Sport Today

Does anyone else out there suffer from lethargy, dizzieness, and headaches the
morning after a long days blasting?

I believe these are the symptoms that are usually associated with dehydration,
hence the similarity to a hangover. I try to bring liquids to the beach with me
but once I am out and the wind is up it is difficult to find the time to
return to shore and drink them! Does anybody have any solutions to this
problem other than increased self-discipline?

--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Protect me from what I want" - Jenny Holzer ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Trinity College Dublin, Ireland                                   (01) 702-1531

Only if it didn't blow...

:-)  joel

Kirk

One theory I'm toying with is that lactic acid builds up in the
muscles while windsurfing, and it might be that some of us are
not very efficient at removing all traces of the lactic acid
buildup.  Maybe someone who runs marathons would have some idea
as to whether the feeling that I describe has anything to do
with lactic acid?  Is there anything that you can take to
accelerate the removal of lactic acid?

Thanks,

Richard Engelbrecht-Wiggans          Those who can, teach;
                                     those who can't, don't;

Just my two cents. Don't flame me please. I've died in many a flame war.

I also get depression and rapid mood changes if I don't cure the hangover
with more windsurfing (lighter conditions are ok).

I guess I'm ***ed to windsurfing.

My guess is that the hangover is just a result from the physical exertion.

--
  Juri Munkki                                          Windsurf: fast sailing

I've found that drinking soft drinks may not help.  Some soft drinks
contain enough diarhetics (sp?), such as caffiene, that they do more
harm than good.  Suger and salt also affect the way your cells absorb
water.  

For me, straight water does the trick.  Sometimes I mix a little
gatoraid or fruit juice with the water, maybe one part juice to 3
parts water.

I used to come home from a day in the sun feeling very tired, and I'd
immediatly take a nap.  I discovered that I'd wake up in about an hour
feeling like a truck had run over me.

Now, I've learned to resist the urge to lie down, because I don't need
rest, I need *water*.  Six*** ounces of water, and a cool or luke
warm shower completely removes the symptoms.  A friend of mine heard
from his doctor that cold or hot showers dehydrate the skin, but that
your skin will absorb luke warm or room temperature water.  I've
discovered that drinking alone doesn't work nearly as well as drinking
and a shower.

Hope this info helps someone!

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                                   /
                                  ----------------------------> Chip

I think the wetsuit has something to do with it, either through dehydration
or some other effect that is probably best discussed on alt.sex.***.
At any rate, last summer I tried to pay attention to how I felt after
sailing in Maui with no wetsuit, and I definitely felt better the next
day.

Doug Haut (famous local shaper) tells me that he limits himself to 2
hours a day max because he's just learned over the years that that's
what his limit is.  This year I'm making a point of getting to the
beach later so I sail less but in the best winds -- that seems to help
too.

Diet -- my suggestion is to watch what you eat for the first few
hours after a Sunday sail-- a bag of macaroons is good and provides fiber.
Then eat continuously until Tuesday.

Best solution of course would be to retire so you could sail every day
and either build yourself up or wipe yourself out completely, which
solves the problem either way.

Come to think of it, when I was learning and was down in the water all
the time, staying cool and getting plenty of electrolytes and
heavy metals administered nasally, this problem of next day lethargy
wasn't nearly so bad.  It really coincided with starting to make a
few jibes.  So it must be dehydration.

Any other tips on maintaining the proper water level?

******************************************************************************
Bob Dow

8'8" Haut Chophopper, and many Neil Pryde sails that have given me much
pleasure.

--
*********************************************************
An eye for an eye                 Tony Chatzi
will make the world go blind      ASD Video x3418
*********************************************************

Next, I drink a lot while sailing.  In hot weather, it may come to two
liters every two hours; that is about the same as my wife and I each
used to consume back in our long distance bicycling days.

Finally, I try to watch out for dehydration by monitering my weight.
I weigh myself first thing in the morning each day, and interprete a
weight drop of more than 1-2 pounds as a warning; a drop that big is
almost certainly water loss.   Until my weight is back up to "normal,"
I continue to drink large amounts of water...up to a liter with each
meal.  I have also noticed, that my weight sometimes rebounds very
quickly (6-12 hours) after a good sweat, and then drops again; I suspect
that this is because because my body didn't actually absord enough water
yet.

Drinking this much water doesn't eliminate the "hangover," but it does
make a big difference, both in the harshness of the hangover and its
duration...or is this just my imagination (any sports physiologists out
there?)

Richard Engelbrecht-Wiggans          Those who can, teach;
                                     those who can't, don't;

But there is a thing which nobody said about, that's the fact that
sailing is in a certain manner a _static_ effort. ( In comparison to
other long-during sports like marathon, swimming, etc...)

I've read in a magazin to stretch yourself after a session. I try to
do it, and it's *true* it makes quite a lot of goodness.

Any advice or medical explanation ????

-
Robert Riviere
Custom,Tiga,Art,Neil Pryde,North. No more Gaastra !