I did it!!! Over the weekend I participated in a relay race from Madison to Chicago. My team consisted of 12 runners that were each responsible for running 3 legs of running any where from 3 miles up to 10 miles per leg. For those of you who know me, I’m really not much of a runner; I’m more of a jogger. My sole purpose for running is my love of food and wine. So, as I’m sure you can imagine, I was slightly nervous about this huge commitment I had made.

My training consisted of 3 runs a week along with some strength training and endurance training. As the temperature started to finally increase here in this lovely state, I started to notice that on my longer runs, drinking water was critical. I started relying on it as though it was my fuel. Wearing my nerdy fuel belt became a habit and I realized that without it, I didn’t have as good of a run. As you all know, I don’t drink tap water, mineral water, or distilled water. Reverse Osmosis is the only option for me because of my trained pallet. But regardless of what your preference is, drink more water!

Two days before the race one of my wise girlfriends/team mates texted me advising me to start drinking a lot of water for the next 2 days. She told me that my body needed to actually absorb the water and it wouldn’t be able to get it quick enough during the race. So I did as she told me and WOW!! It truly did make a world of difference. I felt amazing during the whole race. I’m crediting that feeling to my pre-race water consumption, my fabulous van family during the race, (shout out to all of you!!) and……my new secret weapon; 5 hour energy drink that carried me through my 2:30 AM run. But really, cheers to drinking more water!!

Posted in: Drinking Water