Information overload...is there a simpler way to do it??

[daisyjo]

I have been reading lots of these posts, and there is lots of good information but there seems to be so much of it, it seems daunting. I am doing my first half marathon in October, and so far the longest distance I have run is 15k, with a 60-90 second walk break every 20 minutes. I used those breaks to hydrate with water and a gatorade type drink and I felt pretty decent at the end. Fast recovery and only a little stiffness the next day and no cramping, pain or signs of dehydration during the run. So my question is this....at what point do I add more to my fuel belt? When (if at all) should I take those little goo packets? And all this talk about salt tablets...isn't that what the drink is for? Or is it all just trial and error to find out what works for me, knowing that it might be vastly different for someone else?
I have 6k to go to make up that half distance, so what should I be anticipating for that last 6k?

Thanks!

[Newt]

G'day Daisyjo,

Just keep doing what you're doing and gradually increasing the distance. Since you're not having any troubles and progressing injury free no need to change anything at this point before your half in Oct. Just remember to do close to the same thing in the race, i.e. nutrition, and pace, you should be ok. Plus Oct will be cooler so it makes it easier not to become dehydrated.

Peace
Peter

[Sandy]

Actually we see more dehydrated runners at the finish line in Picton on a cool day then on a hot day.  Their responses is always..."it was cool so I didn't think I needed to drink as much".  Our response..."Silly Rabbit".

[Newt]

G'day Sandy,

That doesn't surprise me, I just meant by my post that "technically" it "should" be easier not to get dehydrated in a cooler less humid race.

If people change their hydration strategy too much from what works for them in training and also race significantly harder than what they do when they train they can be in for a world of hurt.

Peace
Peter

[patti]

It is very much so trial and error.  You're right, what works for me may not work for you.  Take the time during your training to experiment and see what works for you.

patti

[Allan]

Unless you have a very high rate of sodium loss you will never need a salt tablet for a half marathon. You will likely not require any gels either since you'll get calories from whatever energy drink they give (or that you bring along) on the race course. Depending on what your goal is (ie. a specific time or simply making it to the finish) your 15k runs are long enough for half marathon preparation.

I would recommend doing one or two faster sections in your long run (ie. 2km at the 5km and 10km points) as part of your training. These don't have to be really hard efforts but faster than your normal 15km pace. On race day, it is easy to get into a faster pace than you are used to early on and some "surges" during your long run will help you adapt to this and force you to run a few more km at the end when your legs get a little tired.

My wife did her first (and only) half marathon 6 or 7 years ago and did only one run longer than 13k leading up to it (she is not a competitive runner and usually did 4-5km runs a few times each week) and she did fine on that type of training.

[tire guy]

Isn't this ironic getting information overload on a thread asking to clarify information overload 

[patti]

Really do you not think there is ever a time during a half marathon that you might need to take sodium?? What if if takes you 3-3.5 hours??

patti

[Sandy]

Daisy jo I think the variety of responses to your question really serves to answer your question.  For every runner there is a philosophy of how to do it best but what works for one might not work for another.  Some of the suggestions here have been directed more to improving rather then getting there in the first place.  If you are feeling overwhelmed I suggest the KISS method.  Keep it simple, keep it specific to you.  Don't get bogged down in how far, how fast, how much, how little.  Go out and run, experiment, make note of what felt good, what didn't and pretty soon you will have a plan of what works for you...which afterall is the goal.

Happy running!

[Allan]

Really do you not think there is ever a time during a half marathon that you might need to take sodium?? What if if takes you 3-3.5 hours??

patti

Unless your sodium levels are way down to begin with or you sweat out extreme amounts, there is plenty of sodium in sports drinks to take you through 3-3.5 hours. A race that is only 3 hours long requires nothing more than the electrolyte drink supplied. Gels and pills just complicate things. I happen to be someone who sweats pretty heavily when running in hot weather and have never even come close to requiring pills to take me through 3 hours. Again, sometimes people make running too complicated.

[Sandy]

What if you don't like sports drinks. I hate Gatorade and only drink water.

[patti]

 I don't like drinks other than water when I run, so the other crap on the race course I ignore.  I hate the Power Bar Gels which probably has one of the highest sodium levels, approx 200mg. However they make me gag. The gel I use only has 50mg of sodium in it.
Since studies have proven that people will sweat out between 2000mg (not your daily intake) - 6000mg per hour, and the gel that I take has 50mg of sodium in it, of which I consume 1 every 30-40 minutes that doesn't add up.  If I am consuming 100mg of sodium per hour yet I'm losing, even on the low end, 2000mg in an hour how do I make up for a loss of 1900mg when I don't drink sport drinks and the gel I like has a low content.  How do I fix that problem?? I personally take an electrolyte tablet actually I take a minimum of 2 every half an hour.  This practice works for ME, I don't feel bloated, I don't swell, and I don't ever feel like I am going to puke, all of which are symptoms of low sodium levels.
I think the point in all of this was experiment and see what works for you.  

patti

[Allan]

This makes the assumption that you need to finish the race with the same sodium level that you start with which is not true. Like I said before, if you are not sodium depleted prior to the start of the race, you will not need a salt tablet and can get the sodium required from the drink supplied. The original post was asking about adding salt tablets to the regimen of drinking their "gatorade type drink" so what I said about complicating things by adding an extra sodium is correct. It is not required. You can make up endless situations with respect to refusing to drink what is supplied but most people (and the person who asked the original question) can tolerate the drinks that are supplied and rely on them.

When I raced the IM in Roth 10 years ago the drink on the course was a Powerbar energy drink that was not available in North America. To get ready for that I used gatorade, powerade, allsport, and anything else that I could get my hands on. They are all essentially the same with dextrose and sodium and potassium in various combinations (the Powerbar one they used had extra sodium like the Gatorade endurance formula so it tasted extra salty which was new to me ..... for some reason in Europe, they give out carbonated mineral water at aid stations too which is a bit of a curveball on race day when you don't speak the language of the people handing it out) and just like anything else in training, you can get your body ready for anything that comes your way on race day. Training your system to handle what is given on the course to eliminate the need to carry too much extra is always a good idea. When I raced in Kona I had my hammer gels in flasks on my fuel belt for the run. After sitting out on the hot Kona pier all day in the transition bag, my first taste on the run course made me want to throw up so I ended up doing the run with an unnecessary fuel belt full of crap that I couldn't use and just went back to the Power gels they gave on the course. This was a good lesson for me to learn about keeping things simple. I wouldn't want to be relying on electrolyte pills and then drop them all over the road or have them fall out of my fuel belt and have no backup.

Sodium tablets have a place in endurance sports but are not really required in a half-marathon or half-marathon training. That said, if someone loves water and tablets and doesn't want to worry about what is given on the course then go for it :)

[patti]

So if you refuse to use gatorade or power gel which are usually the products provided how do you fight off the effects of sodium depletion....bloating, cramping,vomiting, headache, swelling.  Since I have high blood pressure and take meds for it, I can't take in extra sodium into my diet, prior to racing.    Then what????
patti

[Newt]

G'day Allan,

I think sometimes you and I have a problem keeping things in perspective, as we likely run a 1/2 Marathon+ a few times a month on our long training runs with barely more thought than grabbing big swallow of water before heading out the door. Where for some newer runners it is a very daunting distance which they are building towards as huge goal.

Hope the hamstring is getting better.

Peace
Peter