My experience with Salt.
Yup, that is correct, salt, as in the mineral. I had a crazy experience after the Twin State 50 race.
*Please note that this is what I do for salt intake with how much I train. It works for me and it might not work for you*
Here is the story:
Sunday: As many of you already know, I ran the 50 mile version of the Twin State 50 race in Windsor, VT. Nutritionally, I did well throughout the race. I had a trail mix of cashews, dried cranberries, and dark chocolate chips. I also had 4 GU gel packs and about 60oz of water that I filled up once. Those items cover all the bases I needed to get me through the race.
Monday – Tuesday: I felt great. Yes, I was a bit tired and sore, but overall I was doing fine.
Wednesday: I got a stomach bug and didn’t eat or drink anything almost all day.
Thursday – Sunday: I felt miserable. I was eating maybe half of what I usually do, but I was drinking tons of water. The problem was that no matter how much water I drank, I wasn’t retaining very much of it. I could drink 1.5 gallons in a day and my lips were chapped, my mouth was dry and my skin felt like sand paper.
Monday: By the following Monday, I was still feeling horrible, but around 10am, a something in my head clicked and I realized that I had not had any extra salt in my diet for almost a week. I immediately went to the fridge and got my dill pickles. I usually only eat 3 baby pickles with about 16-20oz of water. This time though, I ate 15 baby pickles and almost a half gallon of water. They tasted so good.
Now for the best part!! Within 4 hours, my body had made a complete transition. I felt amazing. I had tons of energy, felt strong and really hungry.
This has been a real eye opener for me. In my two years of training, I have never been put in such an extreme situation where my diet was put to the test. It was a miserable week, but I am now glad that it happened as I am now that much more aware of how my body works.
Thanks for reading,
-Dave
The post My Experience with Salt appeared first on ICEdot Athletes.