The Importance Of Electrolytes

I like to keep things simple. Week in, week out, there is only one supplement I consistently use. It's creatine monohydrate, and if you buy that one with the code IWOOD05 you'll get 5% off your order. It's a supplement I think everyone should use all the time for the strength, hypertrophy and also cognitive benefits you'll experience. But there is one other supplement I use day in day out, but only in the hot summer months. Electrolytes (again use the code IWOOD05 for 5% off). Let me tell you a story to explain why. I'm a sweaty exerciser, and sometimes just generally a bit sweaty (lucky Kate). And this became very apparent very quickly when I was half way around my first ultra-marathon in October 2021. Our prep for the ultra was really good. We treated the event with respect, and even through we had no ambitions on time (it wasn't a race for us), we wanted to be able to enjoy the whole experience and take everything in rather than feeling like death for 7+ hours. So we consistently hit our 3 runs a week. As short one in the early week. A medium on mid-week, and our increasingly big one at the weekend when we had more time. We gradually increased our mileage each week, until the numbers got big, by which point we upped the mileage every other week with an easier week in between. Some of our runs were very hot too. One in particular stands out. 22km in 24 degrees from Poole to Old Harry Rocks and back, across the sand at Studland beach. One the way back multiple people that we ran past mentioned that we were mad. They were right. But the main point here being that we had done the specific training. We had done the miles. We had ran multiple parts of the course to be done on the day. We'd ran in the heat. We had trialled and errored our way to a good nutrition strategy, and we had done the same with out hydration. Then the evening before the actual run (50km over the Purbecks starting a finishing at Corfe Castle), we loaded up on electrolytes. We did the same the morning of the race, and on the start line we both had a litre of electrolytes in our packs, and had 4 aid stations to re-fill along the way. But I made one mistake. The first part of the ultra felt great. We were having the best time. It was cool, and we were making good ground. So much so, we made it to the first aid station in good time, and feeling breezy. I hadn't drank much of my litre of electrolytes, so I just ran past the aid station and continued. This was fine until we hit the two big stair climbs almost back to back near Chapmans Pool. One just before, one just after. I knew I was in trouble coming up the first stair climb. We got to the top, and met a couple of good friends who were waiting to cheer us on at the top. As we stopped for a moment to chat, my quads started to flicker with cramp... I knew I couldn't stand still for long so we had to keep moving. It was an unseasonably hot day for October, and as the day went on it was pushing 20 degrees. Not crazy hot, but hotter than expected. When you sweat, it's not just water that you sweat out. You sweat out minerals as well. Sodium, chloride, potassium, magnesium and calcium to be precise. And as it was hot, and I was carrying a 3-4kg pack, running a tough trail course, and I'm just sweaty in general, I'd sweat out a lot more than I'd replaced. There are a few downsides to dehydration and electrolyte loss, a key one for performance being cramps. So I knew I needed to replace these electrolytes ASAP otherwise I was going to be in big trouble. Fortunately the next aid station was about a kilometre away as at this stage I was very low on drink. I managed to keep the cramp at bay until we made it there. When we got there, I drank a litre of electrolytes on the spot and ate a banana. I also filled up my pack with another litre and we carried on. The cramp wasn't going anywhere, do I drank another 500ml between the aid station and the next climb which was only a few kilometres away. Halfway up the climb we had to stop to allow a couple to come down. This was bad news for me. My legs absolutely locked with the cramp. For a moment I couldn't bend my legs at all as we waited. Once they had passed I managed to bend my legs enough to finish the climb, only to hit the deck at the top and totally lock-up again. Fortunately Kate and I we're running together, and she is a mega skilled soft tissue therapist. She gave me a quick massage which I think was just enough to help clear my legs out, and enough time had passed for the electrolytes to come in and do their thing. This all happened at pretty much exactly half way. 24km in to a near 50km trail run. And from here on we finished the run with no further problems. My quads and adductors flickered for a little while longer, but I kept on top of my hydration for the remainder of the run, and we even finished the last 4-5km running 5 minute kms. And that's the importance of electrolytes in performance. Not enough, and at the extreme end you can turn into a cramping mess like me. At the less extreme end your performance can significantly drop. When you get them back, you can restore a lot of that performance, to the extent that in my case, my quickest km's were the last ones. Which is why I not use electrolytes daily in the summer months. I take one serving in 500ml of water every morning to start my day as I usually train in the morning after 2-3 hours of coaching. If it's super hot like it was Monday and Tuesday this week, and I've been coaching for a few hours in the heat and then training, I'll take another serving with 500ml of water as I train. It helps keep be hydrated, not just wet on the inside, by replacing the sodium, chloride, potassium, magnesium and calcium I'm also losing as I sweat. This time of year, I would recommend you do the same. Especially if you find yourself sweating a lot more day to day, and in your training sessions. Your body and your performance will thank you for it. Ian.