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Race Day Pain Management
Well... I am 28 days, 18 hours, about 30 minutes away from my first IM. It also happens to be my first attempt and traveling 26.2 miles on foot. My longest runs have only been up to 15 miles. I notice around 14 miles in a general pain sensation in my feet and knees. On race day I am hoping the pain will go away around mile 16
. Just in case it does not should I take aspirin, ibuprofen, or some other pain reliever? I should of thought about this earlier when I had some time to practice. I still have a RR and a few long runs to experiment.
I would be interested in hearing what those with some races under there belt do. Thanks...
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Comments
Tom,
you'll probably hear some folks tell you that race day ibuprofen / tylenol was a godsend, and made their day. I don't doubt that's true for those folks.
I also have never done an IM, so please, take what I'm saying with a grain of salt.
There's a bunch of pretty good research out there that suggests that taking ibuprofen during long endurance events is dangerous, as it increases your risk of hyponatremia. In addition, it may dull a pain sensation that's actually trying to warn you of something. IMHO, I don't think ibuprofen is worth the risk during long distance events like these.
Mike
I stay away from pain meds during training and racing for the same reasons as Mike. I know a lot of folks who use them during IM's and marathons though.
Do you know what's causing the pain? There could be some way to address it directly if you know the cause. New/different shoes, orthotics, gait analysis. PT, etc.
You may want to post to the Medical Forum too.
+2 on the risks of using NSAIDs like ibuprofen during a race. I've done about 15 IMs, and, sadly, "pain" on the run is part of the package. By "pain", I mean a pervasive sense of soreness through the legs, not a sharp, acute rip like a sprained ankle. I've never used anti-inflammatories during a race (or during traiing, either) for the very reasons Mike mentions.
As Matt implies, if the pain has a specific location, it might indicate an impending weakness in a joint or muscle, which could be a harbinger of an actual injury, and that needs to be dealt with before the ultimate stress of the race. But if it's just a generalized soreness, feeling of tightness, or ache, well, that's part of the process of running for hours on end.
Are you walking 30 seconds or so every mile during your training runs? That can often help retard the onset of this type of pain. Also, close attention to staying hydrated may help a bit as well.
I always carry it in the ziploc bag of drugs and have a "shut down pain" fast policy. In reality, I don't use it very often.
-Dull, usual aches? No ibuprofen. Yeah. Feet hurt after running lots of miles.
-Weird, strange pain of any sort, happening in muscles where it usually doesn't happen? Ibuprofen.
-Headache, not caused by dehydration. Ibuprofen.
I would not bother. It is going to hurt anyway. Any drug strong enough to make the pain go away during an IM run is going to make you so wasted you are not going to be able to finish. The pain will go away when you get within a couple hundred yards of the finish. Until then it is going to hurt.
Some swear by the stuff, some avoid it like the plague. I will leave the science to the science guys.
What Chris said, IM just hurts, that's just the way it is. Good news is, it "only" hurts from about...mile 14 or 15. Bad news, it's get exponentially worse each mile. Good news, your ability to maintain mental focus on anything, even pain, gets exponentially worse also
.
The net is what I describe as a buzz or static throughout your whole body and your head. Your body is sending so many whack signals to your head, from everywhere, and it gets very noisy up there. Bottomline, unless you're taking morphine of some such, ain't nothin' gonna make you go "ahhhhh" and not hurt
Now THAT hurts!
And yeah, an Ironman marathon really freaking hurts.
Make sure to have post-finish Guinnesses on ice too - that's a must. If Irish doctors can give it to women that just gave birth, as a recovery drink, then we can have it after a short little IM.
When you cross the finish line, find RnP and buy THEM a beer for getting you there! Maybe that's what Tom is talking about.
No meds. You are taxing your body enough and to add the variable of a med with that much effort under your belt isn't best.
Remind me about it the next time we cross paths and lets see if there is a solution for you.
Vince
Nothing to add really on the meds question. I've never used them in a race and it is often hard for me to use them ever....well except for when the lower half of my face was broken last year. Some people's bodies are used to them because they are more regularly using them for whatever personal reason they have. If you're body is not used to a particular pain med late in the IM run is most definitely not the time to try it.
Funny, you didn't ask about the day after....that'll be fun. Make sure there are stairs where you're staying so you can walk down them on 5/2....muuuhahahaha (sinister laugh -- all in good fun, of course)
The funny thing is always felt worse after an open marathon than I did after my IM. I have had others say the same nearly 100% across the board.
Vince
I think running hard for 26.2 does worse damage to your body than surviving the IM or IM run!!! But, I wouldn't know, I walked most of mine.
No doubt about it - part of the reason I don't do them anymore (I also don't like all the miles of running needed to do well at that distance.)