I won't give in till I reach the end... and then I'll start again (comments welcome)

[GollyGadget]

Week 11 of 16 of my first-ever marathon training plan

Yikes I'm in trouble.

I'll do my weekly report tonight since I'm for sure not going running tomorrow.

Summary:

• Running Distance = 7.3 miles
• Running Time = 1:32

Monday

• Off

Tuesday

• 60-80 minute Easy Run (Downhill Focus)
• Planned: 1:10:00 @ 6:30-7:00 min/km
  • Completed: 8.06 km ~ 1:01:32 (7:38 min/km)
• Went running in the early morning around Universal, down Turkey Lake Road and back up. It was super hot and humid but it was pretty pleasant, and I saw at least 4 other runners.
• Planned: Strength in Stride Phase 3 - Power Program A
  • Completed: Nothing. We had to hit the parks (an excuse, but a good excuse )

Wednesday

• Recovery Day (Off, Cross-Train or Optional Run)
• Planned: 30:00 @ 6:30-7:00 min/km
  • Completed: 3.64 km ~ 30:33 (8:23 min/km)
• I went running at 1pm so there was no way I was doing this outside. Did a slow run on the treadmill at the hotel while my kids went swimming.

Thursday

• Goal Pace
• Planned: 10 miles
  • Completed: Nothing
• Planned: Strength in Stride Phase 3 - Power Program B
  • Completed: Nothing
• This is where things went sideways. Thursday was our departure day. The check-in for the Auto Train wasn't until ~2pm, so I would have had enough time to go running. But I was feeling pretty tired. And I didn't want to do 10 miles up and down Turkey Lane. Figured I would push this run to Sunday when we would be home.
• As the day progressed, I started feeling worse and by the time we went to bed on the train, I knew I was going to be sick.

So I basically haven't run since that 30 minutes on the treadmill on Wednesday. I tried to isolate as much as I could on the way back, hiding in my hotel room and wearing a mask everywhere. That was the right call since I tested myself as soon as we got home tonight and turns out I came home from Orlando with the C-thing. :'(

Dunno what I'm going to do, 5 weeks out from my marathon. I feel like it's a cold and not that sick, but I need to take it easy for a few days. What am I going to do? I'm really worried and upset and feeling stupid for planning a vacation to Orlando just a few weeks before this marathon I've been training so hard for.

So no happy running from me this week. What am I going to do???

What terrible luck! For now, just focus on getting rest and recovering. While missing runs isn't ideal, it's more important that your body use its energy to get you healthy again.

Once you're feeling better, you can revaluate where to pick up your training. You might need to adjust your goals, but the good news is that your training has been solid this far.

 

[HangWithMerida]

OMG, I’m so sorry! That sucks! There is nothing you can do outside of taking it easy and letting your body recover. Fight the urge to push back into training too soon. You can do more harm than good. This may be a bit technical but has a lot of good info, updated with new sources as data becomes available. It is from up to date, which is a medical reference site that professionals use to make sure they have the most current info. Uptodate Covid article There is also a really good table in there, table 2, which gives a good breakdown of exercise levels and managing HR as you return to exercise.
I really hope you recover quickly and make it to the starting line ready to go!

 

[azrivest]

Wow exactly the information I was looking for. Thanks @HangWithMerida !

Right now my symptoms resemble bad allergies. I will do my best to fully recuperate before I go running

 

[flav]

First is give yourself chance to recover properly. Do not try to overdo it rapidly to compensate for a week or two of lost training. Also, be happy about Orlando, you could have catch this thing anywhere. Thanks for protecting others afterwards.

When you are back to slowly run, then assess what you goal will be for the Marathon.

Also, I put this here because the deadline is coming soon.

Can I defer my registration to the next year?​

It is possible to defer your registration to the following year. The deferral is possible for one year only and for the same distance you are registered. A limited number of deferral are accepted. The deadline is September 1st.

That said, unknown C-effects asides, you can still trust all the hard training that you have done and complete the distance. I am still very hopeful to see you there.

