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Fueling During A Marathon

guest — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 21:00:53 GMT

I know it's more than what my other racing friends take in, but "less is more" didn't work too well for me either. I don't think being undertrained is the issue...

Training:

Run: 4 runs per week consisting of 8-10 mile tempo, 10 miles in the hills, 4 mile recovery, and then a 16-22 mile long would get me between 40-50 miles a week. I get 3 20+ milers in before race day.

Swim: 8000-10000 meters in the pool IM drills, build drills, and short and long distance sets.

Bike: 60-100 miles per week depending on work.

Lift: 2-3 times per week. Full body, medium weight and high reps, lots of core, cross fit mentality with little rest time.

Taper: Reduced workout intensity 2 weeks before the race.

Fueling During A Marathon

guest — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 19:18:07 GMT

Sorry I haven't responded... I was not ignoring your responses. I have taken all of them into consideration and have been trying new things during training.

To answer your question usnavy233, I eat a very healthy diet with a splurge if I'm going out to eat with friends. Here is a typical day for me:

Breakfast: Plain oatmeal with raisins and blueberries mixed in and a banana on the side.

* If I'm doing a long training session or a long race I will also have a piece of toast with peanut butter.

Lunch: Turkey sandwich on whole grain bread with avocado, tomato, cucumber, romaine lettuce, and mustard. Also carrots and a granola bar of some sort.

Dinner: Lean meat such as chicken, fish or chicken/turkey sausage, whole grain pasta or rice, and mixed vegetables.

* Red meat proably once a week.

I also snack every hour or 2 with an orange, apple, bagel with peanut butter or nutella, yogurt or greek yogurt, trail mix, clif bar, peanut butter and jelly sandwich...

I drink lots of water all day with a sports drink, usually diluted, at some point during the day as well.

Fueling During A Marathon

guest — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 20:41:23 GMT

Hello,

I'm looking for some guidance from experienced long distance endurance athletes on fueling during a long race.

I just ran the San Diego Rock and Roll Marathon and was very disappointed that I missed my PR because my hamstrings cramped with only .6 left! I was feeling great the whole race, on pace to break 3:10, and with that short distance to go I could not run off the cramp and had to walk/hobble to the finish line.

I sweat a lot so I use a lot of fuel, but the fact that I'm still cramping late in these races tells me that I still have some adjustments to make.

Here is what I typically take in during a marathon:

I carry a 20 ounce bottle filled with Hammer Perpetuem (270 calories plus many other electrolytes)

2-3 Hammer Endurloyte pills per hour as suggested on the bottle

6 E Gels (Made by cranksports.com. I choose them because they pack more calories, sodium, and potassium than anyone else I've researched)

Water at every aide station to either refill my bottle or just drink out of the cup.

I've tried the "less is more" idea as well and still cramped around mile 22.

Whatever suggestions you have would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance,

Joey

Re: Achilles Tendon Tightness

guest — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 17:30:35 GMT

James,

Thank you for the quick and detailed response. 6 months!!! I know I need to take time off, but 6 months is heartbreaking and frustrating!!! I guess I'm going to have to "swallow my pride" as you suggested because I don't want a nagging and everlasting injury. I do cross train a lot: I compete in swim races, weight lift, cycle and other sports activities. These are all great to maintain fitness, but I'm sure you know that they don't give the rush and feeling of running... Anyway, I will take your advice and continue to stay off of it.

I do plan to see a Sports Medicine Doctor as much as I don't like and often don't trust going to see one. I figure any additional piece of information will be helpful and I will be able to see if I see an patterns with suggestions...

The hardest part about not running is that I have no symptoms at all with anything else I do. I can walk normally without tightness or pain, I can swim and kick with the kickboard without any issues, cycling works as long as I set the seat a little lower, etc. Did you experience this as well or did you have constant tightness and pain?

Joey

Achilles Tendon Tightness

guest — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 14:09:33 GMT

I haven't gone for a run in about 3 weeks now and I'm beginning to wonder if I've seriously injured my achilles tendon. Two weeks prior to the Rock 'n' Roll San Diego Marathon, I was beginning to experience tightness and slight pain in my achilles tendon. I decided to extend my taper and make sure I could still race. I ran through the marathon with not much tightness or pain until after I finished. My achilles got swollen and real stiff about an hour after the race... I have not gone for a run since then in an effort to be good about this injury and avoid prolonging it. I bucket ice frequently, wrap it tight afterward, elevate whenever possible and cross train more often to avoid further injury. The weird part to me is the fact that if I rock from my toes to my heel I get this creaky, stiff feeling similar to a rusty door hinge or something like that...

Does this look to be an injury that is worse than I initially thought?

Am I treating it correctly?

Has anyone else experienced this?

Thanks,

Joey

Too much sodium or not enough?

guest — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 15:04:28 GMT

Every once in a while when I run long distances I notice that my clothes get salty from my sweat. I have had some hydration issues during my marathon races and I am anxious to find the solution so I can worry less about cramping. My question regarding salty clothes is, is this a result of my body having too much sodium in my system and, as a result, it pushes the sodium out because of that? Or am I in need or more sodium because I've lost so much from sweating?

I'm researching endurolytes supplements in addition to my gel packs and electrolyte drink and I'm curious to see if I need more or less sodium?

I hope that's not too confusing... maybe I'm thinking too much. What do you suggest?

Thanks!

Re: Pain between the shoulder blades during long runs?

guest — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 20:43:22 GMT

Thank you for the detailed advice! I'll try some of the stretches and exercises. I definitely do need to be more relaxed in my upper body as well. I feel that I get tight in my swims too. Anyway, thanks again!

Pain between the shoulder blades during long runs?

guest — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 18:50:02 GMT

I've noticed for the past few months that whenever I go for my longer runs (16+ miles) I begin to feel pain between my shoulder blades. I try to stretch as I'm running but I never really feel relief until I get a chance to stretch after the run is over. I don't know if this occurs because of fatigue from previous lifting or swimming training sessions the day before, it's a flexibility issue, weak rhomboids...

Has anyone experienced this? Any suggestions?

Thanks!

Re: Hip and Calf problems

guest — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 18:41:52 GMT

Hi Bill,

I have had hip pain in the past and it began when I first started increasing my miles and running longer races. I soon realized that a lot of my problem was the fact that I was running on pavement too often and for too long. I was like you with the rest, ice, heat, various stretches, etc., but I wanted to keep running. I eventually took two weeks off from running and spent most of my time on either the bike or in the pool for cross training. When I started running again I transferred my weekday runs to the treadmill and saved my outdoor runs for the weekends. I know the treadmill is boring and tedious, but the lower impact really helped me get rid of my hip pain and really any injury at all.

Hope this helps and good luck!

Re: Electrolyte Drink Preferences?

guest — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 22:29:11 GMT

Thank you to both of you for your input. I originally used gatorade and powerade but I guess it's easy to fall for the advertisements of the other products out there. I'll try both the zero calorie and orignizal drinks again to see what works best. But I agree, those calories are needed as you get in the double digit numbers of miles.