How did you do? Hope you enjoyed your race!
Yes, I did enjoy it, despite the glitch with the food. I loved the course and the crowds, and hope that LA will be my first full marathon, next year! Even though I didn't get an official time as a relay runner, i tracked my time and ended up with a personal best.
I think it's interesting that lily takes no gels during the race. I've read about certain training that causes the body to use its supply of sugar more efficiently during a marathon.
Even though I didn't get an official time as a relay runner, i tracked my time and ended up with a personal best.
Which you can now use to plot your future goals, nice!
Hip Redux
Yes, and can I just say my decision was a bad one? First of all, it turns out it wasn't necessary at all for me to change up my routine. I ended up rising from bed at 6:30 and starting the race at 9:45. So 3 hours isn't a huge amount of time; I would have been just fine with a banana at 7:30 and a marathon bar before the race. (What I didn't know was that they let any of the 2nd leg runners start at 9:30 without waiting for their relay partner to arrive. So I had thought I would start at 10:30 or 11, but was told I could start as soon as I arrived). Second, I guess I chose the wrong thing. My hubby agreed with LRB that some carbs were in order. So I had 2 eggs and a piece of toast at around 7:15. I'm not sure if it's not having had toast in weeks, or the eggs being too heavy, but I felt like I had a rock in my stomach when I started. At mile 3 I developed a stitch in my side that lasted for miles. I ended up taking walk breaks much sooner than I'd planned to ease it. That's SO not normal for me - I can't remember ever getting a stitch in my side during a long run or race - that's why I'm pretty sure it was the food that did it. Lesson learned. Stick with what you know.
Yes, and can I just say my decision was a bad one?
First of all, it turns out it wasn't necessary at all for me to change up my routine. I ended up rising from bed at 6:30 and starting the race at 9:45. So 3 hours isn't a huge amount of time; I would have been just fine with a banana at 7:30 and a marathon bar before the race. (What I didn't know was that they let any of the 2nd leg runners start at 9:30 without waiting for their relay partner to arrive. So I had thought I would start at 10:30 or 11, but was told I could start as soon as I arrived).
Second, I guess I chose the wrong thing. My hubby agreed with LRB that some carbs were in order. So I had 2 eggs and a piece of toast at around 7:15. I'm not sure if it's not having had toast in weeks, or the eggs being too heavy, but I felt like I had a rock in my stomach when I started. At mile 3 I developed a stitch in my side that lasted for miles. I ended up taking walk breaks much sooner than I'd planned to ease it. That's SO not normal for me - I can't remember ever getting a stitch in my side during a long run or race - that's why I'm pretty sure it was the food that did it.
Lesson learned. Stick with what you know.
Was it GF toast, or regular? Ugh, sorry about the side stitch!
Did you find particularly hilly, or difficult? I heard some people say that. Congratulations on your PB!!!
PRs: Boston Marathon, 3:27, April 15th 2013
Cornwall Half-Marathon, 1:35, April 27th 2013
18 marathons, 18 BQs since 2010
delicate flower
(What I didn't know was that they let any of the 2nd leg runners start at 9:30 without waiting for their relay partner to arrive. So I had thought I would start at 10:30 or 11, but was told I could start as soon as I arrived).
I find that very odd. Granted I've only done one relay and it was a triathlon, but we had to pass a physical timing chip to the next person. Anywho, sorry about the crampage!
<3
GC100K, the thing I wonder (and I haven't read the links) is if a runner is overweight to start with, does he still have to carbo load? Wouldn't he just use his extra reserves during the race? I can undertand the emanciated elite needing to carbo load, but does a heavy runner really need that as well?
Yes. Every runner, and I mean every, even the skinniest ones, has more than enough stored fat to fuel a marathon. It's just hard to access.
I need about a pound and a half of fat to fuel a marathon. A skinny elite runner needs less than a pound. Every body has at least a pound of fat. The extra 50 I have doesn't do me any more good than the extra 5 the skinny guy has.
Yes, it's kind of odd. I don't think there's even a timing mat at the halfway point - I didn't cross one when I entered the course. There's no "handoff" of anything either. Basically, our total time started when my partner crossed the start line, and ended when I crossed the finish line (our bibs were linked in the system). Theoretically, I could have crossed the finish line before my partner even reached the halfway point!
Just regular. I've been avoiding gluten in particular but most high-carb foods in general, so I'm not sure either would have made a difference.
Keeping in mind that I only did the 2nd half: It was hillier than the few other courses I've done, but I never saw a hill that made me think, "Uh oh, I have to go up THAT?" Just a few rolling-hill segments. I have no idea about the first half.