Some how, the adrenaline rush often makes us forget the initial meaning or intention to start running. We began to put in a lot of mileage, we squeeze the time out of nowhere just to fulfill the weekly mileage, we started to sign up a lot of races, we are hunger for success, we want constant Personal Best from back to back events. Out of nowhere, the joy of running is depleting, we have the complicated feeling upon the arrival of each event, the pressure to outperform is there, and the excitement to out-run the previous self is there.
It is going to be the first full marathon for 2012, the fourth one in my entire life since the three "broken apart" FM's in 2011. I have had set a higher bar for myself, which is a stretched goal of finishing a sub-4:15. If I could do this, that means I will shave off 30 minutes from the previous best at 4:43 in PBIM 2011.
Hatyai, a place that I know for good Thai food, good Thai massage, good shopping place but never a PB hunting field in marathon running, but I'm going there this weekend to take on my first full marathon in 2012 and in Thailand.
I can feel the pressure now, I'm wondering whether everyone has it?
People says one would afraid of darkness if he sees ghost before. The 2 occasions that I hit the wall, not in FM but in < 10k three weeks ago and the recent PJ Dawn. I do not wish to encounter that again, giving that all I want to do is hit my target and I need a flawless execution. The target is actually quite disturbing now, I wrote down one target, plus another stretched target, but inside my mind, there is something which is more overwhelming. I want to do a sub-4. Oh ou.... this could be the reason that I could not sleep well this few days.
Anyway, I want to know how much I should eat to NOT hit the wall in Hatyai. I browse the web and I saw this web site called Endurance Calculator. It is designed to enable endurance runners to determine safe, personalized racing paces over distances such as the marathon. So, I tried it.
I put in the ambitious target there, and here you go:
So, I guess I would need 1460 kcal on race day, excluding the routine calories that my body needs to keep my body routine tasks. Conservatively, I shall run a 5:46 pace to hit my 4:15 target and faster than that for a sub-4. OMG.
The aggressive best marathon performance is very interesting. I wonder when it could become a reality for me?
Please don't be so happy about it first, please read below:
Interpreting Your Calculator Output
Carbohydrate loading should be conducted in the days preceding a race (approximately 12-36 hours beforehand) and should be completed by approximately 12 hours before a race, in order to enable time for glycogen uptake into the muscles. The number of calories of carbohydrate indicated by the calculator for a particular target pace represents the total minimum excess, over and above normal caloric requirements, that should be consumed as carbohydrate (neither fat nor protein can be substituted for carbohydrate in carbohydrate loading) during the loading period. During that loading period, the entire diet should consist primarily of carbohydrates. The form of the carbohydrate is not critically important, though moderate- or high-glycemic-index foods consumed immediately after exercise of the target muscles (the leg muscles in runners) will be most effective in loading those muscles. The Conservative and Aggressive figures refer to the calories of carbohydrate required to sustain the corresponding speeds.
The calculator generates `Conservative' and `Aggressive' estimates. The Conservative time reflects the best time a runner at a given level of aerobic fitness could hope to run without hitting the wall, assuming he or she runs with everyday carbohydrate stores; that is, not having carbohydrate loaded and without fueling during the race. By contrast, the Aggressive time reflects the fastest pace that same runner could theoretically sustain without hitting the wall, assuming the runner is maximally carbohydrate loaded and that his or her performance is limited by the ability to store carbohydrates. The calculator can predict quite fast Aggressive times, especially for runners with high maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max greater than approximately 65 milliliters of oxygen per kilogram of body mass per minute). Carbohydrate storage is not the main performance-limiting factor in those runners, who are the most aerobically fit, and so those runners should not set their target paces based on the Aggressive predictions; the calculator will generate a corresponding warning message for such runners.
Carbohydrate loading will not guarantee an increase in speed, but it can ensure that a runner will not hit the wall at his or her chosen speed.
Oh.... if you would like to try it. Visit http://www.endurancecalculator.com/
O.o
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