Calf cramp prevention - salt, skins or just htfu?! ;-)
7 watchers
Jun 2014
1:07pm, 2 Jun 2014
22,212 posts
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HappyG(rrr)
So, in the spirit of throwing everything in, including kitchen sink, I'm trying to work out best/easiest way to get carbs + electrolytes + hydration. I think the best I've found is Lucozade Elite - 45 mg carb ~ 200 cal, 75 mg of sodium. It's also got caffeine - bonus! That sodium (i.e. electrolyte) content is as high as Succeed or Nuun or High 5 tabs in a 500ml bottle of water. Obviously it's a preference thing if you want to take these combo drinks or whether you'd rather mix your own, or eat your carbs and salts and drink plain water etc. But for me, in a race, the less I have to think about the better. If a single drink has carbs and salts, that's got to help me increase chance of having everthing in the body that it needs, doesn't it? Funny, I'd actually had some of these a year ago, as there was a voucher for them came with VLM 2013 in finishing bag. I thought they were OK, but didn't actively go out and seek them again. Tesco had them on special for a while too. I wouldn't drink them in a training run. It's just in a long hard race, where fatigue and cramp are real probs, that I would like best chance of avoiding. In training, I'm happy just to stop for a bit, or eat a bit more, or slow down etc. But in a race, that's not really possible. Anyone else got a better / higher carb + electrolyte combo they can cite, bigger than Lucozade Elite? (I've got an Australian sports ministry journal here that lists these figures for High 5, SiS, Torq, PowerBar, Gatorade, Powerade etc.)  G
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Jun 2014
1:15pm, 2 Jun 2014
22,213 posts
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HappyG(rrr)
Actually, scrub that. Succeed and Nuun are higher sodium. Succeed 341mg Nuun 155mg |
Jun 2014
2:02pm, 2 Jun 2014
4,601 posts
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paul the builder
There's 120mg of sodium in my bag of Walker's Cheese & Onion on my desk, if that helps.
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Jun 2014
2:08pm, 2 Jun 2014
22,219 posts
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HappyG(rrr)
Yeah, but try getting that down yer neck in a race paul! Or will we see you with bags of crisps strapped round your waist at next VLM?! Joking apart, as in ultras you are encouraged to eat as much "real food" as you can, lots of people do eat crisps (hoola hoops are a favourite as they are less like to stick in your mouth/throat vs large, flat traditional crisps!) - but again, I find I just can't face crisps. I tried mini pork pies (loads of salt and calories too) and got some in, but not enough. It's how to get enough carbs + salt in, that is the challenge. I really didn't feel like eating anything much, so it's really a question of forcing stuff down. Pills, tablets, gels, supplements, specialist drinks etc. help when the real stuff just won't go down. G
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