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I've learned a lot about staying hydrated doing the endurance races I've been doing with my buddies Scott and Renee this year - here's what I've learned about managing heat.

- Shade is critical. We always paddock with a large canopy up and this makes a huge difference.

- When possible, we plug in a box fan.

- This doesn't affect most folks reading this, but spend as little time in your fire gear as possible. Second thing I do after a driver change, after buckling Renee into the car, is get out of the nomex.

- I've taken to walking around with a large golf umbrella. Looks a little goofy, but I've got portable shade.

- Prehydrating, as others have mentioned, is superimportant, as is not having a lot of alcohol the night before.

- Post-hydrating, also important. First thing either of us does when we bring the car in after a race is hand the driver a water or three. We then get to sit in impound, in three layers of nomex, on the black asphalt. It's not fun.

- If you can stand to burn the fuel, occasionally get in your vehicle, turn on the A/C, and relax for a few minutes. My diesel Excursion with its massive dual A/C system has proven to be just the ticket and as a result, it often becomes home base for us - even though I didn't bring the car.

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Karl S.
2014 Baby, 2014 House, 2013 Ford Focus ST, 2013 BMW 328i, 1994 Mercedes E320
(Insert passive aggressive signature line here)

probably the cheapest iv'e seen around...http://www.campmor.com

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05 MCS

how does coolmax handle ultra-voilet rays? i have heard it is possible to get a sunburn thru a cotton shirt. i am wondering if the same is not true for breathable fibers.

also to quote Ron, give up the pepsi's as they are caffienatted and will contribute to dehydration.

Most of your higher end athletic wear will tell you the SPF rating. I don't believe Eric has had any trouble with sun through his Under Armor shirts, and I've had no problem with the REI ones (we spend all day in the sun pretty often with sunscreen only on exposed parts).

I would recommend Nike or UA before the REI brand stuff, though. The REI brand stuff just isn't as soft and I find it annoying.

Also, for Vincent, I used to be like you in regards to water and taste. I used to drink a lot of Gatorade because of it. But I've heard some bad stuff about Gatorade when used in large doses. I also never really felt "right" when drinking large amounts of it. I finally started making myself drink water and now find that as long as it is *cold* I don't mind water at all. I don't love it...I don't even really like it. But I don't *mind* it. What's weird is that I've really started to not like the Gatorade taste at all and never drink it. At autocrosses I'll have water all day with one "leaded" drink in the middle (something with caffeine...I know it doesn't help the hydration, but I just got to have *one* during the day) and then usually one Minute Maid Lemonade or something just to get something with taste.

That said, I work out 3-4 times per week pretty hard, which means I *have* to stay hydrated during the week, which helps. I've noticed that if I go about a week without working out, my body goes through a "dumping" effect...I just start peeing like crazy for a day or so. Then invariably at my next workout (or next bad autocross day, whichever comes first), I get a bit dehydrated. Why? I'm no longer prehydrated. Doesn't matter if I drink till I swell the morning of, it's not enough.

So what I'm saying is that regular exercise helps. Not just for the fitness, but because it forces your body to stay more hydrated than you would otherwise. I'm sure that level varies among different folks, but I found that it has a big effect on me.

All probably more information than anyone *wanted* to know, but I thought it was important to share. I'm glad Stephen is okay...and really glad he didn't have some ego keeping him from sharing the story. That kind of thing could happen to anyone and it's good to remind us all!


--Donnie

What are your thoughts on the "flavored" water stuff? I haven't tried that yet either. BTW, when Gatorade was first out there with those yucky two flavors I hated it. With the new variety of flavors there are three are four that I really like.

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Vincent Keene
'06 Ford Mustang GT (track rat)
'15 Dodge Charger R/T (yeah, it's got a HEMI!)
'07 Ford Fusion SE (205,000 miles and counting)
'98 Chevy Z-24 (retired)
'93 Acura Integra (Team SWB 24HOL Car)

There was something on the radio just the other day about this. Apparently someone is selling something to increase the SPF factor of normal cotton clothing. But what they said was that while brand new cotton clothing may have an SPF of less than 10. But that after you have washed them in regular detergent a number of times, that the "brighteners" that are in most all detergents will increase the SPF to 30 or better. The special stuff that is sold to increase the SPF is basically the same thing, but just a higher concentration so you don't have to do as many wash cycles.

So it sounds like your well worn cotton stuff may shield you, but something that is brand new might not. I have no idea how this works with something like CoolMax.

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Richard Casto
1972 Porsche 914
2013 Honda Fit Sport
2015 Honda Fit EX
http://motorsport.zyyz.com
Money can't buy happiness, but somehow it's more comfortable to cry in a Porsche than a Kia.