Take care and rest for now

 

[kps7795]

First is give yourself chance to recover properly. Do not try to overdo it rapidly to compensate for a week or two of lost training. Also, be happy about Orlando, you could have catch this thing anywhere. Thanks for protecting others afterwards.

When you are back to slowly run, then assess what you goal will be for the Marathon.

Also, I put this here because the deadline is coming soon.

Can I defer my registration to the next year?​

It is possible to defer your registration to the following year. The deferral is possible for one year only and for the same distance you are registered. A limited number of deferral are accepted. The deadline is September 1st.

That said, unknown C-effects asides, you can still trust all the hard training that you have done and complete the distance. I am still very hopeful to see you there.

Take care and rest for now

How does one go about deferring to the next year? Also, I'm currently signed up for the Goofy Challenge. I feel comfortable training for the half marathon, but I'm feeling a bit of anxiety about training for the half and the full. Does anybody know if you can do a partial deferment so that I would run the half marathon and defer the full and the Goofy Challenge for the next year? I tend to doubt that you can and I sent an email to runDisney, but I'm waiting for a response from them.

 

[flav]

How does one go about deferring to the next year? Also, I'm currently signed up for the Goofy Challenge. I feel comfortable training for the half marathon, but I'm feeling a bit of anxiety about training for the half and the full. Does anybody know if you can do a partial deferment so that I would run the half marathon and defer the full and the Goofy Challenge for the next year? I tend to doubt that you can and I sent an email to runDisney, but I'm waiting for a response from them.

That deferral policy is only for the race that @azrivest is training for and running on October 2nd. I don’t think that it is possible to defer any runDisney races and you took the best course of action by trying to reach out to them directly.

 

[flav]

I'm feeling a bit of anxiety about training for the half and the full.

It is usually recommended, and enough, to train for the full. Ideally, the training plan would use a philosophy where you run your long run on tired legs (hence two consecutive days of easy pace training) rather than a very long run.

 

[azrivest]

I was looking at the event guide for my marathon. The only nutrition they'll offer on the course is Xact electrolyte drinks and Xact energy bars, both of which I have tried and don't really tolerate well. So i'll need to carry all my fueling on me.

I'm open to suggestions. My running store doesn't have Tailwind so I would have to order that off Amazon, but they do have Maurten and Skratch. @DopeyBadger what do you think? I know you use both Tailwind and Maurten.

My nutritionist also told me she thinks I should plan for protein as well as carbs if I'm aiming for a 5-hour marathon time. I'm really at a loss what I could carry for protein. Boiled eggs? Nut butter? @SheHulk what was that food you used for your marathon, didn't it have peanut butter in it?

TIA!

 

[SheHulk]

My nutritionist also told me she thinks I should plan for protein as well as carbs if I'm aiming for a 5-hour marathon time. I'm really at a loss what I could carry for protein. Boiled eggs? Nut butter? @SheHulk what was that food you used for your marathon, didn't it have peanut butter in it?

TIA!

I used the little peanut butter-filled pretzel nuggets I got at Costco. You can get them in most supermarkets in the chips/snack aisle in the US, and I'll bet Canada too

 

[striker1064]

I'm open to suggestions. My running store doesn't have Tailwind so I would have to order that off Amazon, but they do have Maurten and Skratch. @DopeyBadger what do you think? I know you use both Tailwind and Maurten.

I am using Tailwind and tolerating it fine. My only caution is the flavor is... stronger and sweeter than I expected, so I'd recommend a sampler pack if you can do that. But it does work. I tried Maurten because I do well with other gels, but the consistency and texture of Maurten gels are very different and I had a hard time not stopping to hork it up in a bush (but I did persevere!). If you can tolerate Maurten, it's awesome because it does not need additional water to receive the full benefits. Otherwise, I use Gu and Egel for training, and plan to use a combination of Tailwind and Egel for the races.

 

[DopeyBadger]

I'm open to suggestions. My running store doesn't have Tailwind so I would have to order that off Amazon, but they do have Maurten and Skratch. @DopeyBadger what do you think? I know you use both Tailwind and Maurten.

