joecichlid Posted July 11, 2010 Share Posted July 11, 2010 Shot a match Friday night after spending a little over an hour and a half setting up a stage. Temps in the high 80s with humidity to match. Yeah it totally screwed me up, couldn't focus on anything and my scores show that. On leaving my house I forgot my water bottle so I had nothing with me to drink as I was setting up. The last several weeks I have gone through a gallon or more of water just while setting up and not having that to drink ruined the match for me. Everyone else had a great time and enjoyed the stage, I would have too if I had been well hydrated. lol Chalk this one up to Joe does a stupid thing. Joe W. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Miles Posted July 11, 2010 Share Posted July 11, 2010 Hydrate or die. Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AzShooter Posted July 11, 2010 Share Posted July 11, 2010 Years ago I was watching the Olympic Tryouts for the US Archery Team. A couple of school had their coaches there with fruit, ice, but no water. I told them they needed to drink at least 1/2 gallon of water an hour. It sure makes a difference out here. I never go to a match without a couple of bottles of water or energyzer drinks. Even when I'm testing loads under a canapy I drink as much as I can. I think I drank about two gallons today even though I was just sitting down and shooting chrono and load testing. You must rehydrate. I learned the hard way like most people. Dizzy spells, not knowing where I was, etc. so learn from the rest of us and bring pleanty of water with you. If you are diabetic bring a snack with you as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joecichlid Posted July 11, 2010 Author Share Posted July 11, 2010 Hydrate or die. Pat You got that right!! I never go to a match without a couple of bottles of water Normally I don't either but this week I grabbed a bottle of "brand name" sports drink on the way out the door intending to refill the empty with colder water from the ranges water cooler. Turns out I grabbed a bottle of stuff that had an artificial sweetner in it and it instantly gave me a headache, within a few minutes of drinking the stuff. Not wanting it to go to waste I recapped the bottle, the smart thing would have been to dump out the stuff and be out the buck so I could have something to drink out of. I knew being tight with a dime would get me one of these days. Thankfully it only resulted in poor shooting and not something worse. Usually I have a bottle of water with me at all times and the one time I didn't grab it I regret it. Joe W. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reshoot Posted July 11, 2010 Share Posted July 11, 2010 Water only, for me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Team Amish 1 Posted July 11, 2010 Share Posted July 11, 2010 Drinking a lot when it's hot makes a big difference. I usually bring some extra water, in case someone forgets theirs. Another thing that I noticed to help (at least me) is eating something small after every other stage. Handful of nuts and dried fruit or a small granola bar seems to help me keep my focus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pro2AInPA Posted July 13, 2010 Share Posted July 13, 2010 Yep, water is crucial. I have a big bicycle water bottle I fill with ice water, and I always have two more bottles of water and a bottle of Gatorade in my bag as well. This summer has been hotter than normal here. At one 3 gun match a while back, I drank 5 bottles of water and 4 bottles of Gatorade (they had water and Gatorade for sale) and didn't urinate once the whole day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHA-LEE Posted July 13, 2010 Share Posted July 13, 2010 I have found that I have more energy and feel better if I drink zero calorie Vitamin Water verses water alone. I live in Colorado and the hot summer days are dry but hot so you sweat a ton but a lot of it evaporates due to the dry conditions. This can be misleading because you don't realize how much fluids you are losing until its WAY too late. I force myself to drink at least one 20oz bottle of Vitamin Water every stage no matter if I am thirsty or not. If I haven't had to go to the mens room at least once every couple of hours I know that I am not drinking enough. Using the "When did I pee last?" method of determining my hydration level seems to work a lot better than anything else I have tried. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Bell Posted July 13, 2010 Share Posted July 13, 2010 Last weekend I SO'd an IDPA classifier so I was on my feet and in the sun most of the time. 8:30 - 1:00 in the full sun, drank 8 bottles of water and ate some crackers about 10. I felt perfectly fine a little tired but not whipped. If I'm going to be in the sun longer than that I will drink some gatorade as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VegasOPM Posted July 13, 2010 Share Posted July 13, 2010 Living in Vegas drives this point home every time I shoot a match. I typically drink 2 quarts of water and 1 bottle of Gatorade per match in the winter and at least twice that during the summer. I have found that a 4:1 ratio of water to sports drink is best- drinking nothing but Gatorade tends to cause stomach cramps and mild nausea. Avoid "energy" drinks like Redbull unless you are drinking LOTS of water- the taurine and guarana are too much in the heat. For me, I find that a handful of peanuts or a granola bar every hour or so helps and I have to drink a little caffeine mid-match to avoid a headache. