Hi guys - just completed my first 1/2 IM and am stoked to achieve my goal time (6h) even through I had major cramps going on. Have no ideas what might have caused them so any advice would be appreciated:
In training I was completely fine. Peaked at 16h training then started into 3 week taper. Week 1 was fine, but then after about 10 mins of my first run of week 2 I felf one quad tighten up, and a few minutes later it cramped. As soon as I stopped to stretch it the hamstring and calf of that leg also cramped, and the other leg felt twitchy. I managed to stretch out the cramps but could then only just hobble around and had to get picked up and taken home. Had 2 days off, then went for a walk top test it out. Coming down some stairs the quad started to clench (tighten, then release when I took the pressure off) so I took it easy for a couple more days with some light riding and swimming. By the end of the week completed an easy 1 hour run with no problems so thought it was solved.
Initially put the problem down to a bad food day (too many easter eggs), but then in my final week of taper I was getting cramps in other places after relatively easy workouts.
On race day about 1/3 way though the ride both quads (at the point just above the knee) started to cramp when I stood up to attack a hill. This happened repeatedly so spent the rest of the tide in the seat and that was ok.
About 1/2 way though the ride got a real sore stomach just below the belt line. It didn't go away until 1/2 way though the run when I switched to water only.
As soon as I started running both quads (just above the knee again) were clenching and releasing with every step. This stayed for first 1/3 of the run. Second 1/3 of the run got better (perhaps because of the switch to water?) and I was running much faster and freeer. Third 1/3 of the run think I ran out of energy and both quads and 1 hamstring completely cramped. I stretched it out then hobbled to a drink station, got some drink into me, then managed to just plod to the end of the run.
At the end I couldn't even lift either leg to stretch the quad so I got a 15 min massage which freed them a little. The next couple of days I had just no strength to get up and down off chairs or stairs, and plenty of pain any time I tried. Today I just got another small cramp on the side of one leg for no apparent reason walking up a short path to the house.
I was pretty gutted to have all this go on out of nowhere. This is what I've worked out so far:
- Stomach may have been caused by water / gel imbalance. I drank a bit less on the ride than planned so possibly might have not had enough water with the gel just before I got the problem
- Run course drink was changed so I ended up having something that I'd never tried in training, and out of cups I couldn't really measure how much I was drinking or what strength it was (tasted weak)
- Best ride time I did in training was 3.5 hours for the distance, (but this was not hammering it) so the race time of 3.25 hours doesn't seem too out of line
- My riding technique sucks. No idea what rpm I do, but it's definitely a downward mash and not much else
- Had the same quad cramping problem on hills in a 160km race I did last year, but completely fine in an Olympic distance tri this year
Was I just fatigued from all the training? Or is it likely to be something else? My diet was REALLY good apart from the 1 easter egg binge that I thought might have triggered it, and I've had absolutely no other history of cramps during training.
Basically I stumped and don't know where to go next (apart from a lot of rest). I really want to work out how to get over / avoid this problem again so I can get on with my dream of completing a full IM. Any thoughts appreciated!
Congratulations dude, you're
Congratulations dude, you're pregnant.
No but seriously, could it have been caused by dehydration? You said that you did not drink as much as you planned.
Other things that come to mind are how much stretching do you do. Not just when you are cramping but do you stretch out daily?
Also, I know exactly what type of cramping you are talking about on your quads when you cycling. I had this happen multiple times last year on longer rides. Since then I have gotten a bike fitting and have made a strong effort to keep my cadence at about 90 rpm. This year I have not had a repeat of any quad pain. I don't know if this is related to one or both of these changes or neither but since I got them, I have had no more cramping.
Yep it could be dehydration.
Yep it could be dehydration. I drank a bit less (was aiming for 3 litres on the bike, but only got in 2.5) than I practiced in training and was obviously pushing it a bit harder. Also when I switched to water only on the run I made an effort to drink more and things got beter for a while.
It's time for a new bike so will definitely get a fit, and I know I need to work on the technique too.
Thanks for the ideas.
Hi, I too have had some
Hi,
I too have had some strange cramps and I am trying to track down the cause.
I am interested in your case as I too have triggered quad cramps walking down stairs. I have suffered some cramping the last couple of years and have been going through the process of finding the cause. I am pretty convinced that dehydration and a lack of streaching is to blame.
When I get them the onset is very sudden and usually walking down stairs. They seem to be limited to quads and Ham strings. Very painfull. 99% of times they will come good overnight as if they never happened.
Just wondering if you are still suffering them and what you found helped?
BTW I have tried a good magnesium supplement which appeared to help but not eliminate them.
Am working on my hydration regime at present.
After doing lots of research
After doing lots of research I finally put it down to over training / training badly.
I found a basic training plan on the web that seemed pretty straight forward. I used the structure to get an idea of approach and how long for each workout but that was all.
I really only trained at one pace, had my long ride on Sat every day and long run on Sun so those were quite tough days. I did have recovery weeks but didn't drop much time, and kept training at the same (no variation) intensity. It was only 10 week program so the increments each week were probably too big for my body too.
Also towards the peak time I got sick and was sleeping badly for no reason.
It took 2 months of rest and slowly rebuilding the training time before I was confident it was gone so clearly my muscles were fatigued and needed some recovery. I''ve been training and recovering very differently since then.
Hope this helps. If that's not your cause some other possibilities were suggested to me:
- dehydration
- not enough muscle strength for the pace / level of effort putting in
- a possible blood flow issue (not enough blood getting round the body fast enough and out to all the right bits of the muscle).