So essentially you would mix 2g of sodium per liter with some flavor and keep it completely separate from calories? That makes some sense and would account for varied temperatures although I tend not to get very thirsty. I wonder if I would get behind.
For the past couple years, Iāve been mixing Sodium Citrate into my homemade carb mix. Lately, Iāve been making that as a gel that I store in a silicone flask. I add 5g of Sodium to each hour of carb mix which equates to 1165g of Sodium/hour. When itās hot and Iām sweating a lot, I have an extreme amount of salt stains on my clothes but I havenāt noticed any stomach issues.
Iām sure itās far from precise but I used one of the Gatorade sweat patches to measure my sweat rate and sodium concentration and based on those #s, determined the amount of Sodium Citrate to target per hour.
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Yes, Assuming that Iām losing 2g/Liter. You said 2g per hour, which isnāt necessarily the same thing.
Figure out how much sodium youāre losing per L of sweat, and then mix your hydration to that same concentration. Then, drink to thirst.
Works much better that way because sweat rates vary by a giant amount depending on heat
Yes, you should definitely try soidum citrate. Buy a 1lb can of it, and work your way up in dosage. Adding it to every bottle has completely changed my ability to ride consistently and feel even decent after 3+ hours rides (Iām in FL to put things in perspective). I was pretty inconsistent with sodium, and would often have issues in the summer with rides over 2 hours (nausea, cramps, splitting headache), so was having a lot of trouble increasing my volume overall. I was using fizzy tablets (like one per ride, 200 or 250 mg of Na, I think) and carried some endurolytes capsules to take when I started feeling bad (too late), and was drinking at least a 21 oz bottle per hour. I sweat a lot, and my sweat tastes really salty (but I donāt get a lot of salt staining on my kit, maybe because of the high humidity and/or the high volume of liquid I sweat out?), so I tried 500 mg per bottle (1/2 teaspoon), every bottle, and that was a huge improvement after a couple weeks, so I went up to 750 mg. I can easily ride drinking only (1) 20oz bottle every 2 hours in winter and 1.5 per hour in summer, now, and feel pretty great afterward. But, I probably should drink more on the bike, because I suck down a lot of water in the hours after the ride (and feel like I need more over 2 hours), but Iāve also started adding 500mg of sodium citrate to my first bottle or recovery drink after finishing the ride. I backed off the 750g/bottle in the winter (to 500mg) because I was having some issues with water retention in my legsā¦still not exactly sure that was the issue, because my research seemed to indicate that could happen with either too much or too little sodium, but backing off a little seemed to help with the frequency of the issue and I donāt feel worse because of the lower dosage. So, my point is that you may not need 2000mg per hour, depending on how much sodium you have in your regular diet.
The flavor is very mild (if you ever drank salt softened well water, it has that mild saltiness). Iāve pretty much quit adding flavor to water with just sodium citrate in it anymore. Oh, and I am putting sodium citrate in all the liquid I drink on the bike, both bottles with carbs in them and plain water bottles, because every sip I take out of the carb bottle is one I wonāt be taking out of the water bottle that hour (in theory). And I donāt weigh my sodium, I use a measuring spoon becauseā¦if Iām refilling bottles during the ride, Iāll put some sodium citrate in one of those cylindrical fizzy tablet containers, and I bought a set of plastic measuring spoons, and the 1/2 tsp one fits in the diameter of the little container, so I cut most of the long handle off, and I have like 10 servings in the container, with a measuring spoon.
Agree with a conservative and gradual approach. I had sweat testing earlier this year with Precision Hydration and it showed me at only ~600mg of sodium per liter in my sweat (average or even a bit below). But for the the type of racing I was doing in the heat, they still recommended 1500mg per liter sodium. I had been running around 800mg/liter previously. I tried the 1500 in training and felt pretty terrible. Not so much while on the bike, but afterwards with headaches and just feeling pretty terrible. I backed that down to 1200/liter and mostly felt better and it worked well for Unbound (and the training leading into it).
I had a routine physical the week after Unbound and my systolic blood pressure was in the 150ās (never had blood pressure issues in the past). I talked through it with the Dr. and she was pretty blown away with 1200mg/liter and often drinking close to 10 liters on training rides and over 10 liters for events like Unbound. The blood pressure was a scary thing and I went the other direction and reduced sodium to 400mg/liter and had pretty bad cramps on my next 2 long rides. Iāve been at around 600mg/liter for the past 3 weeks and it seems better and the blood pressure is mostly back to normal (but still spiking a bit at times). I think I was wrecking my kidneys pretty bad for a couple months with the high sodium.
