# training for my digestive system



## FishMan473 (Jan 2, 2003)

At this point in my endurance racing "career" I think the part of my body that's holding me back the most is my digestive system. It seems like every time I am going fast enough to be competitive, my digestive system just shuts down. At my last race last year I had to pull out because of it and then ended up with an impacted colon as a result... which put me out of the final race of the series.

I know that a lot of this is picking foods that are easy to digest. I have a pretty short list of safe foods, so I wouldn't mine some more suggestions. But can I train my body to digest under duress? What would be the best strategy? Short intense efforts like XC races? Or maybe doing longer rides and gradually ramping up the intensity to race level?


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## JD1 (Feb 1, 2011)

I would consider consulting with a Sports Nutritionist on this one. If you're having issues like you've described, and you want to be competitive, you're seeking more than a forum can offer, in my opinion. I work with one and have found the experience beneficial and educational.


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## playpunk (Apr 1, 2005)

more sodium? 

What is your regimen right now?


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## brassnipples (Feb 26, 2006)

I don't really like using them, but switching to the all liquid foods such as perpetuem, sustain, and infiit has pretty much solved my tummy issues. My stomach would always shut down sometime after the 6 hour mark on every other combination of food I tried, but as soon as I tried to militantly stick to one of those all liquid products things got a lot better.

The brand doesn't make much of a difference for me, the endurance blends all work fine, but the consistency and control really stabilized my digestive system. I would much prefer sticking to more normal food but it seemed like no amount of experimentation could come up with a reliable combination.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

FishMan473 said:


> At this point in my endurance racing "career" I think the part of my body that's holding me back the most is my digestive system. It seems like every time I am going fast enough to be competitive, my digestive system just shuts down. At my last race last year I had to pull out because of it and then ended up with an impacted colon as a result... which put me out of the final race of the series.
> 
> I know that a lot of this is picking foods that are easy to digest. I have a pretty short list of safe foods, so I wouldn't mine some more suggestions. But can I train my body to digest under duress? What would be the best strategy? Short intense efforts like XC races? Or maybe doing longer rides and gradually ramping up the intensity to race level?


Long easy rides 6 hours plus....you absoulutly need to eat or you will bonk.

Then as you have sucess increase the intensity of the ride, add in intervals etc.

BTW impacted stools kinda indicated dehydration to some degree.


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## DavidR1 (Jul 7, 2008)

I agree with the sports nutritionalist suggestion.

What are your endurance races and what is your current nutrition consist of? For me, Infinit Nutrition and ProBar have helped tremendously.


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## Krenovian (Feb 13, 2009)

Another vote for all liquid nutrition. I've used Infinit for two endurance events now, one 24 hour solo mtb race and one 45K skate ski race plus many shorter training days. No digestive tract problems here. 

I'm not sure you can actually train your body to handle solid foods during strenuous efforts if you are consistently experiencing problems. You are asking it to make a "choice" as it were between supplying your muscles with increased blood flow or diverting blood to the GI tract when you are consuming solid foods that need to be digested. 

Digestion of many foods requires water. This means consuming water above and beyond what your needs are to balance the losses due to sweating, breathing, etc. during an event. It's already difficult enough to keep up basic hydration needs while racing. I too would wonder if a lack of adequate hydration contributed to the colonic impaction you experienced.


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## FishMan473 (Jan 2, 2003)

Hey, All, thanks for your input. Sorry I've been MIA... been a busy week of work, I Think I'm at 65-70 hours so far... but who's counting.

No less than 3 hours before every race I eat exactly 2 bagels with cream cheese and one banana. For endurance races I might eat a bit later or add something extra like a doughnut or energy bar for a bit more fuel since I won't be going so hard off the line like I would be in an XC or road race.

Come to think of it, my biggest problem when I was doing more XC racing "back in the day" was eating too much before the race, I would be struggling with digestion issues if I ate any more than the banana and bagels or ate it less than 3 hours before the race.

My standard fare during races is Hammer Gel, HEED, bananas, granola bars, chocolate Harvest Bars, and electrolite caps. I also use endurance races as an excuse to eat foods that I love but don't often eat since they have too many calories, such as Gem donuts, chocolate, Teddy Grams, Cheese-Its, etc, with the thought that I need as many calories as I can get. I used to drink Perpeteum but it seems to be hard for me to digest, though I have thrown in a scoop with my HEED from time to time.

I figure its the junk food doing me in, but I know I will get super board with the energy drinks/gels and bars. Also I'm worried I won't be able to consume enough calories.


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## Cayenne_Pepa (Dec 18, 2007)

Fiber is your friend. Also add some probiotic enzymes(yogurt) and your pipes will be squeaky clean. I'm so regular, I can tell time by it now. Not bad for a guy who had irritable bowel syndrome only six years ago. All symptoms are gone, since going to high-fiber diet and taking chromium supplements(increase metabolism).


