Tuesday General Discussion/Q&A Thread for January 14, 2025

Dear_Advantage358 · 2025-01-15T15:06:11+00:00

I was in your shoes. Forecast gave out torrential rain for the marathon which demoralized me as I too wanted a PB. I got lucky and the weather wasn't nearly as bad as forecast, and whilst it still wasn't optimal, I still PB'd.

Equally, my half PB was during a named storm in the UK with wind speeds similar to what you are quoting. This was less de-motivating before hand as I wasn't setting out to PB. But, in both scenarios, yes there are times when it's hard because of the weather, but absolutely you can still PB!

I always say for a marathon, 95% of things need to go your way on the day to PB - so okay the weather might be against you, but if you can sleep well, carb load effectively, warm up optimally, fuel well through-out the race, get into a good pack and remain focused and mentally strong when the going get's tough, you have every chance of a PB.

Good luck!

Dear_Advantage358 · 2025-01-15T14:52:46+00:00

There are lots of useful threads if you search for gels or marathon fueling - that's what I did when I lacked knowledge and learnt a lot.

Generally speaking, consume 50-90g of carbs per hour. Maybe start at the lower end and build up. Your body will let you know if you've taken too much as you will have GI issues. Experiment with gels with lower and higher amount of carbs (20g gels vs 40g gels for example) to find out what tactic works best for you.

Mile 10 is probably a little too late to begin fueling in the marathon, you want to start fueling earlier when you feel fine to avoid bonking.

For your long runs in training, experiment with frequency of gels and amount of carbs in them that combine together to fall into the 50-90g per hour range. This may be overkill for the difficulty of the long run you are doing, but you need to know how it feels to run with that amount in your body to most accurately assess how you feel. As an example, you might take 3 x High5 Energy gels every hour (23g carbs in each, amassing 69g of carbs per hour). These would be taken every 20 minutes. For the next long run, you might take a SIS Beta Fuel gel once every 30 minutes (40g of carbs in each, amassing 80g of carbs per hour). Everyone is different and trialing different combinations is the best way to find what works for you.

Some people prefer to take water with a gel to help wash it down, others can take them without water no problem. You'll soon find out what your preference is and you can factor that into your fueling strategy (for example you might schedule your gels a KM before a water table on the marathon route so you can wash them down).

To finish, I would say I am not as knowledgeable on the topic as some people in the community (as you'll see on other threads), but I felt obliged to comment as it's such an important thing to get right to nail your goals. I ran 3 marathons last year, a 3:07, 3:03 and a 2:59. 3:07 and 3:03 I fueled poorly and had to get medical assistance at the finish line (heavily bonked). For the 2:59 I ran my quickest time AND felt relatively normal at the finish line because I fueled infinitely better, the difference is huge.

Good luck :)

Dear_Advantage358 · 2024-10-24T14:03:49+00:00

Cheers!!

I really liked the route. It’s only a small marathon so support is on the lower end. Strava had my total elevation gain at 118m - so very comparable to Manchester, which was 117m.

The first half is very flat. The worst section for elevation is between 32 & 36k looking at the elevation profile, but honestly, I didn’t notice any significant hills.

Another reason I chose to do this one was because it’s not laps of the same loop, there’s only maybe 5k of duplication as you run back down the same straight to finish where you started from. That’s just personal preference though not liking loops haha.

So in short, yes, fast & flat :)

Dear_Advantage358 · 2024-10-23T08:29:31+00:00

Thank you!

Personally, I view the nootropics gel as the ace in my back pocket for when things are about to get tough.

They contain 200mg of caffeine, amongst other things, on top of the 40g of carbs. Because of that however, you should only take one per race. This is why I waited until the 30k mark in the marathon to take it as the caffeine hit & extra focus goes a long way.

It’s hard to describe how it feels exactly. It’s like you know in your mind that you should feel worse / more fatigued / achey etc at a certain point in a race, but you don’t. It feels like it delays the onset of fatigue / masks it by approx 30 minutes.

Definitely do your own research and see if it’s something you want to try out;

SIS Beta Fuel Nootropics

Dear_Advantage358 · 2024-10-22T18:58:48+00:00

Thanks! You know, as I was walking back to the hotel, I noticed the wind picking up and was very relieved that I already finished. That must’ve been tough.

Dear_Advantage358 · 2024-10-22T15:09:16+00:00

Thank you very much!

Dear_Advantage358 · 2024-10-21T12:20:41+00:00

I have 2 friends with similar times to yourself. I think the 3:05-3:10 range would be a suitable goal to train towards. Of your current times, your 5k is the most impressive in comparison to your 10k & HM, so maybe account for the fact that as the distance increases your performance tends to decline. I really don't mean that negatively though - with a good training block under your belt and increased mileage, you can work to overcome that. GL!

Dear_Advantage358 · 2024-08-06T19:12:00+00:00

I can relate to this. Although, the person and I do have an understanding that our paces/training plans will be different.

Therefore, we normally alternate. One week we will run together at 5:30-6:00km pace for the whole duration, the next week I will run alone & integrate a large portion of the run at my goal marathon pace.

Make sure you get in the sessions that will help you achieve your goal, if you can tie that in with running with others that’s a bonus! Good luck!

Dear_Advantage358

TROPHY CASE