In hindsight, I donāt think that 1500mg/liter recommendation from Precision Hydration was good. And to be fair, it probably would have been fine if just using it for the day of the event (and they did say it was a recommendation for the event). But Iām a big believer is training how you race, so I was upping my sodium for most of my training for 2+ months.
Anyways, just a word of caution if looking to significantly increase sodium intake. Iām glad I had that physical planned after Unbound or I probably would have kept pushing the sodium through Leadville training in the heat.
Also, even though Iām an āaverageā sodium guy, my kit will be almost completely white with salt on a hot dry day, so I wouldnāt read too much into that. I know Iām a big volume sweater based on fluid intake and weighing myself before/after rides, so I guess Iām still pushing a lot of sodium, just not that much per liter.
In the winter - youāre not sweating at all or nearly as much so may not be really losing sodium. As opposed to sweat, youāre primarily losing fluids through the dry air and your breathing, which is why you donāt need to take in as much in that scenario.
So, honest answer is you probably need to take in somewhat less than you sweat out, because youāre always losing some from your breath, especially in dry climates like Leadville, but when youāre sweating buckets thatās the primary loss so you should be taking in close to what youāre losing, especially on long rides or races like Leadville.
Taking in more than you lose though should only be a short term thing. Your body is constantly trying to balance the appropriate amount and get rid of the extra.
Moral of the story - get sweat tested, but experiment to see what works for you in different temperatures and long/short days. Going negative is fine on shorter days - but could bite you in the *** later on race day.
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Iāve decided to run Vittoria Payote 2.4ās for the 100. Iām leaning towards using the same tires for the 50 in a week. Is the terrain similar for the 50 and 100, or should I be looking at something more aggressive for the 50? What are yāall running?
Iām going with the Race King 2.2ās. Have the exact same on my gravel bike and leadville bike so Iāve been getting lots of time on them to really get used to them. They really cook.
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I havenāt ridden it, but the SR50 is definitely rougher.
For the LT100 - Iām either running 2.2" Race Kings which are what I have the most experience on, or 2.4" Dubnitals. Have both mounted up on different wheels right now. May end up making the call out in Leadville after doing some riding on the course.
Race Kings are definitely fast but can feel harsh on rougher sections, while the Dubnitals might give you more comfort and grip, especially if the course is loose this year. Testing on-site will definitely give you the best read
I have plenty of experience on the Race Kings - two finishes and multiple other training rides. They still may be the best Leadville Tire out thereā¦
How is AT&T cell service on the race course these days? I listed to an older podcast and one of the hosts mentioned cell service was very spotty and the networks couldnāt handle race day volume but noted that it had been improving.
If there is decent coverage, I was thinking Iād carry my phone so my wife at Twin Lakes could track me. But donāt want to bother with it if itās unlikely to be effective.
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Was supposed to do SR50 this weekend and was 50/50 on whether if Iād defer to next year if I got a coin in the post race lottery.
Donāt have to worry about that now, had a very poorly timed pedal strike buck me over the bars on a descent and broke 7 ribs + a partial lung collapse. Stabilized now, but thatās a wrap on the āseasonā such as it was.
Stay safe out there.
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Dangā¦sorry to hear about your crash and good thing it wasnāt any worse. Hope you heal up quickly!!
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Sweet Jesus, I can feel the pain from here. Sorry to hear that, heal up quick.
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Hope you heal up quickly and rest up. I broke five ribs back in March after someone clipped my bars. Not a fun experience at all. Sleeping, or lack of, was the worst part.
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Hi all- doing leadville for the first time and Iām sure this has been asked and answered before but what do yaāll recommend for tire choice? Right now I have 2.4 Rekon Race on Front and 2.4 Aspen ST on back (transition Spur bike)
Rotten luck. Heal fast!
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Continental Dubnital 2.4 or 2.2
Continental Race King 2.2
Schwalbe Rick XC Pro 2.4
Vittoria Peyote 2.4
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Ouch! Heal up quick!
Iām probably running 2.4 Dubnitals unless I donāt get along with them testing them out in the next couple weeks. Nice to see a fellow Transition Spur rider too!
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