Post-Race Diarrhea
Normally I have never had ANY GI issues when training/racing, but I've had some small issues lately and wanted to get people's feedback.
In a HIM race simulation workout, I had a little bit of cramping at the end of the bike because I think I over-concentrated my EFS drink and didn't hydrate enough before or during with straight water. After the workout I had my first instance of "runner's diarrhea." It didn't last long, and I'll spare you the details, but it was definitely a red flag for something that I wanted to keep monitoring.
Last weekend I raced the Rev3 Quassy half with a slightly modified nutrition plan and did really well with hydrating the day before and morning of the race. I followed my nutrition plan (http://swimbikerunlive.com/2010/06/rev3-quassy-half-ironman-nutriti...) almost exactly as I outlined and felt pretty good (nutritionally) during the whole race except for maybe needing to take a few more swigs from my liquid shot flask than I did. About two hours after the race my stomach started gurgling something ugly and I had to rush to the bathroom again. Another red flag since I don't want to have to rush to the port-o-john mid-marathon (or bike) at the FullRev in September at Sandusky.
Here is the quick outline of what I took in:
Pre race -
one bottle of EFS along with optygen and multi-v with breakfast
Bike:
one bottle of liquid shot mixed with water
two bottles of EFS
Half a bottle of water grabbed from aid station
sipped on one additional liquid shot flask divided between the last 2.5 bottles
Run:
Drank 16 oz of EFS and then water at every every aid station
Sipped on one additional liquid shot flask.
Any thoughts? Maybe I'm only having the GI issues at race pace, because my lower-intensity workouts seem to handle all my FE stuff fine and I love it. Too much water? Too concentrated?
I recently recalculated my hydration needs and jumped up my water intake while training. I really just want to make sure that the extra water is making it into my system while racing and not just going straight threw me. (sorry for any gross visuals....)
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Robert Kunz on -
Jamie,
Thanks for taking the time to seek some help here at team.firstendurance.com. At first glance, I suspect its just a matter of just a bit high on the concentration. Take note that your ability to absorb nutrients changes throughout the race. Right out of T1 your body is transitioning from blood to the upper body, to shifting to your legs. At this point its a good idea to go light on the nutrition and fluids and consider just some light sips of water. Typically 20-30 minutes into the bike athletes start to feel much more efficient, the breathing becomes more rhythmic and you settle into your bike. At this point and throughout the rest of your bike is the best time to consume your calories, though try not to go more than about 10% solution.
Out of T2 its the same story..your body movements change from cycling to running, so for about 20 minutes focus on your form and trying to get comfortable and don't force the calories in. During the run consume about 25% less calories per hour than on your bike at it is more difficult to absorb calories while running than while biking.
For your full Ironman your pacing should be slower than HIM, so the consumption of calories on the bike should be easier.
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Permalink Reply by Jamie on -
Awesome Robert. Thanks!
I knew that absorption changes from the swim to the bike to the run, but didn't know about the "first 20-30 minute" rule.
I'll try taking in just water or a diluted EFS bottle as my first drink on the bike instead of my 400 Cal Liquid Shot mix on my next long ride/run at race pace to see what happens.
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Permalink Reply by Robert Kunz on
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Not so much a rule as an observation. Ease into your nutrition just like you would your pace on each portion. I know Pro Michael Lovato likes to have water the first 45 minutes of his bike during Ironman since its super light but does tell his stomach that it needs to keep blood in the digestive system so nutrients can get absorbed. Small, frequent sips following T1 and T2 until you find that easy rhythm may help considerably.
Jamie said:Awesome Robert. Thanks!
I knew that absorption changes from the swim to the bike to the run, but didn't know about the "first 20-30 minute" rule.
I'll try taking in just water or a diluted EFS bottle as my first drink on the bike instead of my 400 Cal Liquid Shot mix on my next long ride/run at race pace to see what happens.
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