High-level performance isn’t just about pushing harder, but rather it’s about making better decisions under stress. The runners who improve year after year are the ones who can regulate effort, recover well, and adjust intelligently when training or life doesn’t go exactly as planned. Goals rooted in clarity rather than pressure lead to better consistency, lower injury risk, and more effective adaptation over time.
The framework below is designed to support both results and longevity. It keeps outcome goals in view while prioritizing the systems such as habits, mindset, recovery, and self-awareness that actually determine performance on race day. Whether you’re chasing a PR or aiming to stay strong and motivated for the long haul, this approach helps you explore what you’re capable of without burning out.
As we start 2026, and soon the year of the (fire) horse, Coach Ray Nypaver wants to make sure we’re setting ourselves up for success in the best way possible and using some scientifically backed research.
First and foremost, it’s important we revisit some of recent our pawsitivity posts:
1) Love makes you brave: When our foundation is unconditional love, we have more willingness to both take risks AND no one it’s time to step back. We know when a goal that scares us a bit is a goal born through inspiration vs. a goal of the ego (I’m not enough as I am/ I need to prove myself). And no matter what, we know we’ll be okay, whether we succeed or fail (make a mistake to learn from)…which also settles our nervous system. And a relaxed nervous system actually helps us be our best selves.
2) Your job is NOT to reach your potential. Your job IS to explore the possibilities of your potential. For some of us, that will mean reaching what we are physically capable of. For others of us, it will mean we learn how to work with our negative thoughts and beliefs and turn towards compassion, which IS reaching our highest self.
Okay, now we can start goal setting:
*If you did each week of the Steps to Adventure plan with me, you’ll realize this is a summary of that, especially the Peak Goal Setting model in Step 5 (attached).
Why/(Big) Intention: Yes, we still want to have an understanding of why your goals are important to you, why they matter. While they don’t have to be profound, they should be deep enough to touch the heart.
It might be something like “I want to experience more joy in my life because I know the more joy I allow myself to feel, the more others in my life will give themselves permission to experience more joy too. And doesn’t the world need more joy?” Or more simply, “I want to experience more joy in my life, because I know I am worthy of it.” (If you do want to go profound, we could talk about the rates of depression in the world and how that is keeping good people from stepping up into their power and ability to influence with voices and hearts.)
The why comes from your heart.
Values: Know what you care about in life! Know your priorities! These will help ground you, especially if the mind/ego gets caught up in a goal. The paradox is, of course, that the more grounded we are the higher we can fly. Becoming attached to our goals puts us into a fear state. Shooting towards them with a loose grip and knowing what matters most in life keeps us inspired but relaxed. A relaxed nervous system means we have more energy to run and create.
Outcome goals: These are your race goals, PR goals, etc. Yes, these are important and we should absolutely set them… but truly, these goals are secondary. They are what inspire us to explore our potential, our energy, and what we can do with our energy in physical form. For those of you who have Instagram, Coach Sandi recently shared this: https://www.instagram.com/p/DTWC05-kQ6T/
Outcome goals are mainly of the mind, but should be influenced by the heart.
Action Goal: These are daily and weekly habits or actions. (On a slightly bigger scale, these might be B races leading up to your A race). It could be running 3-5x each week, but for more of you, it’s more like getting in mobility 3-5x each week, asking yourself each morning before you run: What does my body need today? Or, I’m going to pat myself on the back each time I take 1 minute to practice diaphragmatic breathing during the day. (Little rewards, like acknowledging yourself, activate the reward center of your brain making it more likely that you’ll repeat the activity and increase self-esteem. Contrary to what we like to believe, self-judgment often has the opposite effect.)
Daily Intention: We have this reminder in one of our “Getting Started” boxes in Final Surge, and it’s a great way to make sure you’re not just going through the motions, keeping your love for running, and continuing to improve- even if it’s making sure your easy days are truly easy! It might be running based: I want to work on my form today, or technical trail practice, or a little more personal: I want to practice mindfulness and presence today, so when my mind wanders back to work, I’ll come back to my breath or surroundings. YOU CAN ALSO look back at your values and why, and integrate those more deeply. (From the therapy side of my job, I know I can write down and say all the things I’ve learned all I want, I know self-compassion is one of the best healing tools we have and I know negative beliefs can be composted and rewritten, but it doesn’t mean anything unless I actively integrate these lessons and practice them in my daily life.)
