Hitting the Wall!!!!!
Now we have all heard the expression “Hitting the Wall” generally during a marathon and while I have been advised about what it feels like I didn’t expect to feel it towards the end of a training run. I’ll try and put it into some sort of context.
On Saturday (25 Feb) I took part in an organised 10k, the next day I dan 16 miles as part of my training, so around 22 miles over the two days. On Monday (27th) I was in the gym as it was a wee bit cold but did a solid 75 minutes of training. The real problem came the next day.
Tuesdays as most I hope remember is when I have an hours running PT where I do sprints & uphill runsat a fast pace, apparently this is excellent method of increasing my leg stamina. As the session is early, I always take/use an energy gel before I start and that suffices. However, because of the amount of energy I was exerting I had burnt through my carbs store at around 8 miles I was running out of “steam” but pressed on as I still had around a mile & a half before I got home & breakfast. At 9 miles, I hit the wall and I suddenly found I couldn’t run so all I could do was a gentle walk home.
Now for some people this would have been a matter of annoyance but for me it was a valuable lesson, as I progress towards the 23 April. On training run days I will start with a gel as always, but then I will carry another gel or a flapjack with me so I can refuel as I go.
The incident has also allowed me to decide on the level of nutrition I am going to need on the marathon. Obviously, I will start the day with a bowl of overnight oats and then on the train to Greenwich I will eat a gluten free sandwich. These two actions should see me comfortably to the 6 mile mark when I will use a gel, another around 12 miles. Then at 14 miles I will eat a flapjack or similar and take another gel at around 18 miles. At 20 miles I will eat another flapjack and probably have my last gel at 23 miles.
So the lesson learned is setbacks happen but as long as you learn from them then it’s a good lesson.
You can donate to David’s Marathon run for the Salvation Army here.
