You and your friends are going on a long hike in sunny Moah, Utah, in late May.
ID: 3516976 • Letter: Y
Question
You and your friends are going on a long hike in sunny Moah, Utah, in late May. The hike is the first in a series of enurance training sessions you will do to prepare for the Pikes Peak Ascent (a half marathon to the top of Pikes Peak, 14,000 ft) in Colorado Springs in mid-August. The average daytime temperature in Moah in May is 85 degrees farenheight, and the relative humidity averages 20%. You plan to be gone on the hike for 3 hours. You have a pack that is large enough to carry sufficient fluids for your personal needs for the duration of the hike.
How will the environmental conditions in Moah affect your fluid needs during this training hike?
What fluid recommendations should you and your friends follow before, during, and after this 3-hour training hike? Your recommendations should begin 2 hours prior to the hike, and continue through 1-hour post-hike. In your answer, include the guidelines for both the amount and type of fluid needed.
Explanation / Answer
Our body compartment for fluids is divided into two parts : Intracellular fluid (ICF) volume compartment and extracellular fluid (ECF) volume compartment. ICF occupies 2/3rd and ECF occupies 1/3rd of total body space . ECF is further divided into ISF (interstitisal fluid) and plasma volume .
Sweating causes loss of water from ECF compartment which eventually causes increase in osmolality and loss of fluid from inside the cells i.e. ICF compartment causing dehydration . To prevent dehydration , isotonic fluid or water should replenish the ECF compartment thereby decreasing the raised osmolality caused due to sweating or dehydration .
According to the given environmental conditions in Moah in mid May , there will be increased sweating which will eventually cause dehydration . So , there will be increased demand for drinking water to replenish the amount of water lost through sweat .
Fluid recommendations :
1) Before the hike - 60-70% of human body is made up of water . So , before going on a hike on a mid summer day in Moah , one should drink as much of water as to cover up for the loss mainly through sweat ( 3-4 litres ) . Also , a great amount of energy will be required during the hike , so one could also take glucose water before the hike.
2) During the hike - One should keep drinking enough plain water to replenish the amount lost through sweat .
3) After the hike - Plenty of water needs to be taken to replenish the loss . Also , drinking glucose water and juice etc could meet the energy lost while hiking.
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