Prevention of Exercise Induced Muscle Cramps

As an athlete proficient in the art of sweating and cramping I'm always on the lookout for a magic pill/substance that will prevent this disabling, painful problem. I've suffered severe cramps during a few marathons, typically in my calf muscles (gastrocnemius to you technical people) and at times extending to the soleus muscle.

 In my most embarrassing (ass being best part of that word) display of cramping I ended up DNFing at the Florida 1/2 IM several years ago. I was on the second loop of three in the half-marathon and caught up with my daughter on her first loop. It was hot, we were on a dusty path in the back nature trails of Walt Disney World alongside a "canal". I was suffering and had been for sometime. But I was a runner, this was the part of the event I was supposed to shine in. In the swim I was below average, the bike, maybe average, the run was my time. But now we were walking together and taking in fluids.
It was too late to make up for my dehydration. I told my daughter (Amanda) I needed to begin to run again. She didn't think that was such a good idea, that maybe I should just walk to the finish, I had plenty of time until the cutoff. No, I need to run, so I took off, for maybe 40 yards before falling in a heap clutching my right gastrocnemius. I was making noises, it may have been screaming, not sure now.
Luck was on my side.  A medical team was a few yards away and came right over as the left calf and then quads began severely cramping. Now I was making a scene. The team iced my legs, massaged the muscles and tried to get me up and moving. Whether physical, mental, or both, I just couldn't continue. My daughter went on as I was taken on a small medical cart back to the first aid tent and pumped with fluids.
Pete, a longtime runner and member of our Sal's Racing Team, suggested a long time ago that we drink Pickle Juice to stay hydrated during longer runs. The rest of us made fun of him, of course. Pickle Juice seemed disgusting to drink and ridiculous when there were so many commercial options available.
Now there are scientific studies that back up Pete's personal experiences. Never doubt Pete. Here is one section of the study;
 "Regardless of the trigger for ... (fatigue, dehydration, etc.), if cramps are of neurogenic origin, interventions that decrease persistent inward currents and motoneuron hyperexcitability may prevent EAMCs (cramps) from occurring or reduce their severity. This concept is supported by the observation that ingestion of pickle juice significantly reduces the duration of electrically induced muscle cramps (14). The consumption of pickle juice (1 ml/kg BW) immediately after the induction of electrically induced cramp of the flexor hallucis brevis muscle of the foot reduced cramp duration
compared to the consumption of deionized water. This experiment suggests that the ingestion of pickle juice triggered a neural reflex in the oropharyngeal space that activated spinal inhibitory neurons and reduced alpha motoneuron activity to the cramping muscle, lessening the duration of the cramp."
The entire article may be read via this link;

https://ezproxy.monroecc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=120915838&site=ehost-live I think switching to Pickle Juice is going to take some getting used to. I'm not sure the taste will be easy to tolerate, plus it will have to be kept cold or yechhh.

Breaking Bad (or is it?)

Last week Jan and I took a driving vacation to visit friends and family in Florida and Alabama. As we are training for a half-ironman race in September there was some concern on how we would continue to exercise.
We knew some of the longer days on the road meant little time for working out, but we hoped to get in some running, strength training and maybe a swim or two. We stayed at Hampton Inn motels for six of our nine nights (three other nights with our daughter in Alabama). The motels advertised having fitness rooms, which generally included one treadmill, one elliptical trainer and a couple of times a small pool.
We were worried about taking our bikes and trainers so they stayed home. It seemed too much of a hassle to continuously cart them in and out of the truck into the motel rooms for the night. The pools ended up being used by families and, not surprisingly, too small for lap swimming. I had hoped for weights in the fitness rooms and didn't bring my dumbbells. That was a mistake.
We did okay running at our motel in Lakeland, Florida. There was a safe neighborhood to the back of the motel that we ran mile loops in. It was nice running in 70+ degree weather instead of layering our clothes and worrying about icy roads.
In Alabama I ran only once in our three days there. On one day though we did an 80 minute hilly hike on paths in Oak Mtn. State Park that was worth another day of running. Just as important, I didn't fall!

We arrived back home Saturday afternoon after driving about ten hours on Friday and six on Saturday. I had the energy to lift weights, but that was about it after unpacking and the usual post-trip chores.
Sunday Jan and I went to the track for a speed workout. After not running for three days and only four total out of nine I wasn't expecting much. But I actually felt good, had two good warmup miles and then ran 5x800 repeats. Jan ran 200s and 400s. Maybe rest is a good thing, mentally and physically?
I swam at lunch time today and had a decent workout again, feeling fresh, not worn out and struggling. Tomorrow it's back on the bike.
A break can be a good thing after all.

What Not to Wear While Bicycling

A funny video from the Global Cycling Network. Strange (or sad) thing is I've seen MW and LK wearing many of these outfits around Spencerport, even when they aren't cycling.