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Abdominal pain from end of bike through first part of the run in Olympic distance races

Diyan

Jul 1, 12 20:28

Post #1 of 10 (844 views)

Abdominal pain from end of bike through first part of the run in Olympic distance races	Quote \| Reply

This has happened to me in a number of Olympic distance triathlons the past 2 years. Somewhere towards the end of the bike I will start feeling a little bit of tightness in the abdomen, then I will start the run with a really bad stitch, a number of times forcing me to walk sections of the run or keeping sub-optimal pace, but will eventually disappear, usually within the first 2-3 miles on the run. I've tried changing carb and/or fluid intake, but I've never been able to find a good correlation between less/more carbs/fluids/electrolytes and having cramping problems. I usually take a gel about 30 minutes before the start, and another one on the bike, about 1-1.5 24oz bottles of electrolytes on the bike, and some mix of water/electrolytes from the aid stations on the run. I've never had this problem with sprint distance triathlons, probably due to the shorter duration. I am looking forward to any suggestions you may have.

GonnaHurt

Jul 2, 12 10:58

Post #2 of 10 (771 views)

Re: Abdominal pain from end of bike through first part of the run in Olympic distance races [Diyan] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

I can't speak for anything longer than an olympic considering my last 1/2 IM I experienced the same issue. However, I did an Olympic in hot conditions a week ago and here's what I did/do and it's worked fine with positive outcome(s).

I generally take in about 300 - 450 calories 3 hours prior to a race of this distance and will eat a banana if possible. I sip on gatorade or powerade the morning of the race along with some water, but I don't get silly with it leading up to the start.
A gel about 15 minutes to start.
This last olympic was fairly hot (low 90's by 10 am), so I had a sports drink (mixed at 275 grams of carbohydrates which also has some potassium, a bit of protein (which probably isn't necessary) and bunches of other stuff) and my aero bottle was water. I continually drank out of the water bottle and every 12 minutes I took a big drink from the mix. My average on the bike will put me on the course around 1:05 and this setup worked great considering the heat. (For a previous Olympic it wasn't nearly as hot and I only used the mixed drink; no water.)

I still generally take a gel at the very start of the run and will get water only (regardless of whether I want it) and powerade depending on what my body tells me.

I know you'll get varying opinions on this but I would think depending on your bike time, it sounds like you're getting dehydrated. That's what I attribute my last 1/2 failure to considering I tried the same nutrition the year prior (at the same race) with great success. The only difference was the heat and I didn't drink enough water this last go round.

My .02 cents worth.

Dilbert

Jul 2, 12 11:33

Post #3 of 10 (745 views)

Re: Abdominal pain from end of bike through first part of the run in Olympic distance races [Diyan] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

Are you sure it is GI? It could be a small hernia.

Fast&Crooked

Jul 2, 12 11:38

Post #4 of 10 (737 views)

Re: Abdominal pain from end of bike through first part of the run in Olympic distance races [Diyan] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

Are you swallowing water during the swim? I had a similar experience that eventually went away on its own. It lasted for about 1 season.

moonbeam16

Jul 2, 12 11:50

Post #5 of 10 (726 views)

Re: Abdominal pain from end of bike through first part of the run in Olympic distance races [Diyan] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

I am new to triathlon and have had a similar issue, but it does not always occur. I did my first half iron distance recently and began to have abdominal pain about 3 miles into the run. The pain was just to the right of my belly button and was incredibly severe, causing me to have to stop and vomit. It subsided slightly after that, but then came back even more severely around mile 11, forcing me to walk for a bit. My abdomen was slightly tender for about 24 hours after the race. In my first Olympic distance triathlon (a couple weeks prior to the half), I had no issue at all. I'm not sure if/when it will occur, or what causes it, but it can definitely ruin a run.

fulla

Jul 3, 12 1:33

Post #6 of 10 (666 views)

Re: Abdominal pain from end of bike through first part of the run in Olympic distance races [moonbeam16] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

do you use caffeine at all? during the race or pre race? i used to get this when i was drinking lots of coffee during the week etc. turns out i had irritable bowel syndrome so now just try to avoid caffeine if i can.

moonbeam16

Jul 3, 12 13:19

Post #7 of 10 (623 views)

Re: Abdominal pain from end of bike through first part of the run in Olympic distance races [fulla] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

I really don't have much caffeine, and this is definitely not a GI thing. This seems to be more like a muscular pain/strain. I am actually beginning to wonder if it could be a spigelian hernia...

Diyan

Jul 3, 12 16:39

Post #8 of 10 (589 views)

Re: Abdominal pain from end of bike through first part of the run in Olympic distance races [Dilbert] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

The cramp is not always at the same place, sometimes it's in the lower left side of the abdomen, sometimes right under the diaphragm, so I wouldn't think it's a hernia in my case.

Diyan

Jul 3, 12 16:49

Post #9 of 10 (577 views)

Re: Abdominal pain from end of bike through first part of the run in Olympic distance races [GonnaHurt] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

How much liquids do you usually take during an olympic distance race, and what's the amount of sodium and potassium (and/or other electrolytes) in them?

GonnaHurt

Jul 5, 12 6:24

Post #10 of 10 (516 views)

Re: Abdominal pain from end of bike through first part of the run in Olympic distance races [Diyan] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

I use the same setup for longer rides/races and it's worked fairly well as a whole. Again, I'll be openly honest when I say that if it's extremely hot I'm still figuring out how much more fluids (just water) I need for longer races (1/2 IM) as I tend to lose sight on just drinking water alone.
I take this on the bike only:
Calories are around 281:
Sodium: 400mg - 16% Potassium: 116mg - 3% Total Carbohydrate: 68 - 22% Dietary Fiber: 0g - 0% Sugars: 15 Protein: 2.38 - 4%

Again, I know this depends on size, sweat rate, etc. I'm not an excessive sweater and I'm around 5'10, 167 lbs. (That's apparently fat in the ST world :)