The weather on the LEJOG event was a 60 year record for the UK in September. We had Sun for the whole nine days and despite some chilly 4 degree C starts the midday temperature reached a toasty 21 on most days. Because of this I got my hydration wrong on the first two days and struggled with it until day 5 when I managed to get a Tri Bag to store my tools in which freed up my second bottle cage for a bottle. The effect of not being properly hydrated was lack of power and feeling a bit spaced out plus a headache.
I eventually settled on this routine which more or less worked:
- 750ml of water at breakfast.
- 1.5l up to the first 38 mile feed station (half water, half energy drink).
- 300ml at the feed station.
- 1.5l up to the second feed station at 72 miles approx (half water, half energy drink).
- 300ml at the feed station.
- 1.5l up to the finish (half water, half energy drink).
- At least 1.5l in the evening post ride (half protein recovery drink and half water).
Total of minimum 7.2 litres per day.
The moral of this story for me was that on a one day 100 mile event I can afford to get dehydrated a bit as I don't have to ride the following day, but on a multi day endurance event like this, keeping well hydrated is absolutely key as there is no time to recover. Trying to replace a deficit and keep hydrated means drinking a crazy amount of water and frequent comfort breaks!
Perhaps this all sounds obvious but the large amount of water I had to constantly take on board was a steep learning curve for me.
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