I am having some major cramping problems, and wanted to get the groups advice on what I might be able to do to prevent them in the future. I am currently a cat 2 rider, so most of the road races have been between 70 and 95 miles. In almost every road race after about 2-2.5 hours my legs start having cramping problems. This past Saturday I was on a 20 mile solo break and they were especially bad (To the point that I almost could not continue) Here are all the details:
Location: Auburn, Maine
Weather: 72 degrees, overcast, but humid.
Race: 6 laps on an 11 mile course with 1100 feet of climbing per lap. Feed zone on every lap.
I started with a 28oz bottle of Gatorade and a 20oz bottle of Extran Energy Food mixed at half strength (http://www.extranusa.com/prodinfo/carbopowder.asp).
This is what I took on:
First Lap: 20oz bottle of water.
Second Lap: 28oz bottle of Gatorade.
Third Lap: 20oz bottle of Water
Fourth Lap: 28oz bottle of Gatorade
Fifth Lap: 20oz bottle of water.
After the first lap I kept the Extran in my back pocket and would sip from it every so often. On the food side of things I nibbled on a Clif Bar (finished one by the end of the race) and had one Clif Shot on lap 3 and one Clif Shot on lap 5. I made sure to take some big gulps of water with the shot and bar.
I can not believe I went through that many bottles. I was working really hard but that seems like A LOT! After the race I consumed 28oz of Endurox R4 plus another bottle of water. What is also weird is that I did not have to urinate until well after the race had finished.
I am thinking that this may be a mineral problem, has anybody had any luck preventing cramps with salt tablets or mineral supplements during races? Any suggestions or recommendations?
Thanks,
Andrew Knight
Team Director, Louis Garneau Racing
www.dkcycling.com
Location: Auburn, Maine
Weather: 72 degrees, overcast, but humid.
Race: 6 laps on an 11 mile course with 1100 feet of climbing per lap. Feed zone on every lap.
I started with a 28oz bottle of Gatorade and a 20oz bottle of Extran Energy Food mixed at half strength (http://www.extranusa.com/prodinfo/carbopowder.asp).
This is what I took on:
First Lap: 20oz bottle of water.
Second Lap: 28oz bottle of Gatorade.
Third Lap: 20oz bottle of Water
Fourth Lap: 28oz bottle of Gatorade
Fifth Lap: 20oz bottle of water.
After the first lap I kept the Extran in my back pocket and would sip from it every so often. On the food side of things I nibbled on a Clif Bar (finished one by the end of the race) and had one Clif Shot on lap 3 and one Clif Shot on lap 5. I made sure to take some big gulps of water with the shot and bar.
I can not believe I went through that many bottles. I was working really hard but that seems like A LOT! After the race I consumed 28oz of Endurox R4 plus another bottle of water. What is also weird is that I did not have to urinate until well after the race had finished.
I am thinking that this may be a mineral problem, has anybody had any luck preventing cramps with salt tablets or mineral supplements during races? Any suggestions or recommendations?
Thanks,
Andrew Knight
Team Director, Louis Garneau Racing
www.dkcycling.com
Last edited by:
BurtonSpeedy: Jun 9, 03 12:37