No sweat

[ScottM]

Let me start by saying that I do ride bicycles a lot. So what I did today is not an infrequent type of activity to me.

Today I set out for a nice ride. It was the biking with Benzie ride through the rolling flat landed corn and soybean fields of central Illinois. I decided to do the 75k instead of the 100k as the temps today are to be in the middle 90's with high humidity and no clouds. I started at 6:30 am for my ride with two partners. By the first rest step I was already having problems but they were no bad.

Prior to the ride I drank 24oz of fluid, during the first 9 miles to the first rest stop I again consumed 24oz of water. I was warm at the first stop but not too hot, my energy reserves were great and my legs had loosened up nicely. I drank another 24oz of water at the stop and had a banana. Then I took off for the next stop about 19 miles away.

During that leg the temps had started to climb. I drank 24oz of water and 24oz of water+cytomax (high tech Gatorade). I did start to feel a little energy depleted and very hot. That is when I noticed I just was not sweating.

The last ride I had sweat like a pig, on a 100k ride I urinate about twice the entire time. On this ride by 15 miles I had urinated 3 times eventually 7 times by the end. Before you think this so strange, on these long rides to survive you have to know that you are eating and drinking enough so counting things like that is pretty normal. The frequent urination was telling me I was getting enough fluids.

When I got to the second rest stop, I was feeling a little dizzy and very warm, my skin was clamy but not wet. So I drank 48oz of fluid, ate another banana, and had a 1/2 PBJ. I spent about thirty minutes resting in the shade before taking off.

Once on the road again I started having trouble right away. I could not think straight, was dizzy, and headachy. These symptoms plague me all the way home. I had to pull over 4 miles later and lay in shade, pour water over my head and rest. When I felt better I started again, two miles later a flat, DOH! Had to change that and the SAG wagon came along and gave me some cold water. But I was feeling good again so off I went.

By the time I got to the third stop I had consumed 68oz of water during that leg. I had another 24oz while I waited and rested in the shade. Then I took off for the last leg. I was still not sweating much if at all and I was getting worried. I had to stop about every 4 miles from the heat which was tremendous!!

At the end another 24 oz of water, a couple of pieces of cool watermelon and a rinse down in the bathroom to cool off. I still had to drive home and had to stop a couple of times to go inside an air conditioned restaurant (no air in the car).

This was so strange I never really sweated yet my riding partners did quite a bit and they of course did not have heat problems. My energy was fine the whole ride it was just the heat.

Any ideas?

 

[bbchien]

Scott you neglected to mention that it's 100F in Central Illinois with bright direct sunshine. 196 oz is barely enough. When I go out to ride in this heat, I refill my Camelbak at EVERY stop because it is empty.

Make Sure what you drink has a little electrolyte in it, too, or you will end up with a serum sodium of 120 and a swollen brain (seriously). Seriously! The stuff you drink needs to be in the midrange of osmolarity and Na++ content of what the kidney can produce, so that it has appropriate range to regulate your serum's content to normal. Half strength Gatorade, comes to mind.

I'm glad you're better. My wife came back from a 100 mile ride last summer, lay on the sofa after vomiting in the SAG vehicle, and I had to give her two liters of Intravenous fluids (containing salts) as well, before she felt well enough to eat.

PS. eating a Banana for electrolytes doesn't help you when you are physically exerting. Blood flow to the gut goes to near ZERO in intravascular volume situations. Your banana is still sitting there in your gut.

Ergo, you need to STAY AHEAD. When the gut shuts down, there is NO WAY for your brain to regulate your electrolyte content and fluid volume.

If you are on a VERY salt restricted diet generally, then mostly water replacement will do (you still need a little salt). But if you have the regular diet high in Na, your kidneys AND sweat glands simply cannot help but excrete large volumes of salt, diluting your electrolyte concentrations and content, SWELLING the brain. It takes the sweat glands and kidneys about eight days to become accustomed to low salt intakes and regain their ability to make sweat and urine that contains little salt. Brain swelling? it feels like C_ap. Really swollen-->seizure!

 

[astanley]

What the good doc said. I'm no doctor, but here are the 4 rules I live by:

+ Pre-load with water starting the night before. I'll consume at least 2L of water before bed, and at least 1L of straight water before I leave.
+ Consume just as much Cytomax as you do water, no greater than 2:1 (water:cytomax). I try for 1.5:1 (I did 48oz of Cytomax, 24oz of Gatorade Endurance, and 120oz of water, so I was on the cusp of too little)
+ Consume some sort of electrolyte gel, 1 for every 1.5 hours of work. I prefer Crank Sport's eGels. I worked through 2 of these during my 4 hour effort.
+ Watch your GER, or gastric-emptying rate. Most everything we eat has to sit in the stomach and be digested. The only "digestable" things I eat on a ride are almond butter and honey sandwiches, on whole wheat. I usually give myself 15 minutes at a rest stop to eat and get the juices flowing.

My ride Saturday was a total wreck, in that I only did 100k, instead of the planned 100 miles. My legs were in a new world of hurt for the last 1k' of climbing. I've found the Cytomax Pre-Performance (which tastes like such absolute crap I can barely drink it) really, really helps - the BCAA's and Creatine help immensely. Just have to watch the water intake with the Creatine (as in, drink more)

Some of my racer friends swear by Sodium Phosphate before super hot, super hard efforts. There are loading schedules all over the internet, but it can really make you stomach upset.

I'm sitting on my couch tonight rather than go out and ride a 35 miler in this heat. Sunday was enough heat riding for a few days. When I got home, I'm pretty sure I was near critical. I had a phone conversation with someone that I don't even remember, and according to Jessie, I was slurring my words for the first 10 minutes until I cooled down.

Glad you got back safe Scott... it sounds like we should do a POA ride-in!

Cheers,

-Andrew