It basically depends on the quality of food you eat (electrolytes taken in) and how long your workouts are (electrolytes taken out). Probably consuming one or two gatorades after your daily workout or throughout the day is enough. During your longer run/bike workouts it's best to drink both water and some sort of electrolyte replacement drink. Gatorade is okay because it has carbs in it, so try it out in training before your race to see how much sugar your stomach can handle. Nuun might be a better way to go if it can't.

In Going Long: Training for Ironman Distance Triathlons, pg 196, Joe Friel and Gordo Byrn say:

"Sports drinks should be used during exercise lasting an hour or more. Generally, an athlete should take in 16 to 32 ounces (480-960 ml) per hour, depending on body size, known rate of fluid loss, and heat."

As for Recovery, "They should be used immediately following exercise and up to two hous later for best results."

To figure out your sweat rate to determine how much you should be drinking during and after your workout check out Amby Burfoots article at Runner's World.

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-242-302--10084-0,00.html

I know you only asked about electrolytes, but water and the lytes go hand in hand. You can't really talk about one without talking about the other. Hope this helps. I'm sure BBB will have more wisdom to add.

I've gotta ask- you say you run at the collegiate level... shouldnt these things be common sense to you by now? Not just this question, but a lot of the stuff youve been posting about- like ice baths. I dunno about you but I knew all about proper hydration, recovery, and repair before I hit my junior year of high school.

Hats off to ya if youve managed to this far off sheer talent alone. I wish I had that much going for me!

Sports drinks are a very helpful and quick resource to get some lytes and fluids, quick and with fearly good taste...
Now they are not the answer to get faster or stronger, and they are not a replacement of a good balance diet.
For every workout session less than an hour, water is just enough to support your needs...and the electrolytes...well, a banana, and orange, and apple, are more than enough to give electrolytes.
As Toni said, there is no way that you can take a pill of electrolytes and no fluids...that might really upset your GI by the way. Check in this site under Trainning go to Nutrition, there are plenty of good informational pieces and easy to read...that might help you.

Hi All-
Sorry for the delay-
Yes I run DII X-C.
And many of the things I post here, I am uncertain of, hence the posts.
However, certain principles which I believed to be true, I have often found to be proven false. This is another reason I love this sport: One can never truly learn everything. So when I most the seemingly mundane questions, it is largely because some preconception has been severely thwarted, or thrown out all together.
Sorry for the lack of clarity.