Thank God someone finally wrote a sensible retort to all this “you’re probably dehydrated” nonsense. “Drink to your thirst” is the best advice I’ve heard on the subject.

Maybe it’s a peeve of mine, as I actually dated someone for a period of time who earned the nickname “The Hydration Cowboy” for blaming everything– from headaches to not laughing at his jokes– on “being dehydrated.”  Once, the cat turned on him and bit him and, thankfully, I was ready with the cause– “Oh, she’s probably just dehydrated.”

The far bigger threat in this day and age, where water is more than plentiful, is people feeling like they need to drink so much of it that they start drinking sugared drinks like Vitamin Water or Gatorade, or products like Crystal Light that are chock full of artificial flavors and sweeteners, just to make it palatable to chug that much water.

So, as a distance runner, what’s my “hydration plan”?

I make a 32oz bucket of iced tea every morning (contrary to what you’ve heard, the caffeine in the tea does not outpace the 32 OZ of water in which the caffeine is delivered.)

I carry it with me throughout the day and fill it when it gets below halfway, both to combat thirst and to keep me from feeling snacky.

When I run, I make sure there is a drinking fountain every couple of miles, and I stop if I’m thirsty.  If it’s particularly warm out, I bring a small handheld bottle and refill at fountains along the way.

When I’m done running, I drink a recovery drink that, again, is delivered with 24+ oz of water (the food you eat actually delivers a good chunk of your daily hydration.)

And then I sip on something like a sparkling water or tea in the evenings.  I will sometimes mix my sparkling water with Crystal Light, but I keep it to less than one pack of it per day, as I find it can activate my otherwise-nonexistent sweet tooth.

In other words, I keep fluids handy and take them when I need them, but I don’t force myself to power down any more than my body compels me to drink*.  And, the Mayo Clinic concurs: “If you drink enough fluid so that you rarely feel thirsty and produce 1.5 liters (6.3 cups) or more of colorless or slightly yellow urine a day, your fluid intake is probably adequate.”

There are plenty of things to stress out over, drink when you’re thirsty and don’t sweat the hydration.

*One minor exception I’d like to call out here- For people that have a really tough time dealing with hunger signals, often times powering down 8 oz of water– even if you are not thirsty– will get you “over the hump” and get you to your next meal or snacktime (which should never be more than 3 hours between anyhow) unscathed.