From the Middle of the Pack: Don't Change Anything!

It has been 10 days since I ran the Des Moines Marathon.  This was marathon #13 for me.  I'm not superstitious, but it turned out to be a tough day.  It was my slowest road marathon ever.  I went to Des Moines feeling physically and mentally ready, and left there mentally beaten down and just happy to have finished.

Experiences like this present a good opportunity for some introspection.  Was I properly trained?  Did I do something wrong?  So I've taken the past few days to consider what I might have done to get a better result.  It didn't take long to figure it out.

Before I ran my first marathon in 2006, I attended an 18 week marathon training class.  One of the points they made in the class was “Don't change anything!”, i.e., you should run the race the same way you trained for the race.  I did not do that.

A few weeks before the race, I was reading a recent issue of a running magazine.  There was an article that described how to properly carbo-load prior to a marathon.  I thought “Hmm.  I always fade in the last six miles. Maybe this will help. I should give it a try.”  So, three days before the race I changed my diet to consist almost entirely of carb-rich foods: rice, pasta, bread, potatoes, etc.  I should have known when I my stomach didn't feel particularly good after two days that maybe this was a bad idea.  Sure enough, on race day my stomach was turning flips.  I was unable to consume my gel packs without feeling sick, and I just ran out of gas.  So the strategy that was supposed to help me finish stronger actually hurt me!

The key mistake I made is that I CHANGED my diet right before the race, rather than adopting the diet a few weeks beforehand.  My body was not used to it, and when I added the stress of a 26 mile run, it was too much to ask of my system. This also points to the risk of following the latest fad in training. Everyone has opinions about how to train: what to eat, what shoes to wear, how long to taper.  There can be so much noise that it is hard to get a clear message.  So keep one thing in mind:  the one place you should look for that clear message is from your own body!  Pay attention to what it is telling you, and you'll do fine.

Next marathon, I'm going to run it the way I trained for it.  I'm sure it will go better.  See you in the middle of the pack.