Thursday, July 30, 2009

Speechless

It's been a quite some time since the lemming has brought up the guys over at RoadBikeRider. Heck, the lemming has even enjoyed a couple of articles lately such as the Hot Date and Tour de Shrink in Scott's Spin, finding them witty and entertaining, in a RoadBikeRider sort of way, not that there is anything wrong with it.

However, the lemming worked himself up in to a frenzy today when he saw the title, "Is it OK to Alternate Water and Sports Drink?" in the current newsletter.

Is It OK to Alternate Water and Sports Drink?

Q: I'm confused about the proper concentration of sports drinks. If I carry one bottle of sports drink and one bottle of water, alternating swigs, won't I dilute the sports drink and reduce its effectiveness? -- Mandy W.

Obviously the reader is confused and needs a lot of good advice, so it's time to put on my coaching hat and answer her question.

Mandy, first of let me just say thank you for letting the lemming chime in. You are wise to be concerned with mixing sports drinks and water. You didn't give indication of your sports drink of choice, but hopefully you are using one with a magic 4:1 ratio carb-protein ratio so that you can increase your time to exhaustion should you want to do a lot of one-legged exercising (no comments from the peanut gallery please, you know who you are :)).

But even if you aren't using a magical 4:1 ratio drink, reaching a personal best on every ride you do will not happen alternating swigs of water with sports drink. Do you think Stevil ever alternates swigs of Bud with water? Hell no! That would decrease Bud's effectiveness. Remember the guy the marathon is named after? Legend has it he died. I'm no historian, but I'm going to go out on a limb and guess he didn't have access to sports drinks. That should say enough right there.



Now let's discuss how you are drinking your sports drink. While reaching your personal best, you are going to encounter a lot of competition that don't even know they are racing you. You don't have time to reach down for a water bottle or risk having that alter your heart rate beyond the plan your CTS coach has prescribed (if you are not training with power that is {wink}). That's why I recommend the contraption from AeroNet pictured above. As a bonus, you don't even have to reach back in your pocket to eat, perfect for those impromptu bike trail competitions.

So, summing it all up, and I know I'm hard to follow. You never EVER want to mix sports drink and water AND you want to use a sports drink on EVERY ride regardless of how short it might be, don't forget the recovery drink! You need those 60 grams of sugar. Lastly, please let me know what sports drink you are using so that I can buy stock in the company.

7 comments:

Katherine Fuller said...

Better watch it - I just heard on NPR that certain nutrients in fruit and vegetable skins are fat soluble and are best eaten with a bit of fat (oil drizzled on tomatoes, for example) to ensure proper absorption.

Maybe Gatorade turns out to be like the Wicked Witch - loses effectiveness in water.

;-)

Anonymous said...

Jesus god in heaven, who are these people, really??!! How are they even able to get out of bed in the morning...

Richard said...

I prefer the simplicity of the drinking device pictured in the link below.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_-Oha_7alHJ8/RtadCuzmvzI/AAAAAAAABGA/AHADCOq7ozE/s400/beer-football-helmet.jpg

Steve A said...

Doesn't the poor dear know this is supposed to be given via an IV drip disguised as a Camelbak?

Nick said...

Roy knows all when it comes to drinking. Munson that is.

Neighbor: Can you get sick from drinking piss?

Roy: Yes, you can.

Neighbor: Even your own?


Number #2 drinking quote

ESPN Announcer: So Roy, where have you been for the last fifteen years?
Roy: Well, I uh, well, ya see, I uh... Drinking. Lot a drinking.
ESPN Announcer: I see. Well, are you still drinking?
Roy: No. I uh... I put... uh... Why, you buying?

Unknown said...

Sure looks like a lot of extra air turbulence with that snack basket up front, instead of a bento box on the top tube.

Bike Lemming said...

Katherine - oh my, the next magic ingredient to sports drinks will be fat, I can see it now.

Anonymous - Seriously...

Richard - While very effective for hydration, it would seem to cause high amounts of drag?

Steve - Mandy may not have progressed to the IV drip stage of triathlon yet.

Nick - So are you buying?

bnb84158 - Perhaps a fairing would help with that?