glycogen stores Archives - Run The Long Road Coaching

2/15/11

5 miles speed work

2×1200 and 3×800 at 7:24 pace. Done.

A few days ago I posted about not running enough miles at goal marathon pace (GMP). Surprisingly, I have some more to say about that 🙂

Your GMP should be realistic based on current race times (not the half marathon you PR’d in 5 years ago). You want to sustain this pace over 26.2 miles so it should be a cakewalk. I say cakewalk because everything gets harder during the last 10K of a marathon. I’m not talking about hitting the wall, just the normal aches and pains that come along with running 26.2. You want your GMP to feel easy so that you are able to hit that pace later on in the race. It is so, so easy to let your pace slip during those last few miles.

If your GMP is too fast for your current fitness level, you’ll start too fast, deplete your glycogen stores (more on that here), and hit the wall hard around Mile 20 (if not sooner). At RRCA coaches training we learned that by going out too fast early on in the marathon you make up for it by running 2 to 3 min per mile slower during the last 10K. Ouch! That’s like beginning the race running a 9:00 pace and finishing with a 11:00 or 12:00 pace! Banking time for a marathon never works.

Once you figure out your GMP, you should incorporate GMP runs throughout your training plan. You can do tempo runs at GMP or add some GMP miles to your long runs. You should be on autopilot with your GMP – knowing how your stride feels, knowing how your breathing feels – so on race day you can just get into the groove and enjoy the race!

1/9/11

13 miles

2:07

9:46 avg pace

As you can see from my pace, this run was bad! Before I explain why, let’s start with the weather. The hourly forecast on weather.com is a runner’s best friend. Last night I checked the weather and saw that the “feels like” temp would be in the single digits in the early morning. So I decided to sleep in and let the sun warm things up a bit. I had 2 options: (1) run near the river on a plowed path but have no protection from the biting wind or (2) run on a wooded trail covered in snow with some wind protection. I chose option #2 and prepared myself for some snow running with my YakTrax. I took some high quality pictures on my BlackBerry so you could see what they are…

This is what they look like when you take them out of the box. They remind me of the sick contraption from the first “Saw” movie. I won’t go into more detail, but if you saw the movie you’ll understand what I mean.

This is the the top view once you have them on (so fashion forward!).

And the bottom view…

Those coils do a great job of grabbing the snow and ice so you are able to run without breaking your neck.

The early miles went well but it was difficult to run in the snow. It was hard to push off; like I was running in sand. I felt like I was running a 9:16 pace effort but my Garmin was telling me otherwise. So I decided to cover the distance and not worry about pace. Around mile 8 I started to get really cold, the wind had picked up and my face and hands were starting to go numb. Then I began to get really miserable 🙁 During the last mile, I started to feel nauseous. Unfortunately, this is not uncommon for me. There’s no rhyme or reason to it either. I can fuel properly pre-run, during the run, and post-run and still feel sick. Eating something, even though it’s the last thing I feel like doing, usually does the trick (more on this below). So I downed some chocolate milk within 15 minutes of finishing, took a hot shower, and laid down for a little bit. Ah, the joys of training through the winter!

Let’s talk refueling post-run. Refueling within 30 minutes after a long run (or hard run) is extremely important. I began to consistently do this last year and noticed a huge difference in my recovery time. After a long run, your glycogen stores are depleted. It takes about 24 to 48 hours to fully replenish your glycogen stores. When you do 2 hard runs back-to-back, you run the risk of beginning the 2nd run with only partially filled glycogen stores and may have a bad run. It’s important to eat/drink shortly after your run because your body stores glycogen at a faster rate during the first hour post-exercise. Your choice of food/drink should be a 3:1 carbohydrate-to-protein ratio. The carbohydrate will restore your glycogen stores while the protein will speed muscle repair and enhance glycogen storage. Chocolate milk is a great choice…and it’s delicious. It also a sneaky way of getting the carbs and protein in when the last thing you feel like doing is eating. Another good choice, when chocolate milk isn’t feasible, is a Luna Bar. Last summer I would drive to my long run and would keep a Luna Bar in my car for the ride home.

Off to catch up on The Bachelor! My sister-in-laws were talking about it yesterday and now I need to see it. Those girls are crazy…I heard one had fangs?! Seriously?!

*Refueling information from Advanced Marathoning.

GMP Talk (again)

13 Snowy Miles