Monmouth Sprint Triathlon – 11/4/10

I decided to enter this event, even though it was a long trek from Plymouth, the reason being that Black Sheep Tri are holding an Aquabike event in August which I am very interested in, so thought I would see what they do.

Hydration, Hydration, Hydration!!!

Hydration is the fluid electrolyte balance within the body and there are 3 states of hydration. Hyper hydration which represents an increase in total body water, Euhdydration which is the normal state of body water content and hypohydration when sweat output exceeds water intake resulting in a body water deficit and electrolyte loss.
In sports people the most common problem is hypohydration, due to exercise increases total body metabolism by as much as 20% compared to the resting state; 70-90% of this is released as heat in order to maintain a steady body temperature of 36.1-37.8 °C. The body controls core temperature through sweating, which is controlled via a 4 way cycle mechanism 1) Muscular activity increases body heat, 2) Heat stimulates the hypothalamus in the brain 3)The hypothalamus stimulates sweat glands to secrete fluid and 4) Evaporation of fluids cools the body.  There are a number of factors that can effect sweat rate including gender, in which Mehnert , Bröde & Griefahn (2002) found women are less effective in regulating heat, due to lower sweat rates compared to men. Secondly sleep deprivation in which in comparison to a control trial (Two night’s normal sleep) a sleep deprived trial (33hr awake) had 27% reduced sweat rate. Typical sweat ranges can range between 1-2.5L/H in the heat (Sawka & Mountain, 2000), therefore providing a big challenge to remain in optimal hydration during exercise.

Fatigue

Q.I recently rode Paris Brest Paris, perhaps you know about this ultimate 1200k endurance cycling event. I did not make it to the finish but did make it 1100k, in about 82 hours (which meant I had 8 hours to do 100k...) I was not dehydrated nor was my blood sugar low. I rode 26 hours before sleeping for 5 hours (good sleep) and then 22 more before 3.5 hours of sleep. The third day I felt good, riding at dusk I became very fatigued, disoriented, even hallucinated. I made it to a control, got 4 hours of sleep, thought all would be well. Started riding at 6 am, could not stay awake, tried napping by the side of the road, and I guess did not look like I was doing so well as someone called an ambulance. My blood pressure was OK, pulse was 45, slightly low for me. As I plan to do this and make it in 2007, any advice for legally dealing with this sort of fatigue? I tried caffeine, amazing how little caffeine does once one reaches this level. Does what happened to me indicate any condition or syndrome or lack of some nutrient? Is there a quick fix when one gets this (I know sleep... other than that) low?