How to avoid the shits before, during and after training sessions and races

Triathlete's diarrhoea is characterised by frequent, loose bowel movements during or immediately after training or racing and is most common among (but not limited to) people who do triathlon. Like a lot of things that happen to our bodies, the cause of triathlete's diarrhoea isn't clear. One theory is that extreme exercise directs blood flow away from the intestines to our muscles, contributing to diarrhoea. Another is that the up and down motion stimulates your bowels. People who have Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) may find that triathlon can trigger their symptoms.

Often, simple dietary changes can help prevent triathlete's diarrhoea. Here are 7 small changes that could make a big difference during your next training session or race.

1. Adjust your fibre intake: At least one day before training or racing, limit or avoid high-fibre and gas-producing foods, such as beans, bran, fruit and salad. If you train every day, experiment to find a tolerable level of fibre. Otherwise, simply eat those foods after you train or race.

2. Hold the sugar: At least one day before training or racing, limit or avoid sweeteners called sugar alcohols—most often found in sugar-free sweets, chewing gum and ice cream.

3. Skip that extra cup of coffee: For three to six hours before training or racing, limit or avoid caffeine and high-fat foods.

4. Limit your pre-training or racing food intake: For at least two hours before, don't eat anything at all.

5. Drink more fluids: Try to be well hydrated before your training session or race. Afterward, drink plenty of fluids—think low-fat chocolate milk or other drinks designed for post-workout rehydration, as dehydration can contribute to diarrhoea. Large volumes of water or juice can worsen diarrhoea, and warm drinks may as well.

6. Be careful with energy products: While training and racing, use caution with energy gels and energy bars. In some people, these products can contribute to diarrhoea, so you should probably try them before a training session or race where you might be at risk to see how they affect you.

7. Consider your daily diet: Something you’re consuming during the day could be contributing to an upset stomach later on. Simple dietary changes may do the trick. If you're lactose intolerant, for example, try switching to lactose-reduced or lactose-free milk and milk products.

Above all, plan ahead. If you know you’re at risk, be prepared; design your training routes to include a toilet stop opportunity. That way, if you develop the urgency while exercising, you will be able to find relief quickly, without sacrificing your session.

If you get injured while running - why not try cross training in a pool or on a bike?

Tearing a calf muscle, the same calf muscle I always tear – in the same place – is frustrating. Equally frustrating is the limp home required as the tear makes it increasingly impossible to run, then walk fast and then walk at all, as the tear starts to swell. On Saturday it was pouring with rain: a nasty storm. It wasn’t safe to go out on the bike. By Saturday evening I was full of beans and rearing to go for a run. I changed into winter running gear (running tights, thermal top, running jacket, gloves and a hat), stretched and set off. I felt a little stiff, but went easy for 30 minutes. 

I then decided to do 2 x 5 minute intervals. The first went well and I felt good. No signs of any problems. At the end of the second interval, I felt something go in my lower calf. It felt as though that part of the calf had been stretched marginally beyond its elastic limit. It wasn’t sore, just noticeable. I slowed to an easy jog as home was 3km away. As I jogged on it became increasingly apparent I had torn my calf. I limped the last 500m to the house. Once inside, I got out some ice and tried to reduce the swelling. I took it easy all evening, but it has been a bit sore ever since. I will certainly not be running again for a few weeks. 

Years ago I would have been banging my head against the wall. I used to do huge amounts of running and then, when injury struck, do nothing until it healed. Having moved from running only to triathlon some years ago, I no longer feel this way, especially in the off season. I just take a day off, let the swelling go down and revert to cycling and swimming only. The hours I’d usually give to running just getting re-allocated. This way I stay fully fit. Cross training works. I was able to get on the bike on Monday morning and cycle 30km to work without any discernible pain. I will cycle and swim until my calf is healed and then return to running gradually. 

I can no longer understand runners who get injured and sit out their recover in abject misery. There is no need. Get on the bike or into the pool. Don’t stop training. Those who do turn to the bike or to swimming often find they enjoy it and then start doing a few duathlons, aquathons and even full triathlons. While swimming doesn’t appeal to everyone – you need to be able to swim (and ideally front crawl), you need access to a swimming pool, it is indoors and some find doing lengths of a pool boring (but it is no more boring than a running treadmill) – cycling will appeal to most runners. It gets you outside, you can cover miles and miles in an hour or more, you can train with groups (friends, cycling or triathlon clubs, etc.) and it will keep you trim. 

What’s not to like? Doing a bit of cycling also strengthens your Iliotibial Band and almost every other part of your legs, thighs and backside. It improves your running strength. Doing some cycling opens your eyes to a world of athletic events for which you need a bike. This includes the races already mentioned, but also cycling club races, sportives (like the Ring of Kerry), cycling holidays and, if you don’t do so already, you might even starts cycling to work. Cycling also comes with more boys toys than running. You will have an excuse to buy a bike and all the gear necessary to get you out onto the road. Or, if you don’t like the road, into the mountains for some mountain biking. Why not give it a try?

Do you flag other Strava user's activities?

