Water

Water has been occupying the mind of many people. Be it lack of water in some countries or too much water in another; or a frustrated runner; an exasperated businessman in Lucky Plaza (not very lucky after all eh?) or an angry homeowner in Tessarina, everybody has been affected by the lack of or deluge of water.

In the forum, somebody said he will be training his body to run on less liquid. Somebody posted a reply with a link that revealed years ago, runners do not deem it useful and even consider it harmful to drink water during a race! Interestingly, 2 years ago at a talk held by CSMC, somebody asked how he can train his body to do long runs without water. That question had the speakers scratching their heads trying to come out with an answer. And of course, some runners cannot do without water and even for short runs, they carry hydration bag; fuel belts and what’s not just to make sure they don’t run out of water.

So the question then as now is – how much water is enough? Not just for us runners but for the world too? Too much water, get flood, too little water, get drought, too much water, get water intoxication and hyponatremia; too little, get dehydrated. Ah water – love it or hate it – you gonna need it!

Personally, as a runner in hot sunny Singapore, unless one is a camel, water is essential during a run. Just a personal rule of thumb that I follow: Short run (up to 10km), a small glass or cup of water before run and one can of isotonic drink after. Long run up to 20km - drink before and thereafter every 5 – 7 km 1 cup of water or 12 hand scoops (if drinking straight from tap) and one nice cold isotonic drink at the end. And if it is extremely hot and I am running for more than 2 hours, I drink as and when I feel like it. Unless it freezes over in Singapore or somebody drinks like 1.5l every 5km, I don’t think it is possible to get hyponatremia in Singapore so there is really no need to exercise too much caution when it comes to hydration during a run.

Finally, to end this rambling, something that I received from a friend just yesterday:

• 2 glasses of water after waking up helps activate internal organs
• 1 glass of water 30 minutes before a meal - helps digestion
• 1 glass of water before taking a bath - helps lower blood pressure
• 1 glass of water before going to bed - avoids stroke or heart attack