My last two races (Full Ironman and a Half) I have finished without any problems, but if I eat or drink anything after the race I have major digestive problems. To the point where I am going to the bathroom every 10 to 15 minutes for #2. In both races this lead me to the medical tent for 1 liter of IV, which fixed the problem.
In both races I was consuming a gel every 45 minutes, and drank enough gatorate/water (4 to 5 bottles)that I had to pee during the bike and run. Could this be an electrolyte imbalance, or something else? I don’t usually have issues during training, or during the race.
It seems like you are hydrating enough but that has been the cause of my stomach issues. Usually with marathons but I would have really bad stomach cramping after a race. As soon as I started to concentrate on drinking more during the race my cramps went away.
Yes, I am usually very hungry after an ironman distance race. I don’t think I really eat a ton afterwards, but I usually do have something within 5 to 10 minutes. I have noticed the gatorade endurance has caused me problems during the race, so i do watered down gatorade powder and bottles of water.
They are the powerbar gels, I did not really think much about what I was using during the race because I always had problems afterwards and not during. After my last half I felt like I did the race before (a full) and knew what was going to happen. Thats when I thought it might me an imbalance or something.
Does having more electrolytes in your system than you need cause this?
Are you drinking Coke and or Red Bull on the course?
Are you drinking any chocolate milk or dairy after finishing?
Those two ingredients DO NOT mix well together. They will curdle in your stomach within minutes and will cause major cramping.
Last I’d say to try and just drink a full electrolyte drink or two right after finishing.
If you are getting through the race fine, you are the envy of a lot of competitors who can’t get that worked out. An electrolyte or hydration issue would have affected you during the race, so I think you might simply be expecting too much to eat within 5-10 minutes of finishing. Post-race, most of us need heart rate and temperature to come down before blood flow for digestion makes the priority list. I suspect the IV is not the fix so much as a stalling tactic to get your temp down, while also replacing what you lost in the bathroom.
Are you drinking Coke and or Red Bull on the course?
Are you drinking any chocolate milk or dairy after finishing?
Those two ingredients DO NOT mix well together. They will curdle in your stomach within minutes and will cause major cramping.
Last I’d say to try and just drink a full electrolyte drink or two right after finishing.
Good luck.
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Clearly you haven’t spent much time in cocktail bars.
It takes time for your digestive system to get back to normal, much of your blood is in your legs and other organs, don’t eat solids for a while, a carb drink and then a protein drink closer to 20 mins later would be what most nutritionists would suggest, maybe a little melon or fairly high fluid fruit at most. Just like eating too close to the start of a race causes runners Diahrea, eating too soon after does the same, if it can’t be digested the body expels it.
Liquids aren’t better than solids in this situation. Liquids will empty from your stomach even faster than solids, and a sugar-y drink will worsen diarrhea. Yes, you need to prioritize re-hydration after the race, but with your history, it could be worth trying no food or drink for at least 15 minutes post-race.
If you are only drinking Gatorade, that might be a problem. I have heard of too much Gatorade giving stomach issues(very very rare). I would doubt that you can take on too many electrolytes just from gatorade in a half or full though. Maybe try alternating between Gatorade and water.
My last two races (Full Ironman and a Half) I have finished without any problems, but if I eat or drink anything after the race I have major digestive problems. To the point where I am going to the bathroom every 10 to 15 minutes for #2. In both races this lead me to the medical tent for 1 liter of IV, which fixed the problem.
In both races I was consuming a gel every 45 minutes, and drank enough gatorate/water (4 to 5 bottles)that I had to pee during the bike and run. Could this be an electrolyte imbalance, or something else? I don’t usually have issues during training, or during the race.
I would appreciate any advice.
My stomach got pretty upset mid run during my first half… back then i was using GU gels
Then i started to take some Imodium and using exclusively SIS gels during my races… which seams to have improve things greatly.
I was thinking about trying different gels and infinite to see if that helps. The major problem is that I have never had any major problems in practice, so it’s hard to tell if something new is going to work or not.
I think I’ll stay away from food and a lot of liquids 10-15 min post race and see how that goes. Thank you everyone for the advice.