Obstacles: What obstacles do you see getting in your way on your path towards your goal, or potential? Is it a busy life? Work stress? Or knowing you have a tendency to push through fatigue and injury? We want to plan these out, but not without…
Plan How You Want to Work Through Obstacles: If you know you have a busy week coming up, you can coordinate with me/your coach, to have that be a recovery week in running. If you know you’re good at pushing through, maybe set a reminder on your phone that: Rest results in future growth and recovery allows for strength. We need the Yin and the Yang.
Of course, we can’t plan everything…but we can plan how we want to treat ourselves when things are hard and know who our support team is. At Higher Running, we hope you know that we care about each one of our athletes as people first, runners second.
Last, here’s a helpful, 7 minute meditation to get your goal setting started for the year:
Coach Sandi Nypaver shares one of her many tips to help you train a high-performance mindset that will allow you to achieve your goals. Thanks to neuroplasticity, anyone can develop a high-performance mindset with the right focus!
One of the biggest mistakes runners make when chasing big, uncomfortable goals is focusing only on how hard the process feels.
Yes, training can be challenging. Yes, growth requires discomfort. But here’s the key: something often feels hard simply because we keep telling ourselves it is.
Words matter. The story you repeat in your head matters even more.
I recently had this exact conversation with someone about healthy eating. If you constantly tell yourself that eating well is hard, it will be. Every choice feels like a battle. But if you reframe it as simple, not easy, but straightforward, your experience changes entirely.
And the same applies to running!
If every workout is labeled as “brutal,” “miserable,” or “a grind,” your nervous system braces for pain before you even start. But when you shift your focus toward what you gain, things like confidence, strength, pride, momentum, you unlock a completely different training experience.
Here’s something worth remembering:
A belief is just a thought you keep thinking.
So the next time you’re staring down a tough workout or an ambitious goal, try this:
Acknowledge the challenge
Then intentionally focus on the pleasure, purpose, or progress it brings
You don’t need to pretend training is easy. You just don’t need to keep convincing yourself it’s harder than it has to be.
One of the most important questions Coach Sandi Nypaver asks when reviewing an athlete’s program is: How are you responding to your training?
This matters because everyone responds differently. Take high-intensity VO₂ max speed workouts, for example. Some athletes thrive on them because they recover quickly and see big performance gains. Others? Even with great recovery habits, too many of these sessions can leave them completely fried.
That doesn’t mean those workouts aren’t valuable. It just means the way they’re integrated into your training plan should look different depending on how your body reacts. For some, sprinkling them in sparingly is the key. For others, they can be a cornerstone of progress.
And that’s just one example! There are countless ways training can impact you differently than someone else. So here’s the takeaway: Look at your training and ask yourself:Are you benefiting from it, or is it leaving you exhausted and holding you back?
Your response to training is the ultimate feedback loop. Pay attention to it, and you’ll unlock smarter, more effective progress.
By Sandi Nypaver Special thanks to Dina Griffin, MS, RDN, CSSD for reviewing scientific accuracy
Most runners understand the importance of carb intake during training and racing. What fewer people realize is that your hydration plan is just as important. In real-world endurance events, both performance and gut tolerance often fall apart not because athletes fail to eat enough, but because they become dehydrated or mismatched their sodium intake to their own sweat profile.
Hydration is not a one-size-fits-all strategy. Your sweat rate and sweat sodium concentration are unique to you, and these values play a major role in how well your body regulates temperature, absorbs fluids, fuels your muscles, and maintains steady blood volume during training and racing.
My goal with this article is to help you understand why hydration matters just as much as carbohydrates, how your sweat is uniquely yours, and how you can build your own personalized hydration strategy for better performance and fewer GI issues.
What Happens When You Get Dehydrated?
