I’m pretty sure I got dehydrated yesterday.  When I got home from a full day of programming and a post-work meeting I was exhausted.  My face felt really warm and even after a shower I still felt blah.  I didn’t want to interact with my amazing wife, but just wanted to veg out.

The day didn’t seem out of the ordinary, I did a 2 mile run – drank water and had breakfast.  Then I rode to work, taught my class which included 9 miles of bike riding and finished off my water bottle.  Drank another bottle during lunch and the first part of the afternoon program.  Biked to my meeting (drinking some more) and got a fruit smoothie.  Refilled my bottle and drank more on the way home.  I had some more water with dinner.

This morning when I woke up, I was extremely tired and felt very thirsty.  So more water did I drink.  The clue I guess should have been that I didn’t really have much urge throughout the day to pee.  It is hard to force yourself to drink until you pee when you are supposed to be in front of kids all day without any real breaks.

Yesterday wasn’t an extremely hot or humid day, but I was active all day and obviously didn’t get enough water – which is a big no,no and something we harp on the kids about all the time.

One thing I’ve done in past weeks is to drink some type of electrolyte drink during lunch or at some point in the day.  This ensures that you are getting hydrated, but also replaces some micronutrients that your body depletes through sweating.  I need to remember to grab some of the Gatorade in my car as I gear up on my bike.  On some of my longer bike training rides I’ve been using Nuun tablets and that has helped with electrolyte replacement as well.  Nuun claims to not create a sticky mess in your bottle!

So be careful out there and stay hydrated.

Also check out my 8 tips for what do when there is a raging inferno outside!