Psychologists have long known, that when one is clinically ill, they evolve through a series of stages: Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.
Today, I discovered the stages of dehydration, and despite all our efforts to maintain well hydrated, we can still be victim to it.
I had a late night last night, getting back in after work around 9pm, hurrying through a quick dinner, and falling fast asleep.
I woke up at 9AM, and only awoke once during the night. I did my morning thing, and noted that my hydration litmus test was poor, and went out for a scheduled 9 mile run.
I felt very tight in the beginning, like most runs, and after about 4 miles, realized that 9AM temperatures are dramatically different than 6AM temperatures - 60 degrees versus 80 degrees, to be precise.
Unbeknownst to me, I began feeling better at about mile 6, and thought I would make it into my long run for the week, seeing I had no place to be.
First your muscles slow down in contracting. Then your mouth becomes dry, then your throat becomes very dry, then you lose the ability to spit, and then to swallow. Thank God I didn’t stop sweating. That happened once, one of my first lessons of hydration.
I was on a treadmill in New York City in the Spring of 2004, and I decided to have a Starbucks Caramel Macchiato 20 minutes before getting on the hamster wheel. Never-ever, ever again. I did stop sweating, and it was only a 30 minute run.
Probably the lactose within the beverage.
So 13 miles, and about 2 hours later, I am still connected to a Nalgene bottle-based IV of sorts. Happy summer!