Halfway Through My Marathon Training Plan

@rasheid As someone who did a couple marathons in my previous "fitness life" the single most important piece of advice that I would like to give you is:
  • Do not do anything different the night before the race or during the race. Whatever you are eating on the day / night before your long run, eat the same. Do not try something new, do not eat anything that you do not normally eat. This is especially important if you are traveling for your marathon. Do not sample anything at the Expo, do not try a new fuel source during the run. I speak from (a very bad) experience. :)
EDIT: To say, training is the perfect time to practice your pre, intra and post workout nutrition and to try different things.
 
@celluloid Not OP but: Surprise and sudden stomach evacuations, typically. I’ve got my pre-long run routine down exactly. You need nutrition/energy but the human body can be whack even when you’re trying to be nice to it. Some are lucky — I once watched my former roommate chug two beers on a Friday afternoon, suddenly remember he needed to do 15mi, and then just bolt out the door — but I learned right quick through some fun trial and error.

E.g. I drink a cold brew in the mornings to try and coax myself into pooping before I go bc the trots are real and terrible. Last summer, I didn’t prepare my coffee the night before a 16mi and made hot coffee instead. I started having pains at mile 6 and ended up throwing up at 10.
 
@walknlight Thank you! This is super good advice! Can you give more details on how you experimented with pre/intra workout nutrition during training? When did you start having water/gels/food on your long runs?
 
@rasheid I would recommend trying a few different kinds of running "energy." For my first half marathon, I tried gels during my training and almost puked while eating them. When I switched to gummies/chews, I was able to stomach them.
 
@rasheid Sure!

I started incorporating hydration and fuel on any run that was +90 min. I found that water was the only thing I could drink. I tried Gatorade, Powerade, Propel and found that they all gave me stomach aches. I think it was the sugar, but not totally sure. But through trial and error, I found that I needed to separate liquid (water only), electrolytes (salt tablets) and fuel.

For intra-fuel, the 2 best things that worked for me were Cliff Blox and Swedish Fish. I have issues with texture and I could not do the gels. They were just too gooey and I couldn't get them down. Bars required too much coordination to keep running and actually eating, chewing, etc. Plus when they were in my pack, they became sticky. The Cliff Blocks worked really well, they were super easy to grab 1 or 2 at a time, and as needed. Same with the Swedish Fish. I could just pop one in every so often to keep a steady stream of sugar going.

For my "morning of" pre-nutrition, I found that toast/english muffin/bagel with a little bit of peanut butter and banana was the best combination. I experimented with all variations of this and also tried hard boiled eggs, protein shake with fruit, oatmeal. All the usual suspects for pre-workout. The simple carbs of the bread & banana with the little bit of protein and fat from the PB sat the best and kept me full the longest.

For the "night of" pre-nutrition, I actually found that less carbs worked better for me. I know people talk about carb load and pasta or rice, but those were too heavy for me. I felt like they sat in my stomach all night long and then it didn't translate well on the long run. I just felt heavy and sluggish. Surprisingly enough, my favorite meal was a large salad, red meat (usually steak) and a starchy vegetable- like potato, sweet potato, corn. I was still getting plenty of carbs, but they weren't as heavy as a grain and they didn't sit for a long time in my system. I felt light on my runs with this combination.

Post long run, I would take a protein shake as soon as my stomach would allow, and then followed up with a full meal around an hour or so after. I can't eat or drink anything right away after a hard effort, but I could sip on a protein shake within 10-15 min. of finishing. I was training with a friend, so I would always drive to a common meeting spot. By the time we cooled down, stretched and I got back to my car, I was able to sip the shake during my drive home. Then I would get home, take an ice bath, a shower and then would be ready to eat a full on meal.

I found all of this out through trial and error, trying something different each week until I found what worked.
 
@rasheid When I was running long distance, my basic rule was a gel every hour, starting an hour in. So my ~4-hour marathon took 3 gels. I eat them slowly and they last a while for me. I like the caffeinated ones, but my husband prefers the non-caffeinated. Water for me was easier because I’d just drink at the aid stations and carry a bottle to supplement. You have to drink a little anytime you eat something. It’s worth trying out Gatorade to see if you like it, but it always made me queasy.

ETA: yay Seattle! Are you a Burke Gilman runner? I used to like going around the lake, down to the Ballard bridge and back. I live on Cap Hill so it always ended with an uphill climb. Assume you’re doing the Seattle marathon in November?
 
@willsrib Thanks for the recommendation!! And yes! We bounce between the Burke-Gilman trail, Lake Washington boulevard (from Leschi to Seward Park), and West Seattle! I live in Belltown, so my regular short runs are usually in Myrtle Edwards park! Also, Cap Hill is so lovely, but I definitely do not envy that hill climb :)

Yes! I hope it's "in person," but will at the very least do the virtual version :)
 
@rasheid I swapped to Hal halfway through training for my first half last year after I saw little to no progress using Galloway. No regrets - I really enjoyed his plan and I achieved all of my goals. Good luck on your full!
 
@jingleheimer Congrats on hitting your goal! That's so encouraging to hear :)

I am with you - I have tried run/walk programs so many times but could never actually meaningfully increase my distance. For me it was a lot harder to get into a steady running pace when I was switching between walking a running. I have found that finding the right pace has been absolutely critical to completing long runs.
 
@rasheid Hey! I'm also using Hal's Novice 1 Plan as well, although my (virtual) marathon is coming up this weekend. I agree that the long runs are actually super fun - I always feel so accomplished after them. For me, the hardest was the mid-length runs, which were still quite long, but I didn't get the "achievement" feeling doing them, so mentally they were tough.

Good luck with the back half of the program! I found that then was when I really needed to focus on recovery, as I would need multiple days off after the long runs before I felt "ready" again.
 
@othnielpraise Wow!! Congrats on making it this far and best of luck in your marathon!! Do you mind sharing your schedule? I am interested in hearing how you incorporated multiple recovery days after your long runs!
 
@rasheid Thank you! I’m excited and nervous haha. I actually had my long runs on Tuesdays - not ideal but I felt like my weekends were too varied to be able to consistently rely on getting a multi-hour run in. So I would have a long run on Tuesday, then a slow recovery run Thursday, mid-length run Saturday, and another short run Sunday.

To be honest though, I wasn’t great about keeping a set schedule as long as I was hitting the recommended milage - there were weeks I would run 4 days in a row because that’s when I was free, or that’s when the weather was cooperating. I found because of self-isolation, I was generally able to keep to the overall weekly plan, which I definitely would have struggled with in normal times.
 
@rasheid Good read, I'm really interested in how it goes for you. I've been running for years but I signed up for my first half marathon in October and the goal is to run the marathon in April. Good luck!
 
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