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I started doing triathlons in 2005 and with few exceptions I've had trouble with cramping toward the end of the bike or in the beginning of the run that has always left me with a very poor time split for the run. This is sad because running should be my best event (although I'm a pretty strong cyclist too). In my first triathlon season, I tried fueling with sport drinks but that left me with some GI distress and I would still cramp up in the run, probably due to dehydration because I wouldn't drink enough for fear of throwing up.
The next season, I tried AccelGel for fuel and NUUN for my electrolytes. This worked pretty well to keep me from cramping but I wasn't a big fan of taking the gels because they can be a sticky mess and inconvenient, especially on the bike portion of the race. I typically do half ironman distance races but hope to do full ironmans next year. The only complaint I had about NUUN was that it tasted OK (not great) but I didn't like the carbonation. Also, I would have to carry the tablets with me and mix them on the course because I couldn't carry that much fluid with me during the race. Later in the season, I switched to Hammer Nutrition using Perpetuem for my fuel/fluid and Endurolytes for my electrolytes. I liked the convenience and the taste was fine but I started cramping again. I eventually discovered that I had to use MUCH more of the Endurolytes than they listed for my proper dosage and the convenience was slightly reduced.
I continued experimenting with the Hammer Nutrition products all the way through the beginning of this triathlon season and I was getting it dialed in pretty well but I disliked the sheer volume of Endurolyte caplets I had to take while racing and metering out the dosages to keep my electrolytes in an acceptable range was a bit of a hassle. I entered the Auburn World's Toughest Half Ironman this year simply to treat it as a race to experiment with new things. I changed almost everything: Different bike, different wetsuit, different clothes, different fuel. In my race packet was a tube of your SportAktive. I had intended to try NUUN again for my electrolytes but I looked at your nutritional information and liked what I saw. I dropped one of your tablets into some water the night before the race and really liked the taste so I thought I'd experiment with using it for the race as well. The result was that I didn't have a single instance of cramping throughout the entire race! And this was a race that was in 100+ degree temperature with over 6,000 feet of climbing on the bike and 2000 feet on the run. Also, I had the best run leg I've ever had in a half ironman and it was because I didn't have to contend with my quads or hamstrings cramping up. At that point, I was an instant fan of SportAktive and wanted to try it some more, which is why I ordered it online.
Yesterday, I raced the San Jose International Triathlon which is an Olympic distance race. It was the second time I used your SportAktive in a race. Once again, no cramps! It was a shorter distance than I typically do but I've experienced cramps in this distance before, especially when it is warmer like it was yesterday. I also let two of my friends try it for the race yesterday and they both were extremely pleased with the outcome. All three of us set personal records for the race yesterday, enjoyed the good taste of SportAktive and didn't have any cramping. Maybe we trained better for the event but SportAktive sure helped make it easier.
I'm more muscular than your average triathlete (5' 9" tall, 185 pounds, 6% body fat) so it seems I need to pay more attention to the issue of cramping. It's been a long study of the problem for me but it looks like SportAktive might be a great solution.
Take care,
George Brumm
How to carry your SportAktive tablets during a race. A tip from George Brumm
I will have a couple of liters already mixed on the bike when I start a race and that's probably good enough to get me through 50-60 miles on flat courses and mild temperatures. If I need to get more water at an aid station on the course, I will drop a tablet into my hydration bottle on my aerobars and fill the water on top of it so I'm ready to keep going without having to stop. For the run, I'll usually have a premixed 16 ounce bottle that I run with and will replenish the bottle at aid stations as needed and drop in the tablets as I refill. For a half ironman, I like to carry about 4 extra tablets for refilling on the bike and run. For longer distances, like a full ironman, I'll probably carry about 10-12 extra tablets but would have a different container for the bike and for the run (4-5 for the bike, 6-7 for the run).
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