Here's a question, probably with no right answer. In running a

marathon, how much fuel (gels or otherwise) do you consume. How much

fluid? I realize that the latter is especially dependent on the heat

and humidity of the run, but I'm trying to guage how I fare compared to

other marathoners.

Personally, I follow this rough schedule: 1 gel (I use CarBoom) at the

first hour and every half hour after that. 1 Succeed capsule every hour

for electrolytes. At least 2-3 cups of water at every stop. The fuel

schedule is something I determined during training partly as a way to

not feel hungry, but more importantly to keep from going into Ketosis.

Now, I'm not medicine man, but there are times in training runs when

I've tasted something like amonia in my gut. I think

this means I'm consuming muscle and am out of glycogen. But maybe

that's wrong. I do notice that on the above fuel schedule, I don't

taste the amonia taste. But I do wonder if I should front load the fuel

more, building it up for the later stages of the run.

But as far as fluids go, especially in the Frederick Marathon last

weekend, I felt dehydrated all day, and especially in the last half of

the run. There were plenty of water stops, but the cups were very small

and often filled only 1/3 full. I'm guessing these were about 3 oz of

water per cup. So I would drink 2-3 at each stop. But I think maybe I

needed more.