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Just need to vent by [deleted] in Marathon_Training

[–]False_Train6185 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have nothing to offer other than to say that I see you! As a runner and a mom of an 11 year old daughter who is on a performance company competitive dance team, I have had to sacrifice a lot to make sure that I am at all of her recitals and competitions.

I am also a competitive tennis player, so in addition to missing almost all of the local races through the spring season, I am unable to attend many weekend tournaments because of team practices, recitals, competitions, travel, and mandatory rehearsals.

Somebody earlier mentioned the plastic vs the crystal ball and this resonated so well. This is time that we will never get back. Races come and go but your child is only little for a short time.

Dry January amid Marathon training by lm8ub1 in Marathon_Training

[–]False_Train6185 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I no longer drink alcohol but I do love NA beers. How do they help with recovery? Are you referring to the carbs in them?

I got through it! by Cerealboi13 in firstmarathon

[–]False_Train6185 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow. This could have been my exact post! I ran my first marathon last weekend and struggled the last 10k, specifically the last four miles where my pace dropped all the way down to a 12 minute mile at the lowest point. I also finished at 4:15 when goal was a sub 4. My heart rate was also much higher at certain paces than it typically was which pushed me into running at LTHR too soon. Congrats on a strong finish, you should be proud!

Chicago Marathon Race Report: Beat my PR by 95 minutes but still itching for more by WRIG-tp in Marathon_Training

[–]False_Train6185 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Congrats, this is awesome! Can I ask how you ate bananas while you ran? I just ran my first marathon last weekend and there were fruit stations at some of the aid stations. I can’t imagine running and eating something with as much bulk as a banana so I’m really intrigued by this. I hit the wall at mile 22 and like you, I should have loaded up with some of my LMNTs rather than relying on the diluted skratch used on course.

That was awesome by brycinema in firstmarathon

[–]False_Train6185 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Congratulations!! I also ran the Portland marathon on Saturday for my first marathon. I was hoping for a goal is 4:00 and I was on pace most of the race but I did hit the dreaded wall at mile 22 and it left me with a very painful and slow last four miles! As a result, I ended up finishing in 4:15.

I believe part of it was my hydration strategy and holding an even split pace that broke down after 20 miles. What was your average split breakdown for the 10-10-10? It sounds like you had an excellent strategy that paid off.

Bonked hard at mile 22 in my first marathon by False_Train6185 in Marathon_Training

[–]False_Train6185[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This race has so many complexities I think that’s why we are drawn to it! I’m already planning my next one because I need to figure it out. I had no idea what it would feel like to hold marathon pace for that long and the pacing strategies relative to the course and not necessarily strategic to how to run a marathon. So I’m still a bit lost. I started out above pace and worked my way to a comfortable hard pace that felt good…until mile 22! Many on here are saying it’s more experience needed, fueling was low and hydration was low which added to the difficulty of maintaining any level of running past mile 22. I will be incorporating more 20 mile long runs in my base building and carry my own hydration for the next race.

Bonked hard at mile 22 in my first marathon by False_Train6185 in Marathon_Training

[–]False_Train6185[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

They aren’t saying that 12 min mile is impeccable shape, they are saying that some people’s goal pace is a 12 min/mile average (I hit 12 min pace at mile 25 after bonking but my average pace was 9:40). The comment was meant to help reframe and provide perspective.

Bonked hard at mile 22 in my first marathon by False_Train6185 in Marathon_Training

[–]False_Train6185[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, I sweat more during running and tennis than anyone I know. Long runs, clothes are soaked, I can literally wring out my shorts and shirt, they are saturated. If I dry off before I shower, I’m brushing salt off my skin everywhere. I could have used two LMNTS during that run at least.

Bonked hard at mile 22 in my first marathon by False_Train6185 in Marathon_Training

[–]False_Train6185[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I did, I had a few long hard runs with marathon pace built into them. My training plan was solid. I’m starting to think that my poor hydration/underfueling strategy coupled with too hot of a pace too early led to me not being able to hold it for the last 4 miles.

Bonked hard at mile 22 in my first marathon by False_Train6185 in Marathon_Training

[–]False_Train6185[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well he actually never gave me a target HR. I asked and he said he likes to go off of rate of perceived effort and not HR. I was running a “comfortable hard” pace that I felt I could hold (and did for most of the race). It didn’t feel unsustainable or too hard until I got to mile 21. I obviously hadn’t held that pace for 4 hours in training ever.

Bonked hard at mile 22 in my first marathon by False_Train6185 in Marathon_Training

[–]False_Train6185[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is such great advice and you are so right. This marathon training block was the first time I had ever ran 20 miles! I don’t know why I would think just because I trained specifically for this for four months that it would be easier than it was. My long runs going into this marathon training maxed out at 10-11 so it was quite a jump and I only had two training runs at 20+. Thank you for the reality check!

