Wildflower Frustrations/Nutrition help
Hey coaches,
I just completed Wildflower this past weekend, and was actually quite frustrated with the results. I have no idea why but I didn't stick to my nutrition plan. I switched nutrition the week before the race as I was typically having 3 bonk bars and 3 bottles of scratch during the bike. I switched back to Perpetuem because I found it sustained me and I wasn't having to come out of aero position to chew the bars. When I transitioned to the run, I found myself with two quad cramps within the first half mile, not sure if it was because I pushed too hard in the bike or because of poor nutrition. I was fortunate that a fellow racer handed me a couple of salt pills which alleviated the cramps about a half an hour into the run. Again I think it was because of poor nutrition but I found myself having to walk a good 70% of the run. My quad cramps returned along with two very painful hamstring cramps with about three miles left in the run. Do you have any suggestions as what to do? This is the third time I've completed this race and has been by far my worst performance ever. What confuses me is that I was there three weeks prior and was able to do a 2.1 swim, 71 mile bike and 5 mile run and had absolutely no muscle cramps. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Ted
I just completed Wildflower this past weekend, and was actually quite frustrated with the results. I have no idea why but I didn't stick to my nutrition plan. I switched nutrition the week before the race as I was typically having 3 bonk bars and 3 bottles of scratch during the bike. I switched back to Perpetuem because I found it sustained me and I wasn't having to come out of aero position to chew the bars. When I transitioned to the run, I found myself with two quad cramps within the first half mile, not sure if it was because I pushed too hard in the bike or because of poor nutrition. I was fortunate that a fellow racer handed me a couple of salt pills which alleviated the cramps about a half an hour into the run. Again I think it was because of poor nutrition but I found myself having to walk a good 70% of the run. My quad cramps returned along with two very painful hamstring cramps with about three miles left in the run. Do you have any suggestions as what to do? This is the third time I've completed this race and has been by far my worst performance ever. What confuses me is that I was there three weeks prior and was able to do a 2.1 swim, 71 mile bike and 5 mile run and had absolutely no muscle cramps. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Ted
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Comments
Not a coach but I'll chime in. Terrain, temperature and pacing play a huge role in this. On your 70mi ride or your RR ride, what was the weather? Do you train with power, if so, what was your power for your rehearsal ride versus that of your bike split at WF? Again, if you race/train with power, what was your VI (variability index) for both rides?
Anecdotally, I did an RR-type ride and brick the weekend before WF (due to conflicts the weekend before) with no issues. In this ride, I averaged 22W higher power (with steady VI) than my bike at Wildflower and felt fine going into my brick, versus you guessed it, quad cramps on the run at Wildflower.
I deliberately chose a hilly course for my RR ride with a similar elevation profile to WF, but you can't control the weather, and one thing I definitely did not replicate in my RR was temperatures approaching 90 degrees (although some reported higher) and excessive dryness. Based on the weather forecast for WF and knowing the difficulty of the run course, I further scaled back my target IF to an even more modest target which I still was unable to hold effectively.
Looping back to nutrition and hydration, I know these definitely were a factor for me although I don't suspect they were the only factor. It's difficult for anyone to make general recommendations for others about what their nutrition strategy should be for any race because it can be highly individualized and highly dependent on race environmental factors. That said, I am not a fan of perpetuem, and especially not a fan of it for hot weather races due to the protein content which tends to spoil in hot bottles as well as the generally low electrolyte content. That last point comes with a bit of a disclaimer, a full perpetuem bottle actually does not have that low of an electrolyte content, but is way too calorically dense, so that to get enough electrolytes from perpetuem alone, you would likely consume way too many calories than could be effectively processed in a higher-intensity and hot race like WF.
Before closing, I have to state the usual disclaimer that the science is still not as conclusive as many people think in terms of electrolyte supplementation and cramp prevention. However, for me, a lot of evidence points to there being something more going on than simply pacing-induced cramping.
