I am officially a believer...

I have always drank the recommended dosage of water every day plus replenished everything I lost during a workout. And I am always conscience of when my pee is too dark and drink even more. But I was not prepared for how much I needed to drink in Mexico. For the past month I have been having excruciating back pains and have been blaming the hard beds here, but when I spent a weekend on the plush bed at the W and I was still unable to sleep more than an hour at a time because the pain wakes me up, I figured it might be something else. Yes, I have not seen my chiropractor in a month and I have not been cross training like I am used to, but this was so bad I could barely stand it. I started to worry that it might not be my back after all, but something else, like my kidneys. I am a complete hypochondriac, and have been watching Lost too much, so the first thing I think is that I have a back tumor like Benjamin Linus.
Fast forward to Sunday. I read an article that says that being dehydrated can make the effects of altitude worse. And I have noticed that my pee is a little dark, but I drink water all the time. So yesterday I did a test. I drank my body weight in water. Well not really, but I drank 7 liters. I was chugging all day long. If it were gasoline it would have powered a car from Waikiki to the north shore and back. And what did I notice? My run yesterday was so easy. I didnt ever have trouble breathing and no bloody noses. I was shocked. And the best side effect was that I slept like a baby with no back pains and my back is 90% better. I am not sure if that means it was my kidneys that were making it hurt (i have had some kidney issues in the past where they have shut down) or if it was just dehydrated muscles, but I am a believer now. WATER...It's not just for hangovers anymore.