Road Bike Racing - severe cramping, nausea after intense racing

curring problem that I get when I do crits or CX races. About two hours after the race is over I get cramping so bad that i am bent over puking. I throw up everything in my stomach, can't even hold down water. I also get the runs. It can last up to six hours.
I am wound pretty tight as a person, which I try to change by meditation. I cannot smoke pot or take other mind altering substances to change this.
I tried pepto Bismol before yesterdays race but it didn't help.
During the race, I went into VO2 on 3 maybe four occasions which tends to mean I will suffer a lot more after the race.
It is a lot worse the harder I go. I eat bran Flakes and whole wheat bread before races. I've read that I should eat low fiber foods. What would be low fiber foods?
Has anyone had similar problems and how did ye deal with it?
It gets so bad that I may have to consider giving up racing if I can't find a solution.
Thanks.

I guess it is my mood today? Sorry if this sounds harsh, but:

SEE

YOUR

DOCTOR

SEE

YOUR

DOCTOR

This sounds like good advice.

By the way - low fiber foods for pre-race would be simpler carbs, like white bread, pasta or sugary stuff.

I guess it is my mood today...

lol... "See a doctor", or "F the lighter bike, train harder fool!"

Good times. You won yesterday, I'm guessing you have carb shortage today and are a little cranky.

tylenol for headachs
Midol for cramps


oh and see a doctor

An occasional hurl just after a race isn't necessarily a bad thing, but two hours after? That can't be good. In general, gastro distress during/after exercise is caused by a lack of blood flow to the stomach and intestines. But that should go away soon after stopping.

I'm a pretty tense person as well, and it usually manifests itself in my guts. This can cause problems before and during early season races, but I'm generally ok afterwards.

I second (third?) the doctor recommendataion. Maybe something else is going on down there that you should know about.

I have had similiar symptoms as well. I'm relatively new to biking and only had my bike for 4 months or so. I get similar feelings after just about any ride over 20 miles with moderate intensity. Feels like an upset stomach type feeling and does force me to use the bathroom some and like the OP, pepto and stuff does not help. Pretty much I have abdominal discomfort for 6-8 hours afterward and then the next day I'm 100% normal. This is particularly odd to me because I'm 24 and in very good shape. I've been weight lifting religiously (5x a week) for over 2 years and have a very strong abdominal/core region. I ride a Felt F75 (56cm) and had more problems after flipping the stem to a more aero position but even flipping it back I have had discomfort. I'm not sure if having my abdominals crunched together for long periods (90+ min) is the root of the problem. Seems like the only advice here is to see a doctor which I may have to do soon.

I have had a lot of similar issues, definitely not so severe, but I'll sometimes get stomach cramps that come in waves for several hours after a very long or very hard ride. What I found out is that I have to 1) avoid simple sugars during and especially after the event and 2) if the event is long, take endurolytes. Sometimes I get the cramps anyway.

curring problem that I get when I do crits or CX races. About two hours after the race is over I get cramping so bad that i am bent over puking. I throw up everything in my stomach, can't even hold down water. I also get the runs. It can last up to six hours.
I am wound pretty tight as a person, which I try to change by meditation. I cannot smoke pot or take other mind altering substances to change this.
I tried pepto Bismol before yesterdays race but it didn't help.
During the race, I went into VO2 on 3 maybe four occasions which tends to mean I will suffer a lot more after the race.
It is a lot worse the harder I go. I eat bran Flakes and whole wheat bread before races. I've read that I should eat low fiber foods. What would be low fiber foods?
Has anyone had similar problems and how did ye deal with it?
It gets so bad that I may have to consider giving up racing if I can't find a solution.
Thanks.

1) Maybe water isn't what your body wants. The media has fooled everyone into thinking the more water the better.

2) What meds? If you won't say then don't bother asking questions, as that is a key piece of the puzzle.

3) I wouldn't consider bran flakes a good pre race food.


List everything you ate, and more importantly drank, the last time this happened. You should see a doctor as this may be a side effect of the drugs.

thanks for all the replies,
I will definitely try taking endurolytes.
I try "MEDITATION" not mediCation LOL
I ate bran flakes for breakfast, then on the way to the race I had wholewheat bread with strawberry preserves (1 hour prior to the start)
I drank two cups of black tea 3 hours before the race and two bottles of water.

After the race I had pb&j on wholewheat, then an apple.

A few things I think I will change, from the research I have done is, eat corn flakes instead of Bran flakes, eat a ripe banana, eat a bagel instead of wholewheat bread.
I will drink some ginger or calming tea, instead of black tea.

No offense to doctors, they tend to give out prescriptions a little too easy. I had back problems, I went to one, he gave me a bunch of pills-they worked. However, then I read about people with the same symptoms and they did certain stretches which relieved the pain. I started doing the stretches and gave up the pills-no more back problems.
If I can't find a solution by changing my diet or by getting something herbal, I will go to a doctor. But it is only a recurring problem after short races where I accellerate a lot, so not really a medical issue.
I never get the pains doing my LT's or Vo2's in training, or even when I do 5-6 hour racces with 10000+ feet of climbing.

1) Maybe water isn't what your body wants. The media has fooled everyone into thinking the more water the better.

2) What meds? If you won't say then don't bother asking questions, as that is a key piece of the puzzle.

3) I wouldn't consider bran flakes a good pre race food.


List everything you ate, and more importantly drank, the last time this happened. You should see a doctor as this may be a side effect of the drugs.

That's a pretty harsh response, especially considering that you misread his statement. He didn't write anything about meds.

If I can't find a solution by changing my diet or by getting something herbal, I will go to a doctor.

I agree that the trend is too throw some prescription meds at any problem, however just because it's natural doesn't mean it will be any safer. Some "natural" solutions have little or no long term studies to determine efficacy and/or safety and have been very harmful. That being said, the herbs you are likely going to be considering for stomach problems do not really fall into those categories.

I try "MEDITATION" not mediCation LOL



D’oh. I guess when looking for a chemical explanation, medication jumps to mind way quicker than meditation. However, you’re still self-medicating with teas (herbs), pepto, and who knows what else. :)

What did you have during the race?

D’oh. I guess when looking for a chemical explanation, medication jumps to mind way quicker than meditation. However, you’re still self-medicating with teas (herbs), pepto, and who knows what else. :)

What did you have during the race?

During the race I just had about 10oz of water. It's like I get bloated or something, like I'm taking in and swallowing air. I agree that pepto was a bad idea and won't do that again. I do think that ginger tea or chamomile should be okay though.