Stomach cramp/sickness

[KarenvBeck70]

Hi,

I'm a keen rower on my Concept 2, looking at improving my marathon distance time, I've done it in 4 hours 2 mins, first attempt.
And half marathon distance in 1 hour 42 mins, both of which I find relatively easy.... HOWEVER, I've had the most horrendous abdominal cramps followed by sickness and diarrhea throughout the night following any longer distance, vigorous Row???
Has anyone else experienced this and can offer any tips to prevent this?
Any advice will be greatly appreciated as I can't wipe myself out every time I do longer distances

[Dangerscouse]

Wow, that sounds horrible. I've had stomach cramps from using the wrong type of energy gels, but apart from that, it's never been an issue.

I can't figure out what the issue might be for such an extreme reaction, especially as the actual effort wasn't hard.

[mict450]

Hi Karen, welcome to the campfire. Without knowing more details, & just taking a SWAG, I'd say dehydration & electrolyte imbalance. But as Stu wrote, it's puzzling that you have such severe symptoms when your workout wasn't that strenuous.

Could you provide further details? Age, exercise history, symptoms only with erging vs other exercise modalities, pre-workout meals, type of fluids & hydration timing during workout, etc? Symptoms are a non-issue for distances less than half marathon? Steady state vs interval work; symptoms related with duration & not with intensity?

[Ombrax]

Hi Karen - welcome to the forum. : )

I'd start by listing all the differences between your M & HM where you had the post-row problems and your other shorter and more typical workouts where you don't have problems. Obviously distance and time are at the very top of the list, but what about everything else? As was mentioned above, are there any nutrition and/or hydration differences? Maybe even something as basic as a using a potentially contaminated hydration pack or water bottle for the long efforts, but just a cup for the shorter ones. Consider all the details. What did you eat afterwards?

Finally, have you ever done a cycling century? How did that go? Any similar issues?

Good luck figuring this out.

[hikeplusrow]

As previously mentioned, I'd look at what you had to eat afterwards and also whether you may have over eaten - a distinct possibility if you're feeling depleted after a long row. Also consider whether what you consumed was particularly spicy or citric.

[ericMX73]

My guess is that you were simply dehydrated. I've read that eating solid food while dehydrated can cause abdominal cramps.

[gvcormac]

Check out hyponatremia.