It’s no Sweat to stay Hydrated:
We can’t get away from it, Sweat Happens, especially during the heat of the months, when it’s not only but extremely humid. The amount of sweat depends on several elements, such as your intensity level, weather, and individual temperatures as well as your sweat rate.
Here’s an illustration of the amount of fluid lost per hour of physical activity based on Low, Moderate and High sweat rates when physically exerting your intensity of workouts correlating with outside temperatures.
If the temperature is:
40 ᵒ then your Sweat Rate (ounces/hour)
low = 12
Medium = 17
High = 31
55 ᵒ then your Sweat Rate (ounces/hour)
low = 15
Medium = 22
High = 35
70 ᵒ then your Sweat Rate (ounces/hour)
low = 22
Medium = 27
High = 47
90 ᵒ then your Sweat Rate (ounces/hour)
low = 31
Medium = 37
High = 75
How to determine your sweat ratio:
Make this your SOP (standard operating procedures) especially during the hot humid months. Weigh yourself before and after your long training run days (if it’s doable) or after a hard training workout. You’ll want to calculate that difference, i.e. if you lose two pounds (equivalent to 32 ounces) during your two-hour run, then you’d be considered to have moderate sweat rate (based on the scale above).
Will my training be affected by heat/humidity?
Training must be adjusted to meet your needs and some important caveats when conducting distance training. All of us vary in abilities therefore our training will be affected through heat and humidity. Some of us will run slow so we need to acclimate our training to warmer weather. We need to decrease our performance at the start of spring/summer for optimal performance in the latter part of summer.
A point to remember, you can easily exceed the maximum rate your body can absorb fluid, which is 34-36 ounces per hour, meaning you may not be able to consume as much fluid intake as you are using (this is natural). Runners tend to consume enough fluids to replace 70% of fluids lost through sweating when drinking by thirst. So rule of thumb, drink enough fluids to match 70% of anticipated sweat losses during every workout. (if anything over 60 minutes, ensure you have electrolytes as well).
A point to remember, you can easily exceed the maximum rate your body can absorb fluid, which is 34-36 ounces per hour, meaning you may not be able to consume as much fluid intake as you are using (this is natural). Runners tend to consume enough fluids to replace 70% of fluids lost through sweating when drinking by thirst. So rule of thumb, drink enough fluids to match 70% of anticipated sweat losses during every workout. (if anything over 60 minutes, ensure you have electrolytes as well).
“No one’s ever drowned in their own sweat”