative way and can be dangerous.

Dr. Noakes addresses how the guidelines for hydration have changed over the years.  Prior to 1970 there was no real guideline.  After 1970 the advice was to stay ahead of your thirst.  After 1996 the advice was to drink as much as tolerable with a goal of 0% dehydration.  That is, replace lost fluids while you are running / racing.  Now, the International Marathon Medical Directors Association concluded that runners should simply drink when thirsty.  "The new scientific evidence says that thirst will actually protect athletes from the hazards of both over- and under-drinking." 

Neither Emil Zatopek, the 1952 Olympic Marathon champion, nor Abebe Bikila, the 1960 and 1964 Olympic champion, drank water during their victories.  That was the norm. 

Dr. Noakes spends a whole chapter outlining the anthropology of how we are perfectly engineered to run.  One of the main factors is that humans sweat profusely – more profusely than any other living creature.  This fact has led to the recent fear of dehydration.  A whole $40 billion industry is built on this fear. 

Dr. Noakes mocks the current hydration behavior.  Somehow our ancestors were able to run for 12 – 48 hours in the desert with minimal water yet modern humans can’t run 3 – 5 hour marathons without a “comfort station” every 2 miles.  As a result, the incidence of Exercise Associated Hyponatremia EAH - excessive water intake while exercising – has exploded. 

Not only is drinking unnecessary, but it is also dangerous.  Since 1993 there have been at least 12 EAH–related deaths.  There have also been ~230 cases of EAH–related cases.  Prior to 1993 there were none. 

We have a built-in, genetic and evolutionary-honed mechanism to prevent dehydration.  It is called thirst.  The fastest marathon runners in the world regularly lose 10% of their weight through perspiration and don’t die. 

So, I put this theory to the test last weekend.  I ran 19 miles without drinking.  I will try the same approach at next week’s American Discovery Trail Marathon.  Worst case, I can take a swig from the Monument Creek.