What is better hot hydration or cold as in chilled?
I had a question for Rambo about his liquid intake when he did the crazy long distance. During that race it was 45 Celsius = 113 Fahrenheit.
He had to switch to cold drinks to make it bearable. Desert people live in the same hot condition and often prefer hot tea to "cool" down. It pushes blood to the skin, you sweat, evaporation happens, it cools you down.
For me "room temperature" ( as in whatever it is at the time of the race) seems the least interruptive. The cold stuff makes it hard to down and feels like it tightens your windpipe, also it seems your system has to divert energy from cooling to heating the chilled beverage for digestion.
Personal preference is huge of course, but does anyone have any knowledge about optimal temperature for hydration during racing ?
On the other hand I'm planning to have a hot chocolate half-way into the Catalina Challenge if it's cold.
Submitted by painteur on Tue, 01/22/2008 - 6:15pm
This is tricky question. One would think a cold liquid would be best to cool the body. That would be correct, but not for every circumstance.
Are you cooling your body during heavy activity or after?
During continuous heavy activity your body needs to stay relatively cool, hydrated and supplied with enough calories to continue the activity at the desired physical exertion level. Not to mention adequate levels of electrolytes, salts, etc.
But let’s stick with cooling. To cool the body you can sweat, breath and urinate. The hair on your head also cools your body. The hair acts like the fins on a car radiator creating a greater surface area for the transference of body heat away from the body and into the air. That’s also the reason for the large amount of capillaries in your scalp and why head wounds bleed so heavy.
Let’s stick to sweating because it’s the most efficient body cooling mechanism. But, sweating means loosing liquids. The evaporation of the sweat carries heat with it and cools the skin, which cools the blood in the capillaries just below the skin’s surface and is carried through out the body to help keep your core temperature down. If the activity is of a considerable length of time the liquids must be replenished. The problem is, the body can loose liquid faster then it can absorb liquids. So, hydrating before the activity is a must.
The real problem is hydrating during the activity. If the liquid is too cold, the body must burn calories to heat it up before it can be used. This subtracts from the calories available to the muscles to support the activity. If the liquid is too hot, it just adds to or maintains the body’s internal heat, and who wants to drink something hot during a heavy activity.
A liquid drank during the activity is best drank at “room temperature†or about 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit, so it can be absorbed into the blood stream as quick as possible. I’ve always drank a liquid that was not refrigerated and was not setting in a warm location such as a hot car.
But, after the activity, there’s nothing like an ice cold beer, which will actually dehydrate you. But W.T.F, it’s cold.
#1 Tue, 01/22/2008 - 8:56pm
I'm pretty sure that the body absorbs cold water faster than warm water. So don't drink your shishi unless you absolutely have to...
#2 Tue, 01/22/2008 - 9:06pm
OC 1 driver
pretty insightfu, room tempter, before . I will remember that.
thanks
#3 Tue, 01/22/2008 - 11:14pm
The liquids you drink obviously go to your stomach and then proceed to the small intestine where water absorption starts. By the time it gets there the water will not be cold anymore but will be close to body temperature. On the way down the cold water will help cool your body. The effects of this are very apparent...drink a bottle of ice water on a hot day...or read more at www.adventurecorps.com extream athletes who do the death valley runs constantly stress the importance of ice cold fluids (when possible) to manage core temperature. The idea that cold fluids will enter the blood more slowly is true in pure chemistry, but not in exercize physiology. If your core temp is up, ice cold is best
#4 Wed, 01/23/2008 - 1:28am
Thanks Shawn, can't find the article on the site you mentioned. Could you post it?
#5 Wed, 01/23/2008 - 6:45am
I don't know about any physiological proof but the past two years doing the solo chilled drinks were much better.
Everytime my pack would warm up I would switch it out and the chilled drink was much more refreshing. I think it also helped with any overheating issues. It at least felt that way.
I also felt the same way in Kona. Cool liquid helps beat the humidity. I felt it also snaps you out of any mental fatigue you have going on.
#6 Wed, 01/23/2008 - 7:06am
This taken from the following article
7.) Use cold fluids as much as possible as your body absorbs them more rapidly than warm fluids. Know where to find cold water along your training routes. Use frozen and insulated water bottles and hydration packs.
http://tinyurl.com/357ujj
There's lots of great general info here and yes they are sightly biased towards their own product.
You could also download the Free Fueling Handbook from Rambo's Locker http://www.box.net/shared/opkf88hq84
Lot's of good info in the Outrigger Knowledge Box at the top of the page in the Locker ... if you haven't read the "Bonking Article" you should, it's excellent info and the most downloaded and read info in the Box. It helped prepare me for the Ultra Red X Marathon .. there are other "walls" than just general fatigue.
Cheers Rambo
#7 Wed, 01/23/2008 - 12:43pm
I stand corrected. Thanks Rambo for the info.
#8 Wed, 01/23/2008 - 1:49pm
At the adventurecorps site there are several articals under the "training, nutrition, preparation and equiptment" buttons and there are references to chilled/ice liquids scattered throughout...the one Rambo mentions above is also in there. I linked this sight because the ultramarathoner seem to have taken everything to the next level and I am constantly facinated and inspired in reading everything on that sight from the heat adaptation training to skin care. It helps put the wimpiness of my training in prespective...even though my serious training is for powerlifting and I do hiking and oc-1 for a change of pace most respect to the men and women who do the ultra and mountain climbing as the ultimate in sports inspiration
#9 Wed, 01/23/2008 - 7:41pm
Thanks everybody for the info.
#10 Thu, 01/24/2008 - 6:43am