Tailwind is nice because it's so cheap comparatively speaking vs other products it's hard to beat. Tailwind is something like $1.31 per 25g carbs (but adjustable to needs) and Maurten 320 is $1.07 per 25g carbs but unadjustable to needs.

Tailwind is also nice because it's concentratable, whereas Maurten 320 is not. So for instance, let's say you wanted to load up on a 10oz bottle of nutrition. You could put 6 scoops of Tailwind (150g carbs) + a few oz water, and then sip on that throughout the race. Making sure that you drink sufficient water to absorb throughout the race from aid stations. The concentrated Tailwind is like a sweet tart and packs a punch (which I like). Or you could put 10/17ths of a Maurten 320 packet into a 10oz bottle (or about 47g carbs) because it must be diluted one satchel per 17 oz.

The flip side is that with Maurten 320 you need less water consumed during the race in order to absorb it properly. It's absorbed at 4.2g/oz and Tailwind (and almost all other carb products) are absorbed at 2g/oz. So about 1/2 the water consumption.

Gels are a really good option for carrying dense amounts of nutrition as well. I'm partial to Egel because of its high electrolyte concentration and Maurten gels because they're isotonic and require no liquid consumption along side. The consistency of Maurten gels is like a jello.

 

[azrivest]

OK so I went out and purchased a packet of hydration mix (I'll try Skratch Labs for starters), a Maurten Gel and Maurten 320 to test out. I'll try out the Skratch and Maurten gel during my next runs, even if they are shorter and don't need fuel. I especially wanna try out the taste and feeling of the Maurten jello (but I love jello so that's okay )

I'm writing out my thoughts here...

Potentially I could do the following during the marathon:
- Take 10 oz (17 oz?) of Maurten 320 before the race -- 79g carbs + 250mg Na
- Fill my 1L bladder with Tailwind or Skratch ------------- 50g carbs/5h, or 10g/h, + 925 mg Na
- Supplement with gels and water from the course ----- to reach 60g carbs/h, ~2-3 gels/h in addition to the Skratch

Water stations are at the following points:
KM: 4 – 9 – 12 – 16.8 – 21.5 – 24.2 – 28.2 – 32.2 – 36.2 – 39.7
At a pace of 7:05min/km, this would bring me to a water station every ~20-30 minutes, so I couldn't miss a water station in order to take my gels. Or plan to bring extra water or a bigger bladder. As I'm writing this, I'm already forgettng that Maurten gels are isotonic. But I would probably still need more than 1L/33 oz of water during my whole race.

Does that look like a decent plan?

 

[DopeyBadger]

OK so I went out and purchased a packet of hydration mix (I'll try Skratch Labs for starters), a Maurten Gel and Maurten 320 to test out. I'll try out the Skratch and Maurten gel during my next runs, even if they are shorter and don't need fuel. I especially wanna try out the taste and feeling of the Maurten jello (but I love jello so that's okay )

I'm writing out my thoughts here...

Potentially I could do the following during the marathon:
- Take 10 oz (17 oz?) of Maurten 320 before the race -- 79g carbs + 250mg Na
- Fill my 1L bladder with Tailwind or Skratch ------------- 50g carbs/5h, or 10g/h, + 925 mg Na
- Supplement with gels and water from the course ----- to reach 60g carbs/h, ~2-3 gels/h in addition to the Skratch

Water stations are at the following points:
KM: 4 – 9 – 12 – 16.8 – 21.5 – 24.2 – 28.2 – 32.2 – 36.2 – 39.7
At a pace of 7:05min/km, this would bring me to a water station every ~20-30 minutes, so I couldn't miss a water station in order to take my gels. Or plan to bring extra water or a bigger bladder. As I'm writing this, I'm already forgettng that Maurten gels are isotonic. But I would probably still need more than 1L/33 oz of water during my whole race.

Does that look like a decent plan?

The Maurten 320 is covered (79g in 17oz water), and the Tailwind appears covered with 50 total grams in 33 oz water. So the only "extra" water that you need to consume on course is for the gels. If you're going for 60g/hr, then that's 300 total grams for a 5hr finish. The proposed Maurten 320 and Tailwind is 130g. So are you proposing getting 170g from gels? Standard gel is 25g, so that's about 7 gels in total. That 170g of carbs from gels would need 85oz of water. If you have 10 aid stations, that would be 8.5oz per station or 3 cups per station. With that being said, if you eat the PB bites, then those likely have carbs in them as well.