Even mild dehydration affects performance. As fluid loss accumulates, the following changes occur:
Thermoregulation becomes harder which increases core temperature
Sweat rate decreases which makes cooling less efficient
Blood volume drops which reduces the oxygen and nutrients delivered to working muscles
Heart rate rises to compensate for reduced plasma volume
Perceived effort increases at the same pace or power
Mental sharpness declines
Severe dehydration can lead to low blood pressure and dizziness
Kidney perfusion decreases which increases the risk of rhabdomyolysis
Carbohydrate metabolism becomes less efficient because glycogen breakdown requires water
These physiological changes do not happen in isolation. They compound. The result is a slower pace, earlier fatigue, and a higher chance of GI issues. Even the best fueling plan cannot overcome the impacts of dehydration.
Why Your Sweat Loss and Sodium Needs Are Unique
Two key variables define your hydration needs.
Sweat rate
This is how much fluid you lose per hour. Typical ranges vary dramatically. Some athletes lose 0.5 liters per hour while others lose 2.5 liters per hour in the same conditions.
Sweat rate also changes with:
Air temperature
Humidity
Intensity
Heat acclimation
Clothing and gear
Running surface and solar load
Your hydration status going into the session
This is why repeated testing in different conditions matters.
Sweat sodium concentration
This is how much sodium you lose per liter of sweat. It is primarily genetically influenced and stays relatively stable for each athlete.
Ranges can be as low as 200 mg per liter or as high as 2000 mg per liter. This is a ten-fold difference.
Heat acclimation and consistent training can reduce sweat sodium concentration slightly because the body becomes more efficient at reabsorbing sodium in the sweat glands. However, these changes are moderate. An athlete losing 1400 mg per liter will not suddenly become a 300 mg per liter athlete through training alone.
Understanding your personal sodium concentration is one of the most powerful steps you can take to avoid both under-replacement and over-salting during long events.
Understanding Sodium’s Role
Sodium supports performance in several important ways.
• Helps maintain blood volume • Supports fluid absorption in the small intestine • Prevents excessive dilution of blood sodium during long events • Helps preserve neuromuscular function • Improves palatability of drinks which encourages adequate intake
Sodium does not prevent cramping on its own but it supports the whole system in a way that reduces the conditions where cramps are more likely.
How Much Dehydration Can You Tolerate?
It is often recommended that endurance athletes try to keep body mass losses within 2 to 4 percent during long events. For many athletes, losses beyond this range are associated with greater performance impairment and an increased risk of heat-related issues.
However, well trained or well heat adapted athletes sometimes tolerate losses up to 5 to 6 percent without significant performance decline. These athletes are the exception, not the rule. For most runners, even modest dehydration feels noticeably harder.
What matters most is understanding your own tolerance and planning hydration so fluid loss stays within your safe range.
Imagine a runner with the following sweat profile: Sweat sodium concentration. 350 mg per liter Sweat rate. 1 liter per hour in 75 degree dry heat
Their race-day plan looks like this: Fluid intake: 0.5 liters per hour Sodium intake: 750 mg per hour
Where the problems begin:
This athlete is losing 1 liter of sweat per hour but drinking only half that amount. This creates a fluid deficit of 0.5 liters every hour. Over ten hours, this would be an estimated eleven pounds of body weight lost. Even accounting for glycogen use and metabolic weight changes, this is well beyond the range most athletes can tolerate without a significant decline in performance.
At the same time, the athlete is consuming more sodium per hour than they are losing through sweat. Combined with dehydration, this increases blood sodium concentration and raises the risk of hypernatremia, which occurs when sodium levels in the blood become too high.
This example shows why pairing high-sodium products with insufficient fluid intake can create problems even for low sodium sweaters.
A Second Practical Example. Why Two Runners Can Need Completely Different Sodium Amounts
Two runners head out for the same three hour long run. They run at similar intensities and sweat the same amount. Their sweat rate is 0.7 liters per hour which equals a total of 2.1 liters of sweat lost.
The only major difference between them is their sweat sodium concentration.
Runner A Sweat sodium concentration. 450 mg per liter Total sodium lost. 945 mg
Runner B Sweat sodium concentration. 1300 mg per liter Total sodium lost. 2730 mg
Even though they ran side by side and sweated the same volume, Runner B lost almost three times as much sodium.
Sports dietitians generally recommend replacing about 50 to 80 percent of sodium lost during longer training sessions and races.
