It’s been a minute since I wrote about dehydration, partly because—as I put it in a 2018 post called Supplementing Success—“I figure you come here to read about books and boats.” Also, habits that work well for me are no longer particularly newsworthy, after so many years of salt/rinse/repeat.
But even veterans still screw up occasionally, and our very first wingfoiling session in Antigua provided a fresh reminder of how quickly a few extra variables can throw body chemistry out of whack. The day before, Paul and I had breathed very dry plane air for several hours and then moved into a cottage with an unknown water supply. We were definitely enjoying the fifty-degree improvement in air temperature, but our bodies and brains needed extra fluid to help them adjust.
So when the breeze tempted us away from work that first afternoon, I found myself a bit light-headed just from pumping up my wing. Fortunately I had packed plenty of Endurolytes Extreme, so I quickly downed two and felt fine again—especially once I lost my balance and took an unexpected cooling dip just after pushing off the dock.
Paul usually does a fantastic job of keeping himself hydrated, so I didn’t think to suggest he also tank up on preventative electrolytes. But an hour later, when he finally made it back to shore (after an exhausting twenty minutes of paddling, because his wing had sprung a leak), something definitely wasn’t right. Instead of immediately pulling board and half-deflated wing out of the water, he just… sat there. “I feel like I’m gonna throw up,” he admitted, after a few tentative sips of Fizz-supplemented water.
I dug out two more Endurolytes Extreme and handed them over. He was already well past the more subtle “stupidity” phase, so my favorite “brain pills” didn’t bring him back to normal instantaneously. But by the time I’d packed up our gear, normal skin color had replaced that haunted “I’m about to puke” look. And when I drove us back to the cottage, he was alert enough to gasp at the nearness of scary Antigua road edges from the (left side) passenger seat. Less than a hour later, after tanking up on Fizz and HEED from the luxury of a shaded porch, Paul had reclaimed his normal sunny perspective. And for the rest of our time in Antigua, he kept us supplied with bottled water (even though in Antigua, it costs more than rum).
That first afternoon in the tropics was a great reminder that maintaining our bodies’ chemical balance is very personal. And, when we get behind, it’s critical to have the right recovery tools. So once again, thanks to Hammer Nutrition, this time for helping Paul recover quickly—and for making rehydration so easy.
You can learn much more about Hammer Nutrition on their website, and if you follow this link you’ll receive 15% off your first order. Thanks for reading, and I promise: next Thursday, I’ll be back to books and boats.
Great post, amazing how we have to learn the same thing over so many times in life. But without Hammer products I would have been down for a least a day. Instead I was fine that evening, and ready to do a steep hike in the heat with a backpack the next day.
Thanks Hammer, hard to tell people how go your products are until they give them a try.
Thanks Paul for letting me share this story!
Thanks for this post, you two. I’ve forwarded it to my GF Sue in the Shores area and suggested she do so to our friend Bruce M., who’s a cycling fiend. Can’t hurt!
Thanks Larry. Cycling is how Hammer Nutrition got started, so that’s quite appropriate.