Mark Lane's IMFL '17 RR, Need some help.

Mark Lane

This is a tough Race Report to write and submit, but I'm hoping for some helpful feedback. This was my third trip to Florida, had a pretty good race last year looking for a little improvement this year. It didn't happen, I was almost two hours slower.

Swim:(1:27:59) The water was beautiful this year. I'm a 2:00 per 100 open water swimmer, so this was about spot on.

T-1:(12:10) Crowded, chaotic, slow, and did have a porta-pottie stop.

Bike:(6:41:14) Slower than last year, mostly uneventful but this is where the trouble started. I've had some issues with feet swelling on the bike before, and always thought it a function of hydration/electrolytes. In training, if staying on nutrition, feet swelling seemed to be at a minimum. Note: shoes are not tight at all, I like my shoes loose on the bike and run. On the bike hourly intake was a 24 oz. bottle with 370 cal., and 700 mg sodium with the other electrolytes in balance, also drank a bottle of water each hour, p'd at miles 60 and 90, and in T-2. But by mile 70 feet were swelling and hurting, did the last 11 miles with feet on top of shoes. I was still optimistic because in the past once I got on the run, feet calmed down.

T-2(8:33) Crowded, slow with a porta-pottie stop.

Run(7:12:48) Feet did not calm down, managed to gut out first 6.5 mi running, but then started walking some. Got pretty disappointed on the way back, didn't walk any last year til mile 16. When I got back to the turnaround for loop 2, I had planned to quit- I never plan to quit/ hate quitting-but my friends from back home said that it's only 6:30, you have til midnight to do 13 more miles-that even though I was having a bad day that I needed to try to finish. I did, and it was obviously ugly. This was IM number 4, I know things hurt, but this was over the top. Crazy thing is that the next morning, feet just a little sore, no redness, blisters, or anything??

If anyone has any advice, I am wide open. Even though I'll be 60 in April, I know I haven't done my best IM yet!

Jeff Horn

Mark way to tough it out.  If you were wearing EN gear I probably said hi to you at some point (I had obnoxious Red/Flouro Wattie kit).  Do you have any heart history or ever had a stress test or echocardiogram?  Did you experience any shortness of breath, or coughing up frothy sputum?  Have you ever worn compression socks during bike or run?  Has this ever happened during your long training rides?  Just thinking of fluid overload conditions that would transmit to a dependent position like the legs.

Satish Punna

Hand and feet swelling can also be a sign of too much sodium load.  Do you use the same amount of salt in training , or do you have similar symptoms in training?

Mark Lane

Thanks Jeff & Satish, Get physical every year, no known heart problems, no symptoms, no medications, but do occasionally cough up something that could be frothy. Don't wear compression gear, but willing to start. It does happen some in training, but I can do the same thing on consecutive Saturdays, one time it does, next time it doesn't, but never this bad. As far as sodium intake, last Saturday was nothing I haven't done in training. I will use my race day nutrition plan for months before an IM, it's always a work in progress, and I'm still learning how to adjust it for weather conditions.

Robert Sabo

What is your weight? Did you drink one bottle of GE and one bottle of water every hour?  Did you also take in extra sodium?

Swelling (water retention) can happen with both Hyper- and hyponatremia.  (too much or too little sodium).

Shaughn Simmons

Agree with Robert, first how much do you weigh?

Second, can you post your ride and run files for us?  What is your FTP?

With some posted data and more information, this group can better help answer and offer advice.

SS

Mark Lane

Thanks Guys, I'm 6'3" and on race day weighed 188#. The last time I tested the FTP was 239w. Not a very fast runner, last time I tested vDOT was 37. What I drank was a 24 oz. bottle of Infinite with ~700 mg. of Sodium and drank a bottle of water with no extra Sodium, this is per hour. It may take me some work to upload a bike file, never done it before, but my IM rides are very conservative, like .68 to .70 goal with the end of day average actually lower. Shamefully, I haven't even uploaded my Garmin from raceday, will do when I get home, and post.