I think Donnie has a point with "pre-hydration" I drank a similar amount of water as Stephen on Sunday, and yet had no troubles. I was puzzled by this at first, but realized that I probably remain in a better hydrated state than most people do. Since the kidney stone a few years ago, I make sure I keep my kidney's flushed all day, every day. I generally visit the restroom hourly through most of the day, probably TMI, but just trying to make a point. So since I potentially go into the event day at a much higher hydration level, I'm not needing to "catch up."

Interesting about the SPF of clothing, I've never even thought about it. Never thought it possible to get sunburned through clothing, well, except for those "mesh" shirts that were breifly popular in the 80s.

I hated the first two, but like some of the others. But I've heard it does bad things to your kidneys in large quantity *and* the better it tastes, the more sugar it has (which is bad for you for other reasons, obviously, but doesn't really matter as far as hydration is concerned).

I've also heard that the electrolyte thing is sorta BS. Like, you need some, but there's enough in one normal Gatorade for a whole day of sweating. So I do generally try to make myself drink one of them in a big day outside, but that's it. I've been bad lately about having even that much Gatorade (hmm, thinking back I may not have had one this whole season), and I haven't suffered any ill effects. *shrug*

I guess all I am saying is I know where you are coming from on the water thing, but just suck it up and get used to it. As long as you keep it cold, on really hot days the refreshment of ice cold water is enough to make up for the lack of taste. And when the lack of taste gets to you, have a soda or whatever you normally drink. One won't kill you. That's what I do, anyway.


--Donnie

http://bottledwaterstore.com/smartwater.htm

Distilled water with electrolytes added. Can be found at Harris Teeter.

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Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder.

I've gotten addicted to this stuff that Harris Teeter sells called "ICE*Water". It's purified water with a splash of lemon, lime, orange, or peach. No sweetener at all. Seemed an odd taste at first but now I love 'em.

Best part is that HT seems to *always* have them BOGO, $1.99 for a four-pack, times two, is $0.25 each for a 20 oz bottle. That's cheaper than all the Aquafina/Dasani/etc stuff at HT.

They are a nice change from plain water, and they are totally chuggable. Nice solid bottle too with a wide top.

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Mike Whitney
whit32@gmail.com, 919-454-5445
V10, V8, V8t, I6, I6, V6, F4t, I4, I4, I4, I4, I2, 1, 1

A lot of this newfangled water is obviously too gimmicky for the price. The next time that you read "electrolyte" on a bottle, do a translation into "salt". Yup *that* salt. They occasionally add KCl to the NaCl, but you could get more if you ate a banana and a sack of roasted peanuts, and get some nourishment at the same time.

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Has no responsibility whatsoever.

Somehow I survived with a combination of an air conditioned car to escape to a couple of times, about 1.5 quarts of water, and 8 or so cans of Diet Coke . . . plus three more on the drive home in full "freeze the car" AC mode. I'm sure glad I got an easy worker station though . . . a couple of the others would probably have killed me from all those folks who think cones are targets.

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Dick Rasmussen

FS 50 2018 Mustang GT

After a busy day out on a hot day, I used to get a nasty cramp in my right calve at about 2 a.m. It was so predictable! Prevented it by drinking about a quart of Gatorade during the day.

I found I could also eat a banana with less Gatorade and still yield the same prevention.

I don't feel quite right if I drink Gatorade all day, so I alternate with plain water ( about 2 Gatorades to 1 water). I too am not crazy about plain water.

I'm thinking about "coloring" the water up with a squirt of Real lime or lemon juice that you get in the plastic fruit shaped containers. It's the same thing I do with Corona's.

Another candidate is Crystal Light On the Go packets. 1 packet per .5 liter bottle of water. No sugar, no caffiene and tastes good.

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“I feel safer on a racetrack than I do on Houston's freeways.” - A.J. Foyt

Kevin Butler
Mobetta Autosport Spec E30 #612
2003 C5 Z06 Corvette
AFR Miata, SM2 61, '93 w/200 SC'd RWHP - soon to be resurrected
Waaaay too many other projects....

Another problem for me, I don't like bananas either. Maybe I should stay indoors when it's hot outside.

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Vincent Keene
'06 Ford Mustang GT (track rat)
'15 Dodge Charger R/T (yeah, it's got a HEMI!)
'07 Ford Fusion SE (205,000 miles and counting)
'98 Chevy Z-24 (retired)
'93 Acura Integra (Team SWB 24HOL Car)

How about moving next year's August AutoX up to Lake Placid NY? It's cooler up there.

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Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder.