I ran my first XC race today and around the 2 mile mark I had the urge to throw up. Then with about 3/4 left in the race I started dry heaving. I didn't eat anything before the race all I had was 2 cups of water. This usually happens after my race, not during it. Does anyone know why this is happening and how to prevent it? It really slowed me down because I had to basically run and throw up and the same time. It's very frusturating.
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Was it really hot where you ran? That may explain it.
Not really hot but I guess it was hot for a 5k... about 75-80 I think.
It was wierd. My sophmore year in high school I got the dry heaves for 3 races in a row, always at about the 2 mile mark of the 5k. It was the only time I have ever had the problem before or since - kind of weird. It didn't slow me down though, it was easy to run through, but it was annoying, because the pace is picking up, and I'm dry heaving right when the pace change occurs. Have you ever had it before? It went away for me - kind of a weird little spell. Maybe that's your problem, you should eat a little something before the race. Best thing is a sports drink - get some sugar in your stomach so you don't have that empty, acidic feeling. Like you say, it is the DRY heaves. Good luck, but I bet it'll pass quickly.
Not an uncommon experience. Yakking like, particularly in someone new to racing, is probably a stress reaction. You can play around with different combinations of fluids and so forth, to see if something works, but mostly you need to practice running more relaxed. During hard workouts, pick different parts of your body (neck, shoulders, jaw, etc.) and make sure they are relaxed. Also, except in the last few 100 meters of a race, make sure your aren't breathing too fast. A good rule of thumb is that you breath in for every two strides (left foot, right foot) and out the next two strides (left, right or right, left). Breathing faster than that reduces the amount of air you are actually taking in. RELAX. It will go away.