Do you also cramp in training?

Sometimes. There’s a finite amount of weeks/months in Chicago that you can exercise outside in 90 degrees with humidity. Those times that I would get longer, higher intensity rides in outside I would experience cramping but not to the extent of racing.

WHile I haven't gone through the same testing as you, I've experienced the same debilitating cramps on 70.3 races over and over again.
I've tried all the nutrition/supplement tricks. taking more electrolytes.......taking way more electrolytes.......pickle juice, hot shots, drinking plenty of fluids, etc etc.

Honestly, I really doubt your cramping issues have anything whatsoever to do with your sweat rate or electrolytes. More recent studies show there is no evidence to show that athletes sweating are actually short in plasma levels of electrolytes. Your body does a wonderful job to naturally keep these things in balance. Think about it, if your plasma/body levels were that low, why is it only your legs cramping? It would be systemic, no? And you'd probably be on your way to the hospital.

I think what it boils down to, and what has been discussed many times here, is that when you (and I) cramp on a 70.3 or any other race, it means we have pushed beyond what our leg muscles are comfortable with, and this is how they rebel, they cramp.
It sucks. Big time. There is no magic solution other than to go easier on the bike.

.02

Interestingly, I have never suffered from the same types of cramps in any of the 4 ironman distance events (on the same course as the 70.3's, tremblant). The difference? Well, I push a lot less watts on the bike at the full, yet I'm on the bike for twice as long. More evidence that I'm pushing too hard during the 70.3 I guess.

Effort was one of the first things I originally had on my differential. I purchased a blood lactate meter and did some testing at home to figure out my exact Lactate threshold and what zones I should be training and racing in. I never have a problem pushing the same Watts in a cool environment when my losses are minimal which lead me to think it was my hydration/salt especially during hot and humid temps.

I experience vastly less cramping in training than during races. A big part of that is almost certainly that races involve pushing toward limits in a way training mostly doesn't (and those limits might relate to electrolytes, not just other factors like muscle fatigue, so this doesn't rule out the notion that electrolytes are key). For me personally, I suspect car and/or airplane travel before races may also contribute, by effectively pre-tightening hip flexors, hamstrings, etc.

I'm a heavy, salty sweater. But I still wonder about the virtues of massive salt supplementation. The health threats associated with high salt consumption seem to be more long term, so if I had to guess, occasional mega-doses of salt during a race or even training probably aren't a big deal, but a little part of me does wonder...

Taking a 5 minute sample of sweat doesn't seem to take into account your body's remarkable ability to manage electrolyte balance over time. If you are sweating a bunch of sodium, your body will adjust to keep enough sodium going forward. As others have said: if you run low on sodium, cramping is the least of your worries.

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"Go yell at an M&M"

I could drink a liter of water followed by a liter of pickle juice and snort 12 lines of crushed salt tabs. I could then flex my foot the right away and cause a cramp in about 30 seconds. Cramping is almost always primarily caused by holding a muscle in tension, either constantly or intermittently, to an extent it isn't trained for (or couldn't handle even if it was trained). Salt, hydration, etc, might have a mitigating effect for some people, but you've got to look first to effort.

There are 5 short articles on cramping worth the read:

http://sportsscientists.com/2007/11/muscle-cramps-part-i/


the others are linked on the bottom of this article

ETA: https://sportsscientists.com/...at-and-electrolytes/ 2 part article that's also worth reading

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Brian Stover USAT LII
Accelerate3 Coaching
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