You want fries with that?

OK, ok…..it’s not a post about fast food, or the secret location of the Valley’s best burger! Anyway, we all know where to find those, right?!

This post is about salt, and how it affects/helps our running here in the desert, especially in the summer. So many of us are told that too much salt is bad for us, you don’t need extra salt on anything, or even worse; it will make you retain all that water you’re drinking, and how on earth are you going to fit into those skinny jeans if you’re retaining water, right?! Well, let’s just remember that these are the same people that taught us to tie our shoes so tight it cut off the circulation!!

Question: have you ever gone for a run, and afterwards felt (or even seen) the salt from your sweat crusting on your skin or your running clothes? Well my friend the human salt lick, that’s your body sweating out all of that salt, along with that hydration you were so diligent about drinking.

Now, does that mean you have to start eating foods high in sodium, taking salt pills, and downing thousands of milligrams of salt to keep up? Nope! We’re not extremists, and believe that there is a happy middle ground. The fact is; there is a good amount of sodium in what we eat on a daily basis, and for most of the year, it’s plenty for our exercise and running efforts to keep up with us. That being said, the summers in the valley are when we need to augment our intake, and give it a little boost. During the heat of the summer, we tend to lose more salt, and with it key hydration. And, although we get a good amount of salt (sodium) in our diet, if we add to it, we will benefit. By taking 210 milligrams of salt before we run, and then about every hour as we run or exercise, that additional sodium will help significantly in our ability to retain the needed hydration, and keep us cooler as a result. Getting that added sodium can come from “salt sticks/tablets” or things like Shot Blocks Margarita flavor (this flavor has the added sodium just for this reason).

The good news? Summer in the valley is almost over, and our opportunities to walk around feeling the sweat crust to our bodies is dwindling (until next year). In the meantime, adding a bit of sodium will make a big difference.

Now, get out there and run!