Week 22: Improper fueling=Impossible run

Our marathon is only 8 short weeks away, and still we are learning about ourselves and the proper way to train for this crazy endeavor. Chris, even with four prior marathons under his belt, has never really prepared to this degree; 12-13 miles is probably the longest he has run aside from the marathon itself. Running regularly four times/week is also new to him. This being the case, he has never really had to deal with issues of energy or electrolyte replacement during a non-race run. Plus, he's super tough! Water is for finishers, don't you know. :-)

When I trained for my marathon 10 years ago, I followed the recommended advice to refuel---some sports drink or energy gel for any run over one hour, and about every 30-45 minutes after that. I felt pretty good doing that and was able to get through all of my long runs without crashing. Yet this time around, though we have had many runs over an hour (especially at our pace), I haven't taken in anything but water. Why? Mostly because I've felt okay. For weeks I've been carrying around the same 3 packets of fruit snacks, thinking I'd need to break them open for a little sugar, but I never did.

Until yesterday.

Yesterday we both crashed and burned around mile 12 of a 15 mile run. And we'd taken a few walk breaks even before that point. It was not how I'd hoped the day would go at all---though as Chris points out, we had to finish 15 miles, and we did. We just finished walking instead of running.

A number of factors contributed to our troubles. The day was warm and humid. Not the worst heat we have run in by far, but certainly the longest amount of time we have been out in such weather. I am a heavy sweater, and have come home from numerous runs covered in powdery salt. I don't think this is great under most circumstances, but two hours into a run, if I am losing that much sodium, I should probably be taking some in to replace it. Water is great but if the sodium and potassium levels get out of whack, there can be serious consequences.

I also had signs of heat exhaustion again--nausea, as well as goosebumps that made the skin on my arms look like an orange peel for a few hours after we got home. I was taking in what felt like a ton of water, but I was sweating so much out, I don't think my body could keep up. For me, it was these symptoms that made me finally stop running, though my legs were feeling extremely tired too. This could also have been from a lack of carbohydrates; we ate those fruit snacks, all three packs, but I don't think it was near enough to keep us going. I think this was what ultimately made Chris stop to walk, but whereas I had almost no energy to start running again (until the last 1/4 mile, gotta finish strong), he could have run much sooner.

We don't want another run like yesterday's, so we decided to check the Marine Corps Marathon website to see what food and drink will be offered on the course. Since you don't want to try anything new on race day (food, drink, shoes, socks, bra, whatever--it should be tried and tested), it is helpful to train with the items that will be available. So we are stocking up with:

Lemon-lime Gatorade

Double Expresso and Razz Clif Shot Energy Gels

Jelly Belly Sports Beans

I think we will also make sure to eat a good dinner the night before our long runs, with a good balance of carbohydrates and protein.  Next week's long run is 16 miles; we will see if our new fueling strategies make a difference. Fingers crossed!

Weekly stats:

Monday 8/27    3.01 miles in 32:14

Tuesday 8/28    7.01 miles in 1:15:44

Thursday 8/30   4.05 miles in 42:43

Saturday 9/1      15.03 miles in 3:06:32  (this is a 12:25 pace, even with mostly walking the last 3 miles. A completed marathon at this pace would take under 5 1/2 hours, still well within the 14 min/mile pace and 7 hour finish cutoff time---Phew!)

Weekly total:  29.1 miles  (we ran more than a marathon this week--yay!)

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