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Lead Stories: Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Scaling the infamous “Wall” Part II: Raceday

Posted February 1st, 2007 at 3:00 PM by Paul Petersen

Section: Running & Training, Training Tips

This is the second and final installment in “Scaling the infamous Wall”. Make sure you also go back and read “Part I: Marathon preparation”.

The big day has finally arrived and its time for you to run the epic marathon! You have preparedfor several months, weeks, and days; setting yourself up for success by training with a plan, tapering effectively, living healthily, carbo-loading, and calculating your true pace. You are ready…SO DON’T BLOW IT!!

Months of hard work can be negated by a poor raceday strategy and/or by overlooking seemingly “minor details”. Conversely, running smart will complement your training and go a long way towards producing the optimal, marathon experience. Below are five raceday tips that have greatly enhanced my own racing and are capable of doing the same for yours.

1) Hold back on the first mile. Often runners go out way too hard and burn off precious glycogen. Remember that pace you calculated from the “scouting race” in Part 1? Go out 10-15 seconds slower than that for the first mile. With all the excitement of the start, it will take a conscious effort to accomplish this, but your legs will thank you around Mile 20!
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Scaling the infamous “Wall”
Part I: Marathon preparation

Posted January 30th, 2007 at 2:00 PM by Paul Petersen

Section: Running & Training, Training Tips

I vividly remember my first marathon. I can still visualize the preparation, the excitement and anticipation, the effortlessness of the first half of the race … and the pain and agony of the last eight miles!

I hit the “Wall” during my first marathon, and I hit it hard! By the brutal end, my pace slowed by nearly two minutes per mile, and my second half of the race was 16 minutes slower than the first. Parents covered the eyes of their children as I lurched by them, and grown men wept at the sight of me. It was ugly.

I’d like to say that this was an isolated incident, but it happened in my next three ‘thons as well. Finally, I decided enough is enough, that I was either going to learn how to remove the Wall, or stop running marathons altogether. Needless to say, I preferred the first option, and began studying up on how to scale the Wall.

First, what is the “Wall“? Our bodies are primarily fueled by high-octane glycogen (carbohydrates) during a marathon. The other fuel we use is fat, which uses oxygen less efficiently. Our bodies tend to burn off the glycogen first, and once that is depleted, it will switch over to fat. This causes you to slow down, feel fatigued, and hit the “Wall”.
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