While 60g/hr is a good value, my concern is what you've been doing in practice thus far. You're close to race week. So how many g/hr have you been doing in training runs over 90 min? How much water do you consume per hr in training? With it being so close to race day, I wouldn't want to deviate too much from what you've already practiced and shown to be tolerable. While 60g/hr may be more ideal, it's important first that you know you'll tolerate it and not have any issues.

 

[azrivest]

So how many g/hr have you been doing in training runs over 90 min?

I've been consistent in taking 1 gel (GU or Huma) every 30 minutes while running and have always tolerated them well. So that would be around ~45-50g carbs/h?

How much water do you consume per hr in training?

In my last long run of 3 hours, I emptied my bladder twice, so about 67-68 oz of water total. I sweat more and I drink more water than average. There is the question about the temperature though. That 3 hour run was at a T+D of 145-150 which I surely won't have in October.

Oh and yes I also bought the peanut butter pretzels. The nutrition facts say it's 29g carbs & 8g protein for 3/4 cup.

 

[azrivest]

That 170g of carbs from gels would need 85oz of water.

Rereading your message and I realize that this is much more than I've been drinking.

I compare myself to other runners in my running group who barely carry any water, while I bring my hydration vest on every long run. But I'm thinking I'mma need that 2L bladder...

 

[DopeyBadger]

I've been consistent in taking 1 gel (GU or Huma) every 30 minutes while running and have always tolerated them well. So that would be around ~45-50g carbs/h?


In my last long run of 3 hours, I emptied my bladder twice, so about 67-68 oz of water total. I sweat more and I drink more water than average. There is the question about the temperature though. That 3 hour run was at a T+D of 145-150 which I surely won't have in October.

Oh and yes I also bought the peanut butter pretzels. The nutrition facts say it's 29g carbs & 8g protein for 3/4 cup.

Rereading your message and I realize that this is much more than I've been drinking.

I compare myself to other runners in my running group who barely carry any water, while I bring my hydration vest on every long run. But I'm thinking I'mma need that 2L bladder...

So you consumed 47.5g/hr for 3 hours with 67oz water. So that's about 150g total, and would need about 75oz water (which you were right about there). So I would suggest staying there. You water consumption rate and carb consumption rate are close to in concert at the moment. If you're tolerating the GU/Huma system at the moment, then you don't have to change it. A few more Gu/Huma or the addition of the PB pretzels should be enough to carry you through. But if you keep up that carb consumption rate you'll surely need more water. Just watch your drink to thirst feelings, and whether you stop sweating as those are some general indicators something may have gone wrong. Some races will fill your bladder for you at an aid station if you stop for a few moments. The one drag to that is a suddenly weightless bladder/vest becomes 2L heavier again and that can be a real demoralizer. Happened to me during one of my marathons when I exchanged my water bottles via Steph and went from no weight to max weight again.

 

[Herding_Cats]

I was looking at the event guide for my marathon. The only nutrition they'll offer on the course is Xact electrolyte drinks and Xact energy bars, both of which I have tried and don't really tolerate well. So i'll need to carry all my fueling on me.



My nutritionist also told me she thinks I should plan for protein as well as carbs if I'm aiming for a 5-hour marathon time. I'm really at a loss what I could carry for protein. Boiled eggs? Nut butter? @SheHulk what was that food you used for your marathon, didn't it have peanut butter in it?

TIA!

I started taking the travel packets of Justin's Almond Butter (I prefer the cinnamon one over the plain) because it's about the same size as a gu packet. It made a HUGE difference in how I felt for MW vs the full I ran in October because it was more than just sugar and gels sitting in my stomach.

 

[azrivest]

Week 12 of 16 of my first-ever marathon training plan

If I had written this post yesterday, it would have been whiny and b*tchy. Today, I'm in a better space mentally and physically.