Which means:
Runner A typically needs 470 to 750 mg total Runner B typically needs 1360 to 2180 mg total
Their hydration plans should look completely different.
Runner A may do well with a moderate sodium drink mix or occasional electrolytes. Runner B may need a higher sodium concentration or more frequent electrolyte intake to maintain blood sodium levels, support fluid absorption, and keep performance steady.
This example shows why knowing your sweat sodium concentration helps you avoid both under-salting and over-salting. Two athletes can run the same route, in the same weather, at the same pace, yet require very different hydration strategies.
A Note on Lab Tests vs Real-World Wearables
In fall 2024, I completed a Precision Hydration sweat test and received a baseline result of 573 mg of sodium per liter. This value represents my physiology under controlled conditions. Since then, I have used the hDrop hydration sensor during more than ten training runs, where it consistently reports 850 to 1050 mg/L.
Precision Hydration’s internal testing shows that hDrop tends to overestimate sodium by about 170 mg/L and underestimate sweat rate by about 0.5 L/h. Sweat sodium concentration also naturally increases during harder or hotter sessions because sweat glands have less time to reabsorb sodium.
When adjusting for device tendencies and real-world intensity, my “working” sweat sodium concentration during training is likely closer to 650 to 900 mg/L.
For my own strategy, I use: • Lab value (573 mg/L) in cooler or moderate sessions • Adjusted range (650 to 900 mg/L) in heat or higher-intensity conditions • Upper range approaches ~1000 mg/L only in demanding long runs in hot weather
Both the lab test and the wearable data are helpful. Trends across conditions matter more than any single number.
Hyponatremia
Hyponatremia is a condition where blood sodium levels drop too low. While athletes often worry about not getting enough sodium, hyponatremia is far more commonly caused by drinking more fluid than you are losing, especially when that fluid is mostly plain water.
When you overconsume fluid relative to your sweat rate, blood sodium becomes diluted. Symptoms can include nausea, headache, swelling in the hands or face, confusion, and in severe cases seizures or loss of consciousness.
Hyponatremia does not develop from failing to consume high amounts of sodium. It develops when fluid intake exceeds your body’s ability to clear that fluid. This is why knowing your sweat rate is just as important as knowing your sweat sodium concentration. Matching both appropriately keeps you in a safe and optimal range.
How to Figure Out Your Individual Hydration Needs
Step 1. Determine your sweat sodium concentration
A professional sweat test provides individualized data that rarely shifts outside of moderate heat adaptation. Wearables such as the hDrop can provide useful trend data during real-world training.
Typical ranges
Low. 200 to 700 mg/L
Moderate. 700 to 1100 mg/L
High. 1100 to 1500 mg/L
Very high. 1500 to 2000+ mg/L
This number helps guide sodium intake rather than relying on generic recommendations.
Step 2. Measure your sweat rate in different conditions
The simplest and most accurate way to measure sweat rate is by weighing yourself before and after training.
Weigh yourself naked before your run
Track all fluid intake
Weigh yourself naked again after your run
Subtract post-run weight from pre-run weight
Add the amount of fluid consumed
Subtract urine output if applicable
Divide by hours exercised
Sweat rate = fluid lost per hour.
It is helpful to repeat this in several environments since sweat rate changes significantly with temperature, humidity, and intensity.
You can also use wearable devices such as the hDrop hydration sensor to gather sweat rate data. These devices can provide real-time estimates, though it is still valuable to compare wearable data with the pre- and post-run weigh-in method for accuracy.
Here is the Nutrition Mechanic sweat rate spreadsheet to make tracking easier: https://nutritionmechanic.mykajabi.com/sweatrate
Step 3. Estimate your hourly losses
Once you know your sweat sodium concentration and your sweat rate, you can estimate what you typically lose during training.
Fluid loss per hour This is simply your sweat rate. If your sweat rate is 1 liter per hour, then you lose about 1 liter of fluid per hour.
Sodium loss per hour Multiply your sweat sodium concentration (mg/L) by your sweat rate (L/hour). For example, if you lose 700 mg per liter and you sweat 1 liter per hour, you lose about 700 mg of sodium per hour.
