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Five Reasons Why You Hit the Wall and Run Out Of Energy In a Marathon or Triathlon
1) A PROPER HYDRATION PLAN DOES NOT EXIST IN YOUR RACE PREPARATION
The key to proper hydration leading up to and during a marathon or Ironman is not how much you drink or even "what" you drink so much as it is "when" you drink. If your marathon or Ironman triathlon is Sunday as most of them seem to be, then drinking as much fluid as you can gag down on Saturday or 60 minutes before the race start on Sunday morning is not the road to optimum hydration for your event.
If anything, the last decade or so there has been more awareness building of the dangers of drinking "too much". This is a departure from what many old school runners grew up with over the past 30 years or so. It seemed that it was impossible to drink to much and the mantra was "the more the better" and "eight glasses a day" and on and on about constantly drinking water whether you were thirsty or not.
Some people still follow that formula and often suffer the consequences. Serious issues can arise by drinking far too much and flushing too many essential minerals out of the system by over-doing it with the drinking.
If you are a triathlete standing knee-deep in the water with a few thousand others waiting for the starting gun of an Ironman triathlon, or perhaps toeing the start-line of that first marathon with four liters of water and sports replacement drink sloshing around in the stomach, chances are you have not hydrated properly.
It is almost certain that this is going to be one very uncomfortable 2.4 mile swim or 26.2 mile marathon that could well end up in disaster. Nausea, motion-sickness, vomiting, and a constant need to urinate during the swim or run or bonking at about mile 18 of the marathon will most likely be the reward for this scenario.
Of course the danger of not hydrating enough before and during a race is always a possibility and perhaps the biggest mistake most athletes make and will very quickly turn an endurance event into a painful experience.
2) WHEN TO EAT AND WHAT TO EAT IS A MYSTERY
As disappointing as it might be, the size of your pasta dinner the night before the big race is not the secret to a great eating plan as you ramp things up for the big race in the morning. Many people either eat too much, too little, or the wrong food simply because they have no idea what is best. Or perhaps they read in a book about that special meal that worked for someone else and decide to give it a try on race eve.
like a fined-tuned, high performance car you are ready to give it your best. Just like the car you are all tuned up and ready for action for your big day and none of it will matter if the fuel you use is low-grade. No matter how shiny, powerful, and sleek you are, if you use cheap fuel(or too much or not enough of it) your engine will sputter and maybe even just quit altogether when you try and put the pedal to the metal.
3) YOU ARE TIRED ON RACE-DAY
It's amazing how often this happens. By the time some people get to the start line of their big race they are already feeling tired and not really physically primed to give their best performance. In almost every case, these people are over-trained and have not given their bodies proper time to recover from the training leading up to their big race. This is a recipe for disaster if ever there was one.
There is simply nothing more deflating than a person devoting weeks, months, and in some cases years to reach the start line of their first marathon or Ironman triathlon and already feel spent before they are ten minutes into the race. It happens over and over again. So many new runners and triathletes have it in their heads that if they take days off from training, they will lose all they have worked so hard to gain.
Nothing could possibly be further from the truth.
4) YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW A HEART-RATE MONITOR WORKS OR ABOUT RACE-PACE
A heart-rate monitor is quite possibly one of the best tools ever devised for allowing distance runners and triathletes to perform at optimum levels. Unfortunately, there are many people who have never used one or who might actually wear heart monitors but are not quite sure what they are supposed to do and how to get the most from them.
They watch with interest as their heart rate climbs as they go uphill and goes down when they run downhill. Often people are in a marathon and power their way up the steep hills feeling this is giving them a great advantage over those who take their time. Then these same people take a breather when the hill slopes downward. It might seem great at the time, but it's completely backwards.
This person will most likely run out of fuel at about the 16-18 mile mark and run face first into the mystical "wall". The wall is not a mystery at all and there is a very good reason why it appears where it does in virtually any distance race that lasts over two hours.
5) YOU LACK SELF-CONFIDENCE AND MIGHT FEEL YOU DON'T BELONG AT THE START LINE
You get to the big race and you look around and see all these people who look so fit and strong. You begin to doubt yourself and wonder if you really belong in the same place with all these amazing athletes.
Something inspired you to take on this physical, mental, and emotional challenge and against all odds here you are at the start line. Who would ever have thought it possible? But deep down you feel you might have taken on too much and you simply do not belong here.
Something will go wrong and you will fail. You will look foolish to all your friends, co-workers, and family who have wondered at all this training you have done. There is no end to the depressing thoughts that cross your mind as you wait for the starting gun.
These five reasons are often why so many people struggle through marathons and the longer distance triathlons like the half-ironman and the ironman triathlon. Often the results are the same race after race because the same mistakes are made over and over again. Until changes are made in the way one approaches endurance races it's unlikely that things will ever change.
About the Author
The author is a veteran of 14 Ironman triathlons and has created a site called Ironstruck.
He has also written three books that have been well-received by the triathlon community.
Ironstruck...The Ironman Triathlon Journey
Ironstruck? 500 Ironman Triathlon Questions And Answers
Triathlete In Transition (a book for the beginner triathlete)
The address for Ironstruck is
http://www.ironstruck.ca
Walt Disney World Marathon- Cadet Runs In Full Fatigues and Carries 30 lb Backpack.