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## cannondale rider 66 (Jul 29, 2010)

Everyone is individual based on their training, ride intensity and so on. Hearing others "system" helps give some ideas on what combination may work for you.

For 6 plus hour events, I significantly moderate my diet 24 to 36 hours before. I transition to a very simple diet and small frequent portions. pasta, whole grain bread, bagels, small portions of chicken, V-8,yogurt, granola, and several beers the day before just because life is worth living. Main part is empty out the GI tract. I am not saying starve, eat just enough light food so you are maintaining. The higher the intensity the more I need liquid fuel and the less tolorant of solid.

In training and competitions try to determine the heart rate/exertion level that your GI track still works. You can't run with zero digestion the whole time. Climbs always put you in the red but at some point you have to let the stomach catchup to your legs or your stomach will make sure you slow down.

Long fast distance is the best way to figure it out. The person with the highest average speed wins. I can feel my stomach heading in the wrong direction and have to make exertion and timing choices to keep it from heading too far south. On the edge with out falling off.

Best of luck getting the combination that works.


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## Cayenne_Pepa (Dec 18, 2007)

Yes, full evacuation of GI Tract is crucial. The only thing I hate about it is....the exploding mess. Oh well...


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## FishMan473 (Jan 2, 2003)

So yesterday was my first race of the year. Despite going out at a moderate pace for the first two laps, my digestive track issue reared its ugly head again by lap 3 (~35 miles in) and got steadily worse so I ended up bailing after my 6th lap (~60-65 miles). I consumed about 1750 calories during the race, and I roughly estimate that I burned a little over 3000.

I had my typical breakfast but added an apple about 45 minutes before the start (about 800 calories total pre-race). I did eat half a pizza the night before for carbo-loading... maybe I should stick with something simpler like a moderate portion of pasta next time?

Fitness could be an issue, but today I feel pretty darn good, a tiny bit sore and stiff, but not as much as you might think after riding 60+ miles on a fully rigid MTB. So I still feel like fitness might be a contributing factor, but not a main cause of my digestive troubles.

Anyhow, I have a couple questions that came up while riding and discussing this with my wife:

#1: Does anyone know of any reported digestive issues with Hammer products? I am no longer using Perpeteum due to digestive issues (perceived?), but I am wondering if HEED, Hammer Gel, and Endurolyte tablets might be giving me a similar effect?

#2: I have dropped 8 pounds this year so far, but I am still a bit overweight at ~19% body fat, but working hard to loose another 17 pounds to get down to a racing weight of 148 lbs (10% body fat), hopefully by the beginning of August. So I have a bit of a gut. I am wondering if being bent over on a bike, wearing bib tights and having my belly fat pushed into my abdomen might be aggravating my situation? Any thoughts on that?


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## playpunk (Apr 1, 2005)

FishMan473 said:


> So yesterday was my first race of the year. Despite going out at a moderate pace for the first two laps, my digestive track issue reared its ugly head again by lap 3 (~35 miles in) and got steadily worse so I ended up bailing after my 6th lap (~60-65 miles). I consumed about 1750 calories during the race, and I roughly estimate that I burned a little over 3000.
> 
> I had my typical breakfast but added an apple about 45 minutes before the start (about 800 calories total pre-race). I did eat half a pizza the night before for carbo-loading... maybe I should stick with something simpler like a moderate portion of pasta next time?
> 
> ...


You might want to try a less inflamatory night-before meal. while pizza might work for some people (my wife always runs really well with pizza and wings the night before) it doesn't for others. I'd try something a bit easier - maybe grilled chicken breast and mashed sweet potatoes, or some fish and rice with some easy to digest veggies. I like to make sure I get my coffee in well before the race starts, that way I get my normal couple of morning poops. Very important.

I just looked through the thread and saw that many people recommend and have success with a gluten-heavy diet. This doesn't work well for me - you might want to look into cutting out wheat products in the week before a race and eating carb sources that are easier to digest. The worst stomach problems I've ever had were the night before the Mohican 100 in 2007, when I ate panera bread and a pasta based meal the day before the race. I was a total mess. It's only anecdotal, but now I don't eat bread/pasta at all before a race and have much better results.

even though I love apples, the fiber hurts my gut if I eat one right before exercising. Apple sauce might be a good choice.

When you're eating during a race, eat whenever possible, but not very much. When mountain bike racing I'll take a quick swig of hammer-gel and water every 20 minutes or so. I haven't had success with endurolytes, because I need more salt. S-Caps work well for me, and keep my gut and legs functioning. I also like carbo-rocket more than heed, it works better with my gut.


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## mtbboy2000 (Mar 4, 2008)

Carborocket CR333, works like a champ, ZERo Gi Issues


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