I spent every long run, up to 20 miles, not eating a damn thing and only drinking water once at the 7 mile mark (which is at my moms house). Is it ok/safe to take GU during marathon? I was under the impression that it was better to train my body NOT TO RELY ON carbs/sugar during training, but now i'm reading that i messed up?
(I have run marthons and eaten gu before and it didn't upset me.)
My second best marathon was 2:48. It would have been closer to 2:45, but there were 15-20 mph headwinds on about half the course. It was a new race and the race organizers did not have enough Gatorade on the course (it was a two lap course). So, on the second 13.1, there was only warm water. They had GU around mi 20ish. I dropped it when I tried to open it. I had a great race and had plenty of energy to kick it in. I also train without GU and only drink Gatorade.
For most runners, fueling just isn't that big of a deal. There are some runners who are very sensitive to blood sugar levels and live and die by their fueling. But if you have had success before with your fueling, you will be fine.
zippidy zoo here comes the GU!
You might make it to 20 miles without fuel but then you'll crash and burn. At the very least take 1 gel and eat it at like mile 15. Not enough to give you GI distress but may give you an energy boost. Hydrate more frequently during the race than just at mile 7 lol. Small sips every 2 miles or so.
Use the Cliff blocks , after 45 minutes just let one melt in your mouth and continue to do till the end, you won't bonk and it won't bother your stomach.
so it sounds like i'll be ok eating gu if i haven't done it in training. thanks for the insporation
It was not common to eat something during marathons, not even drinking, by elute runners up to the 70ies and they were running 2:10 marathons already. Too much attention is paid to fueling today. Hobbyjoggers think they can delay the point where they hit the wall from mile 15 to mile 22 by proper fueling, whereas all they had to do was better training.
Partridge wrote:
It was not common to eat something during marathons, not even drinking, by elute runners up to the 70ies and they were running 2:10 marathons already. Too much attention is paid to fueling today. Hobbyjoggers think they can delay the point where they hit the wall from mile 15 to mile 22 by proper fueling, whereas all they had to do was better training.
I am now well past my marathoning days, but back when I was young and (relatively) fast I never consumed anything except water and the occasional Gatorade during a marathon. I never bonked in the classic way--if I was going to have a bad race I knew it by about the 10-mile point, and once I made it to 18 miles I could always finish OK. There may be some people who just can't go that far on what they have stored, but many people can. And I would NOT advise you to try something in a marathon that you have never tried in training.
amkelley wrote:
Partridge wrote:
It was not common to eat something during marathons, not even drinking, by elute runners up to the 70ies and they were running 2:10 marathons already. Too much attention is paid to fueling today. Hobbyjoggers think they can delay the point where they hit the wall from mile 15 to mile 22 by proper fueling, whereas all they had to do was better training.
I am now well past my marathoning days, but back when I was young and (relatively) fast I never consumed anything except water and the occasional Gatorade during a marathon. I never bonked in the classic way--if I was going to have a bad race I knew it by about the 10-mile point, and once I made it to 18 miles I could always finish OK. There may be some people who just can't go that far on what they have stored, but many people can. And I would NOT advise you to try something in a marathon that you have never tried in training.
I just finished reading Endure by Alex Huchinson and he talks a lot about fueling and that, in fact, fueling during a race can make a difference. So I'd prefer to take something during the run. I trust the guy I duno....
Just do what you did in your other marathons
You should run the marathon as you have been training your body. For you, that would mean you will be fine with just water. Does the marathon run by your mom's house?
Rules of the specificity..... wrote:
Does the marathon run by your mom's house?
If it does, I can hand him water or gels because I’ll be there........
Just kidding :). Good luck with your race, OP