Boston Marathon Fueling Recap
Fueling the Boston Marathon: Easier said than done! If you want to read my marathon recap and how it all went, read this first.
If I could give you only ONE takeaway, it would be this: really sit down before your marathon and make a detailed plan (get help with this from experienced runners on that specific course but also experienced professionals 🙋🏼♀️), then ACTUALLY FOLLOW that plan and ADJUST it when you get closer to match the race weather, conditions, etc. Don’t just fly by the seat of your pants, no matter how experienced you think you are. I tell all in the podcast.
Here’s 3 minutes instead of 30. If I could go back and do it again, I would have:
Up the carb intake during my 5 day carb load by forcing more fluid carbs & starting earlier on in the day. Take carb load more serious! Don’t think, eh I’ll be okay, even if you are close. You want to err on the side of too much rather than too little. Plan it ahead, and if you don’t hit the numbers, VOW to get it the rest of the week.
PLAN PLAN PLAN, especially if out of town. AND STICK WITH IT. Keep 80-90% of your eating the same that it is at home, not eating out too much or changing your eating schedule more than you’re used to.
If it’s a hot/humid/sunny day, HOLD ON to your electrolyte bottles. Don’t think you’ll be ok with a simple pre-load. Electrolytes are so so so important, especially on a sunny day.
Plan “just in case” scenarios, not just one, but multiple. Have a family member prepared to hand you electrolytes, fuel, (in my case, broth would have been amazing). Prep a scenario if you’ll use only the course electrolytes/hydration, etc.
Calculations of how much you will ACTUALLY need, taking into account breastfeeding, a hot day, the extra walking prior to the race, etc. THIS I think was the biggest factor that I neglected to take into account. I would never have neglected this with a client, so I don’t know why I did with myself. I blame this on being sleep deprived (teething baby) and getting caught up in the excitement of Boston. Next time, I’ll treat myself as I do my own athletes. I’ll be THOROUGH, SPECIFIC, PLANNED. Talk with me if you need help with a specific strategy.
ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR FREAKING ACCOMPLISHMENT! No matter what.
Have you run the Boston Marathon, or plan to? I’d love to hear about it in my DM’s.