Stomach problems - doing an Ironman

Triathlon Forum
1

I’m doing Ironman USA in Lake Placid and I’m starting to get worried about my stomach holding up. I have a long history of stomach distress in long events, but I thought that I would be able to get a handle on it by this stage of my training. If you have any advice on what to do, please let me know.

To tell you about myself, I’m a pretty big guy for a triathlete, coming in at 6’3"-4", 190 lbs. I also sweat more than anyone else I have ever seen, which I think accounts for some of my problems. While doing long bike rides or bricks my stomach seems to shut down after about four hours. I get really bloated and start passing tons of gas. I can hold it together for the rest of a long ride (6+ hours), but when I start to run I get major stomach cramping, so bad to the point of having to stop, pass gas, and then trying to run again. Then I have to stop, pass gas again, and can finally run again. If things are going really well, I can pass the gas while running, but there are times when the cramps are too painful to move for long periods of time.

I take in a lot of fluids on the bike due to my sweat loss, about one bottle every 40-45 minutes. I know that’s pusing the upper limit of fluid intake, but when I’ve gone with fewer fluids I’ve had severe weight loss after riding (10+ pounds) and leg cramping while riding. All of those fluids are plain water, however, I have a mixture made up with endurolytes (Hammer Gel product) that I take before drinking the water. I’m taking in the equivilant of 4-6 endurolytes an hour. On really hot days in taking six pills an hour, on the cooler days I’m taking closer to four.

In addition to the fluids and endurolyes, I’ve mixed up my food in order to get something that works. I’ve done a combo of solids (bagels or bars) and gels (Hammer Gel), only gel, only gel with a handful of chips (people have said that seems to work), mostly solids (PowerBars, other energy bars) with a very few gels, and all solids. With everything I’ve tried, the gas keeps on coming back late in the ride.

If you have any sure-fire methods of calming your stomachs during long training days and races, please let me know. I’m thinking of trying something like Tums this weekend while riding, just to try to calm my stomach. All I do know is that I’m not going to be able to race well if I can’t get my stomach under control.

Thanks,

Adam

2

is it possible that there is something in one of the products you eat that you are allergic to? depending on what i eat i sometimes will get a stomach cramp(gas bubble) while racing. I’m getting ready for IM Florida so I’ll be interested in the replies to your post.

Archer

3

ok… i get this a lot too. i get it all the time on long runs. exactly what you’re describing.

but, i haven’t done an IM. i have done two half IM’s without any stomach trouble though mainly because I’ve at light before the race and eat gels during.

I find that it is almost always caused by eating too close to my long run. if i have anything more than a bagel within 2-3 hours before my run… im shot. the lighter i eat the better off i am. The gels during a race sit well with me.

that being said starving yourself before an IM is obviously a bad idea. but, i find that my stomach problems rarely occur because of what i eat during a run. it’s always what i ate prior to the run. check your pre-race diet out…

4

Hey adampon,

You may have one of several different minor G.I. problems that are easily treatable. One may be a build-up of matter in your colon. The plumbing that makes up your lower G.I. tract has a lot of curves and turns in it, some more than others. Especially at the upper left portion of your G.I. tract there is a sharp turn on most people that can collect blockages. People who eat a lot of refined foods and meat and have a diet low in natural fiber are susceptible to this. The stuff stuck in there is fermenting creating the gas you are feeling. The cramps are the sensation caused by the restriction of the G.I. tract while gas pressure builds up behind it. It is not comfortable.

First off, evaluate your diet for fiber and fluids. Be certain you are not dehydrated (you mentioned a high perspiration rate) and that you drink plenty of water. Make sure you are getting fruits rich in fiber and your intake of meats and refined foods is reasonable.

Second, see a G.I. specialist. I did for exactly the same reason. Depending on your age you may be a candidate for a colonoscopy. You’ll enjoy that. There are few experiences in life as enlightening as seeing a live television image of the inside of your own ass. It may be like having a Volkswagen parked in your ass, but it will reveal anything serious going on.

Third, your G.I. guy may recommend a fiber supplement like Citrucel, taken daily. That will help to.

Fourth, you can do what Jennifer Anniston, Brad Pitt and a host of other Hollywood stars do and get a colonic- basically a rinse out of the lower G.I. through the old back door. This is somewhat effective at removing blockages, build-up of crud, finding lost keys, etc. It is not common to loose 2-4 pounds from one of these things.

At any rate, don;t despair- there is a way (several as I listed above) to fix this. Good luck!

5

Tom D makes some great points.

Here’s my thoughts:

  1. First understand that an endurance event such as an IM puts huge stress on the GI system.

  2. I have come to the belief over the years that you need to have a bit of an Iron-gut to do well at Ironman. Why? It’s really simple. Some how, you have to be able to get roughly 200 - 300 calories an hour + 500ml to 1 L of water into your body to keep going. If CAN’T do this, you are going to be in trouble.

  3. I know this is NOT waht you want to hear, but perhaps the longer events are not for you. There is no shame in this at all. I have known a number of top triathletes over the years who have come to this conclusion after one or more spectacular melt-downs in IM events. They tried everything and nothing worked.

  4. If you want to keep trying, my suggestion is to keep it simple. My observation is that many people seem to eat/drink all manner of substances in in the faint hope that something will work. In this case simple is better( I did 9 IM races with water, Power Bars, the odd bottle of Gatorade, a few bananas and Coke). Find something that works and stick with it.

7

One thing is that malt sugar is very good for fermenting and creating gas which is why it’s the favorite food of beer yeast. I do well on lots of gatorade and just a little gel or a Baker’s cookie for long training sessions. I drink a bottle of strong gatorade with extra salt every hour. I can easily lose 2 lbs/hour even with drinking but I feel pretty good if I don’t forget to salt the gatorade.

8

Since you are using Hammer products have your read their fueling guidelines for an IM? I am wondering about your fluid intake. You say " I know that’s pusing the upper limit of fluid intake, but when I’ve gone with fewer fluids I’ve had severe weight loss after riding (10+ pounds) and leg cramping while riding. All of those fluids are plain water,"

How big is a bottle in ounces? Why only water? For efforts this long you should be taking in nutrients like maltodextrin (hammer gel) and protien for anything over 2 hours. If you are only drinking water it is possible that you are not keeping balance especially for someone who sweats a lot. I would suggest reading the Hammer site and even send them a detailed email and ask for help, they are very good about responding with great information in my experience.

9

I typically only have problems when eating solid food like a PowerBar or something like that, but nothing like the symptoms you are describing. I’d second the vote for a trip to a good GI, it sounds like something either GI or allergic in nature more so than a normal nutritional/water reaction.
Although…10lbs is extreme weight loss (>5% of bodymass), it depends on your bodyfat percentage, etc. I know I am severely dehydrated at 145lb from my normal 150/151lb and the lethargy shows it. You might consider additional salt or potassium to go with your water, but I know some people have reported problems with taking too many Endurolytes. Unfortunately GI problems are very person-specific. One possibility is that you are actually extremely low in water in your stomach. When this happens to me I get a bloated feeling, and I end up burping a huuuuge amount for several minutes. The solution is to drink as much water as is humanly possible and it usually goes away within 5 minutes. Just another possibility…maybe Tums would help???

10

Gordo talks about this in his book and website, and he commented on this recently in another thread here on Slowtwitch. His take is that most GI distress problems are really pacing problems in disguise. You may want to reassess you pacing and maybe try the next few long rides/runs at a slower pace and see if that doesn’t improve the GI distress.