Do you flag the activities of others on Strava when they make no sense? Today when I uploaded my run I found the two people immediately ahead of me to have run (and Mo Farah is worried) speeds of approx 2 minutes per km. Speeds, that is, easily achievable on a bike. These activities are clearly bogus and whoever uploaded them should have realised this and removed the activity, changed the activity type or flagged the activity themselves. What is surprising is how, even years after Strava has been recording activities, there are still a myriad of bullshit activities uploaded, apparently, without thought. Given how the people responsible for these bullshit activities must be able to smell them, why is it so many Strava users hesitate to flag these dodgy activities? Flagging is confidential and all flags are investigated by Strava staff. If an activity is wrongly flagged, it will be restored.

Strava segments are created every day and cannot be individually policed by Strava staff. Strava relies on users to flag dodgy activities. Not flagging is actually a bad thing, as it means dodgy Strava activities are not being policed. I understand the hesitation to flag. Where an activity is just silly, I tend to comment on it and to ask the Strava user to take the necessary action. But this means I identify myself. I’ve had a few people react badly to my contacting them, but if they stop and think about it, it is the more decent thing to do. Just flagging an activity can leave someone wondering why their place on a Strava Leaderboard has disappeared. I know cyclists who have completed segments in amazing times and who have noted how the activity was wind assisted. Wind assistance is allowed under Strava, but other users have flagged their activity nonetheless. They eventually get restored, but the decent thing to do would have been to comment on the activity and to discuss how the time was achieved. But why should other users have to policy dodgy users?

Perhaps what we need is a Strava etiquette guide for all users. Those uploading activities should have to click a button which asks “having reviewed the data uploaded to Strava for your activity, do you agree that it accurately represents your performance?” before the activity upload is completed. This way, users are required to self-police rather than relying on others to police users through flagging. Strava, like all walks of life, is potentially liable to cheating. If all Strava users were required to stand over their activities as accurate or be sanctioned, this would clean up Strava immediately. Crazy times like 20 minutes for running 10km or cycling 60km in an hour, which often remove other users’ KOMs, would quickly be sanctioned.

These are just some thoughts and this article probably just suggests I have too much time on my hands, but, for many people, Strava Leaderboards are very important and positions, especially KOMs, are carefully protected. Those uploading activities should take responsibility if they upload what are, in fact, fraudulent activities. Strava is fun, but many athletes on Strava take their training and racing serious; their data, their scores, their Leaderboard positions, should be respected. If, for example, you forget to turn off the Garmin and drive a segment thereby taking the KOM, you should delete the activity from Strava – not wait for it to be flagged. You may find this funny, but in reality, for some, it is about as funny as coming fourth in a race because someone on the podium cheated.

Dublin Bus drivers should not be above sanction when endangering the lives of cyclists

On Monday night (the 7^th of December) at 5.45pm, a Dublin bus came up behind me, went halfway past me and then pulled across the cycle lane and right into the kerb. This resulted in me having to make an emergency bunny hop up manoeuvre up onto the pavement and into the queue of people waiting for the bus. This was the 46A going south along Donnybrook Road. The bus driver, a grey haired, thin man who, though sitting, seemed tall, could not have missed me.

I ride with a hi-viz jacket on, a bike light under my saddle, a massive bike light on my back pack (which has a hi-viz cover), a bike light is attached to the back of my helmet and I also wear red led light straps around each of my arms. What clearly happened is the bus driver wanted to get past me but under-estimated the speed I was going. He couldn’t get past and needed to brake to let me go on while he indicated and pulled into the bus stop. He didn’t bother waiting and just pulled in.

This is the most dangerous thing I have ever experienced on a bike. Had I not been an experienced cyclist (I rode around d 250km per week, every week) I would have been knocked off the bike and gone under the rear wheels of the bus. When the driver opened the passenger doors he seemed unsurprised to find those in the queue and myself asking him what on earth he was thinking. I didn’t have to say anything, the people waiting for the bus were angry on my behalf. As they shouted at him, the driver just looked on. He seemed bored. He looked like a man so used to causing near accidents that why would he care about another one. I said I’d report him but he just told me to go ahead. He said Dublin Bus could not care less – cyclists should not be on the road and would I just go away.

My wife has been telling me for some time that I need a GoPro to record my commute in case something happens. Arising from this incident, yesterday I purchased one of these and attached it to my bike. If a Dublin Bus driver acts again in the dangerous manner I experienced on Monday night, I will immediately take the recording to the Gardai. It is clear that this Dublin Bus driver felt he was above the law; that no possible sanction would ever be taken against him. Ultimately Dublin Bus needs to train their drivers to respect cyclists on the road and to have policies in place to sanction drivers whose behaviour places cyclists in genuine danger.

There is no war between bus drivers and cyclists, as sometimes portrayed on social media platforms like Facebook. I had not had an issue with a bus driver prior to this incident. I have seen both cyclists and bus drivers do silly things, but in almost all cases, neither is trying to kill the other. On Monday night I felt like the bus driver had actually been trying to kill me. The speed at which he swung in cutting off my space on the road was scary and deliberate.

Had I been hurt this would have resulted in the closing of the road while the emergency services dealt with the incident. The driver would have been investigated and, given the number of witnesses who I was forced to ride into who saw the entire incident unfold, found guilty of dangerous driving. As it was, I reacted to save myself and in doing so saved this driver from sanction, but the next cyclist may not be so lucky.

Based on this incident, I advise all cyclists to start to record their commutes and I advise Dublin Bus to start addressing the risks that some drivers are taking with the lives of cyclists.