A New Fitness Regimen Component - Hydration Strategy

I receive emails on a regular basis from the website Active.com.  I recently found an excellent article titled '11 Hydration Strategies for Hot Weather' by Chrissy Wellington.

Within her article she enumerates the benefits of hydrating properly during exercise  - ' lower heart rate, improved blood flow for working muscles and skin, body temperature control, support for muscular contraction, preventing hyponatremia (low blood sodium levels), quick recovery, improved performance and lower perceived exertion.'

What a wonderful set of benefits derived by simply hydrating correctly.  Until now, I have possessed a pedestrian detail to personal hydration.  After reading this benefits list, I am eager to incorporate a more structured and formal hydration component into my fitness regimen. In this case, it's a very affordable component - water.

Some of the best hydration strategies are:

• Hydrate daily: The body performs best when the athlete is already engaged in day to day hydration practices. This includes regular water consumption through the course of each day.
• Pre-hydration: The athlete consumes 16 oz. of water approximately two hours before the start of the session.
• Event hydration: In short distance races, an athlete may only consume fluids at one interval but in distance events it is recommended for athletes to seek fluids every 1-2 minutes, in quantities of 4-16 oz.

My inadequate hydration strategy may be responsible for some of my poor training outings and occasional periods of slow recovery times. It also was a probable contributor to my issues with my kidneys not working as effectively as they should be.

I believe we all are at times guilty of becoming so engrossed with detail and technicality that we lose sight of the more simple things.  The simple act of hydrating properly may be very instrumental in my progression toward a local elite runner status.