You’ll be surprised at the difference. Add a little sport drink to the water and it theoretically works even better. I haven’t seen the difference between plain water and sport stuff, but it might just be masked by how big an improvement proper hydration provides.

anyway, my typical routine is to down one tube of energy gel before hitting the water, along with a big cup of joe. probably that joe is only adding to my cramping issues. one thing i’ve noticed is that i’m good for 1.5 hrs to 2 before i really start to go downhill fast. i fall from standing more, i wipe out more, i get woozy rising from prone to feet, etc. i’m going to add a bucketload of water to my routine and see how that works out.

i’ll never been a big fan of golden showers, but maybe when it’s my own, it won’t be so bad!

thanks for the additional info, bill. great stuff.

Cramping is largely dehydration, though vitamin and mineral deficiencies play a big part. Getting more potassium and electrolytes should help. A multivitamin can help, and so can sports drinks, but you still need a lot of water and you probably don’t need all the sugar in most sports drinks.

According to my research, cramping is exacerbated by ANY level of dehydration. If you’re well hydrated you may still get some muscle spasms, but they will be much less intense and recovery will be quicker. For myself I find being fully hydrated eliminates all cramping except in the big abdominal muscles, and it helps those greatly.

Several emails asked about peeing is, and it is, of course, a problem. I have a relief zipper on my drysuit, and glad of it. As far as peeing in a wetsuit goes, I’m old school SCUBA diver, and therefore consider peeing in a wetsuit one of life’s great pleasures. When you’re cold and miserable there’s few things finer than that spreading warmth. In other words, relax and enjoy it. Just rinse well on your way out of the water.

As you ladies know, for guys the whole world is a urinal. No idea what to recommend for women in a drysuit, though being dehydrated is not a great solution.

For the surf, Linter posted a reply on the Zone about a New Zealand surf vest called ‘Surf All Day’ that looks totally trick. I’ve been working on a design for downwinders of a vest that would combine hydration and a legal PFD, but this is way better. A little impact padding and it would combine all four desirable functions: Hydration, core warmth, impact protection and flotation. And you can carry a sports bar and your iPhone. I love it. I’m getting one.

You don’t necessarily have to continuously hydrate if your time in the water is short. Anything less than two hours can be covered with pre-hydration and post hydration. You’ll just lose some performance. How much is a function of temperature and your metabolism. High metabolism folks will lose the most. Listening to your body is a big part of the equation. If you get thirsty and drymouthed you are probably down 1-2 percent, and that’s 50 percent less balance and 10-20 percent less performance.

But drinking a pint before and a pint afterwards doesn’t cut it. More like a quart before and a quart afterwards to fully rehydrate. If you go more than two hours you need a way to add fluids.

As always, the OC and Kayak guys are way ahead of us here. Hydration plans are a big part of their training strategy.

Thirty percent of the water you take in goes almost directly to urine. Most cells have hydration levels re-established within an hour after getting an adequate water supply. If you lose 20 ounces through exercise you have to take in 30 ounces to accommodate the 30 percent that will go straight to urine.