it’s difficult finding time to ride more with work and a toddler/baby combo

and there is your answer. Not as fit, but still thinking you are.

With small kids unless you are incredibly selfish towards your partner you are not going to be as fit, plus tiredness will play a major factor, plus your probably not eating quite like you used to prior to kids?

People have far too much salt in their diet, and you wont get to salt deprivation in a 24hr race.

Buy a turbo and stretch more…. and give up racing until kids are old enough for it not to be painful 🙂

I think FunkyDunc has it.
I used to cramp terribly but a combination of High5 tabs and getting fitter/not pushing as hard has basically rid me of cramps. If I do get them now I know I’ve been pushing too hard and have to back right off and stretch them out. With two young’uns I don’t have as much time to be out so I’m not as fit and if I go for it I can feel the cramp coming on quicker, I don’t think that’s a coincidence.

Cramp in bed is horrible and I find that sticking my head under the bedclothes and re-breathing my own CO2 gets rid fast; my cycling buddy is a physician and reckons that might create carbonic acid and acidify the blood.

There are cramps (carpopedal spasm) associated with calcium imbalance due to overbreathing. I wondered if that was what was causing my foot cramp but not many folk overbreathe in bed – and it typically involves hands, sometimes feet. Dunno about thighs.

People have far too much salt in their diet, and you wont get to salt deprivation in a 24hr race.

It may be more about fluid volume than electrolyte levels, and the 2 are linked (though I wonder if the rate of change of an electrolyte might be as important as the actual level)

+1 nuun (Grape is lovely)
+1 move cleats back
+1 HRM / pacing for the duration
+1 conditioning
Also are you taking calf tension into the race? If i foam-roll for 20 minutes the night before i notice looser calves.

My experience comes from the odd 6hr MTB race and a few marathons but mainly dozens of 5/6 hour adventure races (run 20km, MTB 45km) and some 12hr, 24hr, 48hr non stop adventure races. I will only get cramp where i’m pushing the intensity further than my current fitness level.

I used to suffer really badly with cramp in races.

Since I started using 1 scoop of Torq electrolyte (any of the flavoured ones are electrolyte) and 10-15 drops of Elete water in a 750ml bottle, no more cramp.

This even worked for a 90 mile 11.5hr race in the Alps in 35 degree heat with no shade. Elete is a “cure” for me!

And no, I’m not sponsored by either of these companies and yes, Elete is bloody expensive for what it is.

Loads of advice, thanks all. Being of a scientific bent and working in an evidence based field I can’t ignore the facts that no-one has actually linked electrolyte loss to cramping.

However.

I am an impressionable scamp so I’ve ordered some Nunn tablets and it’s the excuse I needed to stick a Garmin on the credit card.

I’m off on the DrP gnarmac and grimacing ride on Sunday so I’ll mix these up with some strategic stretching and keeping an eye on my heart rate.

Cheers

James

A lot of this has already been covered but a few points coming from experience of having been both very fit and very unfit.

– Sweating has little to do with fitness. Some people sweat more than others. I sweat the same regardless of fitness.

– I sweat lots but never have cramping problems. I don’t believe that they’re directly connected

– I have raced with people who were very fit and who regularly got cramp. Again, fitness and cramping aren’t directly connected.

I learned that my leg cramps were the result of muscle fatigue, not salt shortages. I’ve successfully extended my range and endurance by eating during the ride more frequently than I thought would be necessary. Every 45minutes!

I used to suffer similar cramp during long rides, and also I regularly got cramp in feet and calves during the night.
I started taking Magnesium each morning in the form of ‘Floradax’ liquid from Holland and Barrat. I very rarely get any cramp now.

I think the key here is to find what works for you.

It doesn’t matter what the “science” or anybody else says, if it works for you then do it.

Electrolytes and fluids are the key. When I was regularly training in 40 plus degrees in UAE, I would suffer more frequently than when riding in the temperate UK. It wasn’t a fitness thing.
I’d go through 10 litres of water and adding electrolytes made it possible to ride.

My experience of cramp from running and its prevention is all in the build up to the race. I was trying to manage it by using Xero tablets in my drink during the run and would still end up with cramps during the run. I then started to put the Xero tablets in water as weak mix (I don’t add salts to any of my food) during the week commencing. I found that I got no cramps at all. I was also using a foam roller during the week too. Don’t think the later had anything to do with preventing the cramps but worth mentioning. During the race I switched from using Xero tablets to Power Bar IsoMax powder mix as I couldn’t stomach energy gels.