Road to KL-Marathon 2010, 76 days to go
Date: 11th April 2010, Sunday.
Weather: Hot and humid.
Start time: 6:17am (yawn... yawn...)
Timing: 2hours 46minutes 4seconds.
Distance covered: 23.16km.
The 7.72km route is relatively flat as compared to the the 9.37km route. However, like the 9.37km route, there is a 'scary' 1km climb from km-5 to km-6. I almost always huff and puff after the 1-km hill climb despite the slow pace. Worse still, the climb is at the end of run. As I have been running very little (1 run in weekday, to be precise) during the usual working weekday, I tried not to walk up the climb as a form of hill training to compensate for the very low weekday mileage.
For today's run, the final climb of the slope during km-20 was extremely tough.
Fuel:
Pre-run: 600ml water.
During-run: 800ml water, 1 power gel at km-12.
Post-run: 600ml Excel.
For motor vehicle, if we need to travel for 42km, we can pump the amount of fuel we need to cover the whole distance BEFORE the journey. We don't really need to stop every 10km to pump fuel for the next 10km journey... i.e. "Input_energy = Output_energy + waste".
I am wondering if the same equation is also applicable to human body. In theory, I can eat all the gels that I anticipated to be needed even BEFORE any run. I don't really need to bring power gel for run.
For example, if one anticipated he/she need 3 gels for the entire run, he/she can consume all the 3 gels before the run. The energy provided by the gels, in theory, should remain within the body ready to be burnt.
Don't agree? So why do runners bother to "carbo load" few days before the Marathon day?
Will experiment this in my next LSD run. If this is true, I don't need to bring gels in my LSD run, or even during the Marathon. Hope I am correct. However, if my experiment proved otherwise, the "carbo load" theory shall be void too.
Another thought... shall we teach our body to run in starvation so that we can perform better during the actual race? Meaning that, if all the LSD runs are done without gels, our magical body should be able to accustom/adapt to such torture. On the actual race day, we should be able to perform better with all the pampering with gels and bananas. If so, then the guru's theory that we should 'learn' to take gels during training run is also void. Should I torture myself for the training run so that I can 'enjoy' the actual race? Mmm...
Pit-stops:
2-minute toilet and water-refill;
2-minute drink/water-refill/walk;
1-minute drink/power gel/walk;
2-minute drink/walk.
Side Stitch Ghost:
Absence (thank goodness).
What's next:
(22/3 - 28/3) 13 weeks to go: 21k (Energizer Night Run 2010 done. Timing: 2hr 23min 15.63s);
(29/3 - 4/4) 12 weeks to go: 25k (26.46km done. Timing: 3hrs 12mins 6s);
(5/4 - 11/4) 11 weeks to go: 21k (23.16km done. Timing: 2hrs 46mins 4s);
(12/4 - 18/4) 10 weeks to go: 29k;
(19/4 - 25/4) 9 weeks to go: 21k;
(26/4 - 2/5) 8 weeks to go: 32k;
(3/5 - 9/5) 7 weeks to go: 21k;
(10/5 - 16/5) 6 weeks to go: 35k;
(17/5 - 23/5) 5 weeks to go: 21k;
(24/5 - 30/5) 4 weeks to go: 37k;
(31/5 - 6/6) 3 weeks to go: 19k;
(7/6 - 13/6) 2 weeks to go: 23k;
(14/6 - 20/6) 1 week to go: 16k;
(21/6 - 27/6) Race day!!!
Weather: Hot and humid.
Start time: 6:17am (yawn... yawn...)
Timing: 2hours 46minutes 4seconds.
3 loops of Taman Desa 7.72km route:
Distance covered: 23.16km.
The 7.72km route is relatively flat as compared to the the 9.37km route. However, like the 9.37km route, there is a 'scary' 1km climb from km-5 to km-6. I almost always huff and puff after the 1-km hill climb despite the slow pace. Worse still, the climb is at the end of run. As I have been running very little (1 run in weekday, to be precise) during the usual working weekday, I tried not to walk up the climb as a form of hill training to compensate for the very low weekday mileage.
For today's run, the final climb of the slope during km-20 was extremely tough.