According to the website that HangWithMerida posted, athletes with a mild case of COVID-19 should practice at least three days abstinence from symptom onset plus symptoms resolved before returning to physical activity. On Monday, I started feeling much better and my symptoms resembled more like bad allergies (feeling congested and runny nose) but almost no cough and no sore throat. I was hopeful that I would get better soon, but 5 days later and my symptoms are still pretty much the same. No deterioration, but no improvement either.

Being the stubborn and impatient woman that I am, I decided to try running again. With only 4 weeks left before my race, I don't see how I can wait until all my symptoms have gone away. I'm afraid I'm in this post-COVID thing for at least a few more weeks.

I know, I know, not the wisest strategy.

My aim was to run whilst always staying in zone 2, even if that meant walking more than running. And if my symptoms worsened or I felt bad after my run or the day after, I would stop again.

I can see that I'm not 100%, cause my HR increases much faster than before my illness. So I have to continue doing very easy running. But at least I'm out there, and I haven't felt worse and more tired after any run.

On other note, I'm going to look for a lemon or lemonade shirt on Etsy for my marathon. It's been the recurring theme this whole training cycle. Since I couldn't focus on the running or the strength training this week, I would focus on my nutrition. I've used every run this week to try out different electrolyte solutions or gels, even though I didn't need them. I wanted to try out the taste and the feel.
- Skratch Labs powder is fine. Tried strawberry/lime and lemon/lime packets. Only big bag I could find at the store is the lemon & lime flavour, so again... Lemons!
- Maurten 320 tastes so, so weird. I might be able to down it before the race like Billy does, but I will not carry it in my bladder during the race.
- Maurten Gels are much more pleasant than the powder. I'll go back to my running store to buy more. I really appreciate the fact that they're isotonic.

Summary:

• Running/Walking Distance = 14.59 miles
• Time = 3:13

Monday

• Off

Tuesday

• Completed: 3 km easy walk

Wednesday

• Off

Thursday

• Completed: 27:29 min run/walking
• Did the first 10 minutes with my daughter, 30/30 run/walk intervals. HR was fine.
• Next 10 minutes were 60/30 r/w. HR started spiking after every run interval.
• Last 7-8 minutes, I didn't feel so great.

Friday

• Recovery Day (Off, Cross-Train or Optional Run)
• Planned: 30:00
  • Completed: 30:01 min run/walking
• 60/30 r/w. Felt better than the day before.

Saturday

• 30-45 minute Easy Run
• Planned: 35:00
  • Completed: 43:34
• I felt frustrated the entire duration of this run. Staying in zone 2 was so hard. At the speed I was run/walking, there is no way I can finish a marathon in 5h30. I was in a bad place for the whole run and just felt like throwing a tantrum.
• Didn't help that it was super hot outside. I figured, hey this is September right? Nope, still in the 80s.

Sunday

• Fast Finish Long Run
• Planned: Didn't really care. Was going to concentrate on my nutrition strategy more than the running itself.
  • Completed: 1:31:48
• Overall pacing and average HR was much better. I didn't need to walk to stay in zone 2. So there's hope!
• Drank ~10 oz of Maurten 320 15 minutes before, then alternated between GU gels and Maurten. I also put one scoop of Skratch Labs (20g carbs) in 3 cups of water in my bladder.

My plan for this week has one 13-mile Goal Pace run on Thursday and one 19-mile Long Run on Sunday. So not gonna happen as is. Before my illness I was already planning on capping that Sunday run to 3 hours, so probably much less than 19 miles. We'll see how I feel come Sunday.

Hope everyone is feeling better physically and mentally than I am!

 

[striker1064]

Maurten 320 tastes so, so weird. I might be able to down it before the race like Billy does, but I will not carry it in my bladder during the race.

Yeah it does. Someone at my local running store said it tasted like simple syrup. Figured that would be fine! -nope. I had to stop and hunch over just to keep it down. This is why we practice!

 

[azrivest]

Is it just me or doesn't this workout seem a bit pointless? My GMP is actually slower than the calculated easy pace...

Or is it meant to get me used to running at a specific speed for the marathon?