Concept2 Forum

How do folks stay hydrated on longer rows when they are trying to get a PR? Do you stop and take a few quick swigs, gut it out with no water breaks, or wear something like a camelback?

For anything shorter than HM, water breaks are not necessary unless it is really really hot. For FM, I think most people have cups lined up nearby for water breaks. Camelbak shoulder straps would rub you raw on an FM, so can't say I would recommend wearing one.

badocter wrote:For anything shorter than HM, water breaks are not necessary unless it is really really hot. For FM, I think most people have cups lined up nearby for water breaks. Camelbak shoulder straps would rub you raw on an FM, so can't say I would recommend wearing one.

I agree: I drink a litre of water (or Earl Grey tea!) before anything up to a half-marathon. Drink breaks are unnecessary for anything up to this, but would be essential for a FM.

Cheers
Dave

This has been discussed on the forum previously, and, as would be expected, there are different preferred techniques. Some people stop for a quick drink, some drink from a water bottle and others use a Camelbak, or similar device.
I also don't bother with drinks during rowing for anything HM or shorter. For FM I do use a Camelbak, with no problems. I have tried drinking from a bottle, without much success, and I don't like to completely stop to get a drink.

David

Cazneau wrote:How do folks stay hydrated on longer rows when they are trying to get a PR? Do you stop and take a few quick swigs, gut it out with no water breaks, or wear something like a camelback?

I sometimes take a quick swig from a squirt bottle while pulling slowly with one hand. This way I can usually drink a few ounces in a couple stroke's time. My problem is not that I need hydration as I want keep my mouth from getting dry. To avoid this I usually take a chaw of about 4 pieces of Big Red before I start and it does the trick. And it's cinnamon-ey!

I can't imagine not drinking every 10-15 minutes, especially at anything level 3 (Wolverine Plan) or lower. My mouth and lips get so dry, I can't stand it. Luckily I have made some adjustments to the WP which I feel work for me, and don't compromise my training too much.
In level four, I just set a 20 sec rest between each 10: interval. This is enough to grab a quick drink from a water bottle. I'll put in a :40sec rest about half way through my intervals to wipe sweat from my hands. otherwise, I'd lose my grip.
In level 3, instead of a 12000m row, I set the monitor to run 4x3000m with 20 secs of rest. Same deal.
Level 2 and Level ! have rest breaks built in, so that's easy.
I'd like to try a marathon, but haven't figured out the hydration piece yet. I guess if I could grab a drink every 15 minutes I'd be ok. But I think most sports medicine folks have learned that going more than 30 minutes without hydration can hinder performance. I have a camelback, and haven't tried it yet - but with the marathon challenge coming up in a few months, I want to try and figure something out.

The dry mouth that I experience while rowing 10-12K pieces is awful. My mouth and lips feel like I have eaten a tube of Elmers paste or something. This happens whether I have the fan on or not.

I have hesitated using the Camelback because I know that when I hike with my Camelback it tends to shift around, particularly as the fluid volume diminishes. I also have to adjust the straps from time to time

Having a waterbottle nearby and taking a quick squirt also sounds like a good idea. Either way (Camelback or water bottle) I will have to pause to take a swig. Worth a try.