Hitting the Training Wall?

Many half or full marathoners can attest to hitting a wall of self-doubt that smacks them in the face about halfway through their training.

For first-time half marathoners it's often around mile nine. For first-time marathoners it's often around mile 15, 16, or 17.

Things are going just dandy in their training  and then all of the sudden, they have a tough run and reality smacks them in the face. "Oh my God! That was hard!" How am I ever going to run 10 or 11 more miles!"

This experience is pretty common with new marathoners. Most have actually had a similar experience on a smaller scale, but they forget from whence they came. In talking with a struggling half marathoner the other day, I reminded her how not too long ago, she was worried about completing the 13-min run/2-min walk intervals when she was in my beginning running group. Also reminded her that she killed it.

For most individuals it's pretty common for self-doubt to creep in when we they dip their toes into the unknown. The initial response for many is, "I Can't!" But here's the thing. You can. You have to just flick-it! Flick that self doubt to the curb! Easier said than done, right?

The first step in clearing your mind of "Can't" is remove it from your vocabulary. Next step is to be "Real." It's going to be hard. Marathon training is one of the hardest things you'll ever do. It will be one of the most rewarding and life-changing things in your life too! Training for a marathon causes you to dig deep and find a you that you may never even knew existed. Once you find this new you, you'll be amazed how much you pull on new you in other areas of your life.

So, why does it happen around mile 15, 16, or 17? Well for most, that's new mileage for them. So just like when they first began to run and it was hard and they were fatigued, and they were sore, they're going through that again. Many at this point will experience an acclimation phase while their body adapts to the new demands of this new frontier.

So, what do you do? You run smart and you listen to your body not your head. If you are extremely tired and fatigued, then skip that next speed workout. When your body say's "Uncle" listen to it and take a rest day. Pull back on the pace on your long runs. You're probably running them too fast anyway and now that you're in new territory, your body isn't able to maintain that same pace (plus you need to be running slower on the long run anyway). Make sure you are hydrating and fueling properly pre-, during-, and post-run. Those two gels your  took for a half marathon probably aren't gong to hack-it for a 20-mile run. figure how how to adjust your fueling for those extra miles. Depleted levels of electrolytes like sodium and potassium can increase dehydration even if you're drinking a lot of water. So be sure you're on top of replacing them through your fueling, electrolyte tablets, or sports drink.

According to Dictionary.com, moxie is the ability to face difficulty with spirit and courage. It goes on further to say that the term was used as far back as 1876 as the name of a patent medicine advertised to "build up your nerve."

Too bad there's not a bottled "marathon moxie" that you can gulp down just before the start and then be miraculously provided with all you need to complete your training. Man, whoever invents that will become a millionaire! In reality, marathon moxie does not come from a bottle, it comes from within you.

If you're having doubts, I want you to do some reflection. Sometimes writing down and documenting all that you've done during your training can visually confirm all your hard work and the commitment you've exuded over the past several months. This doesn't have to be a long and tedious task, just use a brainstorming web like I've done here. Once you see all that you've accomplished there's no way you can doubt yourself! (See my attached pic. This is a web I did a while back when I was training for a marathon.)

Another way to clear you mind of Can't and flick that self-doubt to the curb is by finding a running mantra to help lift you up on those hard runs. The official RunnerDude mantra is Trust. Believe. Conquer! It stands for Trust in your Training, Believe in Yourself and Conquer your Goals. Here are a few more mantras to consider or make up your own!

• Can't Stop! Won't Stop!
• No regrets!
• If you don't, you rust!
• I'm a running machine, not going down without a fight!
• The pain of discipline or the pain of regret.
• Relentless forward motion
• Make Mom proud!
• Run like you're being chased!
• This too shall pass.
• Perpetual forward motion
• Not today, I will not be broken.
• Not if. When.
• I will keep on.
• Define yourself!
• Not everybody can do this!
• When the going gets tough, the tough get going. So get going!
• Do this today and you can eat your weight in chocolate tonight!
• Of course it's hard, if it was easy everyone would do it.
• I hate you Thad. I hate you Thad. :-)

If you have a coach, talk to him/her about what you're experiencing. Ask about taking rest days. Ask about fueling and hydrating. They are there to support you. They have lots of suggestions and tips to help you. (https://runnerdudesfitness.com)

Breaking Through the Wall

If you've never experienced it, you've most likely heard about it—the Wall. That invisible barrier that many runners slam into somewhere around the last 10K of a marathon. Sometimes it's referred to as "bonking." Either way, it's no fun. Bonking is not just normal slowing from being tired and it's not having to stop due to leg cramps. Bonking is an overwhelming sense of fatigue and sometimes confusion that can completely defeat even the best of runners.

