Jimmy21 wrote:
I realize this is a 6 year old thread, but i searched and this thread seemed relevant....
Does everyone hit the wall? I feel prepared, but this thread makes it sound like EVERYONE hits the wall....
I just raced a 30k in preparation for my first marathon. I felt pretty dead at the end and it felt pretty brutal but i never slowed down. I assumed the marathon would be similar. This thread started scaring me
Jimmy, thanks for bumping this old thread. Interesting read. Especially with my next marathon just four weeks away.
Over the past 36 years I have run a couple dozen marathons, and I have hit the wall in many of them. Not surprisingly, I think it comes down to two key components: Sufficient training mileage and appropriate pace for the first 18 miles of the marathon.
There was no wall for my first couple marathons, even though back in those days we took only water during the race -- no calories at all. In both cases, my training mileage was only barely adequate, but I ran a very conservative early pace. And finished very strong. Big negative splits. (1:45, 1:30 for the first one, and six weeks later 1:30, 1:22 for the second one).
My third marathon, I started a little more aggressively despite a reduction in overall mileage. Hit the wall at 22 miles. A new and humbling experience.
For the next three marathons, I finally had it figured out, and ran more even splits (1:19, 1:21 for marathon #6). For the next couple decades, I trained minimally and always hit the wall at 20 or so. No surprises, and no pace would have been slow enough to avoid it. Was just keeping a streak going (finishing a marathon every year).
Last year I trained more seriously -- only three days a week, but I got the long runs in. On race day I nailed the correct pace from the start, and ran just slightly negative splits (1:43, 1:42). No wall! But Mile 26 was the slowest -- I didn't leave anything in the tank.
The question for this year: What pace to start? Goal pace is 7:04/mile, but maybe wishful thinking. Dang, this thread is scaring me, too. Especially after yesterday's long run -- fatigued, but doing OK at 20 miles ... walking at 22.5, with an almost overwhelming desire to lie down on the side of the road.