I was hoping to get a few ideas from those that might have some more insight into physiological issues than me, so here goes:
I just DNFed IM KS, having to drop out after 10K on the run due to throwing up, dry heaving and feeling quite weak. A quick trip to the medical tent revealed apparent dehydration as the cause. It may also be worth noting that my trisuit was completely caked in salt. Be that as it may, I feel like I drank enough up to that point - 20 oz Gatorade before the start, 3x 20 oz water and 20 oz Roctane Electrolyte Replacement on the bike, and water + cola at every aid station on the run up to that point (that would be 6 I believe). As for nutrition, I had a sandwich with nutella before the race, as well as 3 honey stinger waffles and a banana on the bike. What was weird was that when I started throwing up, there was a ton of liquid in my stomach, as well as things I had eaten hours before (most notably, the banana), which leads me to believe that a large portion of the liquids I was drinking just sat in my gut without being absorbed.
This is not the first time I had this issue, the same thing happened at IM KS last year, although I managed to finish quite slowly then - but Oilman later that year (70.3 in Houston in November) went without any nutrition issues. Could this be somewhat related to heat? Or am I just not noticing the problem in colder races because I am not sweating as much, thereby not getting dehydrated even though my stomach may not be processing hydration/nutrition well even then?
Any pointers would be appreciated.
Your effort is too high to allow you to absorb the calories. You can mess around with what the liquids and food were, but mostly it was your effort level.
People don’t seem to realize that this is a limiter, and in long distance racing, could be considered THE limiter.
The amount of food that will empty from your stomach is dependent on effort level. If you were sitting down in the couach you could pound down 4,00 calories of fast food or pizza in an hour without so much as thinking about it. But in the race, not so much.
A big part of pacing is figuring out which effort allows you to get the calories and liquids digested. That actually changes depending on the heat actually, so it takes practice to work it out.
I actually find half iron the most challenging for food absorption since your effort is usually right on the edge of the effort that allows you to absorb food and drinks. At iron distance you usually are significantly lower effort and it goes down.
Good luck
Thanks - I figured as much for absorbing calories. What I am not entirely clear on is if the same applies for hydration issues as well?
You didn’t absorb the fluids or the solids–odds are they never left the stomach. Gastric emptying varies based on many factors including activity. Large volumes, solids and particularly fats, proteins and fiber leave the stomach much more slowly. A small non-fatty meal will leave the stomach in about 90 minutes on average whereas a big Thanksgiving dinner will lay there for hours. Every once in awhile I’ll get the tabloid thinking patient with a stomach full of pizza on endoscopy who will tell me indignantly that I said no food after midnight and he ate that pizza at 11:45 PM.
You can improve this by decreasing your effort which will allow for more blood flow to the intestines. You can also help by avoiding a large pre-race meal unless it is several hours before. You’ll need to experiment with this in training because everyone is different and what works for others may not work for you.
Applies to a lesser extent with regular water but does apply.
As Roubaixman so adequately pointed out, there are many factors, but in my experience when an athlete has this problem, particularly as badly as you did, their effort was simply too high.
I just DNFed IM KS, having to drop out after 10K on the run due to throwing up, dry heaving and feeling quite weak. A quick trip to the medical tent revealed apparent dehydration as the cause. It may also be worth noting that my trisuit was completely caked in salt. Could this be somewhat related to heat? Or am I just not noticing the problem in colder races because I am not sweating as much, thereby not getting dehydrated even though my stomach may not be processing hydration/nutrition well even then?
This is a tell-tale sign of incomplete heat acclimatization. As others have posted, your problem was insufficient intestinal blood flow, likely because of “excess” skin blood flow. I saw many cases of this in Hawaii: mainland-athletes powdered with their own salt on the bike or run until acclimatized (after 5-10 days). You might have suffered serious heat illness had you NOT become nauseated and slowed to a stop. Sometimes DNF is the disguised healthier choice.
This is a tell-tale sign of incomplete heat acclimatization. As others have posted, your problem was insufficient intestinal blood flow, likely because of “excess” skin blood flow. I saw many cases of this in Hawaii: mainland-athletes powdered with their own salt on the bike or run until acclimatized (after 5-10 days). You might have suffered serious heat illness had you NOT become nauseated and slowed to a stop. Sometimes DNF is the disguised healthier choice.
Is it? I’ve trained for years throughout all ranges of TX (and other) heat. I almost always return from hot rides caked in salt. I don’t know how you can definitively tell someone via the internet that they haven’t heat acclimated enough because their kit is caked in salt.
I’d agree with a lot of the others who say it was likely pace/effort related. Or that on the bike about 80 ounces of fluid was consumed for a ride took how long? Me personally, I shoot for 40 ounces an hour. So, 80 over 56 miles might have been a bit shy. It’s hard to say. If by heat acclimatization you mean the poster might have been dehydrated to start, then yeah maybe.
But I don’t think that one can definitively say that salt caked shorts are a firm indication of incomplete heat acclimatization.
This is a tell-tale sign of incomplete heat acclimatization. As others have posted, your problem was insufficient intestinal blood flow, likely because of “excess” skin blood flow. I saw many cases of this in Hawaii: mainland-athletes powdered with their own salt on the bike or run until acclimatized (after 5-10 days). You might have suffered serious heat illness had you NOT become nauseated and slowed to a stop. Sometimes DNF is the disguised healthier choice.
Is it? I’ve trained for years throughout all ranges of TX (and other) heat. I almost always return from hot rides caked in salt. I don’t know how you can definitively tell someone via the internet that they haven’t heat acclimated enough because their kit is caked in salt.
But I don’t think that one can definitively say that salt caked shorts are a firm indication of incomplete heat acclimatization.
Advice in a forum is hardly ever specific enough for the wide range of individual differences. Just saying that salt conservation through sodium reabsorption in sweat glands is one of the physiological adaptations to heat stress, especially humid heat. You see the white powder at first and then it “usually” disappears.
The same has happened to me 3 times. The problem is really too much effort.