What causes bonking? Well your body supplies energy to the muscles by metabolizing fats and carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are metabolized much easier and quicker than fats, so that's what the body uses first. Carbohydrates are stored as glycogen in the liver and in the muscles. So what's the problem? Well, the amount of glycogen that the body can store is limited. Actually it can store up to approximately 2000 calories. Guess what? That's enough calories to provide energy for about 20 miles of running. Once this supply is depleted, the body starts to burn fat. Sounds like a good backup plan, but the problem is that the body takes longer to metabolize fat for energy.

What does this mean? Your body begins to slow down because it's running out of fuel. Both your brain and your muscles use glycogen for energy. Your brain is the master control center of the body, so when the glycogen supply starts to run low, the brain gets the remaining glycogen and the legs are left to fend for themselves. Your legs become fatigued and you begin to slow down. When your levels of glycogen plummet even more, your brain starts to become fatigued. Runners often describe this stage like being in a fog. At this point, some runners begin to experience confusion, become very emotional, and some even hallucinate. Hitting the wall or bonking is how your body protects itself. Your body needs glycogen to properly run your brain and muscles. When your glycogen stores get dangerously low, your brain takes over making you slow down to protect itself.

So how do you avoid the wall? Well, it sounds obvious, but a good training plan, race management, and good nutrition can help keep you from hitting that wall. All marathon training plans contain long runs. They're crucial to building endurance. More and more research is showing, however, that not only should runners do their weekly long runs, but they also need to have some at-goal-pace long runs. At some point the body needs to be conditioned to running the longer distances while maintaining the desired goal pace. Also, avoiding getting caught up in the thrill of the race start will also help keep the dreaded wall at bay. In other words, don't start out too fast. Starting out too fast is going to burn up some of that highly prized glycogen you're going to need later in the race to avoid hitting that wall.

Nutrition also plays a key role in avoiding the wall. If you're on a no-carb or low-carb diet you might as well hang up your running shoes. Complex carbohydrates are fuel for the runner. Because your muscles and liver can store only a certain amount of glycogen and because you're constantly using up those reserves in your training, you need to be consuming a steady stream of good, high-quality, complex carbs. Carb-loading the week before a marathon is a common strategy for runners, but runners need to be fueling and refueling the body with carbs long before the last week of training.

What? You've done all of that and you still hit the wall? It happens. If you still hit that wall, there are some things you can try to push you through it. First, if you can muster up the strength, try speeding up. Sounds crazy, but you'll actually use different muscle fibers to speed up. These fibers (or fast-twitch muscles) may still have some energy left to propel you forward while at the same time actually letting the exhausted muscles rest.

Mind over matter, the art of distraction, or putting on your game face can also help you avoid or get through the wall. There are two different approaches you can take—inward or outward. A more experienced or elite runner may take the inward approach—focusing on the needs of his body, taking note of how his body is feeling, monitoring his stride, pace, hydration needs, etc. A less experienced runner may take the outward approach by diverting his attention to something other than his body such as mile markers, water stations, other runners, landmarks, etc. (Personally, counting mile markers has the opposite effect on me. Marking a runner to catch up to works better for me.) The outward approach could also involve the runner using imagery—imagining he's chilling on a beautiful beach—to help him disassociate from the race and the fatigue. Putting on a game face is another outward strategy that's good to use in the last miles of the race. Getting mad or angry and determined to catch that runner ahead of you or to cross that finish line ahead can help you override your central nervous system trying to shut you down. May only last a little while, but it could help you gain a mile or so. It's best to keep the outward approach for later in the race. If you're not aware of your pace or your body's needs earlier in the race, you could find yourself hitting that wall even earlier than expected.

Another strategy to help avoid hitting the wall is to consume carbohydrates while running. This can be done by drinking sports drinks like Gatorade and/or eating carbohydrate gels, jelly beans, or shots such as GU, Power Gel, Accel Gel, Jelly Belly's Sports Beans , GU Chomps, etc. The trick in using these products is ingesting them before you begin to feel fatigued. It takes some time for the carbs to get into your system. You need to be supplying the carbs ahead of the onset of fatigue so when your glycogen stores run low, there's more on the way to replace them. Golden rule of running...never try something during a race that you've never tried in training. So, find out ahead of time which sports drink and sports gel will be provided along the course. If it's not the brand you're using, you'll need to pack your own.

The best depiction of hitting the wall I've seen is in the hilarious movie Run Fat Boy Run. With only three weeks to train, Dennis, the main character, decides to run a marathon to prove to his former fiancé that he can follow-through with something in hopes of winning her back. I won't spoil the scene; you'll have to rent the DVD to see what happens. It's humbling, humorous, and right on the money in its depiction.