Nausea after running

On days when I have a long run planned - I try to get in my calories earlier in the day, so that I'm not eating anything an hour before, and having a light meal about 2 hours before the run.  Afterwards, I have a small snack.  My problem is that about an hour or 2 after a long run, I get terribly nauseuos and I feel for about an hour like I might throw up.  This is happening a couple of times a week, but only for the last couple of weeks. 

What am I doing wrong?  How can I prevent this? 

Oh sounds like a little dehydration, low on electrolytes, or low blood sugar -- probably a combo of all three.  It is important to eat something substantial afterward and you do need a good amount of carbs beforehand.  After a run, I like 2 eggs scrambeled and a cup of milk.  I also take a half cup of juice mixed with a big, big glass of water. You can also take some sport drink, but you don't need much.  Less than a cup is enough for me.  A lot of runners really like a cup of chocolate milk after. 

 If you are on very low carb diet, try eating more carb on the day before a long run or in the morning of a long run.  Sometimes just some sport drink it good enough.

I eat very little before my run.  A cup of milk or a cup of sweet potato soup are my usual, if I do eat anything.

I don't think it's dehydration - I drink at least 2 liters of water a day at work, and then some more at home before the runs.  Plenty after as well.  I also had a pb&j 90 minutes before the run, so I should have had plenty of carbs.  I might give a little bit of gatorade a try, though.  Ugh, this sucks. 

my guess is that you need to eat again after 1-2 hours. depending on how long your long run is, you'll need to replenish immediately afterwards, as you said you do with a snack. I'm a distance cyclist and I often have an Endurox drink immediately after long rides to help with recovery, but I always crater about 1-2 hours later unless I eat some real food - usually a tuna sandwich or something with a good carb/protein/fat mix.

i suggest you save some calories for some gatorade and a light meal in that time frame when you typically get that nauseated feeling - your stomach is probably empty and "eating itself" as we jokingly call it around my house.

Any thought that you're maybe over exerting? I'm just thinking back to gym class when I'd get that puking feeling from running lots.

There may be an element over overexersion as I only get the nausea after group runs.  I don't push myself very hard when I go alone, and usually then I don't get nauseus.  But I never push myself to where I don't feel good in any way on the run. 

I'm going to try eating more after and getting in a little gatorade before and after. 

I would drink a little apple juice or orange juice.  That keeps my nausea away.  And you don't need much.  Or just eat the fruit.   I know this problem and this is what I do to avoid it

I was having the same problem and was told to eat a (low sugar) protein bar before exercise (mine was not with running but 90 minutes of bikram yoga).  That worked!

It could be heartburn/acid reflux. Running tends to churn up your stomach acid. Some people feel nauseated, instead of the classic burning.

If you feel like stomach acid is rising up farther than it should, and have a grumpy tummy that feels like it's churning, or experience a lot of burping between meals and when your tummy should be empty, then I would definetly suspect reflux. You could try an OTC acid reducer before a run. And if it's reflux, try not to go too long with an empty tummy. You may not want to eat directly before a run, but don't wait too long after the run to eat. You may not feel like eating, but eating can actually soothe reflux.

You're running to hard I betcha.  Get a heart rate monitor and run in your target heart rate zones and you'll get a better workout and won't be nauseated.

I'm terrible at over training.  Before I had a heart rate monitor and target zones to strive for, I would puke after all my runs.  That isn't incentive to keep running let me tell you.  Now I've gone from dreading 20 or 30 min runs to running a half and a full marathon along with 5k's, 10k's, and 12k's (all without barfing).

Gross, I read that someone eats scrambled eggs and chocolate milk after runs and that would make me incredibly sick.  I'm a begginer runner-- but I've experienced this on most runs over 6 miles.  I really think it's mostly being low on electrolytes.  The only thing I have found that helps is sipping (emphasis on SIPPING) vitamin water, I'm sure gatorade would have the same effect.  And, if you're cost conscious, you can get Vitamin Water in bulk from Costco for pretty cheap. 

 

It's important to not eat or drink anything too quickly after a run, and to keep yourself hydrated enough during, but not drink too much water.  I've noticed when I over hydrate during a run, it's a miserable finish. 

 

I also think that when you push yourself, as long as you stay within reason, your body gets used to it.