Fuel:
Pre-run: 600ml water.
During-run: 800ml water, 1 power gel at km-12.
Post-run: 600ml Excel.
For motor vehicle, if we need to travel for 42km, we can pump the amount of fuel we need to cover the whole distance BEFORE the journey. We don't really need to stop every 10km to pump fuel for the next 10km journey... i.e. "Input_energy = Output_energy + waste".
I am wondering if the same equation is also applicable to human body. In theory, I can eat all the gels that I anticipated to be needed even BEFORE any run. I don't really need to bring power gel for run.
For example, if one anticipated he/she need 3 gels for the entire run, he/she can consume all the 3 gels before the run. The energy provided by the gels, in theory, should remain within the body ready to be burnt.
Don't agree? So why do runners bother to "carbo load" few days before the Marathon day?
Will experiment this in my next LSD run. If this is true, I don't need to bring gels in my LSD run, or even during the Marathon. Hope I am correct. However, if my experiment proved otherwise, the "carbo load" theory shall be void too.
Another thought... shall we teach our body to run in starvation so that we can perform better during the actual race? Meaning that, if all the LSD runs are done without gels, our magical body should be able to accustom/adapt to such torture. On the actual race day, we should be able to perform better with all the pampering with gels and bananas. If so, then the guru's theory that we should 'learn' to take gels during training run is also void. Should I torture myself for the training run so that I can 'enjoy' the actual race? Mmm...
Pit-stops:
2-minute toilet and water-refill;
2-minute drink/water-refill/walk;
1-minute drink/power gel/walk;
2-minute drink/walk.
Side Stitch Ghost:
Absence (thank goodness).
What's next:
(22/3 - 28/3) 13 weeks to go: 21k (Energizer Night Run 2010 done. Timing: 2hr 23min 15.63s);
(29/3 - 4/4) 12 weeks to go: 25k (26.46km done. Timing: 3hrs 12mins 6s);
(5/4 - 11/4) 11 weeks to go: 21k (23.16km done. Timing: 2hrs 46mins 4s);
(12/4 - 18/4) 10 weeks to go: 29k;
(19/4 - 25/4) 9 weeks to go: 21k;
(26/4 - 2/5) 8 weeks to go: 32k;
(3/5 - 9/5) 7 weeks to go: 21k;
(10/5 - 16/5) 6 weeks to go: 35k;
(17/5 - 23/5) 5 weeks to go: 21k;
(24/5 - 30/5) 4 weeks to go: 37k;
(31/5 - 6/6) 3 weeks to go: 19k;
(7/6 - 13/6) 2 weeks to go: 23k;
(14/6 - 20/6) 1 week to go: 16k;
(21/6 - 27/6) Race day!!!
posted by YS at 1:36 PM
3 Comments:
I think the question of carbo load and power gels before the race has to do with the Glycemic Index (http://www.glycemicindex.com/). There are food with high or low glycemic index. High means it releases the energy quickly vs low ones. Therefore, you need to choose the right kinds. When people carbo load, they want the low GIs to be stored and released slowly when race day comes. Power gels and such are high GIs and they provide a quick burst of energy and depletes quickly.
Theoretically, if you eat the correct GIs before your race, you can do so without gels during the race but the question would be how much of low GIs to consume before? Therefore, relying on high GIs during the race, ie powerbar gel will help you provide the energy that has been depleted, quickly. Makes sense?
Hi Yimster, thanks for visiting my little corner.
Your explanation on glycemic index has just cleared up the sky. Yes, it makes sense.
By the way, what do you think about doing training runs in starvation (or to minimise gel intake for training)... to teach the body to tap on the low GIs storage?
Dunno about starvation though. In the early days of doing 10km runs, and then into the first few half marathons, I didnt use any gel at all, or anything other form of aid. It was doable but I found out later, with the right aid/gel/etc, it helps you in providing the necessary energy to finish strong.
Tapping the low GIs or rather using energy from your stored fats is doable (from what I read lah). But since I ain't an elite runner, I'd stick to what's proven for myself. Perhaps you might want to try that out and see how it goes. What works for one person doesnt always necessary work the same for another.
Having said that, I'm still experimenting with my body, and what works well for it :)
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