Cramping and Sleep

[Eric Dempsey]

 I ran the Cincinnati Flying Pig on Sunday May first. It was my first marathon and the race did not go nearly as well as I would have hoped. I was looking to do around a 3:20. I don't know how much of a difference it makes but I only slept 2.5 hours on Friday and 5 on Saturday. The race was on Sunday.

 Anyway, I started cramping at mile 14 and the cramps only go worse through the race. Toward the end I would have to stop every 400 yards or so because everything in my body was seizing up. I have always had a problem with cramping even when I am fully hydrated. I even drank Ioninc Fiz (a magnesium supplement) to help prevent cramps. I would love to hear of any ideas you might have for me in order to prevent this.

 Thanks,

Eric

[Jon Allen]

Eric-

Sorry to hear your race didn't go as you hoped.  It's hard to answer this question without at least some more knowledge of you and your running background- I tried to look at your blog to see previous race results and weekly mileage, but no info.

I'm not an expert on cramping, but you are correct that hydration and electrolyte imbalances (sodium) are a big cause.  In my opinion, though, one of the biggest overlooked causes is running faster or further than you are ready for.  Since I can't see your weekly mileage or any previous results (esp. half marathon), I can't really provide any insight.  But I'm guessing for your first marathon that you went out faster than your body was ready for, and maybe that your base training mileage wasn't high enough, to justify your goal race pace.  I can't say that for sure, but that is very common.  Give us more info, and we might be able to narrow it down more.

[April G]

Agree with Jon totally.  I have ran 4 marathons and only cramped in one--the one that I  went out way too fast and payed with a blow-up.

[Joe Furse]

I don't know if sleep deprivation causes cramping necessarily, but only 7.5 hours of sleep in 2 days probably didn't help things much.     But ditto Jon--more than likely it has more to do with undertraining and then going out too optimistically, as that is very common.

[Eric Dempsey]

thanks for the reply everyone. after looking back on my race more I think I just need to build up my millage quite a bit to be where I want to on my next marathon.