Mike Roberts

Hey Mark,

Bummer on a difficult day, but way to tough it out.  You would feel a ton worse about the day had you pulled out and not finished.  I got to learn more than I ever wanted to about Hyponatremia years ago when my buddy collapsed at Mile 138 of IMoo and spent 48 hours in a coma.  He drank 50% Gatorade (the old stuff with far less electrolytes), 50% water for the first 2-3 hours, then switched to all water as his stomach started to object.  I'm as far from a doctor as one can get, but I've successfully followed the simple concept of 1,000 mg per hour if I'm consuming about 1 L of liquid per hour (1 L = 36 ounces or 1.5 of the bottles passed out on course in IM).  I also like the fact that Gatorade Endurance comes pretty close to meeting that ratio - 1.5 bottles gets you 1.05 L and 930 mg per hour.  Pretty close.  In a ridiculously hot race, I may shoot for 2 bottle per hour, but I also increase my electrolyte intake so as not to dilute the sodium levels in the blood.  Two bottles of GE gets me 1,240 mg per hour (just a bit short of the 1,333 mg that the 1k/hr ratio calls for).  Remember, it's not necessarily the gross amount of electrolytes you consume in an hour; it's a matter of helping the kidneys maintain sodium balance.  If you really did consume 48 oz of liquid per hour, or 1.4 liters, but only 700 mg, you were consuming roughly half the electrolytes I would have tried to consume.  Compound that hourly deficit over 6.5 hours, and you could have diluted your sodium levels.  Florida was pretty hot this year, but it doesn't sound like even close to two-bottles-per-hour hot.  Oh, and whenever I turn to water over GE, I hit the Base Salt pretty frequently.  In short, if you can tolerate salt, I'd focus in on the amounts you're taking, keep some records, experiment in training and fine-tune things before your next big race.  Just my two Lincolns.

MR

Robert Sabo

I agree with Mike. Hyponatremia is the bigger worry.  There are some folks who are salt sensitive like Coach Rich who would get swelling in his hands with too much NaCl.  So I would also recommend testing a larger consumption of sodium.

Shaughn Simmons

@Mark Lane we are about the same height and weight.  I raced IMFL back in 2015 with @Mike Roberts
Conditions then very similar to your race conditions with high humidity.  

I remember that Mike had a hand full of salt pills the night before for dessert.

Given my sweat rate at ~ 55 ounces / hour and body comp, I was on the 1,300 mg sodium / hour plan.  I still found it difficult to sufficiently hydrate on the bike taking in ~48 - 50 ounces / hour in those conditions.

Per Mike/Robert S. - a long ride test is in order using higher sodium requirements.

SS

Shaughn Simmons

The method I use to perform sweat test is that I consume as much as I need before I begin the test.  Not recommended that you go into the test dehydrated.

Key is to weigh yourself right before you get on the bike.  I try to simulate temps and humidity of race conditions as much as possible.  I drink as much as I need to during the test.  Once I am finished, I weigh myself immediately and take the difference of my beginning weight less my ending weight.  

For simplicity purposes, let's say I lost 2 lbs during the 1 hour test.  1 gallon of liquid weighs ~ 8 lbs and is 128 ounces.

I lost 32 ounces plus the 12 ounces I drank or 44 ounces in this example.  Let's assume I performed the test at 80 degrees and 60% humidity.

Now I know I need to drink about 2, 24 ounce bottles/hour (48 oz) under similar conditions and add to that if I am racing at 85 degrees and 70% humidity.

The amount of sodium in sweat averages about 500 mg sodium/lb sweat (and ranges from 220 to 1,100 mg) If you lose two pounds of sweat per hour for four hours of intense swimming, biking, running, etc., your sodium losses become significant (4,000 mg)

For a long course IM under extreme conditions given a high sweat rate as validated by the sweat test, Gatorade Endurance alone is not going to be enough sodium and you may be required to supplement with salt tabs.

When supplementing with heavy quantities of salt tabs be sure to use "Buffered salt tabs" like Salt Stick Brand.  Tabs that are not buffered when taken in large amounts can cause bad stomach issues.

Mark Lane

@Mike, Robert, and SS , Thanks so much for the input, I will definitely revamp my nutrition plan for 2018 per yall's advice.