I just finished my first 70.3 this weekend and I must have gone through 8-10 salt tabs throughout the day - I started cramping towards the end of the bike.
On the bike, I finished 3 gu’s + 3 Gatorade Endurance and I had a mix of water, gu’s and Gatorade during the run.
Is there a risk in too much salt?
I would say somewhat yes but probably not…I took a salt cap every half hour starting at like 6 hours into a 29 hour 100 mile extravaganza and by the end my hands and feet were pretty swollen which I think was mostly from the salt. No cramps though…
Next time around I will probably cut back a bit to a tab per hour and see how that works out…
I take two salt sticks per hour in an IM. I took 20 of them in my last race with no issues. This is on top of gels and gatorade and stuff. I don’t have issues with cramping but I do feel like they help with muscle fatigue somewhat.
Did taking 20 of them affect for better or worse any stomach issues?
My last 70.3 I had the worst bloating and pain I could ever imagine… Needless to say my time was terrible as all I could do was walk/trot the final 13.1. I was told later that I could have just not had enough salt, but my Infinit formula has as much sodium as those salt sticks to begin with.
I just finished my first 70.3 this weekend and I must have gone through 8-10 salt tabs throughout the day - I started cramping towards the end of the bike.
On the bike, I finished 3 gu’s + 3 Gatorade Endurance and I had a mix of water, gu’s and Gatorade during the run.
Is there a risk in too much salt?
Pretty sure Jonnyo took a tab per mile of an IM marathon on at least one occasion.
This is just n=1 anecdotal so take it FWIW…
Arizona 2008 (April version) was to be my first IM, people were talking about “pre-loading” sodium so I said hey why not? I know, nothing new blah blah. Probably drank a bottle of Infinit the day before and took a few (no idea now how many) salt tabs the two days prior. Not a ton.
Mile into the swim I got severe vertigo to the point I didn’t know up from down and couldn’t keep my face out of the water. Started vomiting and every time I tried to swim I’d shove my head into the water. Scary stuff. Pulled from my first IM a mile in!
Vertigo lasted a while, MRIs and neuro consults, all the neurologist could come up with is that there is a membrane in the inner ear, one side made of potassium the other of sodium (probably said medically incorrectly, whatever), and the ratio was affected by the amount of sodium I had taken in.
True? I’ll never know. It never happened before this and never happened after.
No issues. The only time I’ve had some stomach cramping is when I went through my bottle of infinit too fast in a 70.3. I had an 800 Cal bottle and it was a combination of drinking too little water, too many calories and consuming the concentrated stuff too fast.
Usually, stomache cramping/issues is from going too hard with your fitness. You need to realize your stomache is working hard too digesting food.
I take two salt sticks per hour in an IM. I took 20 of them in my last race with no issues. This is on top of gels and gatorade and stuff. I don’t have issues with cramping but I do feel like they help with muscle fatigue somewhat.
I do this same thing exactly. No issues.
Helpful thread. I’ve been experimenting with upping my salt tab intake. Not to take this on a tangent but how do you carry and retrieve your tabs? I typically use a small baggie but that’s a pain. There has to be a better way.
Thanks for all of the replies.
For the 70.3, I carried on the bike, left at transition and they had tabs at each water station for the run.
Exactly, forgot to mention this was 70.3 Miami and it was hot as ballz too.
Just don’t put them in a tic tac box, they stick to the walls like crazy 
On the bike I put 2 of them in a tiny ziploc bag (find them at Michaels or other craft stores) and tape them to the aero bar extensions behind the water bottle using electrical tape. I pull a baggy and rip a corner open with my teeth.
I tried the salt stick dispenser thing but it sucks…
Helpful thread. I’ve been experimenting with upping my salt tab intake. Not to take this on a tangent but how do you carry and retrieve your tabs? I typically use a small baggie but that’s a pain. There has to be a better way.
I just finished my first 70.3 this weekend and I must have gone through 8-10 salt tabs throughout the day - I started cramping towards the end of the bike.
On the bike, I finished 3 gu’s + 3 Gatorade Endurance and I had a mix of water, gu’s and Gatorade during the run.
Is there a risk in too much salt?
I had the “pleasure” of meeting a doctor in the med tent who told me that salt tabs are his number one source of business. As he explained it, the gut needs water to process sodium. Insert sodium without water and the gut will raid your muscles for water, bloat and stop processing anything else. Dehydration, cramping, vomiting ensues and you have your ticket to the med tent.
Ever since then, my electrolytes come diluted in the form of Infinit or Gatorade. Along the way, I see folks experiencing this lesson for themselves and hope they come away with the knowledge this doc shared with me.
Scott
I’m sure you can have too much of anything in theory.
Interesting story, 2 weeks ago at my last 70.3 I took 2 tabs before the swim, probably another 6 on the bike, 1 in T2 and 2 around mile 5 of the run. Hammer Enduralytes. The bike course had an oops and ended up providing only water, which I learned on the bike at mile 10, so I ran out of liquid nutrition pretty quickly and attempted to supplement electrolytes via pills.
By mile 7 I was burping a ton, all I could taste was that raw pill flavor. Those pills have a scent to them, and it’s not good coming up with 6 miles left to go.
I just finished my first 70.3 this weekend and I must have gone through 8-10 salt tabs throughout the day - I started cramping towards the end of the bike.
On the bike, I finished 3 gu’s + 3 Gatorade Endurance and I had a mix of water, gu’s and Gatorade during the run.
Is there a risk in too much salt?
Pretty sure Jonnyo took a tab per mile of an IM marathon on at least one occasion.
I have taken 4 - 8 on the bike then 26 saltstick tabs during the marathon for probably five of my hotter Ironmans. I think it was a bit too much.
I will take one every 2 - 2.5 miles on the run now. Prob 10 ss tabs for a hotter Ironman marathon. BUT I usually only drink water/coke/redbull for the run. I won’t get the sodium through gels or gatorade.
I just finished my first 70.3 this weekend and I must have gone through 8-10 salt tabs throughout the day - I started cramping towards the end of the bike.
On the bike, I finished 3 gu’s + 3 Gatorade Endurance and I had a mix of water, gu’s and Gatorade during the run.
Is there a risk in too much salt?
Medical Answer:
Yes, there is a risk of too much salt. It’s called hypernatremia. 2-3g/kg of sodium can be fatal (seizures–> coma → death), however the incidence and prevalence of fatal hypernatremia in young healthy people is very low because a normal thirst drive will typically lead someone to consume enough free water to prevent any catastrophic sequelae. In people with an abnormal thirst drive (dementia, endocrine diseases, brain damage, etc…) and those with certain renal diseases it’s a different story.
There have been a few case reports of college frat pledges dying after ingesting liters of soy sauce in hazing incidents.
In terms of the Salt Stick capsules…Even if we assume 1g/kg is lethal. As a 77kg person I would have to ingest ~358 salt tabs (405 Plus capsules) and little/no free water to get my self into trouble…Probably not going to happen!
Got stomack problems in a race when I felt some initial cramps, and took several (5?) salt tablets. Probably to much salt in one go.
I ran a 70.3 Saturday, also. I may be missing out on something…but, other than putting salt on my food, I don’t take it in training or in races. Now…I know it’s in my Gatorade endurance and I’m guessing it’s in my GUs & Cliff blocks. But, stand-alone salt?
Do people come to these salt products because they’ve been in distress? Or, do people start taking it to thwart the possibility that they “might” go into distress?
I’m 51 and I’ve never had a cramp in a large muscle (fingers, toes and feet, only).
Both. I take them to prevent, but I take more when I start to cramp generally in my quads on the run.