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Stomach pains ruined my race.Help!!!

Hey guys Competed in the mad march sprint tri today (250 m swim, 10 mile bike, 3 mile run) and did really well in the swim, apart from the guy in front of me wouldnt let me past, had a fairly good bike but as soon as i got off the bike for the run my lower abs and obliques were really hurting and with every stride i took they seemed to get no better.

I presumed this was just cramping after the bike and would go away but it just stayed the same. I could squeeze in on my sides to get it to go away momenterily but as soon as i let go it came back and obviously running the whole race with hands on my side isnt my best look lol!.

So basically I was just wondering if anybody had any idea as to what the problem was?. Maybe my core wasnt strong enough, However i generally find i have very good core strength, I can stand on a swiss ball for friks sake. I hadnt eaten too much that morning, mainly because my registration was at half 6 but my wave didnt start until 9 am.but Had a carbo drink on the bike and gel at start of the run.

Im doing the UK Ironman 70.3 in june so need to make sure everything is perfect before then.Any help you could give me would be awesome.

Cheers in advance

CPT333

Comments

  • MGMG Posts: 470
    Was this the first time you've used gels? If so it could've been a very common stomach reaction.



    Nutrition is a very important and oft forgotten part of a triathletes training schedule. If you dont practice it youll find yourself in trouble (especially at IM70.3UK!!!). Train with the nutrition you are going to use and practice when you need it. Generally you shouldnt need anything more than a carb drink for a sprint, but for a 70.3 you'll need a plan.



    Try different companies, I go for SIS drinks but I use powerbar gels and bars,SIS gels dont agree with me.
  • husslerhussler Posts: 237
    I remember I had a similar problem during a sprint race a couple of years ago... I got onto the run and after about 500m it felt like I had been smacked in the stomach by a baseball bat or something! I had to walk a bit then run for the whole 5k!



    I also had carb drinks and a gel before the run. I told my coach and he said that you shouldnt need a gel or carb drink for a sprint. Just normal juice or water with a little bit of salt in to stop cramp.



    It might be because you had a gel and didnt wash it down well enough... a mistake people often make is having gels and washing them down with carb drink... this overloads you with carbs and can mess you up. Try having gels with water or squash only next time you use them.



    Even when Im doing Long Distance stuff, O3 distance etc.... I will only drink water on the run with my gels. All my carb drinks are consumed on the bike then switch to gels for the 18mile+ run.



    Hope this helps:) Good luck in your next race, just put this one down to experience!
  • al_fordal_ford Posts: 119
    I expect it's the gel/carb drink combo. I've had this before and had to change the concentration of the iso/carb drink.

    I now only run with water and gels as hussler suggests.

    Sort out your race nutrition during training and never try anything new on race day.

    For a sprint tri I'd just go for the odd glug of water on the bike and no extra gels/carb drinks.

    Make sure you've got it sprted before your 70.3 - it's a long way to run with stomach cramps.
  • BritspinBritspin Posts: 1,655
    Sprint distance water only...gels wash with water only not even squash as this still contains carbs....& salt does not stop cramps especially on a sprint in March, unless nutrition overall is appallingly bad you cannot physically have lost enough electrolytes to cause cramp (which as I contend above I don't believe is a cause anyway), so I would say you are over doing the gel/drink combo. Remember that the supplement companies are in it for the dollar so it is their interest to produce research that shows their stuff to be essential, & one cannot deny that feeding is necessary on long distance races, but there are other ways.
  • CPT333CPT333 Posts: 56
    Ok guys thanks for your help.Will have to pay a lil more attention to race nutrition i guess.Any hints or tips will be great.What do you guys use pre/post.during race?
  • Sound like GI discomfort. Which can be caused by a combination of carbohydrate (CHO) intake and high intensity exercise, which by the sounds of it, is what happened. What everyone has said is right, don't try anything new on race day. You need to have experimented with feeding strategies during training so you know what your body can deal with. You shouldn't need any CHO supplements for sprints as it's unlikely that you will get through the stores your body already has! However, it will be a bit more important for when you do IMUK. Definately start practising in training with the products you plan on using during long races. Especially for IMUK, a big consideration is the tolerance beyond around 4 hours. You're body is likely to stop wanting to take in anymore CHO. I'd recommend keeping the solution % lower during the longer races, especially as you get further in. Although It is getting very near the time, I'd recommend speaking to a nutritionist and get practising with strategies asap.



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