mwchandler21

Around mile 80 when I drank Gatorade I started to feel like I was going to puke. Is this normal? Is there something that I can do that will prevent it in the future? Drinking water was a little bit better but still left me feeling queasy.

Carbonfiberboy 

On a long ride, stomach osmolality can get too high, which prevents stomach emptying which causes a nauseous feeling. Gatorade can definitely drive up the osmolality. The fact that plain water felt better is an indicator. Usually, an Endurolyte or two will help this problem. Then drink plain water until the tummy feels better. It's the sugar in the Gatorade that caused the problem.

I find that eating some sort of food, drinking plain water, and taking Endurolytes for electrolytes works best. This separates the three fueling necessities so one can adjust them separately.

unterhausen

this happened to me one time last year when I ran out of water and had an extra strong mix of Nuun in my other bottle. Stopping and drinking water and a soda fixed it. I always thought it was the electrolytes. I'm giving up on Gatoraide except under emergency conditions, it doesn't do anything for me.

Daveyboy

This happened to me on my last 400k at about mile 150. Too much gatorade (and sugar) will upset my stomach, at which point I switch to plain water. What actually worked for me was drinking at v8 (at the suggestion of one of my riding buddies.). I started to feel much better within 30 minutes and finished the rest of the ride strong. On long rides I like to get real food sometime around halfway through - my favorite is a 12" spicy Italian subway sandwich. I'll eat 1/2 & stuff the other half in my pocket and nibble as I go.

electrik

I think it's normal, there is only so much Gatorade a guy can drink. I found drinking water and then making sure you're getting the sugar/electrolytes(Gels or food) some other way a bit more effective. Also i've heard one should aim for 1:1 mix of Gatorade and water, that is one bottle of each an hour, relying on Gatoraide by itself will probably cause bloat quickly!

unterhausen

after my incident I always keep a bottle with plain water in reserve. In fact, I'm more likely to just carry water. Gatoraide has saved me when I was bonking and only had a little distance to go, but I tried that at the end of my recent 600k, and I really got tired of it before the bottle was gone.

serra

Lots of sugar doesn't go well for me. If I'm going to be out and about for more than a few hours, I LOVE iced green tea with lemon and honey. It wakes me up if I'm feeling tired. I bring crackers or something for salt usually.

Carbonfiberboy 

That V8 sounds like a great idea. I'm going to try it next time I stop at a mini-mart.

Daveyboy

Good article about stomach osmolality here

lonesomesteve

+1 on the V8. For me, the holy trinity of cycling beverages is 1. water, 2. V8, and 3. Starbucks frappuccinos.

Richard Cranium

Which "mile 80." The one that took 3:50 while riding the flats in a pace line? The mile 80 that you reached after a lunch stop - seven hours into a charity century? The mile 80 you reached while on your own training ride where all you had for breakfast was coffee?

No one knows what your "mile 80" means - so know one can tell you what to fix. I can tell you that drinking doesn't cause stomach or digestive problems by itself. Its the pace of your current or recent exercise session that has caused your problems.

When people learn that it not the "distance" its the "intensity" or their long distance efforts that leads to digestive problems these kinds of questions will go away.

Rowan

Actually, the first thing that came to mind was "intensity?" So Cranium and I do agree to a large extent. Intensity means greater sweat, higher energy output, and therefore the need for faster replenishment of both fluids and food.

I also have to agree that in tandem with intensity, the osmotic effect can have an effect on gastrointestinal function.

For the life of me, I simply cannot understand why people still drink Gatorade on long-distance rides. We have Powerade here and the maker, Coca-Cola, at least goes to some effort to include maltodextrin as the majority carbo in it, not plain sucrose like in Gatorade.

The electrolyte intake that Carbonfibreboy discusses (along with the recommendations for V8) helps to restore the osmotic effect. It's also worth saying, I think, that excess water intake without adequate electrolyte intake can lead to issues of energy uptake.

At least, that is all in my experience. Others' experiences may differ.