Thanks Trevor,
Unfortunately I don't train with power. I figured I wouldn't analyze the data enough for it to be worth shelling out the money for the power meter and new watch. To be completely honest, this season is the first time I've actually used my HR monitor, I've always gone based off of perceived exertion.
During my 70 mile ride conditions were a little bit cooler but my pre ride nutrition was definitely different. We had bacon and pancakes etc the day of the training tri. Race day I had a peanut butter sandwich, Green Machine Naked Juice and a banana. When I used to race before I typically would have about 700-1000 calories before racing. I haven't really been consistent with my pre training meals so I wasn't sure how that'd affect things.
The 70 mile ride was actually at WF, I just ended up adding an extra hour to get the time in. The first time we went to train at WF we did the swim and bike on Sat and the run on Sun. The run wasn't an issue. The weekend where I rode the 71 miles was the "training tri" weekend. I didn't have everything setup so the transition times didn't simulate a race. I.e. after the first 56 miles I headed back to camp since I was out of nutrition and filled up on about 400 calories prior to heading out again.
As far as the perpetuem is concerned, when I PR'd at WF, all I used was perpetuem on both the bike and the run and had absolutely no problems with cramping. The bottle that I had this year had 4 scoops, i.e. 540 calories, but I don't think I took on enough hydration hence the cramps, or pushed a little too hard on the bike. I think I'll probably go back to the Skratch-mix based on what you've said as that does seem to have a little more staying power, it's just being able to eat on the bike is what concerns me. I usually have Bonk Bars on my ride but they're pretty difficult to chew and breathe at the same time especially hunched over in aero. Any suggestions? What did you use for your race?
Thanks,
Ted
Insufficient calories usually manifests through brain fog or lack of ability to focus, followed by a gradual decrease in pace 'despite working really hard' and eventually just falling back to a slow pace until you can eat. Occasionally, you'll see someone who's able to push through the fog, and then cramps can be another mechanism your body uses to slow you down.
Figure out how many mg of sodium per hour you got on race day. General recommendations vary wildly, but I'm guessing you were pretty low. Skratch is an option, as it's fairly high sodium, but there are lots of good options out there, from electrolyte pills to sodium-enhanced gels. You should be able to find something you like, rather than feel like you're being forced to eat/drink a particular thing.
As far as eating on the bike, small bites are key. Stuff you can still get a breath around.
I'll be first to admit I botched my nutrition on this one. When at all possible, I use on-course nutrition and supplement it as needed. For this race, that meant my primary source of both calories and electrolytes was going to be from the on-course Gatorade endurance. The Endurance RTD bottles are 150 calories per bottle and 600mg of sodium. If if could have drank 2 FULL bottles per hour, I should have been in pretty good shape calorically and sodium. But, I find it difficult to drink that much sports drink sometimes and simply crave water, so I had the frame bottle on my P4 mixed with water and EFS gel (another 400 calories & 1000mg+ of electrolytes) to call upon as needed.
In my mind, this was going to be enough for the course, but it ended up just not working out. I consumed my frame bottle over the course of the race, but where I'm pretty sure I went wrong was with the Gatorade that I was drinking from my A2. I would top off my A2 (between aero-bars) at each aid station, but this method made it very difficult for me to actually gauge how much fluid I was consuming versus drinking from any bottle directly. It 'felt' like I was drinking a lot, but my symptoms as the ride progressed were consistent with both being under on calories and sodium as Mike describes it, and the lethargy and literal sleepiness I felt towards the end of the ride were very consistent with symptoms of hyponatremia.
In regards to the bonk bars, I have never been big on solid calories during racing. I have always favored liquid calories or gels, almost always more liquid-y gels in my case, like EFS liquishot.
In the end, I just messed this one up. I just haven't ridden in hot/dry conditions this season prior to WF and I simply projected/guessed what I should have needed for the ride, rather than backing it up with an actual ride in similar conditions with my exact nutrition plan to see how I felt. Basically, I didn't do what the RR tells you to do and I suffered for it.