Weight loss during long rides/training days

jhpiii

Just did my final HIM race rehearsal and I lost about 8 pounds during a 2:45 bike and 50 min run. Weather was pretty mild, avg temp about 82 degrees and low humidity. I am a heavy sweater. This weight loss equals almost 5% of my body weight (168 lbs). I cramped up late in the run and just felt bad.

Do I just need more fluids? Salt? Food? Nutrition stats below. Thanks

Ride nutrition: 600 cal Infinit, 5 water bottles of about 20 oz each, 3 Fig Newtons, one gel, 4 Salt Stick tabs.

Run nutrition: one gel, 24 oz water.

 

Keith Wick

You definitely need more fluids as by my calculation you only took in 31.25 oz of fluid/hour. I'd add another bottle per hour, especially if your temp is in the 80's. I can't make any recommendations as far as salt, unless you let me know how much sodium is in your infinite mix. It seems that the 600 cal should be good for the HIM given your time. You can always correct this by adding a gel if you start to feel lower energy.

mgraffeo

is this similar to weight loss on other long rides and/or runs? If your stomach can process it, upping the fluids sounds like the right thing to do. I really don't think I could drink much more than you are drinking right now...

penlynwilson

Posted By John Peterson on 01 Sep 2011 08:45 PM

Just did my final HIM race rehearsal and I lost about 8 pounds during a 2:45 bike and 50 min run. Weather was pretty mild, avg temp about 82 degrees and low humidity. I am a heavy sweater. This weight loss equals almost 5% of my body weight (168 lbs). I cramped up late in the run and just felt bad.

Do I just need more fluids? Salt? Food? Nutrition stats below. Thanks

Ride nutrition: 600 cal Infinit, 5 water bottles of about 20 oz each, 3 Fig Newtons, one gel, 4 Salt Stick tabs.

Run nutrition: one gel, 24 oz water.

 

John: Do you have any sodium in your Infinit? What gel were you using? Have you done a sweat trial? Did you urinate during your RR?



 

jhpiii

 Thanks for the responses. 

Keith- you're right that I probably need more fluids but I am not sure how to carry them. I left my house with a full aero bottle, two bottles behind the seat and two plastic bottles in my jersey. Downtube carried my infinite bottle. Just not sure how to physically carry more fluid??

Mike - yes, this same issue has come up on my long runs. I will run for 1.5-2 hours and sometimes lose 7-8 pounds, especially this summer in the 100 degree heat. And carrying enough water on the runs has also been a challenge.

Penny - my infinit has 607 mg sodium per serving (284 cal per serving). I had a little over 2 servings on the 2.75 hour ride, so about 44 mg/hr. Then I had 4 salt stick caps at 215 mg sodium each during the ride, so another 312 mg/hr. Seems like plenty but the cramping happened anyway. Yes, I did urinate once during the ride. My sweat tests this summer were done in much hotter/humid weather and they indicated I might need to drink up to 50 oz fluid per hour. But how do I carry that much water on the bike??

Thanks again for your help!

penlynwilson

John: The #1 reason for craming is dehydration - not electrolytes. You need to work out a way to pick up additional fluid when you are out for your ride. Either find a store you can stop at, or hide bottles on the route. 50oz per hour is a lot. Not sure if your GI system can physically handle that. Slowly up your fluids and see how your stomach feels. If it starts feeling full or sloshy, back off and let it clear up. You may want to put marks on your water bottles using a Sharpie for every 2 to 4 oz and use that to track your intake. You might also want to look at some of the other hydration options like the speedfil on the downtube (holds about 40 oz).

Hope this helps!

jhpiii

 thanks Penny. I will try the idea of hiding bottles because I ride in a remote area. Good to know it is dehydration and not electrolytes. Thanks!

Dave Campbell

Hey John, I've been there on the loosing 8 lbs in a half during a race in Macon Georgia. I'm a heavy sweater also. During that race, I drank 48oz of liquids/hr. Cramped miserably late in the run. So, in this case 48oz was not enough. An idea for carrying liquids on training rides. I used to carry a camelback plus the 4 bike bottles when I did solo centuries. Camelback came in handy for cell, tubes, etc. Rural south Georgia can be sparse for gas stations/convenient stores. I have found it better to go low on the calories side and up the liquids for halfs. Seems to keep my stomach in a better place. I know everybody is different, but a buddy doing his 2nd 1/2 made me realize this. He did a sub 5hr 1/2 on nothing but propel during the bike. Made me start thinking about how much nutrition do we really need for a half? I have never bonked, just cramped. I backed off the calories to give the gut a break and up the hydration, use lava salts. This has worked better for me. When I've ended up only loosing a couple lbs, I've had better results. Hope this helps!