This is bugging me for some years and since it is hard for me to do an open water wetsuit swim with my bike still waiting for me when i'm done i cannot replicate it in training.
My problem is that in a race when i'm done with the swim i get cramps in my legs when removing the wetsuit, sometimes even before i remove the wetsuit. It can be in the quadriceps, it can be a calf, a hamstring and even tib. anterior. Sometimes on a few at the same time. Sometimes they can get really nasty like 2 weeks ago where you could visible see the muscle cramping so severe in my left quadriceps that it hurts a lot. It eventually made me dnf the race after the bike.
I only have it after a wetsuit swim, but not in training although the water exit is slower since there is no rush. I will try to some some speedy exits the next training in open water. But no cramps in the legs ever in training.
We have almost no wetsuit allowed water temps. so i cannot say how it is when i would do a 1.9 km swim without wetsuit and go to the transition.
Sometimes it is worse, sometimes i manage to go just around it with changing position while removing the wetsuit. Sometimes i think it is a tempature related issue since almost always on the bike in a race my glutes get locked up. To the level that i cannot produce my normal power output. Sometimes in the race after the first 25- 30 miles into a 56 mile course they loosen up and i can up the power, but the time is lost already then. But even more important the joy and fun.
I can do a 230 watt training ride for 3 hrs and in a HIM race with the locking glutes only doing 200 watts. Again, these issues are there only in a race after a wetsuit swim, never in isolated training runs / rides / bricks.
I am reasonable flexible, already lowered the saddle with 7 mm to put less strain on the glutes / hamstrings but that didn't help in the last race. Changed wetsuits 4 times, i have no issues in open water swimming like anxiety or something, but it happens more or less every time in a race.
Anyone a clue what causes these cramps ang locked glutes on the bike?
Thanks,
Jeroen
Owner at TRIPRO, The Netherlands
My problem is that in a race when i'm done with the swim i get cramps in my legs when removing the wetsuit, sometimes even before i remove the wetsuit. It can be in the quadriceps, it can be a calf, a hamstring and even tib. anterior. Sometimes on a few at the same time. Sometimes they can get really nasty like 2 weeks ago where you could visible see the muscle cramping so severe in my left quadriceps that it hurts a lot. It eventually made me dnf the race after the bike.
I only have it after a wetsuit swim, but not in training although the water exit is slower since there is no rush. I will try to some some speedy exits the next training in open water. But no cramps in the legs ever in training.
We have almost no wetsuit allowed water temps. so i cannot say how it is when i would do a 1.9 km swim without wetsuit and go to the transition.
Sometimes it is worse, sometimes i manage to go just around it with changing position while removing the wetsuit. Sometimes i think it is a tempature related issue since almost always on the bike in a race my glutes get locked up. To the level that i cannot produce my normal power output. Sometimes in the race after the first 25- 30 miles into a 56 mile course they loosen up and i can up the power, but the time is lost already then. But even more important the joy and fun.
I can do a 230 watt training ride for 3 hrs and in a HIM race with the locking glutes only doing 200 watts. Again, these issues are there only in a race after a wetsuit swim, never in isolated training runs / rides / bricks.
I am reasonable flexible, already lowered the saddle with 7 mm to put less strain on the glutes / hamstrings but that didn't help in the last race. Changed wetsuits 4 times, i have no issues in open water swimming like anxiety or something, but it happens more or less every time in a race.
Anyone a clue what causes these cramps ang locked glutes on the bike?
Thanks,
Jeroen
Owner at TRIPRO, The Netherlands