If you can't stand the heat...

Help me, I'm melting....

Seriously, I just can no longer hack the heat here in Geneva. A mere leisurely stroll around my local park and I am literally drenched with sweat. Not pleasant. As you can imagine,  temperatures reaching the mid thirties do not make for the most enjoyable training experience. How anyone can run the Marathon Des Sables is a mystery to me...I struggle with 5k in this heat, nevermind a 6 stage race of 250k in the Sahara Desert.

Lucky then that with the gallons of sweat I appear to be losing I have found a delicious training aid to replace the valuable nutrients I am losing. I normally make my own sports drinks (see the post 'Drink Up') but with this unrelenting heat I felt I needed a helping hand, especially with training twice some days; it makes it even more important to be adequately hydrated.


Zero 7 is quite frankly, my new best friend. It has zero calories and zero sugar with no artificial nasties but is fully loaded with magnesium and electrolytes to replace those lost through sweat. It even claims that you can burn up to 41% more fat with every training mile instead of using a normal carbohydrate sports drink.


It comes in 3 flavours; citrus, berry and cherry-orange. My personal fav is citrus, it's nice and refreshing on a hot day. I often make the drink up the day before and pop it in the fridge overnight or the freezer for a few hours as I find nothing worse than a warm drink on a frazzling hot day.


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Drink Up!

Rehydration on a Recessionist Budget: DIY Sports Drink

Well, it is certainly heating up here in Geneva with temperatures regularly in the mid 20s. Very nice, I have some pathetic tan lines from my longer runs and rides with bronzed arms and legs but a pasty white core. Not my beach look of choice. But back to the point in hand; as I was saying, the weather is heating up and was nowhere more evident than the legions of sufferers of dehydration and heat stroke at last weekend's London marathon. 

One weapon of prevention to ensure you do not suffer the same fate is to keep yourself well hydrated. This includes consuming electrolytes, or salt to replace those lost through sweat, which obviously increases as the weather heats up. The fact of the matter is exercise makes us sweat; it is the human body's efficient way of trying to maintain a steady temperature. It is important to remember that water alone will not replace nutrients lost through sweat; you need to replace these electrolytes.

I now regularly carry a bottle of the below drink with me on my longer runs and find that it adequately hydrates me. Plus it is a doddle to make and is less sickly and far cheaper than many of the popular sports drink brands on the market, making it an ideal cheaper alternative for training runs. 

Nutrition Lowdown

With the recipe below, you can experiment with the salt levels. You will want half a pinch more on hotter days to cater for the increased electrolyte loss. 

The honey will provide sugars and in turn energy.

The lemon will provide added flavour and take the edge off the salt, plus added vitamins (B3,B5,B6,C,E)

Recipe

750ml Water

Juice of half a Lemon

Pinch of Sea salt

1 teaspoon Honey

1. Add the water to your drinks bottle.

2. Add in all the ingredients and shake.

3. If it is especially hot outside, add a few ice cubes to help keep your core temperature down.