Dry Heaves after major exertion

The cycling club I ride with likes to ride *very* fast sometimes. Some rides though, I find myself so exhausted that I get the dry heaves. So, I slow my pace a little, recover a little, then try to push hard again, and get the heaves and have to slow down again. We leave on the rides at 630am, and I can't eat before riding. I make sure I eat a good dinner the night before for fuel, and drink a good bit of water when I first wake up. Back when I was a competitive swimmer the same thing would happen - I'd barf after an event if I ate even 3 hours before I competed.

What causes this???

If I had to make a wild guess right off the top of my head - blood sugar drops due to not eating. Have you tried any on of the gels to see if they help?

If you are close to or at your maximum heartrate, blood cannot get to the stomach and almost everyone will get some form of nausea, dry heaves, or actual upchucking if there is anything to chuck. In other words, the redline on a heart rate monitor isn't called "pukerate" for nothin'... :eek:

That happened to me after trying the South Beach Diet. I would workout pretty intensly for an hour or more and try to eat dinner and it would not stay down. This happened for 4 days in a row. I emailed my Training Peaks.com and they told me it sounds like my blood sugar is too low and its making me sick, I needed more carbs. Sure enough I put carbs back in and I was fine. It's crucial to fuel your body before a intense workout. About a 1 1/2 before a workout is a good time. I find Cheerios,Oatmeal or Pb & J work best for the mornings. Also carry GU or something with you if you know it's going to be a extra intense ride.

Take Care,
Kim

I found eating a banana in the the morning before a hard ride works really well.