Leg cramping

jmocallaghan

Ok, I'm going to ask what seems like a straight forward question but pay close attention to 'when it happens' and the extent.

Today I did a 100 mile fast century ride thru Moore county North Carolina. Very hilly area... wonderful ride.

However, for the first 55 miles I was flying and having a great time. I noticed around 33 miles into the ride I was having a twinging feeling in my upper left calf muscle. I road more and had to do some catch up riding with water for other riders in our club from the sags. I caught fine but by the third time I did this my legs were really beginning to cramp including the calf muscle and right above the exterior of the knees and then eventually inside the knee. The point from where it was going from nothing to something thorrible was about 10 minutes.

During this ride, I was averaging two 20 oz. bottles every 40 minutes plus a gel pack or power bar. Likewise, the feelings of absolute pain came on in a matter of minutes and brought me from fying to dying very quickly.

Now, with that said, the prior to night I fueled up with protein and carbs in the right ratios (perhaps a little lower on the carbs then I should have) but only had about 90 minutes of sleep. Furthermore, it was 90 out, 94% humidity and I had bennadryl in my for allergies.

Any idea what happened to me?

Mish

You probably diluted the ratio of sodium, calcium, potassium, and magnesium in your body. You drank a lot (plain water...I assume) and didn't replenish the above minerals and other electrolytes. I've read that tums, magnesium and potassium supplements will help. And try the power gels that have added sodium. I've tried these with some success. I didn't get to do the century but have cramped on almost every NC ride over 50 miles I've ever done. I drink a lot, like you did, and I'm sold on the idea that we're diluting our systems. I'm not gonna cut back on drinking but I will add more minerals and electrolytes.

Archibald

you can't cramp "inside a knee". cramps only happen in muscles, not in joints or to the tendons & ligaments.
sounds like you have a knee problem of some sort.
i'd be heading to the physio and having a word...

jmocallaghan

Sorry, inside of the knee was a figure of speech referring to the interior between both legs in the vicinity of the knee. The joints are actually fine. Thoughts?

Bro Deal

There is no one reason for the cause of cramps.

The most common reason is electrolyte imbalance. Typical energy drinks do not contain enough sodium and potassium. This usually is only a problem after several hours of exercise when an hourly electrolyte deficit starts to become noticeable. If you don't mind swallowing pills then Hammer Nutrition Endurolytes are a good choice. Eletewater makes a liquid that can be added to plain water or energy drinks to add more electrolytes. The low tech solution is to throw in a pinch of Lite Salt, which is a mixture of sodium chloride and potassium chloride made for people on sodium restricted diets. Some ultrarunners suck on rock salt as they run, but that is for twenty plus hour events and it seems a little extreme for cycling.

Another cause of cramping can be a pace or intensity that is higher than your body is used to. Training prevents that.

Finally, some people are more susceptible to cramping than others. That might be related to their normal diet.

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