Hydration

[j1415]

Keeping hydrated on the longer rows (30 min. or more).
Do you just stop long enough for a quick drink, or do you use a hydration pack similar to cycling, except not with the backpack on? A setup where you can grab the straw/hose while not missing a stroke?
What is your strategy for staying hydrated, while not losing precious time, trying for your PB?
Cheers.

[Bob S.]

Keeping hydrated on the longer rows (30 min. or more).
Do you just stop long enough for a quick drink, or do you use a hydration pack similar to cycling, except not with the backpack on? A setup where you can grab the straw/hose while not missing a stroke?
What is your strategy for staying hydrated, while not losing precious time, trying for your PB?
Cheers.

30 minutes is not exactly a long row and you should be able to go much longer than that without needing a drink. I would think that most anyone could go 90 minutes with no problem. Hydrate well beforehand - not just a few minutes before but over a period of 2-3 hours.

Bob S.

[Quatroux]

For sure you want to be well enough hydrated before you exercise to last at least an hour. Perhaps a half marathon is where you want to start to think about hydrating during the event. There are some good posts on here about what to drink and how to drink it.

Some folks advocate a short break while others attempt to drink while rowing with one arm. I have tried to keep rowing, but my times always creep way up to 4 minute splits. It would probably be better just to stop, grab the bottle, and stand up for a short drink and stretch. Of course, I don't follow my own advice too well.

What to drink is probably more obvious. A room tempurature sports drink is good. You can water it down. Also, a fruit juice watered down works well. I like the electrolyte waters like Nestle or SmartWater, but I know the electrolyte balance is not the same as a sports drink and they probably aren't any different than just drinking tap water.

The best advice will come from the marathon posts on here. There is some talk about hanging a camelbak next to you. I think this is interesting. You would probably want to avoid actually wearing a camelbak due to the weight.

[El Caballo]

I've rowed as long as 100 minutes without hydration (I was well hydrated prior to the row, average pace 1:59.7/500m).

For longer rows (or even a shorter row to practice hydrating for a longer row) I hang a camelbak (or similar) with the bite valve hanging next to me. Every 2 to 2.5k, I grab the bite valve during a recovery and stuff it into my mouth. I can hold it there for as long as I like and breath around it. When ready, I take two or three swallows and spit the bite valve out, until the next time.

When I load the camelbak, I stuff the water sack into the bag upside down, so there is a longer stretch of hose outside the bag. I then hang the bag upside down, so the outflow is at the bottom. This allows me to continue taking full strokes even with the bite valve in my mouth. With this set up, I can continue rowing while hydrating without slowing down (although if I'm really trying for a good time, toward the end of a row I might slow down a bit--it is hard to breath and drink at the same time).

I've tried the one handed row and grab a water bottle technique. I almost ended up with more liquid on me rather than in me--and I drastically slowed down, although only for a few strokes for each hydration attempt. I went back to using my camelbak after trying it that way.

[Carl Watts]

Drinking while rowing is an aquired skill and I'm no good at it.

I don't drink at all and realistically I have found you don't need to up the a HM.

FM or longer you need to drink, however as the pace is alot slower it is easier to gulp a couple of mouthfuls along the way.

There really is no time to worry about trying to take a drink on a 30min PB, you should be flying !

[Den-J]

put a low table next to the erg with some catering type disposable cups on it each with a mouthfull of drink put a bucket next to your feet grab a cup as you finish the stroke drink on the way down the slide and drop it into the bucket