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dancin Dan Posted July 13, 2010 Share Posted July 13, 2010 I helped with a shotgun match this weekend, setup, shooting and tearing down temps were in the high 90's and humidity was the same. Even though I drank plenty of water at the end of tear down my skin started to tingle. I got under a spicket and let the water pour. The next day I had to set up a uspsa match in a place we lovingly call the pit, unfortunately I had not recovered. The first and second stage I never even saw my dot and had like 10 misses. I continued to drink lots of water and by the last four stages I started to feel better and burned them down. I didn't think I could rehydrate in that heat but a lot of water and some electrolytes and it all came back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joecichlid Posted July 15, 2010 Author Share Posted July 15, 2010 Another thing that I noticed to help (at least me) is eating something small after every other stage. Handful of nuts and dried fruit or a small granola bar seems to help me keep my focus. I have a few matches in the next few months that I will make sure to keep some trail mix handy and a two liter Camelback loaded with ice water during. My first KS Sectional is near the end of August so I will be sure to drink LOTS of water, use sun screen and keep the trail mix handy. Not only is it my first big match this year it is my first big match as an RO, I don't need any help that might screw things up. lol I have found that I have more energy and feel better if I drink zero calorie Vitamin Water verses water alone. I live in Colorado and the hot summer days are dry but hot so you sweat a ton but a lot of it evaporates due to the dry conditions. This can be misleading because you don't realize how much fluids you are losing until its WAY too late. I force myself to drink at least one 20oz bottle of Vitamin Water every stage no matter if I am thirsty or not. If I haven't had to go to the mens room at least once every couple of hours I know that I am not drinking enough. Using the "When did I pee last?" method of determining my hydration level seems to work a lot better than anything else I have tried. I have problems with any of the zero calorie things, aspertame and sucralose both give me wicked headaches. So I need either something with sugar or no sweetener at all. When I was in Vegas last September I would have one bottle of Powerade with breakfast, a liter of water per stage, all the ice water I could get with dinner and then a second bottle of Powerade before bedtime. I would safely say I had between 1 and 2 gallons of water and and half a gallon of Powerade a day and I never once felt a bead of sweat thanks to how dry it was out there. As you say, drink til you have to pee, if you ain't peeing you ain't drinking enough. Starting about a week out before the big matches I am going to this year I will be drinking water a LOT to get good and hydrated so I don't suffer any more than needed. Joe W. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boz1911 Posted July 15, 2010 Share Posted July 15, 2010 Medical question. Is urine color a reliable indication of being dehydrated? I always heard darker indicated being dehydrated, but I noticed after working outdoors for several hours yesterday and not drinking very much the color was actually pretty light. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joecichlid Posted July 15, 2010 Author Share Posted July 15, 2010 Medical question. Is urine color a reliable indication of being dehydrated? I always heard darker indicated being dehydrated, but I noticed after working outdoors for several hours yesterday and not drinking very much the color was actually pretty light. That is a good question, I have always heard that too. If I get a chance I should ask doctor about that one of these days. Joe W. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RufDog Posted July 15, 2010 Share Posted July 15, 2010 Urine color is ususally a good indicator but subject to inconsistencies. Dont forget your salt!!!! You can go from dragging, cant take it anymore to near 100% just by taking a spoon full of salt and a quart of water (you gotta drink it fast). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dancin Dan Posted July 15, 2010 Share Posted July 15, 2010 Urine color is ususally a good indicator but subject to inconsistencies. Dont forget your salt!!!! You can go from dragging, cant take it anymore to near 100% just by taking a spoon full of salt and a quart of water (you gotta drink it fast). +1 When in exerting yourself in extreme heat, water is never enough, you need to keep your electrolytes balanced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boz1911 Posted July 15, 2010 Share Posted July 15, 2010 Medical question. Is urine color a reliable indication of being dehydrated? I always heard darker indicated being dehydrated, but I noticed after working outdoors for several hours yesterday and not drinking very much the color was actually pretty light. That is a good question, I have always heard that too. If I get a chance I should ask doctor about that one of these days. Joe W. Surely we have some medical wizzes (no pun intended) on the forums........