Michael & Liz are Bloggable

Some of you may or may not be able to relate to the difficulties I am having training for a marathon, but I need to vent anyway and the blog is the best (and only) place... so... I am having difficulties training for the marathon. Miles 1 through 17 are pretty easy for me assuming my normal pace of 8 minutes a mile. But for some reason, no matter what pace I'm running or how I'm feeling that day or anything, once I get past mile 17, I struggle.

My history of running reveals the same. The farthest I've ever run continuously is 22 miles. For some reason my body and muscles fall apart at that point. Call it what you want, but it's basically bonking. I run out of energy and my muscles start cramping and spasming. Every marathon I've ever run has been the same story: run really well for 17-ish miles and then start going down hill until I hit the muscle-spasming-wall. At that point it's just a walk/jog lightly combo until I finish the race.

Right now I'm training for my 5th marathon in June and my sole goal in training is to figure this problem out. I've had two long runs so far in training, one 19 miler and one 20 miler. I've never been in better shape for running so the first run of 19 miles I just ran like I normally would with the average consideration for what I need for a long run. They both were around 10AM on a Saturday, and here were the results:

• In the 19 miler, I drank 32 ounces of Gatorade and took 4 total GU's as I normally would. I ran the 19 in 2:31 but the last mile in my 19 was brutal and I could feel the first sign of spasming coming on. I do not remember what I had for breakfast but it's usually the same thing the morning of a run, a bagel.
• In the 20 miler, I decided I might not be replenishing my fluids very well, so I drank 64 ounces of Gatorade and took 5 total GU's. At mile 17 I completely fell apart. I had no energy and after a mile more of running I could feel the spasms starting again. I finished the 20 in 2:47.

What's ironic is last Fall when training for the City of Oaks Marathon, my fastest 20 mile training run was 2:47. It's funny how my perspective has changed. 2:47 then was flying. 2:47 now is a major disappointment (especially when I was on pace for a 2:35-ish).

I refuse to believe it's impossible for me to run past 22 miles. There's too many people that can easily do it for me to decide that I can't. I also refuse to believe it's in my head. Your head can convince you that you don't like onions or asparagus, but it cannot cause your muscles to writhe in pain.

So I have 2 more long runs in my training that will give me a worthwhile test, 2 20 milers. I would love to be able to run 22 or 24 miles in one of them and successfully conquer this problem, but who knows what will happen.

So I've come up with only one more viable solution for my problem: nutrition. Nutrition not only the morning of the run, but throughout the week before the run. To be honest, it's something I've never paid much attention to. I run so much that eating as many nutrient rich foods as I can is never a huge priority. Hopefully some changes will prove to be just the change I need. Here is my plan:

• Based on what I've read, drinking 20 ounces of water/Gatorade per hour of running is appropriate, so I will keep that up.
• I think 5 GU's is enough for 20 miles. 1 before, and then 1 every 4 miles.
• The week before, eat as many fruits and vegetables as possible.
• Starting the day before the run, eat as many carbohydrates as possible.
• I am now taking a daily vitamin, fish oil, and iron supplements to help with my nutrition building up to the run.
• The morning of, eat a very large breakfast that includes at least a bagel, a banana, orange juice and more to be determined. Maybe my morning nutrition is bad?
• A large loss of sodium is something that has been highlighted as a potential cause of cramps and spasms, so include pretzels in both dinner the night before and breakfast the morning of.

Anyone have any suggestions for what else I might try? I guess technically slowing down is an option but I don't feel like that would help me. I think this is strictly a matter of distance and not timing.

I am hoping these changes are enough, but if I were to guess, it's not. I love challenges and this is certainly one of the most difficult I've ever faced. It pains me to think that there may not be anything I can do about it and will have to face the fact that I'm just not designed to go farther than 22. I hate that prospect so much though, and it's a conclusion I will not come to without a fight.