155 Days: Too Many Electrolytes on Maunawili

I have a tendency to overdo it. My goal this year for the 22 mile Maunawili Out & Back was to finish the race with gas in the tank. I didn’t go out too fast like I did last year, refilled my water pack at the turnaround (like I didn’t to last year), and paced my self well, until about mile 15 when Maunawili haunted me again, around the same time it got the best of me last year. Thankfully I had water in my pack, but I crashed to mostly a walk for about 2 miles. Where did I go wrong this time? Well, there’s nothing wrong with walking and taking a breather but I was smoked. The good thing is I’m pretty sure I found my error.

The error was simple, the electrolyte mix in my pack was too saturated. I’ve found that my body tells me what it wants. If it was salt, I crave salty foods. If it wants clean water, it craves it. And, I was craving a full bottle of clean water. About 2 miles into my demise, there were a couple of angels about 5 miles from the finish with 3 gallons of clean water for the runners. An oasis!!! I topped off my hydration pack with fresh water, diluting the solution that was already in there. And you know what? I slowly came back from the dead. What a relief!!! Thank you water angels.

My gut told me I’d soon be on the rebound so I wound up for a leaping photo (see above) to get my spirits back up before I went on my way. I’m consciously putting more fun back in my running and it definitely helps.

My walk turned into a jog and I my energy came back.

Did I reach my goal of finishing with gas in the tank? Yes. (A half hour slower than last year, but totally worth it for the lessons learned.)

What did I learn? The concentration of electrolytes that my body uses, and to carry a bottle of clear water in my vest pocket. I remember last year at the Peacock 100k, there were times when I’d hit an aid station and my body was asking for about 2 full bottles of water 40-50 ounces all at once. I felt like it was to hydrate and flush my kidneys. Triple Trek is coming up. I had major hydration issues last year with that. I think I got it figured out. Way thankful for the lessons learned on Saturday.