SAN ANTONIO – As runners prepare for San Antonio’s final Rock ‘n’ Roll Running Series, a sports medicine doctor shares the importance of proper hydration strategies for the race.
The 5K and 10K races are scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 7, and the marathon and half-marathon will take place on Sunday, Dec. 8.
KSAT spoke with Sports Medicine Associates of San Antonio physician Dr. Timothy Palomera about tips for staying hydrated and running longer distances, such as the marathon and half-marathon.
QUESTION: Many runners are in the middle (or the end) of their training program, but sometimes they’re not really thinking about hydration. What would you recommend?
Palomera: We try to tell everybody, especially if you’re running a half marathon or a full marathon, hydration really starts the week before, not the morning of, not the day before (the race). And you should even get your diet in line to not only be hydrated but have the energy you need, especially in San Antonio, where you don’t know how the weather is going to be, even in December.
QUESTION: You have mentioned that maybe drinking too much water can also be harmful on race day?
Palomera: There are a lot of articles out there that they really try to put (the intake) in ounces that you should drink. We try to teach people that you should drink to thirst. One of the bigger problems we have at the end of the race is people over-hydrate or are over hydrated with too much electrolytes, not enough water, and vice versa. Both can make you sick. And, there is a condition where if you overdo it with water and you don’t mix it, that it can actually cause injury to the brain. Fortunately, that’s uncommon, but it occurs.
QUESTION: Speaking of injury, we understand this could go the other way if you don’t have enough water.
Palomera: Absolutely. The biggest problem we see at our marathon, especially even in December, is if you don’t have enough fluid in you, you’re at risk to have heat problems leading to heat stroke. That’s one of the more serious problems we routinely see at the finish line is people even on a day that feels like a good December day, having trouble with it. I think if people will follow what they did in training because we don’t have too many people that finish a marathon that didn’t do the appropriate training, whether it was with their diet or with their hydration. I think they ought to stick to what they know. And, if they’re going to experiment or if they’re going to read up on something and say, I want to do that next time, then they do that while they’re training for the next one (marathon), we don’t want them doing anything new on race day. That’s not a good practice.
