Sports Drink, Sweat, and Bees... a Cautionary Tale

I've been on this quest to determine why, in my last marathon, my quads developed such debilitating cramps that by mile 22 I had to walk/run to the finish.  I know I trained properly, and I know I hydrated well, so what gives?  I've been reading a lot and, as such, have developed a hypothesis.  Perhaps it's not the training or the hydration that needs to change, but the way I replace the electrolytes that are lost during heavy exercise and sweating.

I'm not one for sugary sports drinks, and I don't understand why they are so popular among the non-athletic crowd... I mean, they are formulated to replace electrolytes, so what electrolytes do you need to replace by sitting around doing nothing?  I'm also pretty particular about what goes in my body- Gatorade is not something I want in me.  So, I started and accomplished the quest of finding a mostly-organic (97% organic) sports drink that I could try.  "Clif Shot Electrolyte Replacement"

I won't do the drink unless I'm going long, because when you are going for short distances, water is all you need.  Today's run was a trail run for 14 miles, so it was show-time for the drink.  I mixed the drink according to the specifications in a 20 oz bottle, while filling my camelbak with 50 oz of water.  I drove to the trail head and started running the first out-and-back loop which was about 5.5 miles, this would give me the opportunity to finish the 20 oz, then drop the empty bottle back at the car (it's worth it to know that I had some smaller bottles with the mix that I brought with me).

I'm several miles into my run when I noticed that there was a persistent bee constantly dive-bombing me.  I kept running, but the bee kept flying around me and occasionally bumping into me.  I didn't think too much of it until I had to make a pit-stop and was suddenly engulfed in bees...  needless to say, I didn't make the pit-stop and kept running... feeling that weird feeling, like I was being followed, I looked over my right shoulder and couldn't help but notice several bees hot on my trail... I looked over my left shoulder and it was the same...

I realized at some point that there was more than one bee circling me and bumping into me, so I threw some speed work into the run.  Nothing pushes the pace, like "bee"ing chased.  I maintained the pace for a while, constantly asking why are all these **** bees chasing me!

Then it hit me.

I started the run consuming only the sport drink, so the only real sweat that was coming through my pores was probably sweet sweat.  I quickly started putting some water in my hand to try and wash off some of the sweat, and it worked, or so it seemed.  I kept that quick pace for several miles... thank you sports drink... not only did my muscles feel great, but the sweetness of the the sweat made it essential that I kept the pace.

Eventually, with a little help from an impending rain storm and luck, I made it back to the car and didn't bring any buzzy visitors along with me.

I'm not sure how I'll handle the sports drink in the future, but it was certainly a learning experience today... in a lot of ways.  So, dear reader, be careful with what you drink.