Cramping, should I fuel during warmup?

[Bandman]

Did a mountain bike race in WI yesterday (Big Ring Classic, Comp division, ~24mi) in temps of 90+. Finished 2 of the 3 laps before cramping up and dropping out. I would love some analysis of my fueling especially since I did not fuel during my warmup. Here's the scenario:

8:30 Breakfast of about 600 cal, pretty even mix of fat/carb/protein
10:30 On the road to the race, some black coffee and water for the drive
12:00 Warmup, 3 endurolytes and water
12:45 Stretching, water
1:15 One last test of the legs and then on to the start line, 3 more endurolytes
1:35 A serving and a half of Hammer Gel and some water
1:40 Race starts. Fuel during up to the point I dropped: 1 scoop of heed in 20oz water, 5 endurolytes, 6 oz plain water (about 1:30:00 total time)

I made it an hour before I started feeling that the cramping was not far off so I slowed my pace and was able to limp through the second lap without locking up. I took endurolytes during that time but they did not seem to help.

As I stated, it was hot. I was going hard but no harder than in previous races. Other than the cramping, I felt good. Had energy, aerobically capable of going hard, no sense of bonking, hydration seemed normal.

Thoughts?

Scott

[steve-born]

Hello Scott -

Everyone is different in how they approach their warm up, so my personal thoughts on this may not jive with what others may do or suggest. That said, I think that finishing a warm up (which sounds like it was about 45 minutes in duration?) an hour prior to a race is too long of a time gap.

I personally would prefer to do a shorter warm up closer to the race start, primarily because I wouldn't have so much "down time" between the completion of the warm up and the start of the race, and also because I wouldn't be using up a portion of my glycogen stores during my warm up (I'd rather keep as much as them available for use during the race).

Two other things caught my attention:

1) You may want to increase your pre-race dose of Endurolytes, especially if the weather is going to be that hot, and for sure if you're not acclimated to those hot-weather conditions. In those kind of conditions it wouldn't have been out of the question to take up to 6 Endurolytes in the 15-30 minute time frame prior to the race.

2) Seeing as this was a 1.5-hour race, I think that your Endurolytes intake (including the amount you received in HEED) could have been higher. In that 1.5-hour time frame you took in 5 Endurolytes and received another 3/4's worth of a capsule from your 1 scoop of HEED. Basically you were averaging a little under 4 capsules/hour during the 1.5 hours you were on the bike... I think you can increase that.

3) I think you may have been a bit dehydrated as well. You consumed a total of 26 ounces of fluid (via HEED and water) over the course of 1.5 hours. In weather conditions I believe that more fluid intake would have been merited. In my opinion, 26 ounces, which is the amount you consumed, would have been sufficient for an hour (and perhaps even a couple more ounces per hour would have been acceptable).

Other than that I think everything looks pretty spot on.

I hope you will find these suggestions helpful, Scott.

Sincerely -

Steve

[Bandman]

Steve,

Thanks for your analysis. I will definitely experiment with your suggestions. I think that this race posed some unique challenges for me as I am generally training for 6hr races and this would have been a 2hr race, had I finished.

The only area I feel I could use more clarification on is fueling during the warm up. I definitely need to move the warm up closer to the start and do less, especially if it is hot. Should I start my fueling (other than the endurolytes) when I start the warm up or start when I start the race?

Scott