Wanted to get some input on quad. cramping. This has been a real problem for me. Anything longer than a 20k ride 5k run and my quads start cramping forcing me to walk run the rest of the run. My first attempt to address the problem was hydration and electolytes. I don't think those where the root cause and the addition of electolyte tabs didn't make much of a difference. This happens in cold or hot weather even after what I consider sub racing bike efforts. I never have cramping problems on run only events, the only time I had an inkling of cramping was the last three miles of the Chicago Marathon. I have only been at Tri's for the last year with no biking previous to that. Is this just a matter of patience and conditioning? Should I do bike/run workouts only to get through this sticking point? Any help appreciated, thanks, Norm.
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Re: Quasimodo Quads [NormM]
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My first thought is that you have a poor fit on your bicycle. Have you had a professional fitting?
My second thought is that you may not have enough of a cycling base (you said you just started this year). How many miles per week are you averaging, and what lenght of triathlon are you racing?
My third thought is that maybe you are going too hard on the bike. Have you done any brick workouts? Did you have the same result (cramping)?
My second thought is that you may not have enough of a cycling base (you said you just started this year). How many miles per week are you averaging, and what lenght of triathlon are you racing?
My third thought is that maybe you are going too hard on the bike. Have you done any brick workouts? Did you have the same result (cramping)?
Re: Quasimodo Quads [jhendric]
[ In reply to ]
I bought my bike from a local bike shop that has a good Tri clientle. The bike is a custom built Airborne Spectre frame. I am not knowledgeable enough to know whether the fit is optimal, however I do feel comfortable and have not had any problems that I am aware of. I have put in about 900 miles since May and usually do one brick workout a week. I have done 4 Tri's 3 Olympic and 1 1/2 Iron. I have cramped on all of these. The longest I have lasted is 3miles and on the 1/2 Iron I did not even last a mile even though I was riding at a pace that I was able to comfortably hold a conversation at. Brick workouts of 20K ride 5k runs I can do without cramping. Thanks
Re: Quasimodo Quads [NormM]
[ In reply to ]
Scroll down and read the post from Julie Donnelly about your back. The fact that it happens after you bike is a tip that your Psoas muscle gets contracted.
It's a great post and explains what is happening to your quads.
It's a great post and explains what is happening to your quads.
Re: Quasimodo Quads [NormM]
[ In reply to ]
It sounds like you're set up well (I'm assuming from your post that you received a professional fitting as part of your new bike purchase). A couple more questions:
- When you do your bricks in workouts, are you transitioning very quickly (as you do in a race) or are you taking a few minutes (to change clothes, go to the bathroom, et cetera)?
- Have you ever done a swim/bike/run brick? I wonder if the swim contributes to over-taxing your quads.
- 900 miles in 5 months seems low, especially for the number and length of races you've done (150 of your miles are in races), and considering that one race was a 1/2 IM. This works out to an average of only 50 miles of riding per week. Many seasoned cyclists that are getting back into shape after a layoff believe it takes 1,000 miles just to get back into the swing of things. I would assume that for folks such as you and I (I also started doing triathlon in May of this year) that it takes even longer just to get a decent foundation of fitness and strength.
Just for comparison (not chest-beating), I've put in 2,400 miles since buying my first bike in May, and I still feel under-prepared for my first 1/2 IM coming up at the end of October. The only quad-cramping problems I had was in my first race, a sprint, which I did 2 weeks after getting my bike. Fortunately, the cramps went away after the first mile, but they were bad enough that I decided I needed to really put in the miles on the bike.
So here's my thoughts: Assuming that you aren't spending any extra time in transition on your weekly bricks, and assuming that doing a swim/bike/run brick fails to reproduce your cramping, I'd say you need to increase your biking mileage. The fact that you cramp sooner in your run when the bike ride is longer leads me to believe that you're cycling fitness may be lacking. I'm not sure what your goals are, but somewhere in the neighborhood of 150 miles per week is probably adequate for 1/2 IM training, considering that you already have a summer and a few races under your belt. Another thing you might consider is going for a run, even if it's only for 10 minutes, after every bike ride. I do this and I'm to the point where I feel strange (albeit in a good way) running on fresh legs. I think that teaching your body to deal with the change is essential.
Let me know what you think.
- When you do your bricks in workouts, are you transitioning very quickly (as you do in a race) or are you taking a few minutes (to change clothes, go to the bathroom, et cetera)?
- Have you ever done a swim/bike/run brick? I wonder if the swim contributes to over-taxing your quads.
- 900 miles in 5 months seems low, especially for the number and length of races you've done (150 of your miles are in races), and considering that one race was a 1/2 IM. This works out to an average of only 50 miles of riding per week. Many seasoned cyclists that are getting back into shape after a layoff believe it takes 1,000 miles just to get back into the swing of things. I would assume that for folks such as you and I (I also started doing triathlon in May of this year) that it takes even longer just to get a decent foundation of fitness and strength.
Just for comparison (not chest-beating), I've put in 2,400 miles since buying my first bike in May, and I still feel under-prepared for my first 1/2 IM coming up at the end of October. The only quad-cramping problems I had was in my first race, a sprint, which I did 2 weeks after getting my bike. Fortunately, the cramps went away after the first mile, but they were bad enough that I decided I needed to really put in the miles on the bike.
So here's my thoughts: Assuming that you aren't spending any extra time in transition on your weekly bricks, and assuming that doing a swim/bike/run brick fails to reproduce your cramping, I'd say you need to increase your biking mileage. The fact that you cramp sooner in your run when the bike ride is longer leads me to believe that you're cycling fitness may be lacking. I'm not sure what your goals are, but somewhere in the neighborhood of 150 miles per week is probably adequate for 1/2 IM training, considering that you already have a summer and a few races under your belt. Another thing you might consider is going for a run, even if it's only for 10 minutes, after every bike ride. I do this and I'm to the point where I feel strange (albeit in a good way) running on fresh legs. I think that teaching your body to deal with the change is essential.
Let me know what you think.
Thanks, I think you may be right. It sounds like I don't have enough bike training under my belt. Yesterday I ran a 15K race ( This is one week after the 1/2 ironman) and had no problems at all with my quads. This race has a 283 step climb up steep stairs at the 5 mile mark and then runs another 1 1/2 miles through dune trails so it is a leg killer. My transitions on my brickworkout are as fast as my race transition times, generally under two minutes. One more Duathlon next weekend ( just run ride ) then Chicago Marathon Oct. 12 and no more races for a while and I will try to put in 100-150 mile a week over the winter with runs. Time will tell. Thanks again Norm.