The Sub 3:15 Marathon Thread
333 watchers
Aug 2017
1:50pm, 22 Aug 2017
27,219 posts
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HappyG(rrr)
Nice one larks. I'll need to consult you before any techy purchases in the future!  G
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Aug 2017
2:54pm, 22 Aug 2017
2,583 posts
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larkim
Was dipping back into the world of race day nutrition so that I can go into the South Cheshire 20m race a week on Sunday with my "plan A" gel strategy (bear in mind I'm running that 20m race as 5m warm up, then ideally 15m at MP). Things I've read recently that contradict what I thought I might do:- - the carbs from 1 gel take about 45m-1hr to actually be absorbed - carbs in a single gel might only be sufficient to fuel 1 single mile (22g carb=90kcals ish) - gut may shut off some or all of ability to absorb carbs later in the race as it tries to focus blood flow on the bits that are running / putting in effort - caffeine impact may take up to an hour to be felt So on that basis, some of the things I've poo-pooed like taking a gel on the start line, taking gels early in the race etc should probably be higher up my strategy list. tbh some of this corresponds to what I think I've felt in long runs - only taking them from about 10 miles in and waiting for some sort of immediate "bang" but not being able to actually detect anything at all, and perhaps that's the delay factor. You do hear people talk about taking a gel and "magically" getting some sort of boost, but perhaps you need to be fairly well depleted for that response (I'm imagining that is the brain detecting sugar in the mouth and telling the muscles "it's OK, you'll be fuelled soon, keep going"). One thing I think I will build into the plan from the reading is to *not* expect to be taking much in the way of scheduled gels in the last hour, though I will carry sufficient to keep a pattern going. |
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Aug 2017
3:26pm, 22 Aug 2017
27,220 posts
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HappyG(rrr)
I took my 2 SIS GO blackcurrant caffeine gels in my half on Sunday and they went down fine (didn't help with the course markers, but then wouldn't expect it to!)  I find the sugar hits in minutes, certainly not 45 min to 1 hour. It's very high GI (i.e. pure sugar) so I don't understand why it would take more than seconds or minutes to hit? By the way, for me it's not a discernable "hit". More a realisation 5 mins later that you feel marginally less cr*p than you did and that actually you're jogging along at an OK pace when you thought a few mins before you were going to die. Bad to better if you will, rather than OK to awesome!  I agree it doesn't actually last that long - 100 odd cals is a mile. But remember, you're just topping up, not trying to fuel your whole marathon. You are delaying hitting of the wall to mile 27!  what it does to your gut is very individual, but I managed to get 7 of them down in under 3 hours. That's what you are trying to discover in your training runs and races. I keep taking them up to mile 22. Beyond that you can probably survive on bloody mindedness. Good luck  G
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Aug 2017
3:45pm, 22 Aug 2017
2,585 posts
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larkim
I've just re-read the articles I got some of that stuff from, and I think I've mis-read about the speed of sugar impact (suggests 3-15 minutes to feel the effect). Though I would suggest that there might well be a difference between the way you feel and the actual physiology of the glucose and fructose actually making their way to the muscles that need it in the form of glycogen. Here's the main one I read - runnersconnect.net I've been doing 1 gel every 3 miles so far, but might increase that to every 20 minutes for the 20 miler. |
Aug 2017
6:30pm, 22 Aug 2017
575 posts
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SailorSteve
HappyG - you've captured my experience of gels exactly: "By the way, for me it's not a discernable "hit". More a realisation 5 mins later that you feel marginally less cr*p than you did and that actually you're jogging along at an OK pace when you thought a few mins before you were going to die. Bad to better if you will, rather than OK to awesome!" A bit like some infamous voting advice: "gel early; gel often" |
Aug 2017
6:36pm, 22 Aug 2017
5,240 posts
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Joe Hawk
Just got a 920xt , it's so pretty
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Aug 2017
8:33pm, 22 Aug 2017
3,095 posts
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Windsor Wool
It would look prettier with some miles recorded on it Joe 🙄
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Aug 2017
8:40pm, 22 Aug 2017
5,241 posts
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Joe Hawk
It'll last longer than you springy shoes. 6M done this evening 8 minute miling managed to get a HR Max of 201 oops might be a tad unfit.
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Aug 2017
8:40pm, 22 Aug 2017
5,242 posts
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Joe Hawk
It'll last longer than you springy shoes. 6M done this evening 8 minute miling managed to get a HR Max of 201 oops might be a tad unfit.
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Aug 2017
9:05pm, 22 Aug 2017
3,096 posts
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Windsor Wool
The springy shoes need to last only 39 miles more. 1 HM, 1 full. Then retirement for the 3 of us 😎
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