Iron Pol

Anyone familiar with Chris McCormack's history at the Ironman World Championships knows he paid some heavy dues on his way to becoming world champion.  His early attempts at winning in Hawaii ended in failure as he struggled with heat, dehydration, nutrition, and the worst the course could throw at him.  By constantly learning the lessons taught at Kona, adjusting his plans, and, most importantly, making changes to his electrolyte intake, McCormack fought his way to the top of the podium.

Last year, after learning about McCormack's plight in past races, I started looking into electrolyte replacement techniques.  I saw a lot of what he experienced in myself.  In many training sessions and most races, dehydration led to problems at the end of the event.  Anything over a couple hours would find me caked in salt and dehydrated, regardless of fluid intake.

In the best of conditions, I am unable to swallow most electrolyte supplement in pill form.  The one I was able to swallow caused GI issues both times I tried it.  And one powder form I learned about, Gatorlytes, seemed unavailable for the average joe (if they're even still produced).  Finally, last year, I learned that Hammer Endurolytes were available in a powder form.

The perfect solution!  Well, almost perfect.  It seems that while Endurolyte capsules are available everywhere, the powder is much harder to locate.  In fact, the only place I was able to find it was Online.  So, last week, I gave up on local sources and ordered a can direct from Hammer.

This past weekend was a great opportunity to test it out.  With a four hour run on Saturday followed by a three hour run on Sunday, dehydration was sure to be a problem.

Saturday, I went with one scoop of Endurolyte powder per eight ounce bottle of Gatorade.  I carry four bottles on my belt, giving me 32 ounces of fluid and four scoops of Endurolytes.  During the run, I have to refuel, and opted to skip carrying additional powder for those bottles.

Saturday was already warm when I started the run at 5 a.m.  Twenty-three miles later, at 9 a.m., it was considerably warmer.  And I was still sweating.  Normally, after this kind of run, I would be totally dehydrated, and perhaps a bit bloated.  I considered this a good sign.

Sunday, I headed out late in the afternoon.  Though it was a bit cooler, I went with about 1.5 scoops of Endurolytes per bottle to see if taste would be an issue.  I will continue to increase the amount until it becomes unpalatable.  With 1.5 scoops, it tasted fine.  Again, I was still sweating when I arrived home, and didn't feel that fluids were staying in my stomach.  Good sign number two.

Most importantly, I didn't spend all day Saturday and most of Sunday dehydrated.  In fact, I felt very good on my run Sunday.  Compared to past runs in this range, it was the best set of consecutive runs I've completed.  It was also the longest run weekend I've ever completed.

I will continue to test the Hammer Endurolyte powder over the next couple of months.  So far, they get a big thumbs up for resolving my "no sweat" issue.

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