I hate drinking while I run. One reason I came to running as a form of exercise is that it requires almost no coordination. My hands and eyes (and feet) do not play well together. I am a first-class klutz. I am a road runner and almost never run on trails for this reason. Almost every time I do, I turn an ankle or do a face-plant. It is an ugly thing to observe.These issues extend even to drinking while I run on the road. Sure, I can take a gulp from a water bottle and (usually) remain upright. But I'd rather not. Half the time I end up choking on the fluid or blowing it out my nose. When it comes to picking up cups from a table or a volunteer, downing the fluid and then dispensing of the cup, things can get very messy. Most of the drink ends up on my shirt, and moving in and out of the table traffic I am a danger to myself and others.
My past two half-marathons I have not had anything to drink or eat for the entire race, and I have not seemed to suffer. But I don't think the same tactic makes sense for a marathon.
At my first marathon two years ago I had a plan to have a support person meet me at spots along the course and give me a bike bottle with fluids which i would then drink, and hand the bottle back. This worked well enough except that after the race I realized I was not drinking nearly as much at these personal aid stations as I intended. That might have had something to do with my pace falling apart during the final six miles.
This time I am thinking of drinking my fluids out of those little 4-oz GU bottles. I will have a friend hand them to me and then I will carry them to the next stop, forcing myself to drink all that is in them. That way I will know for sure that I am getting the fluids I need. My goal is to drink about 20 ounces during the race, half water, half EFS, my replacement fluid of choice.
Does anyone else have a drinking problem like this? Any suggestions for how to overcome it? I have already taken the first step by acknowledging I have a problem. What's next?
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