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Drink whilst you swim......

So, i was swimming this weekend as the weather was so bad, and it occured to me that staying hydrated whilst you swim is pretty important. In ironman races you spend the first 30 mins of the bike trying to catch up on your hydration from the swim. SO heres my thought, why not hydrate whilst swimming?? Has anyone seen this been done anywhere? I was thinking a tube in your wesuit that may come up through your arm and so you can suck on it as your arm goes past your head (or maybe from the colar so you just bend your neck)!? It seems to me in ironman races nutrition is so vital, that any advantage you get from getting nutrients when you swim must be a good thing.... THoughts???

Comments

  • rpopper65rpopper65 Posts: 171
    Yeah, I've wondered about that, too. I know that when I do pool training, especially speed intervals, I keep a water bottle at the side of the pool with some drink mix in it (although it has been recommended that the drink mix be a higher concentration than for running or cycling, because you're not as worried about hydration as you are about keeping energy levels high). When I do open-water training, I don't have a bottle or anything to drink from, but I only do Olympic distances right now and so 45-60 minute training sessions don't seem too long to go without any refuelling (although it would probably be good to work out a way to do it).



    I always wondered what Ironman people do for refuelling during the swim... That's a good question.
  • mini__Cmini__C Posts: 44
    Well to be honest you got to becareful with stuff like this, it is obvious that your not going to drink the water if its salty, so I think it really depends on the water. But drinking the water from the lake is not a very good idea either, you get bacteria and bugs that Might be there...and even if you get hydrated on the swim...few days later you could end up with some stomach bugs...

    but while you swim your bound to get some water in your mouth....and in my opinion if you try and drink while you swim your going to break your swimming rythem a little, which may cost you.

  • hound doghound dog Posts: 293
    Nice one mini_c, I think the previous threads were aimed more at some sort of hydration system ie camelback type thing. I seriously wouldnt try and stay hydrated from the water you are swimming in FULL STOP!!
  • rpopper65rpopper65 Posts: 171
    No, I definitely wasn't thinking about drinking the water that I was swimming in. More along the lines of hound dog's thoughts about a Camelbak or something.



    But, seriously, do Iron-people drink while swimming? I'm figuring it would take me a good 1hr 30min to swim 3900 metres, and I figure that's a long time to go without refuelling. What are the IM approaches to the swim leg?
  • hound doghound dog Posts: 293
    Although I havent done an Ironman,I did a 3.8k swim in the pool the other day, non stop. I made sure I was well hydrated beforehand and managed ok. Id think its a case of re hydrating on the bike then using the water stations on the run. Suprised nobody with experience has replied.
  • toadtoad Posts: 104
    one of the biggest cause of dehydration is sweating ... we sweat to cool the body ..... could it be that when one is swimming long distance the open water is naturally cooling us down ..... so we are not sweating as much .... hence not dehydrating as quickly ...... obviously the water temp and the use of a wetsuit could influence how much we sweat . I find after I swim in a teppered pool I feel hot and need a drink after even an hour session .... however after an hour of OW in the UK I usually feel ok , sometimes a bit woosey... This is a really interesting thread and good to get an experts opinion ....... How do the swimmers who do the english channel get on ......
  • hound doghound dog Posts: 293
    I find that too, although its the sea for an OWS I dont feel dehaydrated just the salt water giving me a thirst but the warm pool definetly drains you more. i think with the channel swimmers the support boat supplies drinks etc.
  • Rich_CRich_C Posts: 152
    I swallowed a bit of salt water in lanzarote but not that much. never felt dehydrated at the start of the bike. Saying that I hardly rocketed round and came out in 1.30[8D]



    That length of time in pool makes me feel sick with the taste of the water,



    I suppose an advanced swimmer who, operating at 100% may well indeed lose fluids, it would be good to hear from guys and gals who are in the leading groups regarding this.









  • bfd1964bfd1964 Posts: 2
    Just had a good read on this thread, and its most interesting. I've never done any distance ow, but regularly swim 4/5 k in a pool, without any form of hydration. I may not be the quickest in the pond, but I'm not that slow either.



    Anyway, I think that something like a camelback would be possible, however I'm not sure about the practicalities, I spend most of the time trying to breath when swimming, in every 3rd stroke and out in between. I dont see that trying to take a swig of anything would be possible, if I tried it would probably ruin the rhythm. As long as you're well hydrated before the swim, and take on fluids in transition and on the bike, I dont think you would have a proble.



    The comment about channel swimmers is correct, they generally stop, hang onto the support boat and take in both liquids and solids.
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