Drinking Problem?

One of my worst habits generally and also specific to tri training is that I don't like to to drink. I don't mean pints of ale, I mean any liquid at all. Water to me is the most boring stuff on earth and I can never be bothered to drink it. Not enough anyway. That's not so good under any circumstances but when you are trying to prepare for a long distance sporting event it can be hazardous to your health. So I'm doing my best to stay hydrated.

This past sunday was a 100k ride, and based on some intel provided by a studious friend who is also preparing for an Ironman (Florida) I calculated that I should consume 6 600ml bottles of sport drink (Cytomax in this case, my personal favourite) for the 4 hours I would be riding.

Could I do it? Not a chance. I managed to choke down 4 x 600ml over the duration of the ride but that was it. The good news is that I felt ok, not dry at all. I'll have to go back and re-calculate this - it was based on total caloric requirements and so did not take into account any solid food or energy gels, both of which I also consumed. Stay tuned, I'll report back next post and lay it all out.