Cramps

[ThePrez]

Ok, so I think most of us have had cramps before, but this is a little different then a "why do I have cramps" question.  At Tunis, I felt really strong until I had some cramps come on during the final lap.  My legs still felt strong, but it took me a while to get the cramps out (of course long enough to get dropped by the group)  In the past, I had cramps while my legs could hardly pedal anymore, but that's just not how it was this time.  Any reason?  I did drink a bottle a lap just like I had planned, which seems adequate.  96oz of water and powder should have been enough on a day like Saturday, so could it have been something I did in the week before the race?

[kgyoung]

I don't know what your prerace hydration was like, but when I told someone that I drank before the race consisted of a large cup of coffee at 7:30am they nearly killed me. Obviously you are much smarter than I am about racing hydration, but could prerace hydration have been a contributing factor for you as well?

[kgyoung]

Another thought.  Although it wasn't warm, the air felt very dry to me.  Could that have dried you out more than you realized during the race?

[bmacattak]

Could be from putting out exertions harder than what you've done in awhile. In race situations you are going to push yourself harder and I've noticed in some of my races that if I put out a harder effort than what most of my training has consisted off I eventually begin to cramp. I've been using sport legs for alittle bit and they seem to help. Although, I learned the hard way what happens if you take too much of them. So I take only 2 an hour before my rides.

[Vanessa]

did you eat at all during the race? 

[CybulskiJohn]

whats in your powder? is it isotonic?

a simple solution is prerace calcium and magnesium tabs, i dont know dosages but i can find em. a secondary solution if its say a regular texas summer day, is Rolaids bout midrace, a quick source of magnesium and calcium. (tums is only calcium) they both help facilitate(flush) the lactic acid, which im sure you're aware of isnt good. course theres no substitute for training and newbs like myself shouldnt use rolaids as a crutch.

[ThePrez]

on top of the four bottles of water/cytomax, I also had one powergel, and one Evervit Cheerpack, but nothing solid to eat...unless you consider dirt a solid.  I already know I need to be doing more intervals....or wait....intervals period.  I was surprised how many of the attacks I could cover, but that probably was my demise.

[awcarpenter]

A little potassium will go a long way with you.

[CybulskiJohn]

dang gum it, im sorry, but i gotta give a quick science lesson in hydration. your body's cell have 300 osml. fact. things like coffee, soda have and osml of 600-900+, which means they suck water out of your cells. fruit drinks and Gatorade are closer but bc of the high sugar content they fail, they're about 350-400 osml. cytomax uses maltodextrin, which isnt the same as what gatorade uses (straight up glucose and fructose) but it still has a higher osml then your bodies cells. So, the answer is isotonic sports drinks, or hypo tonic, the aforementioned would be hyper tonic. there not readily available in the US as far as i know, they give em to little kids to hydrate them quickly. google isotonic drinks i guess. the cytomax is great for the engery with all the amino acids it has, but not to hot when it comes to hydration, just like gatorade, the amount of sugars and carbs they put in them is sufficient to support u for a while and kind of mask the dehydration. adding more water to your powder wont work either, that will just lessen the cytomax's ingredients, its still hyper tonic. i think ive read about isotonic drinks used in the tour de france. gatorade (and other similar products) doesnt hydrate, it supplements engery. doctors at our school call them out all the time for false advertising.

but most likely you weren't dehydrated, 90+oz is plenty and shouldnt have contributed to cramps, im leaning to the magnesium/calcium...check if cytomax has them, if they arent in the main nutritional facts box, they are in small amounts....

if cytomax has over 100mg of potassium and sodium, which id put money on, then id start preracing mag/cal or rolling with the rolaids

[ThePrez]

Thanks John, I will check on that when I get home tonight.  Keep spilling your wisdom, since Ramirez no longer logs on.

[CybulskiJohn]

oh eric, yeah no prob. i did a quick search and all i found in the US was http://www.andyroddick.com/3903/3903/.

[ThePrez]

Group Buy!!
http://www.drinkarizona.com/ProductCart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=2&idproduct=238

[architec]

for Blakes cramps......
http://www.midol.com/

[BubbaSteve]

for Blakes cramps......
http://www.midol.com/

hahahha

[ALF]

for Blakes cramps......
http://www.midol.com/

ahhhh you beat me to it.