fatigue verses lack of Nutrition or Hydration (Read 603 times)

When you have a run that doesn't go how you hoped how do you figure out what went wrong? Do you think you can accurately tell the difference between lack of nutrition and being fatigued?

I know what you are saying but that wasn't quite what I wanted to discuss... can you tell a difference in the feel of the run?

With poor hydration, I'll reach a point where I just can't run anymore. No amount of willpower will get my legs to keep going. This has happened a couple of times to me, once on a long run and more recently in the Chicago Marathon. Both times, my legs stiffened up and I walked uncomfortably to the end. On several occasions, I think I've been on track for that kind of a run, but didn't go far enough for a complete breakdown. On those runs my legs just feel heavy and like they're slamming onto the ground with each step. I can feel that I'd have to stop if the run were much longer. When I'm fatigued, I may feel lousy, may be a bit slower and wish that I wasn't running, but I've never hit a point where I couldn't find what I needed to finish the run or even give a burst of speed. You'll see this when a runner, well past the wall, sprints the end of a marathon or races their last leg of an endurance relay. Fatigue is more of a barrier that can be overcome mentally, to a degree. I've never taken the time to correlate nutrition with run quality. I know I've eaten badly and have never faulted that for an aborted run, so I'd guess it's more like fatigue.

If you're running "new miles", then no, fatigue isn't as much a mental barrier. There is still a mental aspect to it though in that you can HTFU to get through it up to a point; I don't believe this is the case with poor hydration. However, I was referring more to your everyday run that just isn't coming easy. I've felt fatigued on 4 milers and glided easily through 20's.