Forums >Racing>Hit the wall - pacing or training?
Obi-Run Kenobi
*Disclaimer: I am not a doctor or nutritionist, etc. Merely going through some of the reading and thinking I've done on this, so feel free to ignore!**
TL;dr: You might need more carbs than you're getting, so tinkering with your nutrition may yield improvements.
In my limited experience, hitting the wall is generally something that can only be postponed, but not outright prevented. Every person, regardless of pace, will eventually hit it if they run long enough at a carb deficit. The goal is to run at a pace at which your body will burn glycogen most efficiently from your muscles (your brain tends to get first dibs on the glycogen stored in your liver), while adding carbohydrates via hydration or gels, etc., along the way to keep your main glycogen stores in your (leg, primarily) muscles from totally being exhausted. Then maybe you can extend the wall to mile 27 instead of mile 20, and you're golden.
So, I think you'll want to consider if your nutrition plan is working for your pacing. I don't remember how many carbs one gel has in it (obviously it varies a bit from brand to brand), but I usually like the Honey Stinger chews. They have 39g of carbs and 160 calories per packet. Depending on your body and your pace, VO2 max, etc., a runner will need between 30-60 grams of carbs per hour during the race. For a 3 hour pace (just round numbers), you're looking at between ~100 and 200 grams of carbs. If your body actually needs the higher end of that range, 3 gels won't be enough.
ONe thing I have been experimenting with is using a a carb-loaded drink like Tailwind. 24oz of Tailwind will have 200 calories and 50 g of carbs. So as you're hydrating, you're also putting carbs into your body at a relatively constant rate, to be supplemented by gels/chews/whatever works for you. One thing I'm considering is having a bottle of Tailwind with me, and then also drinking water along the race course for added hydration.
Sorry this ran on and on! Like I said, just the thoughts of one runner who's been thinking about it for a while.
Do or do not. There is no try.
I went for a sub 3:15. Ran the first half in 1:37:04, and finished in 3:14:47, a 39 second positive split. Felt fine at the half point, at 16 I was feeling the effort and starting to concentrate. At 20 I was pretty confident and sped up slightly to go for sub 3:14. After 23 I was in pain and I worked damn hard, and I mean REAL hard to not blow up and secure a sub 3:15. Maybe I could have hit an even split if not for being greedy at mile 20. I'll never know.
I went for a sub 3:15. Ran the first half in 1:37:04, and finished in 3:14:47, a 39 second positive split.
Felt fine at the half point, at 16 I was feeling the effort and starting to concentrate. At 20 I was pretty confident and sped up slightly to go for sub 3:14. After 23 I was in pain and I worked damn hard, and I mean REAL hard to not blow up and secure a sub 3:15. Maybe I could have hit an even split if not for being greedy at mile 20. I'll never know.
That's some pretty even pacing - sounds like a perfectly executed race. I'm still curious about what kind of pain you were feeling at mile 23. Actual pain in your legs? Where? Cramping? Overwhelming fatigue? You basically stayed on pace - did it feel like extra effort, beyond your comfort zone, like trying to hold pace at the end of a workout? Or physical pain?
Good point, I did not explain and the word pain is actually not correct.
It was more of a very deep fatigue. Both mental and physical. Physical because I felt like I was pushing more but my pace was actually slower and mental because that did not make sense. I had to fight to keep the pace up (or down). The fight was constant. I had to concentrate 100 meters at a time.
I could hear the 3:15 pacer yelling to his group behind me to keep going. He was constantly getting closer and closer to me, and I think that is what kept my brain alert enough to keep pushing.
I have felt physical pain in my two other marathons, side stitches, calf cramps, but in that first one, it was not physical pain.
I'm a week late and slower than many, but I want to point out... just from the subject line... that this question sets up an "either/or" situation that isn't really either/or. Like so many things stated on the internet these days as "pick one of two", the actual answer is more complicated. Or less. Anyway, pacing and training are two sides of the same coin. But basically, you went out too fast for what your body was trained to do.
As for cramping... well, people mean different things by 'cramping', but what we know is that this isn't really about electrolytes usually and a lot more about sending your muscles to a place (and beyond) that they weren't quite ready for.
I'm a week late and slower than many, but I want to point out... just from the subject line... that this question sets up an "either/or" situation that isn't really either/or. Like so many things stated on the internet these days as "pick one of two", the actual answer is more complicated. Or less. Anyway, pacing and training are two sides of the same coin. But basically, you went out too fast for what your body was trained to do. As for cramping... well, people mean different things by 'cramping', but what we know is that this isn't really about electrolytes usually and a lot more about sending your muscles to a place (and beyond) that they weren't quite ready for.
Agreed, I posed somewhat of a false dichotomy - I guess my question was more "should I stick with the same training next time and just race smarter, or should I change my training and race smarter."
And by cramping, I mean "hamstrings suddenly and painfully seizing up, making walking literally impossible, never mind running."
It would have been a great opportunity to try out the new theory about spicy hot food and cramps.
Is it only supposed to prevent cramps or will it stop cramps?
Age: 50 Weight: 224 Height: 6'3" (Goal weight 195)
Current PR's: Mara 3:14:36* (2017); HM 1:36:13 (2017); 10K 43:59 (2014); 5K 21:12 (2016)
Pace for the pace you have trained for ... not faster
The more miles ... longer runs allow you to have a bigger window of making mistakes without blowing your race up.
Agreed, I posed somewhat of a false dichotomy - I guess my question was more "should I stick with the same training next time and just race smarter, or should I change my training and race smarter." And by cramping, I mean "hamstrings suddenly and painfully seizing up, making walking literally impossible, never mind running."
Long dead ... But my stench lingers !