The dreaded cramps

The number of times I have seen an letter in a running magazine from someone who has suffered from muscle cramps in a race, being told that they should make sure they take in enough water and electrolytes and that eating bananas is a good idea. The truth seems to be an uncomfortable one: we get cramps when we try to perform at a level above that for which we are adequately trained. It is much easier to say that you would have got such and such a time had you not been smitten with a case of the cramps than to admit that possibly you went off too quickly or that you haven't been training long enough at those distances.

In my first Marathon I ran the first half in about 1:38 and the second half in about 2:22. I hit the wall big time and suffered terrible cramps for 15 kilometers, having to stop and stretch every 100 meters or so. I was joined by another runner who was suffering from a similar fate (although he did eventually get a second wind and went on to finish ahead of me). He told me that this happened to him every year, which disheartened me and put me off the idea of running Marathons altogether. I thought, "What's the point? I'd be better off running a three-legged race or an egg-and-spoon race".

I looked into the subject a lot and discovered that there was no scientific evidence to back up the electrolyte imbalance idea. Instead, the best theory that is currently being touted is that they caused by a faulty reflex control of the motor nerve as a result of fatigue. Here I use the word "theory" in the following sense:

1. a coherent group of tested general propositions, commonly regarded as correct, that can be used as principles of explanation and prediction for a class of phenomena: Einstein's theory of relativity. Synonyms: principle, law, doctrine.

rather than:

2. a proposed explanation whose status is still conjectural and subject to experimentation, in contrast to well-established propositions that are regarded as reporting matters of actual fact. Synonyms: idea, notion hypothesis, postulate. Antonyms: practice, verification, corroboration, substantiation.

Too often we hear the word "theory" and scoff, "Ah, so it's only the Theory of Evolution - it doesn't mean it's actually true." As a Mathematician, I am an admirer of the scientific method. A good theory is one that fits all available data and a really good theory is one that is able to (correctly) predict something you didn't know before. It is not necessary to like a theory for it to be a good one. And we don't like to be told that we set our sights too high or we didn't train enough.

In my experience, there are various forms of Grim Reaper that come for me when I have spent more than I have in my current account; muscle cramps are just one of these. The fact is that, over several years of consistent training for the distances at which I like to compete, I have been able to keep them more or less at bay. That doesn't mean to say I don't have my superstitious equivalents of a clove of garlic or a wooden stake to ward them off. I always take specially formulated salt tablets (SaltStick) in races longer than an hour and a half and I always compete with thigh and calf compression. I feel that these things help when, again, there is no scientific evidence to say so. On the other hand, there is no way I am going to risk it when there are few things more frustrating that can happen to you in a race.

First objective: Overcome the fear of the Marathon

As I mentioned, I have actually done a Marathon before although, I have to say, it doesn't really feel like it. To be honest it was a very disappointing experience. I got terrible cramps in my calf muscles at around 27km and had to hobble the remaining 15km, stopping to stretch every 200m or so. I was wearing a t-shirt with the words "Go Rob!" scribbled in black marker pen so, every time I stopped, the crowd would scream at me to "keep going Rob, you're nearly there!". ("Nearly there?! You bloody run it!") The worst thing about hitting the so-called wall is that it puts you in a really, really bad mood. You just can't be bothered. I remember thinking, "What's the point? I might as well run a egg and spoon Marathon or a 3-legged Marathon.". On top of that, I was actually getting very cold because I couldn't keep my heart rate up. Anyway, I knew that it'd only be worse if I packed it in and, in any case, I didn't have any money so I wasn't sure how I would have physically got back to the hotel. I also thought of my long suffering family who were gallantly waiting where I had told them to wait, at least an hour before I finally turned up.

Why did it go so wrong? I'd been obsessive in all my preparations, taking all kinds of silly supplements religiously. I'd even done a lactate threshold test, a VO2 max test and my coach had given me a clear indication of what pulse rate I should aim for at each point in the race. Its very simple: as soon as the race started, all that went out of the window. My pulse rate was 10 beats higher than it should be from the start. I put it down to the excitement of the race - but it just would not get down to the rate it should have been for the speed I was running at so therefore... I ignored it! Funnily enough, the point at which the cramps set in was when my pulse was at the level it should have been at the end of the race! Now why was it so much higher for a given speed than it had been in training? It was a cold (albeit windy) day so it couldn't be down to overheating, the bane of my running races - or could it? The humidity was around 90% and this effects the ability of the human body to expel heat via perspiration - the only difference that the outside temperature being high makes is that you have more heat to expel. Most of us have experienced a hot, muggy day where your clothes cling to you and you feel sluggish. On a cold, humid day, you don't really notice anything until you start running and - even then you may not realize it - the sweat just rolls down you but doesn't evaporate. Mental note to self: my coach is usually right.

Your heart goes "boom"

I also had another run in with the dreaded cramps in the half Ironman I did in Lisbon. I think it may have had to do with the fact that I drank: 1 cup of coffee, two red bulls, 5 gels with caffeine and probably a liter of coke. Cramps are a bit of a mysterious phenomenon from what I have been able to find out - it doesn't seem as though the conventional wisdom that they are largely provoked by an electrolyte (salt) imbalance has ever been definitively proved. I can only imagine that no-one has really looked into it seriously because any athlete worth his salt (excuse the pun) is unlikely to have suffered from cramps, otherwise they would never have made it to a high level of competition. There are exceptions, of course. Still, for want of a better explanation, I'm sticking with the electrolyte imbalance.

The good thing is that I did another half Ironman, this time in Madrid - ASTROMAD - and I didn't suffer from cramps. It was a really tough triathlon - very hilly and very hot. To give you some idea, the winner (Eneko Llanos' brother, a pro) did the cycle leg in 3 hours; in Lisbon, my time for the cycle leg of the same distance was 2h31. This time I stayed off the caffeine but I can't say that I stuck to any particular pulse rate because by heart rate monitor chose that particular day, of all days, to die. The difference was that I took about 9 salt stick tablets, which contain a mixture of electrolytes similar to those lost in sweat. I came up with the number 9 based on how much weight I typically lose through sweating, and the sodium content of the other junk I was taking. Anyway, I didn't get any cramps nor did I die of salt poisoning, so I guess I calculated it more or less right.



As the Ironman culminates in a Marathon, I thought it was probably a good idea to do one beforehand, one that I actually "enjoyed" or at least felt proud of. So I'm down to run in the Marathon in San Sebastián (Donostia) on the 28th of November, in just under two weeks. I'm in what is called the "tapering phase" which is when you reduce the number of kilometers you run (but not the intensity) so that you can charge your batteries. The thinking is that there is little you can do to influence your fitness between now and the race. I'm feeling pretty good, I have to say (TOUCH WOOD). I ran into work today and it was very easy - just over 12km/h for an hour at an average heart rate of 144bpm. My target heart rate for the Marathon is to run the bulk of it at 163bpm (according to my coach's calculations - if you are interested, you can check out his publication). So I should hopefully be able to hit my target speed of 13km/h, which would get me past the finishing line in about 3h15mins. That is, of course, if it is not too humid. Or any number of other reasons that can screw up a Marathon...