DopeyBadger
Imagathoner
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2015
Here's a post I made coming up on three years ago now covering carb loading, and a post about in-race nutrition:
Glycogen Supercompensation (AKA Carb Loading)
What do you use for your running fuel? Carbs, yum, yum, yum! My scientific strategy!
Some articles that may be of interest regarding hitting the wall:
Why is Eliud Kipchoge So Much Better Than Everyone Else?
The Real Reason Marathoners Hit the Wall
Nutrition plays a role in whether you'll hit a wall, but it is my belief that proper training and proper pacing on race day will play a much larger role. Think of nutrition as a piece to the puzzle, and proper training and pacing as a whole section of the puzzle. If you were trained for a 4 hr marathon, and then you instead ran a 5.5 hr marathon, you're very unlikely to hit the wall. And that's because you've dramatically reduced your pace relative to current fitness capabilities. Thus, less stress on the system and additionally you'll use your ratio of carbs/fat as energy sources more slanted towards fat. Likewise, if you're a 5.5 hr marathon runner, but you train at paces like you're a 4.75 hr marathon runner, then you're going to struggle when it comes to race day. Not because you didn't train hard enough, but rather because you trained too hard.
So while you evaluate your nutrition and hydration plans, be sure to make sure you've evaluated your current fitness honestly, and determine whether you're training at appropriate paces. For instance, over 80% of your training should be at least 10% slower than what your current fitness marathon tempo is. Train slow to race fast.
