Feeling sick after my first 15K

Tilly32

Hi,

I am training for my first half marathon.
Up until now I have been comfortable with 10K without any feeling of sickness.
I ran 12K last week, felt a bit off when I came home but was fine once I went to bed.
Last night however was a different story. I went out and ran 15K....felt totally fine while running, legs a bit wobbly at the end but I felt ok in my stomach and head. I was really please actually. I got back after my run, made the dinner and headed up for a shower. Came back down and sat down to the TV. Then it hit me. I felt so sick....I wanted to get sick but didn't/couldn't ..(sorry for detail). I couldn't touch my dinner, I had some water but that was all. I felt so awful. I ended up going to bed. Woke up fine this morning.

My diet yesterday was:
Porridge with fruit and natural yogurt for breakfast.
Lunch was a cold meat salad with 2 wholemeal bun things.
at 4pm I had 2 weetabix and I went for my run at 6:15pm.
It took me 1 & a half hours to do the 15K.
I did not bring any water or foods with me when running.

I know a lot of people have this issue, but I'm finding different suggestions all over the place.
Is it dehydration? Did I not eat enough carbs?

I really don't want to feel like this after every long run, it's so horrible.

Any tips welcome, thank you.

RayCun

I would try eating right after your run. A lot of people lose their appetite a while after their run, but your body still needs the energy. So have something as soon as you get in the door - chocolate milk, bananas, anything you can eat quickly.

Ososlo

Used to happen me a lot but two things helped.
Slowing down the pace of my long runs a lot and
eating something salty right after the run.
And of course ensuring I was really well hydrated before the run.

Cartman78

Sounds to me like you hit a mini-wall (albeit a wall that you built yourself )

Given that your body isn't used of running long distances, the 2 hour gap between your Weetabix at 4pm and the start of your run was probably too long imho.

A banana, some oatcakes, cereal bar etc. would probably have helped within 30 mins of heading out.

Running that distance for the first time without water as well isn't clever to be honest - have a look at the running bottles or plan ahead a bit (ie. leave a bottle somewhere on your route in advance, or bring some money with you and pop into a shop.

Also the fact that you felt a bit off the previous week at 12k might be a warning that you're upping the mileage a bit too quick. Give yourself a chance to get used of it....do a couple of more 12k's til you get comfortable and, combined with a sensible fuelling strategy, you should be able to move up the distances a bit better then.

good luck cm

Krusty_Clown

Might be an idea to weight yourself just before you go out and soon after you arrive back, just to establish the amount of fluid loss you have experienced during your long run. Personally, I don't see any issue with not eating food between your weetabix and your run, but sipping some water beforehand would be a good idea. If you can get away without drinking water on your run then you should try (as long as it doesn't have any negative implications) as it will serve you better in the long run (pardon the pun).

Nausea isn't uncommon after significant(relative to the individual) amounts of exercise; the key is to get onto the recovery path as quickly as possible, by getting some suitable foods into the system. I find that after a marathon I have no stomach for solid food (I can only drink large quantities of alcohol. ).

TFBubendorfer

Cartman78 wrote: »

Given that your body isn't used of running long distances, the 2 hour gap between your Weetabix at 4pm and the start of your run was probably too long imho.

I would have thought the opposite was the case - I get into trouble if I eat within 2 hours of a run.

In any case, I wouldn't worry about as long as it's a once off. Nausea happens and it's not a big deal. If it happens regularly, then it's time to do something about it.

WhiteWalls

your probably doing too much too quickly

ZiabR

I had the same issue when I began cycling over a year ago. My first two or three longish cycles resulted in me getting sick when I came home. I put it down to doing to much to quick along with being slightly unfit. I slowed down and built up my distances over time and the problem is gone.

Fraggle00

I'd suggest replenishing your glycogen stores as soon as you finish running. Having a bottle of sugary flavoured milk in the fridge would be perfect. Drink that, then go have your shower.

PVincent

Your diet on the day you ran included a serious amount of 'ruffage' . Porridge, fruit, whole meal bread, weetabix ... I think you may have had two much to eat rather than too little. Experiment a bit by eating less. You don't need too much for a 10 mile run even if it is a 90 min run .

Tilly32

Thanks all for your advice .
I did another long run last night but this time I had a bottle of lucozade sport & a banana the minute I came home. Sorted me out, apart from feeling tired on my legs & feet I was totally fine! & delighted about it. I did 16k & was really pleased . Thanks again!

rom

Tilly32 wrote: »

Thanks all for your advice .
I did another long run last night but this time I had a bottle of lucozade sport & a banana the minute I came home. Sorted me out, apart from feeling tired on my legs & feet I was totally fine! & delighted about it. I did 16k & was really pleased . Thanks again!

best to avoid drinks like lucozade sport* and have a pint of milk ( a few spoons of chocolate powder if your craving sugar)

If it is a constant necessity I would get my blood sugar checked by the doc as about 1 in 10-20** people have diabetes.

** pending on what stats you look at.

smashiner

Hi Tilly32,
Like you I have increased from 10K to HM in the past 2-3 months, I found that going up in 2-3K jumps at a time worked for me. I too was feeling a bit sick and cramps (stomach) after the first jump from about 12-15, but I found that if I hydrated well (water/lucozade and a small bananna) about an hour before the run it helped.

I also bought a proper running belt with 2 small cannisters for water/lucozade and sweets (Hmm....Jelly Babies) for €25 made a big difference to me, as I could keep the thirst at bay and get a bit of a sugar fix if needed. Lastly, I found that dropping the pace a small bit on the last Kilometer (kind of a warm down) meant that I wasn't shattered when finishing a training run.

Hope this helps :-), best of luck with the training!