Water

This drives me nuts. Anybody can pick a subject and rip it to shreds. The part I detest is when there is no closure, no antidote or little alternative. It's somewhat like ripping one politician and/or policy without offering a solution or suggestion. Today this juicy little article was in the NPR Health section. The author goes big game hunting with a BB Gun. He puts the bear in the cross hairs (Coca-Cola is hyping sugar again) and squeezes the trigger only to miss the target because he didn't factor distance, trajectory, wind or heat. Nice try dead-eye, next time finish it off. To be fair, this piece ends like it was pushed off a cliff at knifepoint so I think it might have met a ruthless copy editor or word count restrictions. He gets close with comments and quotes from Jurek and Noakes and then the readers take over and all hell breaks loose. Coconut water to original Gatorade and everything in between but the kitchen sink. Bias spewing like a broken sewer main. This is pretty common and I understand. I see it a lot on several other sites that I visit. I irritates and frustrates. It's always an election year in the comments section, skeletons come out of the closet, names are called, feelings hurt and the Internet bullies of the world tell us how they would like us to behave. 

PERHAPS WE COULD BE CIVIL?

EVERYBODY IS DIFFERENT

OPINION IS NOT FACT

BIAS IS RAMPANT

I CAN DISAGREE WITH YOU AND STILL DISCUSS A SOLUTION

CAN WE POSSIBLY WORK TOGETHER?

I am not questioning the importance of nutrition in training and racing. After almost forty years of testing I have as yet to find the magic elixir, that perfect combination of carbohydrate, protein, fat and electrolytes. I have made my own "sports drink" baked my own "power bars" and experimented with chia, malodextrin and chocolate milk. I have been vegetarian for twenty years and have raced suing minimalistic nutritional support. I have bonked. After all this I have come to one conclusion:

WATER IS WHERE IT'S AT (but please don't drink the water in your local pool)

You body is smart enough to handle almost everything else. It will convert (almost) whatever you ram down the pie-hole into fuel. That being said, there are levels of this that the ultra competitive or results seeking demo, can utilize for maximum effect. The faster you go, the higher the burn rate and the longer you keep at it (Ironman) the more you need to use science and experience. And this means testing. You need to experiment and gauge for yourself the results. Can you process this as fuel? Will it be available on course or will you have to carry your own? What is your sweat rate? How many calories do you burn in an hour of steady state racing? If you are doing a slow 5K you don't even need water. If you are doing an Ultra you had better prepare. When emergencies hit, you best have a plan. Like a five dollar bill in your pocket for a coke and snickers. 

COKE AND SNICKERS?

Everybody is different. Heading to the pool for a quick K. Water and protein after.