I alway take 3 in the morning and have two taped to my bars just I case in start to hurt.....

I've also taken OxyContin to get through mountain bike races with a broken arm.....

I used to pop two Advil in transition with my pre-race gels before every race.

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The point is, ladies and gentleman, that speed, for lack of a better word, is good. Speed is right, Speed works. Speed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit.

Really strange as I'm in the same exact situation....and have the same question?!?

You are likely going to get a lot of "don't do that", but I have found a couple pills can go a long way in muting some aches and pains when racing.

Just make sure that you have a plan and execute it, rather than just popping pills when things hurt. Pain can be a good guide for when to back off a bit and I have heard small things like nagging pain can turn into major injuries like a ruptured achilles.

I have taken a couple Advil during a marathon, some tylenol in an Ultra. It won't make you superman, but if you can take your pain from a 7 to a 5, you will have a much more enjoyable day out there.

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/kj

http://kjmcawesome.tumblr.com/

You might want to goggle NSAID and endurance sports first.

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Train safe & smart
Bob

I had the a calf injury one year I was just getting over one year and another time back was flaring up a day before IMAZ. I rode with 3 vocidin in a seran wrap and ended up taking one at each race around mile 8 of run. No issues for me and it got me through it in full strength.

I finished my first 50 mile run (last 10 miles) on a 5/500 hydrocodone. I felt great while doing it, but the next few days sucked because I worked a lot harder than I should have due to the lack of feedback from my body as a result of the painkillers. Yes, it can be done. However, you will more than likely be in more pain afterwards as a result.

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Dave Stark
dreamcatcher@astound.net
USAC & USAT level 2 certified coach

Here's the lowdown but with the usual disclaimer: This should not be construed as medical advice or a substitute for consultation with your own physician. I speak only in generalities.

With that out of the way...

The issue with NSAIDS really has more to do with your kidneys than with your stomach. While it is true that NSAIDS (Alleve, Advil, Indocin and the like but NOT Tylenol) can cause stomach upset and ulcers with chronic use, they are unlikely to give you a lot of problems as long as you stay within the recommended dosage on race day. Kidney issues are a potential problem though even when these drugs are used at the correct dosage. All NSAIDS have the potential to induce renal injury but the risks of this are significantly increased in the setting of dehydration. There is also a theoretical risk associated with prolonged exertion leading to muscle breakdown (unrelated to the NSAIDS but the combination can worsen the effects on the kidney). All this to say that NSAIDs are potentially harmful when used during endurance events.

If you do choose to use them, NEVER use more than the recommended dosage and ALWAYS be sure to stay maximally hydrated.

As for the use of narcotic painkillers, this is technically illegal (operating a bicycle while impaired by painkillers is considered DUI) is potentially very dangerous to you and those around you and may be considered doping (though I cannot attest to this last part. I am unsure if opioids are on the list of banned substances). I certainly would not advise this and as one other person mentioned, it has the potential to lead to injury as you are blunting your pain response and thus liable to overexert.

I hope this helps.

Cheers

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Jeffrey Sankoff, MD
TriDoc Coaching/TriDoc Podcast
Train hard, train healthy
http://www.tridocpodcast.com
http://www.tridoccoaching.com

many thanks all

no hard stuff for me, one alieve is enough for me, hopefully

cheers

another MD same disclaimer same advice -

kidneys are the issue - careful with electrolytes - ie you need them. nsaids increase risk of hyponatremia. maybe throw a saltstick in your nutrition

For many of the same reasons outlined by tridoc, I stay away from advil or aleve and use tylenol instead.

Apparently tylenol is hard on your liver but not an acute risk. The kidney issues from advil complicated by dehydration worry me and I know of a few folks who ended their day in the medical tent after using advil during the race, anecdotes of course.

two in right after the first half of the mary is done...

never a problem!

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The entire event (IM) is like "death by 1000 cuts" and the best race is minimizing all those cuts and losing less blood than the other guy. - Dev

The British Journal of Sport did a study on ultrarunners and their use of painkillers and noted that a large percentage use painkillers in some form. While the study noted that the runners felt the painkillers provided effective relief, another German study found that those using the painkillers experienced as much muscular discomfort during the event as those not taking the painkillers and also had significantly more medical issues post event. I've linked the abstract to the British study below. There are plenty more out there that detail the potential medical issues from combining analgesics and endurance sports. Thousands of people still do it though and not all of them have issues so it's just a personal decision to weigh the increased risk of renal failure, gastrointestinal problems and liver failure with the benefit of decreased pain sensation.

http://bjsm.bmj.com/...47/10/e3.13.abstract

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Jesus , so I have advice ranging from take the hard stuff when you like to renal failure !

Well I did ask

I may just suck it up

Take Traumeel. It is homeopathic and has little no side effects.

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_____________________________________
DISH is how we do it.

I looked this up awhile ago on the WADA Global DRO database and anything more potent than codeine would require a TUE. With respect to people with chronic pain, they can actually be less impaired if their pain is under control and have adequate time to adapt to any change in medication. Don't knock the effects of pain to kill good sleep and concentration which in turn affect one's ability to drive, ride a bike, make smart decisions, etc.

WADA database link:
http://www.globaldro.com/m/

Taking codeine out of the blue on race day isn't wise for all of the reasons described previously.

General rule of thumb: if you need something stronger than codeine, you probably shouldn't be racing.

Paracetamol (tylenol in the US?) is pretty safe in the usual doses. Taking them four hourly during the event should do no harm and might just keep your shoulder from ruining your day. NSAID is a much more risky strategy.

My $0.02: I've raced\trained on tylenol and ibprofen with no problem, take 2 pills before the race you'll be fine

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res, non verba