CRAMP.....CRAMP......CRAMP.....

I'm no pro but that seems like a lot of salt. Doesn't too much salt defeat the all that hydration. I seem to remember something about the kidneys and salt from high school biology. Do you take that many salt tablets for your regular work outs. Also, when I had a problem with cramps I read that it is important to maintain the ratio of sodium to potassium so if those salt tablets were sodium that might create a problem too. Good luck. That sounds pretty horrible.

Wendy

do you eat bananas? they are supposed to be great for cramps...the potassium, I think.

You may be going the other way with too much salt. Gels and sports drinks are designed to replace loss - the salt tabs seem like overkill. I would also be suspicious that not enough bricks in training, not stretching before coming off the bike and pushing big gears particularly in the latter half of the ride are all sure fire winners for cramps going onto the run. Everytime I get off my bike in training I jog until the dead legs go - now it is so quick I only have to go about 50 metres. I always spin for about the last km coming into transition and stand on my pedals and stretch my calves and thighs (thrust your hips forward while standing on the pedals - takes a bit of balance so be careful the first time). Stay away from the salt tabs and keep hydrated with sports drinks and practice race effort in training - you may also be getting a bit slack in training and then going hammer and tongs in racing so you haven't really trained for that degree of effort at all!! Good luck with it - it will get better!! Dx