Re: Greenville SC runners
April,
I have only run 1 marathon and it did not go well as I got very dehydrated, plus I had an injury that kept me from fully training. I was running for The Leukemia Society's Team in Training, so I had raised money to run this marathon and not running it was not an option...nor was quitting during the marathon when I probably should have since I was in dangerous territory.
I have not run Disney, but I would imagine it would be pretty flat. Check out the very cool site called tapermadness.com It is a good forum board with a lot of experienced runners, many of whom have run Disney. I have gotten a lot of advice there and I'm sure you'd love being a tapir! You should check it out and think about signing up and posting your questions about Disney....I'm sure you'd get some great feedback.
I've thought a lot about what I did wrong in the Marine Corps Marathon so that I have a better experience next time. I can share with you what I've learned and maybe that'll give you some things to think about so you can hopefully avoid some of the bad things I went through. I spent a LONG LONG time in the medical tent before finally getting up and saying, I've got to finish this marathon. So I did and finished in about 6:24 when I was on track to finish closer to 4:30 which would have been decent for my first marathon. I didn't really have a time goal, I just wanted to finish, but I thought I was being realistic in hoping to finish in 4:30. Oh well, at least I finished!
So here's a list of things I'm thinking through and analyzing right now and hopefully they might can help you.
1. Always follow on race day what you did on long run days. I don't know if this was the cause of my problems, but I didn't follow my training run day activities close enough. For me, I always ate some peanut butter before long runs and OJ, milk, and water. Then a gel 30 min before running. I did some of this but for the most part I failed to do all of this because I was not at home and spent too much time out walking around Washington DC the day before and forgot to adequately prepare and have in my hotel the things I would have had at home.
2. I walked around Washington DC the day before. It was cold and I didn't have a cold, but I was a little stuffy and had some congestion. I really wanted to see DC, but I would have tried to go a day earlier I think and rested the day before the race. I might have gotten out for a light jog or walk, but that is it... mostly resting.
3. I lost a lot of salt during the race. I never experienced this on my long runs even though my long runs were in the summer in the hot, humid south. Very strange but I did lose a lot of salt for some reason. Many have suggested that I try salt capsules or take packs of salt to eat before the race (even the day before) and during the race in addition to getting lots of fluids (water, gatorade, etc). Eating my gels would have gotten salt in me as well, but a small handful of salt here and there would have solved my problems I think. I'm not so sure I was dehydrated either... some have suggested I was hyponatremic (heavy salt loss condition that can lead to convulsions and death I have read....not good!) They warned us about hyponatremia before the race and said not to overdrink. Drinking too much water can wash out the salt I guess, so they told us to drink but not too much. Well, I probably went to the extreme and did not drink enough to avoid this condition, but I was sweating a lot (even though it was cool and I did not seem sweaty). The sweat was evaporating so I thought I was losing less fluids than I was.
4. The water stations at the marathon were about every 2 miles. In a big race like that with soooooo many people, you can't start out going too fast. It is just too crowded and can take a few miles in big races (Disney will probably be like that I would imagine) for things to clear out. So you don't get to water stations every 15-20 min in the first few miles, so I think next time I'll wear a hydration belt or carry a water bottle or two and ditch them (or give them to my wife) so I am in control of when I drink at least in the first few miles.
5. Water stations: The volunteers are usually grabbing water cups or cups with gatorade and sloshing them around and then you slosh them around (even if you stop to walk through water stations which I highly recommend) so you don't get a full cup. I would take 2 cups and get gatorade to replenish electrolytes, not just water.
I think I would have been fine if I had hydrated more and taken salt as well as my gels. I didn't drink enough before the race either and didn't get my normal run day foods in like I did on long training runs. I would do everything like I did in training and I would rest more the day before.
If you want to try gels, salt, etc, you should do that in long training runs to experiment. I woudn't experiment on race day! Find what works in your 16 mile, 18, mile, and 20 mile long runs and if they work for you there, then you should be ok at Disney.
Oh, and I think the increased adrenaline can drain us of energy and make us need more of fluids and electrolytes. I don't know if that is valid medically, I just know how pumped up and excited I was on race day. Had I been running only a half marathon, I would have been fine. I was ok until mile 14 or 15. I wasn't taking in enough fluids/electrolytes and I had a lot of adrenaline that just didn't fair well for me past 15 miles. I hope next time I can control my excitement, but I think I just need to make sure I'm getting enough fluids, etc and I'll be ok.
Hope some of this will help you out!
Chad
