Eating right after a marathon (Read 1487 times)

I ran the Philly marathon yesterday. PB'ed by almost 10 minutes. After the race I started sipping some water and walked to the food tent where I ate a piece of a pretzel and a couple of bites of a banana. My stomach never feels great after a marathon but I thought it had settled enough by the time I started eating. I walked back to the hotel, feeling sick, and laid on a couch for my stomach to settle. An hour later I threw up everything I had ingested after the race. I eventually grabbed a cab to get to the airport and threw up in the cab (in a bag luckily) just as we arrived to the airport. Damn speed bumps. In the airport, I started sipping on a ginger ale and luckily, by the time the plane took off, I felt better. I sipped another ginger ale on the short flight and only once I got to destination I start feeling very hungry (good sign). I ate and was feeling great. So, although I never had a great appetite right after a marathon before, I always was able to ingest a bit to get my energy back and rehydrate. I'm always puzzled when I see some other runners stuff their face after the finish. Is it common to feel sick after a marathon? And what's a good strategy for eating after? Is it caused by dehydration?

RunB - perhaps you were mildly hyponatremic? If you sweated out more salt than you took in through sports drinks and carb replacements then your electrolytes may have been messed up? Next time, try sprinkling a little salt in the palm of your hand and you can lick it out of your hand (you'll absorb it through your mouth rather than your gut). Usually if you're salt depleted, this will get the salt replaced relatively easily and may allow you to tolerate food a little better. Give the salt about 15 minutes to do it's trick, then try eating a bit.

RunB - perhaps you were mildly hyponatremic?

This could be it! I only skipped one fluid station and either had Gatorade or water with a GU. It might have been not enough. After the race I had big salt spots on my temples and cheeks. I always have some after marathons, but this was more than usual. Should I be taking electrolyte supplements during the race on top of Gatorade? They said they had Gatorade endurance at this race which has a higher level of electrolytes than the regular kind. Thanks.

This could be it! I only skipped one fluid station and either had Gatorade or water with a GU. It might have been not enough. After the race I had big salt spots on my temples and cheeks. I always have some after marathons, but this was more than usual. Should I be taking electrolyte supplements during the race on top of Gatorade? They said they had Gatorade endurance at this race which has a higher level of electrolytes than the regular kind.

This sounds about like me after the OBX marathon a couple of weeks ago. I never have had salt spots before this race. My stomach took thirty to sixty minutes to feel like eating. I had a small amount of orange slice and a bite of a granola bar but didn't eat til my stomach felt decent. So fortunately I didn't have a throw-up episode like you. I'll probably carry some electrolyte supplements next time. (I used some during the summer training but ran out before the marathon and ordered none.)

I can't eat after a marathon either. It takes me about an hour or so before I get hungry and then I feed slowly. It probably takes about 4 hours before my regular appetite is back. Nothing weird about your experience. I usually don't have an appetite after long or hard runs.