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joecichlid Posted July 15, 2010 Author Share Posted July 15, 2010 Urine color is ususally a good indicator but subject to inconsistencies. Dont forget your salt!!!! You can go from dragging, cant take it anymore to near 100% just by taking a spoon full of salt and a quart of water (you gotta drink it fast). Last year at the Nats I had a bag of pretzles in my range bag for the salt. Also had hand cleaner to clean the lead off my hands before eating them. Surely we have some medical wizzes (no pun intended) on the forums........ I am sure you are right. Joe W. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outsydlooknin75 Posted July 16, 2010 Share Posted July 16, 2010 The salt is a VERY good reminder. About a month ago I was MD for a pistol cal rifle match, and then afterwards shot 6 stages of shotgun. I was drinking water the whole day, went thru 44 bottles of water in my cooler between 3 people so I was drinking plenty, on the 5th stage of the shotgun match my hand cramped so badly that I had to hold my fingers open. I ended up eating 2 slices of bologna (which was the first thing I had to eat since breakfast) and within minutes after eating my hand uncramped and I could continue to go back to it, but damn if that cramp wasnt painful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob DuBois Posted July 16, 2010 Share Posted July 16, 2010 Went to a new range, Como MS, first match there, first time my electrolytes got out of whack, Bummer. Didn't know what was wrong just could not stop making simple mistakes and felt like crap. Didn't think I could drive home till a couple bottles of Gatorade went down, amazing how quick it brought me back. I won't leave for a match without some type of sports drink along with water. Water alone is not enough. I like the idea of the Pretzles also and will take some next time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Team Amish 1 Posted July 16, 2010 Share Posted July 16, 2010 If you buy the pulverized Gatorade stuff, you can make it as sugary or as watery as you think you need. Plus, it's cheaper. I normally take both sports drinks AND straight water, to keep the sugar rush at bay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Burtchell Posted July 18, 2010 Share Posted July 18, 2010 (edited) Well, I felt like I nearly died at a match yesterday. Temps were approaching near 100 toward the end of the match, no wind in the bays yada, yada, yada. After the match I was helping with the tear down and had been carrying several heavy bags loaded with pea gravel that we use to keep props stable. . Got a heavy feeling in my chest and left arm, trouble breathing, dizzy and vision started going. I could see peoples lips moving but I couldn't hear them speaking. I couldn't think clearly at all. I finally made it up to a park bench and a fellow shooter noticed I was in trouble and got me some cold water. Bottom line: I was so busy shooting, RO'ng, score keeping and taping that I did not take the time to stay properly hydrated and I got WAY too hot. Fortunately I was able to cool down, went inside the stat shack with cold a/c blowing when I could walk and not stumble. LOL and then rode home with friends and continued to feel better. Felt good enough that I shot another match today, but I made sure to stayed hydrated. I had some mental errors today probably not as a result of yesterday, rather just being stupid and not taking care of business. Edited July 18, 2010 by Paul Burtchell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joecichlid Posted July 19, 2010 Author Share Posted July 19, 2010 Well, I felt like I nearly died at a match yesterday. Temps were approaching near 100 toward the end of the match, no wind in the bays yada, yada, yada. After the match I was helping with the tear down and had been carrying several heavy bags loaded with pea gravel that we use to keep props stable. . Got a heavy feeling in my chest and left arm, trouble breathing, dizzy and vision started going. I could see peoples lips moving but I couldn't hear them speaking. I couldn't think clearly at all. I finally made it up to a park bench and a fellow shooter noticed I was in trouble and got me some cold water. Bottom line: I was so busy shooting, RO'ng, score keeping and taping that I did not take the time to stay properly hydrated and I got WAY too hot. Fortunately I was able to cool down, went inside the stat shack with cold a/c blowing when I could walk and not stumble. LOL and then rode home with friends and continued to feel better. Felt good enough that I shot another match today, but I made sure to stayed hydrated. I had some mental errors today probably not as a result of yesterday, rather just being stupid and not taking care of business. Glad to hear you are OK now. The heat can really screw a person up in no time at all if they aren't ready for it. Joe W. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Bell Posted July 19, 2010 Share Posted July 19, 2010 Paul, Your story reminds me of a guy a couple years ago. He collapsed due to 98 degree heat, we kept him down and cooled him off for a few minutes. He said he was good and wanted to drive home, we wouldn't let him. Someone drove him, and halfway home he started complaining of chest pain. They diverted to a hospital, he was having a heart attack! The heat is no joke! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joecichlid Posted July 19, 2010 Author Share Posted July 19, 2010 Greg, glad to hear you all didn't let him drive home. Hopefully he has recovered well from all of that. Joe W. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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