Thanks everyone !! for answering the call. I’ve already implemented most of your suggestions, including; Potassium Gluconate supplements and ” Salt Stick Electrolyte Caps” from Zombie Runners

I have a 16 mile walk scheduled for Wednesday and I really do plan on walking this walk….slow. That means NO RACEWALKING!! To quell any temptation, I’ll be wearing heavy duty running shoes instead of my usual low profile racing flats . I’ll also be setting my speedometer between 14:30-16:30 ( min/mile) instead of 12-13. Hey..I might even bring my camera along, that’ll surely slow me down.
I’m curious to see if a slower and much less physically demanding pace will put a damper on the cramps . It could be , that in these previous races, I went so fast that I just burned myself out . These long slow walks should give a clue. Complete report to follow…………….

Ok, The Portland Marathon is only 8 weeks away and I’m still not sure if my legs will hold out for a 26 mile walk. For the first time in my short walking career, I’m more concerned about the muscle cramps , than I am about my breathing. At least with my lungs, I know that if I’m not breathing well on a particular day, that I just wont race that day. No DNF and no real loss ( except the entry fee and some pride) .
It’s a different story with the leg cramps though , because they don’t effect my performance until I’m already out 10- 12 miles on the course. That’s OK for a 13 mile race, but not for a 26 miler. Since I’ve yet to walk more than 13 miles, I can’t tell if this is going to be a problem in the longer distances.

During my last two half marathon , I developed severe muscle cramps towards the end of the race. In both those instances, I started developing severe calve and thigh cramps as I entered the last mile of the events. In particular, the Kaiser Permanente half marathon which I did last February , I developed a leg cramp as I was entering the finishing shoot ! The muscle spasms actually progressed into a “full body” cramp that keeled me over right there in the chute just short of the finish line. It was so bad that they sent the paramedics over to massage my legs and stand me back up, so I could cross the finish line.

Now I know that in at least one of those instances, I was totally to blame. I obviously didn’t do enough distance training and I certainly didn’t hydrate. I believe I did a slightly better job of hydrating at the SFM, but still I had severe cramps at the finish line. I’m beginning to wonder if my racewalking is part of the problem. You definitely overuse your calve and shin muscles when you racewalk. Could this have anything to do with it? I do stretching exercises religiously .

Regardless of whats causing these cramps, my question for the Pros is this.. How do you treat leg cramps when they occur DURING the race? Can you continue to walk/run after the spasms stop or is it too late at that point?

I always know when a cramp is imminent because I can feel the muscle start to wiggle and twitch. By that time there’s usually nothing I can do except to prepare for a full blow cramp and get away from people so they don’t see me scream. What do you do when this happens? Do you just call it quits or do you try to massage it out and keep plugging away? Sorry, to be such a wus , but thats some painful shit.

I will of course, re-evaluate this whole cramp business after I do my 18 and 20 mile LSDs in a couple of weeks. Perhaps a combination of SLOW walking and proper hydration will make a difference. I guess I’ll wait till then to make the final decision on Portland.

OK , now that my endorphin level has finally dropped to normal and there’s nothing in my system to mask the pain, I have to say…My body feels trashed. I feel like I was it by a train. Every muscle in my body hurts– from shoulders to ankles and everything in between. I can only imagine how my friend Brandon (who walked 26.2 miles with two bad knees), is feeling …
Dont’ get me wrong…I’m elated with my finish time , but I’d gladly trade it for a slower time if meant less post race pain.
With four half marathons under my belt in the past 12 months, you’d think my recovery would be quicker and less painful. You’d think ..wouldnt you?

Then again, looking back on this race, I see myself making the same ‘ole common mistakes, like pushing myself too hard and.. under-hydrating! ! When will I learn that the body needs fuel ! especially a sick body! During this race I thought I was doing good because I forced myself to drink at every station. The problem is…. drinking two to three ounces of cytomax or gatorade every two miles is probably not considered adequate hydration, certainly not enough to stave off the massive leg cramps that I get every single time.( Oh..and I think I did one Vanilla goo too)

Another thing to consider is…. this is the first time I’ve ever racewalked in a race!
Not only that , but I racewalked much more than I had planned to. In my training leading up to this race, I thought of maybe trying to racewalk a few hundred feet per mile… tops. Well, instead of doing two or three hundred feet per mile, I ended up doing two to three THOUSAND feet per mile–Tens time as much. This would probably explain the post-race pain in my upper arms and shoulders as I’ve never had my arms in continuous motion throughout an entire race.

Even though I set a new PR and made a strong finish, to be honest… There’s no way I could have raced another foot, let alone another 13 miles. I think I hit that proverbial wall , right at the finish line. If I feel this way after 13, how am I going to feel after 26? Is it even possible for me to do 26? After this last recovery, I’m really beginning to wonder if 26.2 is in the cards for me.

Well. It’s too soon to call it quits on my full marathon plans. In 4 weeks I’ll be attempting an 18 mile LSD … That’s when I’ll make a final decision on whether or not to postpone it.
In the meantime; I’m going to eat a banana everyday and try to get the right balance of electrolytes circulating. I’m going to eliminate racewalking from my longer walks to save my calves ( I’ll still racewalk on the short days.) I’m going to wear running shoes for my long walks and racing flats for my short walks. I’m going to do my best to down those 4-8 glasses a day.
I’m going to do all these things ….and more, because what’s the point of hard training hard for a race if your going to feel like crap afterwards. I haven’t even considered the “lung ” implications of a 6 to 7 hour walk.

We’ll see how things go when my full marathon training gets started next week.