Skip to main content

Marathon as a Training Run and Glycogen Depletion

Is it just me or does this not sound like a way to have a really fun week?

This Sunday 9/22/2013 I will be running a "Marathon as a Training Run." I am currently in training for the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon which I will race on 11/2/2013. During my last training cycle I incorporated a few training runs over the standard 20 - 24 mile "longest run in a training program" runs. Most programs cap the long run here because it is thought firstly that a run longer provides very little more in the way of preparation and increases the chance of injury past an acceptable point and secondly because the runner could loose valuable days to the additional recovery needed from such an effort. My last time around though I found that I could do some longer runs pushing my body to be better adapted to the specific distance of the marathon and I could do them in a way that minimized injury risk and recovery time. I blogged about it back then here.

My plan was to do the same this time. I got the 20 mile runs going early in the program and got my 25 mile run in. Then I entered a facebook contest from the Carmel Marathon to win an entry in the Fox Valley Marathon. Wouldn't you know it, I won. I'm not sure I've ever won a contest before in my life and I win a marathon entry? (I've said it many times but for some reason God wants me to run. One day maybe I'll know why). I've done these super long runs on my own before and I'll tell you doing it in a full fledged marathon with other runners, crowd support, and aid station sounds like a much better way to get it done.

My stratagy to thwart injury and incur as little need for additional recovery as possible is 2 part and includes running well over a minute slower than my goal pace and doing my best to not "cash out" my glycogyn stores during the race.

The pace is easy. Find the guy with the 3:25 sign and follow him for the next 26 miles or so. Making sure I don't completly drain the tank has required a liittle effort on my part this week. I purposfully depleted my glygogyn stores this week through a calorie reduction and a couple of hard runs upfront in the week. It hasn't been a whole lot of fun and I was feeling pretty bad by the time I finished my run this morninng but this should make my body more responsive to storing the glycogyn that I feed it over the next 3 days which in turn will help fuel me through the full marathon and not leave me in a hole that will take more than a day or 2 to climb out of.

So there you have it. Now if you'll excuse me I've got some more food to eat.

P.S. I am aware that "they" say this kind of depletion isn't necessary. But "they" also say that a run longer than 20 for most and 24 miles for a few isn't necessary either. All I can say is that I try to do what works for me because "they" change their minds way to much.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2015 Valpo Half Marathon Race Report

This was my big tune-up race for the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon. I always run a half-marathon at this point in the build up to the Monumental to get a final big fitness boost, a reality check on where I am at fitness-wise and, if all goes well, probably the most important aspect is the confidence boost that I get. I got one heck of a confidence boost yesterday, 10/25/2015, at the Valpohalf Half-marathon in Valparaiso IN. Valparaiso is about 2 hours from home which is kind of right there on the line of driving on race morning or staying in a hotel the night before. This time we decided to get up and drive. Valparaiso is on central time which puts it an hour behind us. Meaning the 8:30 AM start was really a 9:30 AM start for me.  Making the decision to drive that much easier. I have been dealing with some issues on the top of my right foot, which is probably extensor tendinitis, for the last couple of weeks. I saw my soft-tissue guy last Friday. He worked on it some and got me
4 comments
Read more

The Gosh Darn Tuesday Morning 15-Miler

What can you say about a 15-mile Tuesday morning run? I can say a lot. I’ve had a lot of time to think about what I can say about a 15-mile Tuesday morning run on more 15-mile Tuesday Morning runs than I can count. You see, they are a main stay of the marathon training plan that I use. That plan being Pete Pfitzinger’s Advanced Marathoning 18 week 70-85 miles per week plan. The first thing I can say about the Tuesday morning 15-mile run is that it’s not a long run. Pete clearly defines long runs as starting at 16 miles. So, the 15-miler that begins so many Tuesdays of my life is not a long run. I mean, who ever heard of doing a “long run” on a Tuesday morning. That would just be insane. Being that it’s not a long run I can’t do all of the things that I do around a long run. I can’t obsess over the weather for the 15-miler, I can’t eat extra carbs in preparation for the 15-miler, I can’t expect my family to give me deference and make accommodations for me
Post a Comment
Read more

I Don't Get Anything out of Mass!

A homily that I heard once and some wisdom from an old friend I think really put the Mass and our participation in the Mass into perspective. I remember the homily began by the priest telling us that our parish had lost a family to a non-denominational church down the road. He said that this family actually came to him and said they were leaving and going to this other church for two reasons. The first was that the music was better. The second reason was because they didn't feel like they got anything out of Mass. At this point I remembered something a friend once said that made a lasting impact on me. She said essentially, "I don't come to Mass for the music or for the homily or for anything other than Jesus. I come because Jesus is here in the Eucharist." I wish that those people had known my friend. Because there is no where that you can go to be so close to our Lord as you are when you receive Holy Communion at Mass. The priest reiterated this sentiment and th
2 comments
Read more