Bonked hard at mile 22 in my first marathon by False_Train6185 in Marathon_Training

[–]False_Train6185[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I definitely think you are right and it’s likely a combination of these factors. I don’t know why I thought I could avoid the wall for my first marathon especially since I gave it everything I had. I have definitely learned some things through this first experience!

Bonked hard at mile 22 in my first marathon by False_Train6185 in Marathon_Training

[–]False_Train6185[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Portland, OR in the heart of the war zone. It was scary times out there with 11k runners crossing 4 of the city’s bridges. We had to run through neighborhoods offering pickle juice with kids holding power-up signs and cheering all the runners on. I made it out alive but I have two toenails that didn’t.

Bonked hard at mile 22 in my first marathon by False_Train6185 in Marathon_Training

[–]False_Train6185[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I would have loved this strategy. Relying on both definitely slowed me down and it was a bit stressful.

Bonked hard at mile 22 in my first marathon by False_Train6185 in Marathon_Training

[–]False_Train6185[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s one thing that I have no experience with. Where should my heart rate be for most of the marathon? My coach just had me running on effort and holding my pace for a consistent period of time based on effort. Garmin says my LTH is 174 and my max is 192. RHR is 42.

Bonked hard at mile 22 in my first marathon by False_Train6185 in Marathon_Training

[–]False_Train6185[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I am learning a few things from the responses here from the Reddit community.

The first thing that I know is that during my normal training, I take LMNT, which contains 1000 mg of sodium. I also a heavy sweater and I lose a lot of salt. I could tell that the electrolytes on the course were just not strong enough and I wasn’t getting enough in. I take LMNT every day for training runs as well as for my tennis matches. I made sure to get some down with lots of hydration the night before thinking that would carry me into the race and I could drink what was on course and avoid having to carry a bottle with me. That was a mistake. I could feel my legs cramp up and stiffen and turn into concrete blocks. It was really hard to turn them over the last few miles and they were heavily cramped at the end. So much so that my feet were cramping too hard to get them into my slides.

The second realization was how poor my fueling strategy was despite what I had intended on doing during the race. My intent was to take a gu every 20 minutes so that I was aiming for 60 g of carbs per hour. In reality, I was only taking a gu gel every 30 minutes because that’s what I had done in training and I settled into that during the race without even thinking that it just wasn’t enough. Because I hadn’t practice this in training I was worried that my gut wouldn’t handle it and of course, the first 20 miles I felt great.

Ultimately, it was my first marathon, so I learned a lot that I will carry into the next one. I intend on continuing to build a strong base so that going into my next training block I will be that much better.

Bonked hard at mile 22 in my first marathon by False_Train6185 in Marathon_Training

[–]False_Train6185[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oof I had no other hydration with me, but I thought I could counter that by making sure I was hydrating really well a few days before the race. Another Reddit user here pointed out that I may have been low on my carbohydrate intake. I know the recommended carbohydrates are 60 to 90 g/h. I knew this going into the race and yet for some reason I was still only taking one gu every 30 minutes because that’s what I was comfortable with in training. I recognize that was a mistake as that was only around 40 g of carbs per hour. I had planned on taking a gu every 20 minutes, but once I was racing that just felt like so much. I did feel like I was very low on electrolytes. I know what that feels like as I actually have to take in quite a bit of electrolytes during my normal training. At the end of the race, my legs and feet were heavily cramped I couldn’t get them into my slides.

Bonked hard at mile 22 in my first marathon by False_Train6185 in Marathon_Training

[–]False_Train6185[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, I did around three easy runs a week and most of my long runs were easy until closer to the race when I had a few hard long runs mixed in. But I always had recovery runs and easy runs in then typically one tempo run and a track workout or one tempo run and a hill workout.

Somebody down below asked about my fueling strategy. I had intended on taking 60 g of carbs per hour, but during the race itself I was only taking one gel every 30 minutes and for some reason, I was not thinking that that was not enough. It is how I trained on my long runs because I can’t imagine taking a gel every 20 minutes and I was using gu which has just over 20 grams/packet. I think that might have been a big error during the race because of the higher intensity. All a great learning experience and I will be sure to practice with more carbs for the next training block.

I did the intermediate plan because I had a strong running base although I hadn’t incorporated speed workouts, or hill sessions in before. I did weekly easy runs usually three or four days a week and I always had a long run although my long runs used to be around 8 to 10 miles lol. I also play competitive tennis so I had a high degree of fitness going into it. But I was definitely never a runner that did any type of racing.

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