You trained hard and consistently for many months, your performance markers were better than ever, and you were looking forward to racing hard and having your best race ever. However, in the middle of your race you begin to have twinges in your muscles and later on cramps that stop you in your tracks. It is very frustrating. You feel fine otherwise; your energy is fine, but your hamstrings or your quadriceps are all knotted up and you can barely move. I am going to give you some general guidelines that can potentially help you if this is your situation, but science will tell you that the exact cause and the exact solution to cramping is still a little bit of a mystery. It will require some experimentation to see what works best for you.

Who is susceptible to cramps? If the following things apply to you then I suggest you be very careful and consider doing some of the things that I will suggest later in this this article.

1. You sweat a lot. If you go out for the run in the heat you lose upwards of 3, 4, 5 pounds in an hour.
2. You have white streaks of salt in your cycling uniform after long rides in the heat.
3. You compete in the longer races like Ironman or half Ironman in the heat of the day.
4. You consider yourself to be bigger than your average triathlete and, as such, you have more skin resulting in more sweat loss.
5. You stress quite a bit before races.

You may fit exactly this profile or most of them. I fit the profile personally for the most part. My stress levels before racing have come down quite a bit over the years with more experience, but all the others are definitely there.

The first thing you need to do is to make sure that you are healthy. Get a physical and have your doctor draw some blood to have a blood profile performed. Make sure that your electrolyte levels are within acceptable ranges. Pay attention to magnesium as this is associated with cramping. Also ask your doctor if you are able to take additional electrolytes like sodium during training. Many people who suffer from things like high blood pressure are discouraged from taking additional sodium or salty foods.

Now that you know that you are healthy, we can make the assumption that racing in the heat, the stress associated with it, and all the electrolyte loss in sweat are the reason you are cramping. Here's what to do:

1. Do not get dehydrated. Many times people forget to drink enough fluids prior to a race. We do not train as much and now think that we don't have to drink as much yet spend all this time walking at the race Expo and outside. Always have a water bottle with you and take sips.
2. Eat some salty foods before the race. Make sure that your body has adequate amounts of sodium. Simply sprinkle a little bit of salt on your meals. This would allow you to retain water a little better before you start your race. Do not go overboard with this course but just add a little bit before meals.
3. Make sure that your sports drink during the race has adequate amounts of sodium. For this you first need to examine how much sodium you took in your last race. If you did not take any and you cramped up, your solution may just simply be adding a good electrolyte drink to your race. If you did get good sodium in your last race then perhaps you should use a little more. My recommendation would be to add some salt tablets. I recommend "Thermo Tabs" which are tablets marketed to construction workers who work all day in the heat. They contain sodium chloride and potassium chloride as those two chlorides should be balanced. I also like the fact that you can taste these tablets. The reason that this is important is because if your brain senses the salt then your body will react a lot sooner to the sodium intake. This is why I generally do not recommend salt capsules. One tablet of Thermo Tabs adds 200 mg of sodium. I recommended you take one tablet an hour in training and see how you do with that. The downside to taking sodium is generally an upset stomach. Make sure you can tolerate it.
4. Take a multivitamin as part of your general diet. There are many electrolytes, vitamins and minerals that should be balanced in your body. Taking a multivitamin will help with this. Your body will simply just get rid of whatever you do not need.
5. Do strength work at the gym. It has been my experience that cramping attacks weaker or overworked muscles first. If you have hamstring cramps in races then make sure that you work on strengthening these muscles. Ask your coach for some good exercises.
6. Pace your races. Most cramps occur when you push a little too hard on an uphill or during a hard effort. Remember, triathlon for the most part is a steady-state sport. Athletes who pace themselves tend to do better. Save the sprint for the last part of the race.

I hope these tips help you. Unfortunately there is no guarantee, but many of my athletes have used some of these tips to great success. I hope they work for you if you feel that cramping is holding you back from having your best race.