These hourly estimates do not need to be perfect. They simply give you a clearer sense of your typical losses so you can match your fluid and sodium intake more effectively.
Step 4. Match intake to your needs
General guidelines used by many sports dietitians:
For long events Replace about 50 to 80 percent of sodium lost
Fluid replacement Usually 60 to 90 percent of sweat rate depending on conditions and GI tolerance
Most sports drinks Contain 400 to 1000 mg of sodium per liter
Your best race-day plan is built through consistent training, not guesswork.
Common Hydration Mistakes
Assuming more sodium is always better Drinking too little because carrying bottles feels inconvenient Using the same plan year round Overdrinking plain water which increases hyponatremia risk Using drink mixes that exceed your sodium needs Not practicing high fluid intake in training Trying new products on race day
Understanding the Hydration and Carbohydrate Connection
Carbohydrate metabolism requires water. If you are dehydrated, your muscles have less access to stored carbohydrate and your gut becomes less efficient at absorbing fuel. This is why dehydration often feels like “my stomach shut down” even when carb intake is appropriate.
Your hydration and fueling plans work together.
Final Thoughts: Why This Matters
Hydration is not secondary to carbohydrates. They are equal partners in performance. Understanding your sweat rate and sweat sodium concentration gives you the tools to create a personalized hydration strategy that supports your training, keeps you safe, and helps you perform at your best.
Taking time to get hydration right pays off on every long run and every race.
If this article helped you, sharing it supports our ability to keep offering free education through Higher Running.
Sandi, Dina , & Sage after sweat testing
Resources: Dina Griffin’s website: Nutrition Mechanic Find a sweat test near you: Sweat Testing Locations (Or just do a quick internet search!) Dina is a great choice if you’re in or near Boulder, CO. Sage and I drove 3 hours just to see her.
Your speed work should evolve as race day gets closer!
Coach Sandi Nypaver breaks down a concept used by many coaches—and by runners who coach themselves—is that your training should become more specific as you go.
For example, if your goal race is a marathon, you might start off (after establishing a good aerobic base) with some easy mileage, strides, and maybe a few fartleks. Then, your first block of structured training could focus more on 5K or 10K–specific work. That means shorter, faster intervals. You might still include tempo runs, but they wouldn’t be the main focus in this phase.
Your next training block would shift toward more lactate threshold work—that’s what I mean by tempo runs. These efforts are around one-hour race pace, or for some runners, even half-marathon–specific workouts.
Finally, in the last block of training—roughly the final six to eight weeks leading up to your marathon—you’d focus on marathon-specific work. Your key workouts would include long runs with segments at or around marathon pace.
That’s the overall concept: your training becomes more specific to your goal race as you progress through each phase.
We focus on aerobic base training mainly because it’s safer and more sustainable for long-term improvement. It’s not so much about your heart rate going over a certain number, like your max heart rate or dipping into Zone 3, that’s the issue. The bigger concern is the stress on your musculoskeletal system: your tendons, bones, and ligaments. These tissues are more fragile and take longer to adapt than your cardiovascular system.
When runners train too fast on easy days, slipping into Zone 3 or Zone 4 instead of staying in Zone 2, they increase the impact forces with every step. That added stress can lead to overtraining or injury.
There’s also the mental side. It’s exhausting to push hard and experience discomfort every day. You don’t want that imbalance in your training as both your body and mind need easier days to recover and adapt!
The third and final reason we emphasize Zone 2, low-intensity running is consistency. When you stay at a lower intensity, you’re less likely to get injured, and it’s mentally easier to keep showing up day after day. That consistency allows you to build more total volume- running longer, covering more distance, and training more frequently.
And that’s where the balance comes in. Higher-intensity running actually creates a stronger stimulus for many aerobic adaptations. Things like increased mitochondrial density, improved running economy, and higher VO₂ max. But because those harder efforts take more out of you, they can’t be done every day. Lower-intensity running lets you train more consistently and build the overall volume that supports those adaptations and makes the harder sessions more effective.
The beauty of lower-intensity, aerobic-based training is that it lets you run more, more often, and more consistently and that’s what truly makes you a stronger, faster, and more efficient runner.
